Chapter 610: 610
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Ling Tian started to scrutinize the Divine Black Negative Meridians within Yu BingYan's body. Shockingly, he found out that even though Ling Chen had performed one round of absorption, there was practically no sign of the thickness of the frost energy being reduced! While the peripheral layers of the frost energy were quickly siphoned off, the core piece of the Divine Black Negative Meridians in her heart meridians still remained as though it was not affected. After the peripheral layers were removed, it would immediately release another burst of cold air, refreezing the meridians in Yu BingYan's entire body.
Ling Chen was frantically siphoning, but from the looks of it, it was merely like attempting to put out a fire using a single cup of water!
Ling Tian's heart sank and he immediately shouted, "Li Xue, immediately assist Ling Chen in removing the frost energy in her body! However much she absorbs, you have to remove it totally and expel it! Let me warn you in advance, if you still plan to absorb the powers of the Divine Black Negative Meridians to improve your own strength, then most likely the end result would only be the four of us turning into frozen corpses! Leave all your plans to when the Divine Black Negative Meridians reaches its last legs. Right now, its strength is not something that we can withstand! The strength of it is too great!"
Li Xue shuddered in shock. She never expected the strength of the Divine Black Negative Meridians inside Yu BingYan to be so domineering! She had nothing but absolute trust in Ling Tian's warning and hurriedly circulated her strength, imitating Ling Chen and beginning the absorption as well.
This action allowed Li Xue to truly understand the anomaly that Ling Tian had spoken about. The frost energy within Ling Chen's body had already reached the maximum of her acceptable tolerance, but the frost poison was still continuously being absorbed from Yu BingYan's body. No, it could not be considered as absorbed any more and was more like it was automatically flowing into Ling Chen. If not for the presence of Li Xue to aid in expelling, then Ling Tian, Ling Chen, and Yu BingYan would be cursing themselves right now!
Li Xue siphoned off the frost energy within Ling Chen with all her attention, even as her heart grew solemn. She knew that this time, the four of them were connected on the same line of life and death, and the person who held the ability to free them from this thread was herself!
The only way was for her to utilize her Divine Ice Formula which was a whole two layers higher than Ling Chen, to absorb the frost poison within herself and expel it out of her body.
This frost poison would first undergo one round of conversion within Ling Chen's body before it could be expelled by Li Xue who was using a cultivation formula of the same source. If it was directly expelled from her after absorbing it from Yu BingYan's body, then both of them would turn into icy corpses immediately!
With her right hand stuck tightly to Ling Chen's smooth back, Li Xue had her left hand was propped up chest level, palm outward and fingers pointing up like a pagoda, pointing straight at an air vent. Threads of cold air were siphoned from Ling Chen and after one round of cycling inside Li Xue's own body, a stream of thick white energy was spat out from her left palm, flowing into the air vent and disappearing.
This was thanks to the intelligence of Li Xue. Right now, the temperature of the stone chamber had already been lowered to a frightening point. If they continued to release the purged frost energy within the chamber, by the time Yu BingYan was rid of her Divine Black Negative Meridians, this place would have long become a meat locker! By that time, the four of them would also be akin to a dying flame within a lamp, and it was extremely likely that problems might occur. Realizing this point, Li Xue just decided to purge the frost energy directly to the outside instead. Although this would consume a little more energy on her part, it would ensure their safety.
Ling Tian also comfortably breathed out in relief, and finally began to operate based on his original plan. His senses sank deep in once again.
Within the stone chamber, all four of them sat without even moving in the slightest. Yu BingYan had long fallen unconscious, and the other three had sunk deep into their own respective jobs, not daring to let go of even the slightest bit of attention.
Ling Tian started to display his pure Yang inner energy, rousing the attention of the frost energy created by the Divine Black Negative Meridians inside Yu BingYan's body. He forced them to slowly dissipate outward drop by drop, flowing to the other meridians on Yu BingYan. He was clear that throughout this process, not the slightest bit of anxiety was allowed. The moment he pushed too far, the frost energy would rush out like a waterfall. If Ling Chen wasn't able to process it in time, allowing Li Xue to be able to expel it, then they would all be ruined. Most likely all four of them would end up as icy corpses, and even if someone outside realized something was wrong and came over to save them, it would be all too late.
However, he could not sit there and not take action. Now that Ling Tian's true Yang energy had already reached the core of the Divine Black Negative Meridians, if he did not take action then the frost energy would regather back at this same spot, causing all their efforts to go to waste. The frost energy had already fully covered Yu BingYan's body. The moment his Yang energy disappeared, she would be akin to a broken jade, perishing instantly, whereas the chain would also affect Ling Chen and Li Xue who were tied to Yu BingYan...
Ling Tian felt like he was a tightrope walker walking on a gossamer thin rope high up the air, with the worst part being that he had no safety gear with him...
Thus, while the force applied by him was gentle, his attention was drawn taut like a strung bowstring.
Ling Tian was confident that he had prepared properly in every aspect before purging the poison, but the process was so dangerous that it was totally out of his expectations. While his previous confidence wasn't completely gone, there wasn't much left of it!
The circumstances in front of him were really too dangerous!
Ling Chen inserted her pure true Yin energy through the meridians of Yu BingYan, forming a small whirlpool within her body to allow a portion of the frost poison to be sucked inside, converting the incurable disease to something beneficial to herself. The entire process had gone on for 4 hours, yet from what Ling Tian saw through his senses, the Divine Black Negative Meridians inside Yu BingYan's body seemed to only have gone down by a little...
Li Xue had a solemn expression as her left palm continued to release stream after stream of white fog, which floated towards the air vent and was sucked to the outside...
Ling Tian finally concluded that this operation of purging poison was just like the case of an old man moving a mountain — where there's a will, there's a way!
If they wished to completely rid Yu BingYan of her Divine Black Negative Meridians, then based on the situation, most likely at least three days of time was needed! The most pressing issue was that during the three days all four of them could not even move an inch from where they were seated, and had to maintain this posture. If anything happened to either one of them, then the entire operation would end in failure!
And the consequence of failure was eternal damnation!
If he had not cared about hiding the existence of the flood dragon's inner pellet and invited Justice to help, would it have been easier? Ling Tian even questioned himself for the first time in his life!
The only possible redeeming factor was that he had arranged for Ling Chen to take the most relaxed spot which was in the middle position. If he had put her in his or Li Xue's spot, where one's internal energy had to constantly be circulated around their meridians, one not only needed to have exceedingly thick reserves of energy as well as stamina, but also the ability to maintain focus for long periods of time!
Three days and nights of walking on a tightrope... how could an ordinary person withstand this mental pressure?
