The deal was struck. Dan Buda turned to Chu Shaoqiang and said, "Draw a map of thirty percent of Daogui Ridge. The more detailed, the better."
Chu Shaoqiang had already prepared a map. Dan Buda handed it straight to Li Banfeng. "Circle the areas on it. Mark out everything that cannot be dismantled."
Holding the map and brush, Li Banfeng didn't know where to start. "What counts as things that cannot be dismantled?"
Dan Buda frowned. "Don't ask me. Didn't you already scout the place? Mark out the parts that must be moved completely intact, and be quick about it. Don't circle too much."
Li Banfeng thought for a moment. "And the places I don't circle—won't they be moved intact too?"
Dan Buda shook her head. "Whatever isn't circled has to be taken apart and moved."
"If it's taken apart, can you still call it a mountain?"
Dan Buda chuckled. "Oranges grow on an orange tree, but once picked, they're still called oranges. When you harvest oranges in an orchard, you don't cart away the whole tree with its branches and leaves, do you? Are you terrified people won't realize you're carrying oranges?"
Li Banfeng looked over at the Heavenly Maiden, uncertain whether Dan Buda was truly reliable.
"Though our sisterly bond ends here, I do trust her!" The Heavenly Maiden stuffed a lock of hair into her mouth and chewed with a crisp crunch, crunch.
"Old Seven, I trust her too!" Lian Buda had full confidence in his younger sister's methods. "If Daogui Ridge gets damaged in her hands, I'll fix it for you."
Li Banfeng took up the brush and began drawing circles on the map.
The shrine had to be preserved intact; the water source had to be preserved intact; and Lühuazi had to be preserved intact as much as possible.
***
Granny Ku led dozens of Brotherhood Alliance members, hiding silently within a bamboo forest.
The bamboo forest lay on the borderlands, with the Earth Market to the west and the Mortal Market to the east. According to intel gathered by Huan Wuchang, He Jiaqing planned to launch a surprise attack on the Mortal Market from this very forest tonight.
At first, Granny Ku had doubted the accuracy of the report. If He Jiaqing intended an ambush, he wouldn't have let word slip so early.
By eleven-thirty that night, the White Crane Gang raised the alarm first—someone had spotted unusual activity outside the bamboo forest.
Normally, once the White Crane Gang gave warning, the warriors of Baishun County would deploy swiftly. Joining forces and utilizing their aerial advantage, they could deal severe blows to the enemy, and in most cases even drive them off entirely.
Today, however, Granny Ku had specifically instructed both Baishun County and the White Crane Gang not to act hastily, but to await her word.
Click! Click!
The White Crane Gang scout on patrol emitted a series of sharp, staccato clicks, signaling to Granny Ku that the enemy was approaching.
Among the Brotherhood Alliance were Clairvoyance Cultivators as well. After observing the bamboo forest for a moment, one turned and nodded to Granny Ku.
The newcomer really was He Jiaqing!
Granny Ku's face turned livid. She pulled a sprig of bitter herb from her pocket, clamped it between her teeth, and ordered everyone to prepare for battle.
Teacher Song closed her eyes and steadied her breath. Tonight, she was leading the vanguard.
Granny Ku tilted her chin toward Teacher Song—a stern warning that if she wasn't up to the task, someone else would take the vanguard immediately.
Teacher Song gave Granny Ku a slight nod, concealed her figure with a magic treasure, and began channeling her technique.
Wisps of cloud drifted slowly toward the bamboo forest.
Teacher Song knew He Jiaqing's strength. She kept the clouds exceptionally faint; she couldn't summon a dense bank of dark clouds, for any noticeable gathering would instantly alert him.
The clouds floated around the bamboo grove like diaphanous silk scarves. Relying on the electrical charges within the clouds, Teacher Song spotted He Jiaqing's figure.
He Jiaqing had just marched into the bamboo forest leading two thousand Totem Army soldiers. Amid the towering three-headed people, his smaller stature made him easy to distinguish.
Noticing wisps of mist drifting past him, Huan Wuchang immediately concealed them with illusions.
Feng Xuanzhen twirled silk threads between her fingers, keeping her eyes fixed on Teacher Song.
