"These things are actually invulnerable to blades and spears? I've got a bag of melon seeds here—want some?"
"Give me a handful." Even though the wind and sand were fierce.
"Its weight is almost catching up to an elephant's. Hss, if a butt like that lands on someone, it could literally squeeze the crap out of them! Father, that unlucky bastard looks like one of Nian Songyu's men?"
"What is 'crap'?"
"Nothing. The National Preceptor is casting a spell! He threw two massive fireballs into the enemy's mouth. The toad burped... hm, looks like it didn't work."
About the time it takes an incense stick to burn later, the two purple-gold toads were tossed overboard.
Compared to the imposing majesty they had shown when leaping aboard, their size had shrunk to a fifth of what it had been, reduced from bloated hulks to mere skin and bones.
He Lingchuan recalled that National Preceptor Sun had sliced open cuts on them and stuffed something inside. After that, both toads had slimmed down at a visible rate, dehydrating, losing the strength to jump, their eyes bulging even further.
And then they kicked the bucket.
"Did you catch that?" They looked like they had been drained completely dry before croaking.
He Chunhua shook his head. As a National Preceptor, he naturally possessed extraordinary methods, and presumably those methods would work just as well on humans.
Over the remainder of the journey, the party suffered two more attacks from monsters that did not fear the foul stench. Even so, only National Preceptor Sun's boat was affected, while the other two remained safe and sound.
The others marveled at the National Preceptor's luck and counted their blessings that the beasts hadn't leaped onto their own boats; otherwise, they never could have dealt with them so cleanly and swiftly.
Yet Sun Fuping and his circle frowned in secret.
Why had all three attacks targeted the National Preceptor? What did this indicate? That a tall tree catches the wind?
Pressing forward with all haste, the party finally approached their destination before nightfall.
The herald on Nian Songyu's boat pointed into the distance, shouting toward their companions on the rear two vessels: "Panlong City is ahead!"
In truth, his reminder was unnecessary. Everyone had already gathered at the bows to admire the most magnificent sight in the Panlong Desert—the Chipa Plateau.
Countless years ago, this plateau had been thrust up from the earth by some irresistible force, creating a drop of at least forty zhang—over a hundred and thirty meters—from the flat ground beneath their feet!
Between them lay a fathomless chasm six zhang wide.
It stood like a dividing line between two continents: sharp, stark, and uncompromising.
Once the walnut boats reached this point, the boatmen navigated with utmost caution, using the cured meat to lure the earth dragons westward along that natural rift.
Falling in would mean absolute doom.
After a quarter of an hour's travel, Panlong Ancient City finally began to grow larger in their vision, the contours of its gray outer walls becoming distinct.
This plateau was vast beyond measure. Its sheer vertical face was like the cross-section of a two-tiered cake, rising at nearly a ninety-degree angle from the flat plains. The words "desolate" and "majestic" seemed coined expressly for it.
By now, the sun was beginning to sink in the west, casting dappled shadows across the plateau's cliff faces, making it resemble a colossal beast crouching in the desert, winding and silent.
Terrain like this was a textbook example of being easy to defend and difficult to attack; no wonder Zhong Shengguang had managed to hold out here year after year. Without such concrete circumstances as a foundation, romantic ideals and impassioned zeal were mere empty talk.
Advancing further, the plateau's elevation sloped gently downward like a long descent.
And Panlong City stood right at the mouth of that slope, firmly guarding the sole passage leading to the Chipa Plateau from the south!
The boats slowed. Ahead, a single bridge spanned north to south, arching across the entire chasm.
It was a natural stone bridge, connecting the land beneath their feet to the south with the small clearing before the southern gate of Panlong City to the north.
If one wished to assault Panlong City, this was likely the only approach; even ten times the besieging force could never take it. Looking at this stone bridge, He Lingchuan could feel the agonizing frustration of the allied forces of Xianyou and Baling from over a century ago.
Subsequent history had proved it: tenfold? Ha!
With the walnut boats having arrived here, this leg of their journey came to a temporary close. The boatmen unhooked the cured meat from their boat poles and tossed it to the earth dragons as their reward.
After hurtling forward for two double-hours, the three earth dragons were so exhausted that steam puffed from their mouths. Had it not been for their stubborn single-mindedness, their brains smaller than a ball, and the fragrant hunk of meat dangling before their eyes, they would have abandoned the job long ago.
Now that the meat was finally in their mouths, the earth dragons paid no heed to the abundant prey around them, twisting around and scurrying off.
The passengers leaped ashore, and National Preceptor Sun walked over to retrieve his magical treasures. He chanted a few incantations, and the massive vessels shrank back into small walnuts.
Though the wind and sand were heavy, the air here was countless times fresher than on the boats. Free from the stench of cured meat, the soldiers couldn't resist drawing deep breaths.
He Lingchuan tapped his toe against the ground. "Lingering here, aren't we afraid strange beasts or monsters might attack?" Just like on either side of Red Cliff Road.
Nian Songyu chuckled. "Beneath this is all solid bedrock, with less than half a foot of sand. At most, a few centipedes and sand snakes could hide here. Are you scared?"
He Lingchuan kicked aside a layer of sand and found that underneath was indeed rock-hard stone. Of course—if the sides of the chasm weren't sheer, sturdy rock, the natural bridge would have collapsed long ago.
Nian Songyu suddenly asked, "What's going on?"
Hearing this, He Lingchuan looked back and saw several of Zeng Feixiong's men approaching, escorting two individuals.
The two were struggling desperately. Though one was short and the other thin, each required three burly men just to hold them down.
Most peculiar of all was that each wore a talisman vest resembling a sleeveless jacket—in truth, just two panels of yellow silk worn over the chest and back and tied securely together, sparing the hassle of sleeves and collars. Cinnabar runes lifted from the silk, drifting and slowly revolving around the captives.
Without question, these had originally been Zeng Feixiong's men. Yet the look in their eyes as they stared at everyone was bizarre—both savage and rapacious.
He Lingchuan had hunted before, and he thought such a gaze belonged more properly to a coyote.
"Possessed by Three Corpse Worms." Seeing them in this state made Zeng Feixiong uneasy as well. "The National Preceptor bound two of them for observation."
The Three Corpse Worms on the other boats had all been driven away, but Sun Fuping had kept two behind.
Now taking the lead, Sun Fuping set foot upon the bridge.
The bridge itself was quite broad, about fifteen zhang across, but situated in the middle of the wilderness, spanning the chasm, and facing Panlong City, it seemed as thin as a toothpick.
Back then, the allied army's vast legions had likely suffered bitter defeat right here—and countless times over.
He Lingchuan looked down and saw mottled patches of discoloration on the bridge surface. Clearly, it had been stained many years ago, layer upon layer, the shades varying in depth even after a century.
Walking on the bridge, it seemed as though everyone could smell the pungent stench of blood.
This had been the front line of the clash among the three armies back then. Around this single corner, untold battles of contention had raged back and forth.
The perished souls lingering here far outnumbered those anywhere else.
Sun Fuping suddenly remarked, "This bridge was artificially created, not natural."
Nian Songyu stamped on the ground and agreed: "The material is indeed different from the wilderness. It was likely created by the allied forces of Baling and Xianyou."
Walking beside He Lingchuan, Zeng Feixiong was astonished to hear this. "The stone has no seams, perfectly whole and contiguous. This was built by human hands? Besides, the sentries atop Panlong City weren't blind. Would they have let the enemy construct a bridge right under their noses?"
Chapter 31