It was lucky then that both Ling Tian and Li Xue were not ordinary people. With the mentality of a transmigrator, if it was just talking about mental toughness, even Li Xue would surpass Justice! This was because they were people who had walked through the actual yellow springs, and to be able to forcibly pierce out of the netherworld, experiencing the process of life and death, their mental psyches were long above that of an ordinary person's.
If one were to compare a martial arts expert's mental state to be akin like a fine thread, then Ling Tian and Li Xue's would be like steel threads, and furthermore... two or more threads twisted together.
So while he and Li Xue could handle the stress, could Ling Chen? Could she handle it? Right now, all they could do was to hope that the training Li Xue had given to Ling Chen had improved her mental state somewhat, allowing her to persevere!
Time slowly slipped by.....
Gradually, a day passed.....
Another day and night passed.....
The warriors outside at the surface level of the Ling Family Courtyard suddenly felt as though the weather had turned chilly, and it was demonic in a sense that the further one walked away from the Ling Family Courtyard, the warmer it would be! However, once they entered into the Ling Family Courtyard, then they would feel a bone-piercing cold traveling over! Even the martial experts who had control over their own body temperature would be caught unawares by the chill and start to shiver!
When a few of the warriors unwittingly ascended up to the peak, they received a huge shock! The core area of the courtyard, the garden, had all its flowers and trees withered and there was even a layer of frost on the ground...
A thick fog hung around the trees, and even the pine trees were decorated with a thick layer of icy mist. Under the rays of sunlight, the fog sparkled with a myriad of colors, a splendid sight!
This news was quickly spread out and attracted quite a few people who wished to bear witness to this rare scene. However, all this was stopped with a command from Ling Jian: Whoever dared to disobey the order and approach the peak of the mountain would all be killed, without any exceptions!
Once the command was passed out, everyone immediately quaked with fear.
A second order closely followed the first: Which was to have Ling Feng, Yun, Lei, and Dian to guard the four sides of the mountain. They were told not to even allow a housefly to get past them onto the mountain!
As such, the rear mountain in the Ling Family Courtyard suddenly had four other first-rate experts holding down the fort!
However, this point was a little superfluous. Because of the extreme cold, anything that could move, run, or fly had long ago ran as far as they could from this place. So while there was a chance for people to come up, there was no way a housefly would want to fly by here!
At this moment, within the secret chamber deep inside the mountains, the place could already be compared to an icehouse. However, Ling Jian sat here in solitude, with his black iron sword laid across his knees. His expression was cold and hard, without any emotions being revealed.
Young noble and Lass Chen had already been inside for two days and nights!
Even though Ling Jian's internal energy was deep enough such that he would not be easily affected by the frosty air, he could still feel a trace of the cold. Not only was it uncomfortable, but it also served to make him even more anxious. He had long developed the intention to rush into the secret chamber, but upon recalling the instructions Ling Tian had passed to him, he knew that he had to endure it for now. Especially on the surface, he had to put on an expression that was as steady as Mount Tai, giving the impression of supreme confidence. Or else... the Family Courtyard would dissolve into chaos!
The cave door lightly opened, and Ling Chi walked in on tiptoe with a lunch box. He lightly placed it in front of Ling Jian, and lingered for a while, as though having something to way. But he ultimately did not speak, only choosing to bow before retreating.
"What is it?" Ling Jian's eyes suddenly snapped open, and two sharp rays of light shone out.
"Senior Justice's methods are indeed remarkable, improving the ailments of so many people, allowing them to regain their mobility. Our fighting strength has recovered to about 80% of our peak, and all of the brothers hold a grudge towards the Lei Family, wanting me to ask Brother Jian when we can start the operation." Ling Chi tentatively asked.
"Oh." Ling Jian closed his eyes, before indifferently replying, "Now is not the time, you go out first." Ling Jian did not mention how he was going to carry it out, but Ling Chi did not dare to ask anymore, only nodding in acknowledgment and retreating. As he walked out, a worried expression suffused his face.
Hearing Ling Chi's footsteps fade in the distance, Ling Jian opened his eyes and stared at the long sword in front of him. It was only after a long while did he speak to himself, "Taking revenge on the Lei Family... how would I not want to? It's just that... the young noble has not exited yet so we can only wait."
An intense wave of killing intent rose up, and Ling Jian knocked onto the body of his sword with his knuckles, producing a clear ring. It was as though one was teleported to the battlefield, where it lusted for slaughter, and for the blood of its enemies to douse and nurture it...
Within the courtyard, Justice stood atop one of the trees with his hands behind his back. As he felt the unusual weather, his pair of hawk-eyes opened, looking at the frost filled rear mountain with a rare heavy expression on his face.
If anyone knew what was going on inside the secret chamber, then it had to be this person here!
After a long while, Justice slowly sighed, muttering to himself, "Divine Black Negative Meridians... Ling Tian, you indeed still carried out the operation. I only hope that you can endure it fully" After another sigh, his figure flashed and Justice disappeared from his spot.
The unusual occurrences within the Ling Family Courtyard, while strange, were not enough to affect the entire world. On the Southern battlefield, the 300,000 strong army that Ling Xiao commanded were packing up their spoils of war within the former Southern Zheng. The post-war cleaning up was getting more and more orderly by the day...
As for the inside of the DongFang area, Shen RuHu and DongFang JingLei were becoming more and more in sync. The two of them were akin to two huge cleavers, carrying out a bloodbath in the inner and outer sections of Eastern Zhao. All voices of dissent were wiped clean, and they were currently in the midst of restructuring as well as rebuilding the entire place. From creating a new court to dispatching officials and handling the post-war appeasements, it was akin to using the carrot and stick method.
As for the Southeast, the Ling Family army under the command of Yu YanHai surged towards the area for war. The orders from Commander Yu were that even if they had to suffer a total defeat with all dying on the scene, they had to fight to secure the Heavenly Water Ravine Pass the moment the water level dropped!
At the same time, the family head of the Xiao Family, Xiao FengHan almost went mad in anger! He repeatedly cursed and scolded at the various higher-ups who were put in charge of unblocking the Blue Jade River, and commanded strictly that if the Blue Jade River could not be opened up by them, then they did not bother to return. Even if they had to use their heads to ram the blockage, they had to unblock the river at all costs! There were 400,000 soldiers of the Xiao Family on the other side, after all!
Actually, the news of their Xiao Family army being routed had already been flown into the Southeastern region, but because he had in the end never received a single piece of news from Xiao FengYang, Xiao FengHan ended up holding on to this last bit of hope.
Furthermore, the secret troops of 500 Above Heavens members who had infiltrated Sky Bearing was also one of the reasons Xiao FengHan still had hope. He believed that as long as they were able to unblock Blue Jade River, resuming the logistics route, they would be able to retain their status quo by sending out their soldiers. Right now, his second brother was likely to be hiding in some place and biding his time. When they attacked again, his brother would be sure to coordinate with them. There was still a chance to rise up once again!