Teacher Song nodded slightly to her. Watching the mist gradually condense within the bamboo grove, she triggered her technique.
Electric Cultivator Skill: Electric Morning Dew!
The mist darted through the bamboo grove as arcs of lightning flashed. Hundreds of Totem soldiers collapsed on the spot, scorched smoke rising from their bodies.
He Jiaqing was among those thrown to the ground, but they had not lost the will to fight. Weathering the electric shock, they scrambled back to their feet and began reforming their ranks.
Feng Xuanzhen paid no attention to anyone else, casting a silk net directly over He Jiaqing.
Having just broken free from the shock, He Jiaqing felt numb and weak all over, caught completely off guard by the net.
The silk net tightened, cutting deep into his flesh. Feng Xuanzhen poured in all her strength, intent on carving He Jiaqing into bloody chunks.
Blood seeped out under the constriction, but just then, the figure of He Jiaqing trapped inside suddenly expanded, sprouting three heads.
Thief Cultivator Skill: Stealing the Beams and Replacing the Pillars.
He Jiaqing had swapped places with a Totem soldier!
The Totem soldier died mangled within the net, while He Jiaqing, covered in wounds, scrambled to his feet and fled.
Huan Wuchang snapped open his folding fan, dragging his fingertips across its ribs one by one. Layer upon layer of illusions materialized throughout the bamboo grove.
Looking up, He Jiaqing saw an endless expanse of bamboo stretching to infinity, dense stalks intertwined, with nothing in sight but withered leaves and tangled branches.
He was fleeing for his life. Seeing their commander run, the surrounding Totem soldiers abandoned their formation and ran after him. The situation seemed utterly dire, yet a faint smile curled on He Jiaqing's lips.
He Jiaqing didn't bother discerning directions or attempting to unravel the illusions. He simply sprinted forward blindly, without sparing a glance even at the footprints he had left behind.
Teacher Song sighed inwardly. He Jiaqing truly had panicked.
"Whoosh—"
Shang Yuwei, the Grandmaster Sound Cultivator, let out a long whistle that sounded just like the wind rushing through bamboo.
As the sound reached his ears, He Jiaqing felt a wave of refreshing clarity, and his steps involuntarily quickened.
Was Shang Yuwei helping He Jiaqing?
Of course not.
This was Shang Yuwei's self-created skill, Follow the Sound into the Urn. Its essence lay in using specific sounds to lure an enemy to a designated location.
He Jiaqing had been a pillar of the Brotherhood Alliance; he had seen the signature skills of each of these core members before.
The rushing wind was indeed soothing, but it clouded one's mind, compelling the listener to follow the draft unconsciously.
Trapped in an illusion and unable to tell north from south to begin with, He Jiaqing was easily guided straight into the trap by the sound of the wind.
Teacher Song slowly lowered her head, unable to bear the sight.
The trap had been laid by Granny Ku herself. He Jiaqing plunged into a cluster of bamboo where leaves slashed like razor-sharp blades, carving into him inch by inch and flaying his flesh layer by layer.
Bamboo branches repeatedly impaled his body, and when some were yanked back out, bits of flesh and bone clung to them.
Bitterness Cultivator Skill: Thousand-Blade Vivisection.
Though the name sounded like a Blade Cultivator skill, it had nothing to do with that path.
These bamboo leaves were Granny Ku's own flesh and blood; the branches were her own bones.
Granny Ku had first dismembered herself, transforming her physical body into this grove of bamboo. Trading excruciating agony for immense combat prowess, her sole purpose was to put He Jiaqing to death.
The leaves and branches struck with blinding speed and overwhelming force. He Jiaqing had no time to dodge, much less parry. After several rounds of brutal slicing, he collapsed limp onto the ground.
Granny Ku did not stop. Amid dancing bamboo leaves, she minced He Jiaqing entirely into meat paste.
Gazing at the mangled mess on the ground, Granny Ku gritted her teeth and reformed her body.
Standing before the pile of minced flesh, her body shuddered violently.
She felt no sorrow for He Jiaqing; it was purely the unbearable agony wracking her frame.
Thousand-Blade Vivisection was a rarely used Bitterness Cultivator skill because the sheer torment was almost more than even Granny Ku could endure.