The three thousand miles of mountains and rivers around the Southeast all belonged to the Xiao Family, with a population of more than 10 million! Even another 500,000, or even a million strong army, they were naturally able to pull them out and properly equip them! Could this type of strength not be able to shake the earth? What good was just being known for their business and money? If they were able to become the monarchs of all under the heavens, then these riches would not even be worth talking about!
As such, during this period of time, the Xiao Family activated 200,000 of their elite soldiers as well as equipping them with 400,000 horses. At the same time, they began to ferociously recruit. One out of every three persons would be chosen! To scrape up a million strong army, it could not be done just through words!
Xiao FengHan actually intended that within the next few months, to gather up another 200,000 troops, and once Blue Jade River was unblocked, to use the surging river water as a driving force to slaughter out of the Southeast, staking all on this battle!
The few officials that were in charge of the Blue Jade River already felt like crying.
It was two whole mountains! Even if they were to really use their heads to smash on that, even when their heads exploded, the mountain would still be perfectly fine!
When they had drained out and diverted all the water, revealing the river bed, what they saw caused everyone to open their mouths in shock. The river dike that Ling Tian had created caused fear in all of them, for that was a good half of the mountain over a thousand feet in height! Even if you took any of the loose rocks present, they easily weighed over a few thousand kilograms. Furthermore, all of them were pressed together, as though they had belonged to this place since time immemorial...
Ling Tian, Great Master Ling, Grandpa Ling, just how in the world did you manage this?!
One had to admit that Ling Tian's move this time was too venomous, too vicious!
The Xiao Family's construction had already gone on for more than a month, and yet they were not even close to being half-way done...
Everyone was on tenterhooks, having to work directly under the foot of such a colossus, and even needing to move such a huge beast in a short time... Who wouldn't feel fear in their heart?
Just clearing the surrounding rocks was already bad enough, but if the entire river dike were to be moved, then even those in charge of unblocking the river wouldn't be spared! This was because behind the huge mountain was millions of tons of water...
Even if one's life was not worth anything, no one would take their lives as a joke, just to exchange for a few extra pieces of silver! However much money one earned, they still had to have their life to be able to spend it! Quite a few people had already been crushed by falling rocks the past few days...
As such, no matter how high a compensation fee the Xiao Family gave, the progress of work crawled forward at the pace of a snail. In the end, Xiao FengHan was so pissed off that he sent down an order, "For those artisans and soldiers who get crushed by the rocks in Blue Jade River, their families will be compensated with a thousand taels of silver. However, if anyone would be found slacking off, then their families will all be executed, for all nine generations!
Under such severe punishments and great rewards, the progress finally sped up. During this time, Yu YanHai's army had long ago arrived at one of the mountain peaks overlooking the Heavenly Water Ravine Pass. They were preserving their strength for the big event, waiting for the time after the Xiao Family had bitterly toiled to unblock the river to rush in, allowing them to reap the benefits!
Due to Xiao FengHan's temper, the moment he received word of Yu YanHai's whereabouts, he nearly died due to anger...
You people used some unknown method to barricade the entire Blue Jade River, massacring my soldiers on the other side and sinking my territory into a patch of panic, but you're still not satisfied?! You actually want to take advantage of the situation at this time, snatching the Heavenly Water Ravine Pass that my Xiao Family occupies?!
Xiao FengHan's brush flourished, and the newly formed army of the Xiao Family in the Southeast immediately marched forward, standing in direct opposition with Yu YanHai and pressuring them!
No matter what, he had to ensure that Yu YanHai's boundless arrogance, together with him and his 200,000 soldiers would be buried forever in the Heavenly Water Ravine Pass!
After huge numbers of deaths from the various artisans and soldiers, they finally had a proper structure up, and following the increased speed of unblocking the river, the clouds of war once again gathered, heralding the rain of chaos that was going to fall on the continent!
A faint stench of blood pervaded the entire continent.
Meng LiGe had taken over command of Sky Bearing, and he repeatedly fired out command after command, summoning the reinforcements of the Ling Family, at the same time sending orders to Grand Marshall Ling Xiao's army on the Southern lines to split off 100,000 strong and rush day and night to support Yu YanHai. He also sent a command to Shen RuHu, urging them to end the situation within the Eastern Zhao before assisting Yu YanHai as well.
As the blockage on Blue Jade River was being cleared, so was the storm of bloodshed brewing in that half of the continent.
During this time, the Northern Wei's Yu Family troops had made triumphant progress. They had cut into the entire Western Han like a hot knife through butter, commanding their troops to invade through Wu County, winning victory after victory as they occupied all the cities. Their achievements did not pale to the Ling Family in the slightest.
This lasted all the way until they reached Bright Moon City. No one knew why, but they actually fell for an ambush in the valley outside the city, and the commander of the combined armed Yu forces, Yu LiuQing, was actually mysteriously assassinated on the battlefield. If not for the fact that the current head of the XiMen Family, XiMen Sa, had stepped up to calm the troops, fighting hard to save this desperate crisis, most likely the entire Yu Family army would have suffered a complete defeat!
XiMen Sa immediately became a person who could command the winds and rains in the Yu Family army, with Yu ManLou even praising him and sending down a personal order to appoint him as the Vice Commander of the army. At the same time, Yu ManTang stepped up to take the reins of Commander for the combined forces, continuing to invade Wu County.
Yu ManLou also sent down a severe order that they had to finish the invasion of Wu County within this half month, before returning back to the North!
The entire Heavenly Star continent was enveloped in the flames of war, with the color of crimson spreading over thousands of miles. The blood flowed like rivers, and corpses were heaped up like mountains!
The reason why Yu ManLou had to reward XiMen Sa was that he was left with no choice. Even his own brother holding the reins as commander was not the ideal person in Yu ManLou's heart. XiMen Sa's ability to manage troops was out of the ordinary. Even though he had surrendered to the Yu Family, the XiMen aristocratic family was still an elite strength, and because they had surrendered they actually fully retained their strength! The higher the prestige of XiMen Sa in the army, the more Yu ManLou had the feeling that he could end up stabbing him in the back. If there was a chance, Yu ManLou would rather silence XiMen Sa right here and then rather than to continue using him. This person was young, but he definitely could not be overlooked. Yu ManLou would never do such a foolish thing as to raise a blight that would turn around to bite him later.