Perhaps she had acted too rashly today, for she could not recover her composure for a long time.
He Jiaqing was certainly dead. Everyone present believed there was no possible way he could have escaped.
Only Huan Wuchang sensed something amiss.
He crouched down and touched the flesh and blood on the ground.
The blood and flesh were real enough, but they felt curiously thin.
To make their illusions convincing, Illusion Cultivators paid obsessive attention to detail. He prodded the pile of minced meat with his folding fan, yet failed to pierce it.
It was hard?
Huan Wuchang jabbed forcefully a few more times, poking a hole through the mound of meat. Beneath the hole, it was completely hollow—there was nothing inside.
"This is a husk!" Huan Wuchang gasped in horror. "He used Cicada Turns to Pupa!"
He Jiaqing had appeared to be chopped into pieces by Granny Ku, but in truth, he had gathered the minced gore over himself to form a pupal shell.
Once a Thief Cultivator entered pupation with this skill, they became indistinguishable from a corpse; even Clairvoyance Cultivators of the same rank could not detect life in them. He Jiaqing's execution was so masterful that no one else had noticed the deception.
Now, the He Jiaqing beneath the shell had vanished without a trace. Needless to ask, he had undoubtedly used another Thief Cultivator skill: Cicada Sheds Its Carapace.
Yet Teacher Song couldn't comprehend how. He Jiaqing had been struck by lightning, mangled by the silk net, entrapped by illusions, led astray by sound, and gravely injured by Granny Ku.
Under such conditions, merely surviving was a miracle. How could he possibly string together two techniques as intricate as Cicada Turns to Pupa and Cicada Sheds Its Carapace in quick succession?
Feng Xuanzhen and Shang Yuwei were equally baffled. But Granny Ku seemed to have realized something.
"He stole my luck!" Granny Ku murmured. "He stole a massive amount of my luck!"
By inflicting Thousand-Blade Vivisection upon He Jiaqing, she had also given him the opening to steal her fortune.
Yet was luck the only thing He Jiaqing had stolen?
Granny Ku's body suddenly convulsed. Something was missing from inside her.
Her internal organs.
A portion of her organs had been stolen by He Jiaqing.
That shouldn't have been fatal—Granny Ku possessed the Skill of Heavenly Harmony, capable of regenerating organs in short order.
Yet after trying several times, the organs refused to regrow.
Had the Skill of Heavenly Harmony failed?
Had He Jiaqing stolen it with Sleight of Hand?
Impossible. Even if He Jiaqing had stolen the technique, Granny Ku could still use it herself; its power would merely be somewhat diminished.
What method was this? Could it be a skill of He Jiaqing's own creation?
If her internal organs could not regenerate, could the self-inflicted wounds from Thousand-Blade Vivisection heal?
As these thoughts swirled, dizziness overcame Granny Ku.
Having just endured the agonizing torment of the technique, now suffering missing organs, and with fury rushing to her heart, Granny Ku blacked out.
***
Drenched in blood and filth, He Jiaqing stumbled before Qiao Yi.
Qiao Yi frowned deeply, his face grim. "General He, before you set out, I repeatedly reminded you that results were secondary, but casualties must not exceed twenty percent. Now your entire force is wiped out. What do you have to say for yourself?"
Everyone present thought He Jiaqing was doomed to face military law. Standing off to the side, the Prince of Anshun Commandery had no idea how to explain this to Qiao Yi.
He Jiaqing offered no excuses. Instead, he presented a bloodstained cloth sack to Qiao Yi.
Qiao Yi opened the sack and saw parts of internal organs inside. He asked He Jiaqing, "What is this?"
He Jiaqing replied, "These are portions of Granny Ku's internal organs."
Qiao Yi started, and those around them were thoroughly shocked.
The Prince of Anshun Commandery was overjoyed and hurried forward. "General, where did you obtain this?"
He Jiaqing replied, "Reporting to Your Highness: this subordinate fought through a bloodbath against the enemy, staking half my life to seize them."
"Magnificent!" the Prince of Anshun Commandery praised, turning to Qiao Yi. "Lord Qiao, surely such merit deserves a reward?"
Qiao Yi pondered for a moment, then asked He Jiaqing, "General He, I ordered you to conduct a surprise raid. Why did you engage the Lucky Star in a pitched battle? Do you truly not understand the principles of a raid?"
His meaning was clear—he was accusing He Jiaqing of military incompetence.
He Jiaqing replied neither servile nor haughty, "Taking two thousand soldiers into enemy territory to burn some supplies and slaughter a few stragglers—anyone could do that."
At those words, the corner of Qiao Yi's eye twitched; he could hear the discontent in He Jiaqing's tone.
He Jiaqing continued, "Though individual warriors of Puluo Province are formidable, they are ultimately a rabble. Yet this rabble won a great victory at Suihuang Plain, triumphed again at Wuyouping, and scored victory after victory at Mount Qunying. There must be a reason."
This was something no one dared mention.
He Jiaqing's words were plunging a dagger straight into Qiao Yi's heart.
The onlookers all bowed their heads, certain He Jiaqing had a death wish, and even the Prince of Anshun Commandery broke into a cold sweat.
Though furious inside, Qiao Yi smiled. "Does General He know the reason? Pray enlighten us!"
He Jiaqing answered calmly, "Because the enemy had luck on their side."
Hearing this, many felt like laughing.
What did he mean by luck? Was He Jiaqing truly a fool, or was he mocking Qiao Yi on purpose?
Yet neither Qiao Yi nor the Prince laughed, for He Jiaqing's answer was remarkably clever.
He Jiaqing looked at Qiao Yi and said, "With Lord Qiao's brilliant strategies and the prowess of the Shang State army, wiping out Puluo Province's scattered fighters should have been as easy as turning over a hand.
"The reason the war reached a stalemate with mixed outcomes is entirely due to shifts in fortune—and the root of those shifts lies with Granny Ku.
"In our past clashes, when did Puluo Province not rely on luck to eke out a win? If Granny Ku is left free to manipulate fortune, the war's outcome remains unpredictable.
"The Peddler seemed to be the Lord of Puluo, but he is dead now. Li Qi seems to be the new Lord of Puluo, but his subordinates remain a loose heap of sand!
"The one truly swaying the tide of war is Granny Ku. By bending fortune, she alters battles; she is the Shang State's most dangerous adversary.
"To catch bandits, capture the ringleader first. Tonight, I went specifically after her. Now she is gravely wounded and will not recover for months. This is our army's golden opportunity to wipe out the rebels in one sweep!"
At these words, goosebumps rose along the Prince of Anshun Commandery's arms.
He straightened his back and said to Qiao Yi, "Lord Qiao, Jiaqing's achievement today ranks among the foremost military feats since our campaign began!"
Qiao Yi did not agree.
Wounding Granny Ku could be counted as a merit, but compared to meticulous preparation before battle, it was hardly worth mentioning; compared to masterminding strategy in the command tent, it was scarcely a great deed.
Moreover, Qiao Yi disagreed with several of He Jiaqing's assertions; he did not believe Granny Ku played such a critical role in Puluo Province.
In his view, the decisive figures were still men like the Peddler and Li Qi, and it had been his own strategic brilliance that had driven the Peddler to his death on Mount Qunying.
Now that the Prince of Anshun Commandery requested a reward, Qiao Yi could have refused. He Jiaqing had achieved something, yes, but he had indeed disobeyed military orders, and not one of his two thousand men had survived; deeming his merits and faults offset would have been entirely justifiable.
Yet Qiao Yi did not do so. First, He Jiaqing's argument was wonderfully framed: he attributed Qiao Yi's past defeats to bad luck, arguing that because fortune had been manipulated by Puluo Province, losses had occurred. Qiao Yi was quite satisfied with this narrative.
Given a little time to polish the explanation, every past defeat could be reframed as a hard-fought victory under adverse conditions.
Furthermore, He Jiaqing had proven his loyalty and capability. If this battle had truly incapacitated Granny Ku, then the moment for a general offensive had indeed arrived.
Most importantly, there was the Prince of Anshun Commandery's attitude. As a peer relative of the Sage, the Prince should have been Qiao Yi's political rival.