As for Yu ManTang, he had always been the ideal commander for the Yu Family's army. If one were to compare the abilities of a general to not only prevent defeats in war but to even turn the situation around, then other than Yu ManLou himself in the Yu Family, there would only be Yu ManTang! What worried Yu ManLou was that his brother's daughter, Yu BingYan, had actually rejected the family order to return to the clan on the basis that she had already married over to the Ling Family! No matter what, Yu BingYan was still Yu ManTang's flesh and blood and even the apple of his eye. He would definitely have lingering feelings for that brat Ling Tian. Even if it was because he liked whatever his daughter loved, if Yu ManTang were to face off against Ling Tian, the ending would be one that was difficult to determine. Yu ManLou would naturally not take such a risk.
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Ling Tian started to scrutinize the Divine Black Negative Meridians within Yu BingYan's body. Shockingly, he found out that even though Ling Chen had performed one round of absorption, there was practically no sign of the thickness of the frost energy being reduced! While the peripheral layers of the frost energy were quickly siphoned off, the core piece of the Divine Black Negative Meridians in her heart meridians still remained as though it was not affected. After the peripheral layers were removed, it would immediately release another burst of cold air, refreezing the meridians in Yu BingYan's entire body.
Ling Chen was frantically siphoning, but from the looks of it, it was merely like attempting to put out a fire using a single cup of water!
Ling Tian's heart sank and he immediately shouted, "Li Xue, immediately assist Ling Chen in removing the frost energy in her body! However much she absorbs, you have to remove it totally and expel it! Let me warn you in advance, if you still plan to absorb the powers of the Divine Black Negative Meridians to improve your own strength, then most likely the end result would only be the four of us turning into frozen corpses! Leave all your plans to when the Divine Black Negative Meridians reaches its last legs. Right now, its strength is not something that we can withstand! The strength of it is too great!"
Li Xue shuddered in shock. She never expected the strength of the Divine Black Negative Meridians inside Yu BingYan to be so domineering! She had nothing but absolute trust in Ling Tian's warning and hurriedly circulated her strength, imitating Ling Chen and beginning the absorption as well.
This action allowed Li Xue to truly understand the anomaly that Ling Tian had spoken about. The frost energy within Ling Chen's body had already reached the maximum of her acceptable tolerance, but the frost poison was still continuously being absorbed from Yu BingYan's body. No, it could not be considered as absorbed any more and was more like it was automatically flowing into Ling Chen. If not for the presence of Li Xue to aid in expelling, then Ling Tian, Ling Chen, and Yu BingYan would be cursing themselves right now!
Li Xue siphoned off the frost energy within Ling Chen with all her attention, even as her heart grew solemn. She knew that this time, the four of them were connected on the same line of life and death, and the person who held the ability to free them from this thread was herself!
The only way was for her to utilize her Divine Ice Formula which was a whole two layers higher than Ling Chen, to absorb the frost poison within herself and expel it out of her body.
This frost poison would first undergo one round of conversion within Ling Chen's body before it could be expelled by Li Xue who was using a cultivation formula of the same source. If it was directly expelled from her after absorbing it from Yu BingYan's body, then both of them would turn into icy corpses immediately!
With her right hand stuck tightly to Ling Chen's smooth back, Li Xue had her left hand was propped up chest level, palm outward and fingers pointing up like a pagoda, pointing straight at an air vent. Threads of cold air were siphoned from Ling Chen and after one round of cycling inside Li Xue's own body, a stream of thick white energy was spat out from her left palm, flowing into the air vent and disappearing.
This was thanks to the intelligence of Li Xue. Right now, the temperature of the stone chamber had already been lowered to a frightening point. If they continued to release the purged frost energy within the chamber, by the time Yu BingYan was rid of her Divine Black Negative Meridians, this place would have long become a meat locker! By that time, the four of them would also be akin to a dying flame within a lamp, and it was extremely likely that problems might occur. Realizing this point, Li Xue just decided to purge the frost energy directly to the outside instead. Although this would consume a little more energy on her part, it would ensure their safety.
Ling Tian also comfortably breathed out in relief, and finally began to operate based on his original plan. His senses sank deep in once again.
Within the stone chamber, all four of them sat without even moving in the slightest. Yu BingYan had long fallen unconscious, and the other three had sunk deep into their own respective jobs, not daring to let go of even the slightest bit of attention.
Ling Tian started to display his pure Yang inner energy, rousing the attention of the frost energy created by the Divine Black Negative Meridians inside Yu BingYan's body. He forced them to slowly dissipate outward drop by drop, flowing to the other meridians on Yu BingYan. He was clear that throughout this process, not the slightest bit of anxiety was allowed. The moment he pushed too far, the frost energy would rush out like a waterfall. If Ling Chen wasn't able to process it in time, allowing Li Xue to be able to expel it, then they would all be ruined. Most likely all four of them would end up as icy corpses, and even if someone outside realized something was wrong and came over to save them, it would be all too late.
However, he could not sit there and not take action. Now that Ling Tian's true Yang energy had already reached the core of the Divine Black Negative Meridians, if he did not take action then the frost energy would regather back at this same spot, causing all their efforts to go to waste. The frost energy had already fully covered Yu BingYan's body. The moment his Yang energy disappeared, she would be akin to a broken jade, perishing instantly, whereas the chain would also affect Ling Chen and Li Xue who were tied to Yu BingYan...
Ling Tian felt like he was a tightrope walker walking on a gossamer thin rope high up the air, with the worst part being that he had no safety gear with him...
Thus, while the force applied by him was gentle, his attention was drawn taut like a strung bowstring.
Ling Tian was confident that he had prepared properly in every aspect before purging the poison, but the process was so dangerous that it was totally out of his expectations. While his previous confidence wasn't completely gone, there wasn't much left of it!
The circumstances in front of him were really too dangerous!
Ling Chen inserted her pure true Yin energy through the meridians of Yu BingYan, forming a small whirlpool within her body to allow a portion of the frost poison to be sucked inside, converting the incurable disease to something beneficial to herself. The entire process had gone on for 4 hours, yet from what Ling Tian saw through his senses, the Divine Black Negative Meridians inside Yu BingYan's body seemed to only have gone down by a little...
Li Xue had a solemn expression as her left palm continued to release stream after stream of white fog, which floated towards the air vent and was sucked to the outside...
Ling Tian finally concluded that this operation of purging poison was just like the case of an old man moving a mountain — where there's a will, there's a way!
If they wished to completely rid Yu BingYan of her Divine Black Negative Meridians, then based on the situation, most likely at least three days of time was needed! The most pressing issue was that during the three days all four of them could not even move an inch from where they were seated, and had to maintain this posture. If anything happened to either one of them, then the entire operation would end in failure!
And the consequence of failure was eternal damnation!
If he had not cared about hiding the existence of the flood dragon's inner pellet and invited Justice to help, would it have been easier? Ling Tian even questioned himself for the first time in his life!