Yet he had consistently supported Qiao Yi, providing vital assistance at critical junctures. Now that he was requesting honors for his subordinate, Qiao Yi naturally couldn't brush aside his face.
He issued an official decree before everyone, conferring upon He Jiaqing the title of Marquis of Zhenyuan.
He Jiaqing hurried to express his gratitude, and Qiao Yi instructed him to rest and recover as soon as possible to prepare for the coming campaign.
Upon returning to his quarters, the Prince of Anshun Commandery summoned a Medical Cultivator to treat He Jiaqing's wounds. He Jiaqing thanked the Prince once more, and after pleasantries, the Prince offered to recommend him as Vanguard General.
He Jiaqing gave thanks again. Once the Prince departed, He Jiaqing struggled to his feet, dismissed the attendants, and thrust a dagger into the brazier.
The dagger glowed bright red in the flames. Grasping the weapon, He Jiaqing pressed it against his open wounds.
Smoke hissed from the burns, and He Jiaqing gritted his teeth.
Under the searing pain, the wounds did not char; instead, flesh and blood began rapidly regenerating.
"So this is Granny Ku's Skill of Heavenly Harmony—trading pain for rebirth," He Jiaqing chuckled bitterly. "'Borrowed without returning,' or 'borrowed and returned'—who can say?
"Granny, you used me as a meat shield; borrowing your technique for a few days hardly crosses the line."
***
Santoucha, Leishuang Plain.
Six carriages traveled across the wasteland. Chu Shaoqiang sat on the front of the first carriage, shivering uncontrollably, while Dan Buda sat atop the last, peeling and eating an orange.
Santoucha contained many perilous regions, ill-suited for ordinary human survival, but if one were to rank their dangers, Leishuang Plain could easily rival places like Daogui Ridge and Broken-and-Continued Mountain.
The "thunder" here did not refer to common thunderstorms, but to celestial light.
The "frost" did not refer to frost and snow, but meant that when a frost-white glow appeared on the ground, the celestial light had arrived.
Leishuang Plain was the place where celestial light struck with the greatest density in all of Santoucha. Chu Shaoqiang's teeth chattered ceaselessly, terrified that the ground beneath them would suddenly light up.
Dan Buda drove her carriage up alongside Chu Shaoqiang's. "Hey, are you taking the right path? According to my plan, we should have reached Soil-Exchange Island by now!"
Clack! Clack!
Chu Shaoqiang's jaw trembled so hard he couldn't speak.
"What are you afraid of? The celestial light? My carriages have solid canopies; even if the light hits, nothing will happen." Dan Buda reached out and knocked twice on the carriage canopy above Chu Shaoqiang's head.
The moment the words left her mouth, the night sky suddenly bleached white.
Dan Buda looked up. This burst of celestial light was coming in fiercely; a mere carriage canopy would never hold it back. She turned, grabbed a raincoat, and wrapped herself up tight.
Chu Shaoqiang had no raincoat. He did have an iron shield he had forged himself that could offer meager protection, but the shield was too heavy for him to lift in time.
He tried diving into the carriage to avoid the light. Just as his upper body squeezed inside, the celestial light hit the ground.
"I'm done for... it hit me, it really hit me this time... I'm finished—" Chu Shaoqiang shook violently, staring in despair at his legs.
Dan Buda poked her head out of the raincoat. "Hit by what? What are you shrieking about? The Heavenly Maiden is in your carriage—would she let celestial light touch you?"
After a good while, finding nothing wrong with his body, Chu Shaoqiang calmed down slightly.
He glanced back at the carriages. Six in total, each carriage box three meters long, one and a half meters wide, and one meter tall, drawn by two horses.
Such carriages were not unusual in Santoucha. Drawn by ordinary horses, one could haul around three thousand jin; even with the draft horses unique to Santoucha, hauling across long distances capped out at eight thousand jin.
Who could have imagined that inside these six carriages lay nearly half a mountain—thirty percent of Daogui Ridge?
These six carriages were Dan Buda's magic treasures, for they altered the concept of space.
The Heavenly Maiden was inside Chu Shaoqiang's carriage. Whenever celestial light descended, she used Generous Heart to shield him.
The twelve horses pulling the carriages were not living beasts either; they were Dan Buda's implements for channeling techniques. Naturally, the horses possessed no power to move mountains—what truly carried the mountain was the Heavenly Heart Stone.
The one manipulating the Heavenly Heart Stone was Chu Shaoqiang. The reason he had to ride up front was that he was guiding the way, and there could be no mistake in direction.
After another hour of travel, Chu Shaoqiang pulled back the reins and turned to Dan Buda. "We've reached the mountain pass."
Dan Buda halted her carriage and walked forward to look. Ahead lay a sheer precipice, and beneath the cliff, the faint tip of a mountain was visible.
It was a peculiar formation, looking as though another peak had sprouted out from inside a volcanic crater.
Dan Buda walked back to the carriage and knocked on the carriage box.
Thud! Thud!
Standing within the shrine of Daogui Ridge, Li Banfeng heard two muffled thuds.
"Hu-ga, hu-ga!" Li Banfeng let out low, guttural roars at the gathering of daolao ghosts.
"Tu-ta! Tu-ta!" the daolao ghosts responded to their Daolao God of War.
Li Banfeng hitched up his shoulders, raised his knees high, and began marching in place.
Every daolao ghost danced in unison with him, chanting alongside him:
"Hu-la-la ka-hu, hu-la-la hu!"
The chant meant: "Sleep, warriors, rest well for the coming battle."
After chanting a dozen times, all the daolao ghosts burrowed into the soil.
This horde of daolao ghosts had once lost their will to fight because they had witnessed Qiao Yi's dance, learning that an era of peace had arrived, leaving them unsure of whom they were fighting for.
Now, the one who would lead them into battle had returned.
The Daolao God of War was back!
Li Banfeng knocked twice against the wall.
Clack! Clack!
Dan Buda leaned against the outside of the carriage box and heard it distinctly. This proved Li Banfeng was ready on his end.
After checking every carriage, Dan Buda said to Chu Shaoqiang, "Down to the island!"
Chu Shaoqiang was cautious. He walked a circle around the mountain pass.
Several corpses lay around the pass—belonging to the Totem Army.
After capturing Soil-Exchange Island, the Totem Army had believed this place offered access to the surface and had sent soldiers to garrison it.
Soil-Exchange Island wasn't ungarrisonable, but one had to select the right spots; the summit of the dirt mountain and the ground-level exit in particular could never be manned.
The Totem Army had initially underestimated the environment of Leishuang Plain, and all the soldiers stationed at the pass had perished horribly under the celestial light.
Confirming no enemies lingered near the pass, Chu Shaoqiang climbed into his carriage. Dan Buda urged the six carriages forward, hurtling over the cliff edge and crashing down onto the dirt mountain of Soil-Exchange Island.
Sliding down from the peak, horses and carriages were caked in mud. By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, the six carriages had turned into six giant lumps of mud.
Soldiers were garrisoned around Soil-Exchange Island, and numerous warships patrolled nearby waters.
A few clumps of mud rolled down the slopes; the soldiers glanced over once or twice and paid them no further heed.
Mud tumbled down Soil-Exchange Island all the time; such sights were all too common.
These six lumps were indistinguishable from the mountain's mud, leaving not a shred of suspicion.
Even when the clumps rolled all the way into the sea, no one paid attention. Sludge was sludge—no one cared to give it a second look.
Once in the water, Dan Buda chuckled. "Cicada Turns to Pupa—do you have any idea how big this pupa is?!"
Chu Shaoqiang poked his head out of the carriage box and saw the horses still galloping, merely encased in shells of mud.
With the horses churning forward, the six mud boulders swam swiftly through the ocean depths.
After swimming ten-odd li, Dan Buda cast the technique Cicada Sheds Its Carapace. The six carriages shed their mud shells, transforming into six mud transport barges sailing swiftly across the sea.
Chu Shaoqiang stepped onto the deck, gazing at Dan Buda in astonishment. "Just how many skins does your golden cicada have?"
Using the seawater to rinse the grime from her face, Dan Buda chuckled, "At least a hundred. I'd like to see just how many eyes Qiao Yi has, and whether he can see through my methods!"
Chapter 843