The only possible redeeming factor was that he had arranged for Ling Chen to take the most relaxed spot which was in the middle position. If he had put her in his or Li Xue's spot, where one's internal energy had to constantly be circulated around their meridians, one not only needed to have exceedingly thick reserves of energy as well as stamina, but also the ability to maintain focus for long periods of time!
Three days and nights of walking on a tightrope... how could an ordinary person withstand this mental pressure?
It was lucky then that both Ling Tian and Li Xue were not ordinary people. With the mentality of a transmigrator, if it was just talking about mental toughness, even Li Xue would surpass Justice! This was because they were people who had walked through the actual yellow springs, and to be able to forcibly pierce out of the netherworld, experiencing the process of life and death, their mental psyches were long above that of an ordinary person's.
If one were to compare a martial arts expert's mental state to be akin like a fine thread, then Ling Tian and Li Xue's would be like steel threads, and furthermore... two or more threads twisted together.
So while he and Li Xue could handle the stress, could Ling Chen? Could she handle it? Right now, all they could do was to hope that the training Li Xue had given to Ling Chen had improved her mental state somewhat, allowing her to persevere!
Time slowly slipped by.....
Gradually, a day passed.....
Another day and night passed.....
The warriors outside at the surface level of the Ling Family Courtyard suddenly felt as though the weather had turned chilly, and it was demonic in a sense that the further one walked away from the Ling Family Courtyard, the warmer it would be! However, once they entered into the Ling Family Courtyard, then they would feel a bone-piercing cold traveling over! Even the martial experts who had control over their own body temperature would be caught unawares by the chill and start to shiver!
When a few of the warriors unwittingly ascended up to the peak, they received a huge shock! The core area of the courtyard, the garden, had all its flowers and trees withered and there was even a layer of frost on the ground...
A thick fog hung around the trees, and even the pine trees were decorated with a thick layer of icy mist. Under the rays of sunlight, the fog sparkled with a myriad of colors, a splendid sight!
This news was quickly spread out and attracted quite a few people who wished to bear witness to this rare scene. However, all this was stopped with a command from Ling Jian: Whoever dared to disobey the order and approach the peak of the mountain would all be killed, without any exceptions!
Once the command was passed out, everyone immediately quaked with fear.
A second order closely followed the first: Which was to have Ling Feng, Yun, Lei, and Dian to guard the four sides of the mountain. They were told not to even allow a housefly to get past them onto the mountain!
As such, the rear mountain in the Ling Family Courtyard suddenly had four other first-rate experts holding down the fort!
However, this point was a little superfluous. Because of the extreme cold, anything that could move, run, or fly had long ago ran as far as they could from this place. So while there was a chance for people to come up, there was no way a housefly would want to fly by here!
At this moment, within the secret chamber deep inside the mountains, the place could already be compared to an icehouse. However, Ling Jian sat here in solitude, with his black iron sword laid across his knees. His expression was cold and hard, without any emotions being revealed.
Young noble and Lass Chen had already been inside for two days and nights!
Even though Ling Jian's internal energy was deep enough such that he would not be easily affected by the frosty air, he could still feel a trace of the cold. Not only was it uncomfortable, but it also served to make him even more anxious. He had long developed the intention to rush into the secret chamber, but upon recalling the instructions Ling Tian had passed to him, he knew that he had to endure it for now. Especially on the surface, he had to put on an expression that was as steady as Mount Tai, giving the impression of supreme confidence. Or else... the Family Courtyard would dissolve into chaos!
The cave door lightly opened, and Ling Chi walked in on tiptoe with a lunch box. He lightly placed it in front of Ling Jian, and lingered for a while, as though having something to way. But he ultimately did not speak, only choosing to bow before retreating.
"What is it?" Ling Jian's eyes suddenly snapped open, and two sharp rays of light shone out.
"Senior Justice's methods are indeed remarkable, improving the ailments of so many people, allowing them to regain their mobility. Our fighting strength has recovered to about 80% of our peak, and all of the brothers hold a grudge towards the Lei Family, wanting me to ask Brother Jian when we can start the operation." Ling Chi tentatively asked.
"Oh." Ling Jian closed his eyes, before indifferently replying, "Now is not the time, you go out first." Ling Jian did not mention how he was going to carry it out, but Ling Chi did not dare to ask anymore, only nodding in acknowledgment and retreating. As he walked out, a worried expression suffused his face.
Hearing Ling Chi's footsteps fade in the distance, Ling Jian opened his eyes and stared at the long sword in front of him. It was only after a long while did he speak to himself, "Taking revenge on the Lei Family... how would I not want to? It's just that... the young noble has not exited yet so we can only wait."
An intense wave of killing intent rose up, and Ling Jian knocked onto the body of his sword with his knuckles, producing a clear ring. It was as though one was teleported to the battlefield, where it lusted for slaughter, and for the blood of its enemies to douse and nurture it...
Within the courtyard, Justice stood atop one of the trees with his hands behind his back. As he felt the unusual weather, his pair of hawk-eyes opened, looking at the frost filled rear mountain with a rare heavy expression on his face.
If anyone knew what was going on inside the secret chamber, then it had to be this person here!
After a long while, Justice slowly sighed, muttering to himself, "Divine Black Negative Meridians... Ling Tian, you indeed still carried out the operation. I only hope that you can endure it fully" After another sigh, his figure flashed and Justice disappeared from his spot.
The unusual occurrences within the Ling Family Courtyard, while strange, were not enough to affect the entire world. On the Southern battlefield, the 300,000 strong army that Ling Xiao commanded were packing up their spoils of war within the former Southern Zheng. The post-war cleaning up was getting more and more orderly by the day...
As for the inside of the DongFang area, Shen RuHu and DongFang JingLei were becoming more and more in sync. The two of them were akin to two huge cleavers, carrying out a bloodbath in the inner and outer sections of Eastern Zhao. All voices of dissent were wiped clean, and they were currently in the midst of restructuring as well as rebuilding the entire place. From creating a new court to dispatching officials and handling the post-war appeasements, it was akin to using the carrot and stick method.
As for the Southeast, the Ling Family army under the command of Yu YanHai surged towards the area for war. The orders from Commander Yu were that even if they had to suffer a total defeat with all dying on the scene, they had to fight to secure the Heavenly Water Ravine Pass the moment the water level dropped!
At the same time, the family head of the Xiao Family, Xiao FengHan almost went mad in anger! He repeatedly cursed and scolded at the various higher-ups who were put in charge of unblocking the Blue Jade River, and commanded strictly that if the Blue Jade River could not be opened up by them, then they did not bother to return. Even if they had to use their heads to ram the blockage, they had to unblock the river at all costs! There were 400,000 soldiers of the Xiao Family on the other side, after all!
Actually, the news of their Xiao Family army being routed had already been flown into the Southeastern region, but because he had in the end never received a single piece of news from Xiao FengYang, Xiao FengHan ended up holding on to this last bit of hope.
Furthermore, the secret troops of 500 Above Heavens members who had infiltrated Sky Bearing was also one of the reasons Xiao FengHan still had hope. He believed that as long as they were able to unblock Blue Jade River, resuming the logistics route, they would be able to retain their status quo by sending out their soldiers. Right now, his second brother was likely to be hiding in some place and biding his time. When they attacked again, his brother would be sure to coordinate with them. There was still a chance to rise up once again!
The three thousand miles of mountains and rivers around the Southeast all belonged to the Xiao Family, with a population of more than 10 million! Even another 500,000, or even a million strong army, they were naturally able to pull them out and properly equip them! Could this type of strength not be able to shake the earth? What good was just being known for their business and money? If they were able to become the monarchs of all under the heavens, then these riches would not even be worth talking about!
As such, during this period of time, the Xiao Family activated 200,000 of their elite soldiers as well as equipping them with 400,000 horses. At the same time, they began to ferociously recruit. One out of every three persons would be chosen! To scrape up a million strong army, it could not be done just through words!
Xiao FengHan actually intended that within the next few months, to gather up another 200,000 troops, and once Blue Jade River was unblocked, to use the surging river water as a driving force to slaughter out of the Southeast, staking all on this battle!
The few officials that were in charge of the Blue Jade River already felt like crying.
It was two whole mountains! Even if they were to really use their heads to smash on that, even when their heads exploded, the mountain would still be perfectly fine!
When they had drained out and diverted all the water, revealing the river bed, what they saw caused everyone to open their mouths in shock. The river dike that Ling Tian had created caused fear in all of them, for that was a good half of the mountain over a thousand feet in height! Even if you took any of the loose rocks present, they easily weighed over a few thousand kilograms. Furthermore, all of them were pressed together, as though they had belonged to this place since time immemorial...
Ling Tian, Great Master Ling, Grandpa Ling, just how in the world did you manage this?!
One had to admit that Ling Tian's move this time was too venomous, too vicious!
The Xiao Family's construction had already gone on for more than a month, and yet they were not even close to being half-way done...
Everyone was on tenterhooks, having to work directly under the foot of such a colossus, and even needing to move such a huge beast in a short time... Who wouldn't feel fear in their heart?
Just clearing the surrounding rocks was already bad enough, but if the entire river dike were to be moved, then even those in charge of unblocking the river wouldn't be spared! This was because behind the huge mountain was millions of tons of water...
Even if one's life was not worth anything, no one would take their lives as a joke, just to exchange for a few extra pieces of silver! However much money one earned, they still had to have their life to be able to spend it! Quite a few people had already been crushed by falling rocks the past few days...
As such, no matter how high a compensation fee the Xiao Family gave, the progress of work crawled forward at the pace of a snail. In the end, Xiao FengHan was so pissed off that he sent down an order, "For those artisans and soldiers who get crushed by the rocks in Blue Jade River, their families will be compensated with a thousand taels of silver. However, if anyone would be found slacking off, then their families will all be executed, for all nine generations!
Under such severe punishments and great rewards, the progress finally sped up. During this time, Yu YanHai's army had long ago arrived at one of the mountain peaks overlooking the Heavenly Water Ravine Pass. They were preserving their strength for the big event, waiting for the time after the Xiao Family had bitterly toiled to unblock the river to rush in, allowing them to reap the benefits!
Due to Xiao FengHan's temper, the moment he received word of Yu YanHai's whereabouts, he nearly died due to anger...
You people used some unknown method to barricade the entire Blue Jade River, massacring my soldiers on the other side and sinking my territory into a patch of panic, but you're still not satisfied?! You actually want to take advantage of the situation at this time, snatching the Heavenly Water Ravine Pass that my Xiao Family occupies?!
Xiao FengHan's brush flourished, and the newly formed army of the Xiao Family in the Southeast immediately marched forward, standing in direct opposition with Yu YanHai and pressuring them!
No matter what, he had to ensure that Yu YanHai's boundless arrogance, together with him and his 200,000 soldiers would be buried forever in the Heavenly Water Ravine Pass!
After huge numbers of deaths from the various artisans and soldiers, they finally had a proper structure up, and following the increased speed of unblocking the river, the clouds of war once again gathered, heralding the rain of chaos that was going to fall on the continent!
A faint stench of blood pervaded the entire continent.
Meng LiGe had taken over command of Sky Bearing, and he repeatedly fired out command after command, summoning the reinforcements of the Ling Family, at the same time sending orders to Grand Marshall Ling Xiao's army on the Southern lines to split off 100,000 strong and rush day and night to support Yu YanHai. He also sent a command to Shen RuHu, urging them to end the situation within the Eastern Zhao before assisting Yu YanHai as well.
As the blockage on Blue Jade River was being cleared, so was the storm of bloodshed brewing in that half of the continent.
During this time, the Northern Wei's Yu Family troops had made triumphant progress. They had cut into the entire Western Han like a hot knife through butter, commanding their troops to invade through Wu County, winning victory after victory as they occupied all the cities. Their achievements did not pale to the Ling Family in the slightest.
This lasted all the way until they reached Bright Moon City. No one knew why, but they actually fell for an ambush in the valley outside the city, and the commander of the combined armed Yu forces, Yu LiuQing, was actually mysteriously assassinated on the battlefield. If not for the fact that the current head of the XiMen Family, XiMen Sa, had stepped up to calm the troops, fighting hard to save this desperate crisis, most likely the entire Yu Family army would have suffered a complete defeat!
XiMen Sa immediately became a person who could command the winds and rains in the Yu Family army, with Yu ManLou even praising him and sending down a personal order to appoint him as the Vice Commander of the army. At the same time, Yu ManTang stepped up to take the reins of Commander for the combined forces, continuing to invade Wu County.
Yu ManLou also sent down a severe order that they had to finish the invasion of Wu County within this half month, before returning back to the North!
The entire Heavenly Star continent was enveloped in the flames of war, with the color of crimson spreading over thousands of miles. The blood flowed like rivers, and corpses were heaped up like mountains!
The reason why Yu ManLou had to reward XiMen Sa was that he was left with no choice. Even his own brother holding the reins as commander was not the ideal person in Yu ManLou's heart. XiMen Sa's ability to manage troops was out of the ordinary. Even though he had surrendered to the Yu Family, the XiMen aristocratic family was still an elite strength, and because they had surrendered they actually fully retained their strength! The higher the prestige of XiMen Sa in the army, the more Yu ManLou had the feeling that he could end up stabbing him in the back. If there was a chance, Yu ManLou would rather silence XiMen Sa right here and then rather than to continue using him. This person was young, but he definitely could not be overlooked. Yu ManLou would never do such a foolish thing as to raise a blight that would turn around to bite him later.
As for Yu ManTang, he had always been the ideal commander for the Yu Family's army. If one were to compare the abilities of a general to not only prevent defeats in war but to even turn the situation around, then other than Yu ManLou himself in the Yu Family, there would only be Yu ManTang! What worried Yu ManLou was that his brother's daughter, Yu BingYan, had actually rejected the family order to return to the clan on the basis that she had already married over to the Ling Family! No matter what, Yu BingYan was still Yu ManTang's flesh and blood and even the apple of his eye. He would definitely have lingering feelings for that brat Ling Tian. Even if it was because he liked whatever his daughter loved, if Yu ManTang were to face off against Ling Tian, the ending would be one that was difficult to determine. Yu ManLou would naturally not take such a risk.
Ling Tian started to scrutinize the Divine Black Negative Meridians within Yu BingYan's body. Shockingly, he found out that even though Ling Chen had performed one round of absorption, there was practically no sign of the thickness of the frost energy being reduced! While the peripheral layers of the frost energy were quickly siphoned off, the core piece of the Divine Black Negative Meridians in her heart meridians still remained as though it was not affected. After the peripheral layers were removed, it would immediately release another burst of cold air, refreezing the meridians in Yu BingYan's entire body.Ling Chen was frantically siphoning, but from the looks of it, it was merely like attempting to put out a fire using a single cup of water!Ling Tian's heart sank and he immediately shouted, "Li Xue, immediately assist Ling Chen in removing the frost energy in her body! However much she absorbs, you have to remove it totally and expel it! Let me warn you in advance, if you still plan to absorb the powers of the Divine Black Negative Meridians to improve your own strength, then most likely the end result would only be the four of us turning into frozen corpses! Leave all your plans to when the Divine Black Negative Meridians reaches its last legs. Right now, its strength is not something that we can withstand! The strength of it is too great!"Li Xue shuddered in shock. She never expected the strength of the Divine Black Negative Meridians inside Yu BingYan to be so domineering! She had nothing but absolute trust in Ling Tian's warning and hurriedly circulated her strength, imitating Ling Chen and beginning the absorption as well.This action allowed Li Xue to truly understand the anomaly that Ling Tian had spoken about. The frost energy within Ling Chen's body had already reached the maximum of her acceptable tolerance, but the frost poison was still continuously being absorbed from Yu BingYan's body. No, it could not be considered as absorbed any more and was more like it was automatically flowing into Ling Chen. If not for the presence of Li Xue to aid in expelling, then Ling Tian, Ling Chen, and Yu BingYan would be cursing themselves right now!Li Xue siphoned off the frost energy within Ling Chen with all her attention, even as her heart grew solemn. She knew that this time, the four of them were connected on the same line of life and death, and the person who held the ability to free them from this thread was herself!The only way was for her to utilize her Divine Ice Formula which was a whole two layers higher than Ling Chen, to absorb the frost poison within herself and expel it out of her body.This frost poison would first undergo one round of conversion within Ling Chen's body before it could be expelled by Li Xue who was using a cultivation formula of the same source. If it was directly expelled from her after absorbing it from Yu BingYan's body, then both of them would turn into icy corpses immediately!With her right hand stuck tightly to Ling Chen's smooth back, Li Xue had her left hand was propped up chest level, palm outward and fingers pointing up like a pagoda, pointing straight at an air vent. Threads of cold air were siphoned from Ling Chen and after one round of cycling inside Li Xue's own body, a stream of thick white energy was spat out from her left palm, flowing into the air vent and disappearing.This was thanks to the intelligence of Li Xue. Right now, the temperature of the stone chamber had already been lowered to a frightening point. If they continued to release the purged frost energy within the chamber, by the time Yu BingYan was rid of her Divine Black Negative Meridians, this place would have long become a meat locker! By that time, the four of them would also be akin to a dying flame within a lamp, and it was extremely likely that problems might occur. Realizing this point, Li Xue just decided to purge the frost energy directly to the outside instead. Although this would consume a little more energy on her part, it would ensure their safety.Ling Tian also comfortably breathed out in relief, and finally began to operate based on his original plan. His senses sank deep in once again.Within the stone chamber, all four of them sat without even moving in the slightest. Yu BingYan had long fallen unconscious, and the other three had sunk deep into their own respective jobs, not daring to let go of even the slightest bit of attention.Ling Tian started to display his pure Yang inner energy, rousing the attention of the frost energy created by the Divine Black Negative Meridians inside Yu BingYan's body. He forced them to slowly dissipate outward drop by drop, flowing to the other meridians on Yu BingYan. He was clear that throughout this process, not the slightest bit of anxiety was allowed. The moment he pushed too far, the frost energy would rush out like a waterfall. If Ling Chen wasn't able to process it in time, allowing Li Xue to be able to expel it, then they would all be ruined. Most likely all four of them would end up as icy corpses, and even if someone outside realized something was wrong and came over to save them, it would be all too late.However, he could not sit there and not take action. Now that Ling Tian's true Yang energy had already reached the core of the Divine Black Negative Meridians, if he did not take action then the frost energy would regather back at this same spot, causing all their efforts to go to waste. The frost energy had already fully covered Yu BingYan's body. The moment his Yang energy disappeared, she would be akin to a broken jade, perishing instantly, whereas the chain would also affect Ling Chen and Li Xue who were tied to Yu BingYan...Ling Tian felt like he was a tightrope walker walking on a gossamer thin rope high up the air, with the worst part being that he had no safety gear with him...Thus, while the force applied by him was gentle, his attention was drawn taut like a strung bowstring.Ling Tian was confident that he had prepared properly in every aspect before purging the poison, but the process was so dangerous that it was totally out of his expectations. While his previous confidence wasn't completely gone, there wasn't much left of it!The circumstances in front of him were really too dangerous!Ling Chen inserted her pure true Yin energy through the meridians of Yu BingYan, forming a small whirlpool within her body to allow a portion of the frost poison to be sucked inside, converting the incurable disease to something beneficial to herself. The entire process had gone on for 4 hours, yet from what Ling Tian saw through his senses, the Divine Black Negative Meridians inside Yu BingYan's body seemed to only have gone down by a little...Li Xue had a solemn expression as her left palm continued to release stream after stream of white fog, which floated towards the air vent and was sucked to the outside...Ling Tian finally concluded that this operation of purging poison was just like the case of an old man moving a mountain where there's a will, there's a way!If they wished to completely rid Yu BingYan of her Divine Black Negative Meridians, then based on the situation, most likely at least three days of time was needed! The most pressing issue was that during the three days all four of them could not even move an inch from where they were seated, and had to maintain this posture. If anything happened to either one of them, then the entire operation would end in failure!And the consequence of failure was eternal damnation!If he had not cared about hiding the existence of the flood dragon's inner pellet and invited Justice to help, would it have been easier? Ling Tian even questioned himself for the first time in his life!The only possible redeeming factor was that he had arranged for Ling Chen to take the most relaxed spot which was in the middle position. If he had put her in his or Li Xue's spot, where one's internal energy had to constantly be circulated around their meridians, one not only needed to have exceedingly thick reserves of energy as well as stamina, but also the ability to maintain focus for long periods of time!Three days and nights of walking on a tightrope... how could an ordinary person withstand this mental pressure?It was lucky then that both Ling Tian and Li Xue were not ordinary people. With the mentality of a transmigrator, if it was just talking about mental toughness, even Li Xue would surpass Justice! This was because they were people who had walked through the actual yellow springs, and to be able to forcibly pierce out of the netherworld, experiencing the process of life and death, their mental psyches were long above that of an ordinary person's.If one were to compare a martial arts expert's mental state to be akin like a fine thread, then Ling Tian and Li Xue's would be like steel threads, and furthermore... two or more threads twisted together.So while he and Li Xue could handle the stress, could Ling Chen? Could she handle it? Right now, all they could do was to hope that the training Li Xue had given to Ling Chen had improved her mental state somewhat, allowing her to persevere!Time slowly slipped by.....Gradually, a day passed.....Another day and night passed.....The warriors outside at the surface level of the Ling Family Courtyard suddenly felt as though the weather had turned chilly, and it was demonic in a sense that the further one walked away from the Ling Family Courtyard, the warmer it would be! However, once they entered into the Ling Family Courtyard, then they would feel a bone-piercing cold traveling over! Even the martial experts who had control over their own body temperature would be caught unawares by the chill and start to shiver!When a few of the warriors unwittingly ascended up to the peak, they received a huge shock! The core area of the courtyard, the garden, had all its flowers and trees withered and there was even a layer of frost on the ground...A thick fog hung around the trees, and even the pine trees were decorated with a thick layer of icy mist. Under the rays of sunlight, the fog sparkled with a myriad of colors, a splendid sight!This news was quickly spread out and attracted quite a few people who wished to bear witness to this rare scene. However, all this was stopped with a command from Ling Jian: Whoever dared to disobey the order and approach the peak of the mountain would all be killed, without any exceptions!Once the command was passed out, everyone immediately quaked with fear.A second order closely followed the first: Which was to have Ling Feng, Yun, Lei, and Dian to guard the four sides of the mountain. They were told not to even allow a housefly to get past them onto the mountain!As such, the rear mountain in the Ling Family Courtyard suddenly had four other first-rate experts holding down the fort!However, this point was a little superfluous. Because of the extreme cold, anything that could move, run, or fly had long ago ran as far as they could from this place. So while there was a chance for people to come up, there was no way a housefly would want to fly by here!At this moment, within the secret chamber deep inside the mountains, the place could already be compared to an icehouse. However, Ling Jian sat here in solitude, with his black iron sword laid across his knees. His expression was cold and hard, without any emotions being revealed.Young noble and Lass Chen had already been inside for two days and nights!Even though Ling Jian's internal energy was deep enough such that he would not be easily affected by the frosty air, he could still feel a trace of the cold. Not only was it uncomfortable, but it also served to make him even more anxious. He had long developed the intention to rush into the secret chamber, but upon recalling the instructions Ling Tian had passed to him, he knew that he had to endure it for now. Especially on the surface, he had to put on an expression that was as steady as Mount Tai, giving the impression of supreme confidence. Or else... the Family Courtyard would dissolve into chaos!The cave door lightly opened, and Ling Chi walked in on tiptoe with a lunch box. He lightly placed it in front of Ling Jian, and lingered for a while, as though having something to way. But he ultimately did not speak, only choosing to bow before retreating."What is it?" Ling Jian's eyes suddenly snapped open, and two sharp rays of light shone out."Senior Justice's methods are indeed remarkable, improving the ailments of so many people, allowing them to regain their mobility. Our fighting strength has recovered to about 80% of our peak, and all of the brothers hold a grudge towards the Lei Family, wanting me to ask Brother Jian when we can start the operation." Ling Chi tentatively asked."Oh." Ling Jian closed his eyes, before indifferently replying, "Now is not the time, you go out first." Ling Jian did not mention how he was going to carry it out, but Ling Chi did not dare to ask anymore, only nodding in acknowledgment and retreating. As he walked out, a worried expression suffused his face.Hearing Ling Chi's footsteps fade in the distance, Ling Jian opened his eyes and stared at the long sword in front of him. It was only after a long while did he speak to himself, "Taking revenge on the Lei Family... how would I not want to? It's just that... the young noble has not exited yet so we can only wait."An intense wave of killing intent rose up, and Ling Jian knocked onto the body of his sword with his knuckles, producing a clear ring. It was as though one was teleported to the battlefield, where it lusted for slaughter, and for the blood of its enemies to douse and nurture it...Within the courtyard, Justice stood atop one of the trees with his hands behind his back. As he felt the unusual weather, his pair of hawk-eyes opened, looking at the frost filled rear mountain with a rare heavy expression on his face.If anyone knew what was going on inside the secret chamber, then it had to be this person here!After a long while, Justice slowly sighed, muttering to himself, "Divine Black Negative Meridians... Ling Tian, you indeed still carried out the operation. I only hope that you can endure it fully" After another sigh, his figure flashed and Justice disappeared from his spot.The unusual occurrences within the Ling Family Courtyard, while strange, were not enough to affect the entire world. On the Southern battlefield, the 300,000 strong army that Ling Xiao commanded were packing up their spoils of war within the former Southern Zheng. The post-war cleaning up was getting more and more orderly by the day...As for the inside of the DongFang area, Shen RuHu and DongFang JingLei were becoming more and more in sync. The two of them were akin to two huge cleavers, carrying out a bloodbath in the inner and outer sections of Eastern Zhao. All voices of dissent were wiped clean, and they were currently in the midst of restructuring as well as rebuilding the entire place. From creating a new court to dispatching officials and handling the post-war appeasements, it was akin to using the carrot and stick method.As for the Southeast, the Ling Family army under the command of Yu YanHai surged towards the area for war. The orders from Commander Yu were that even if they had to suffer a total defeat with all dying on the scene, they had to fight to secure the Heavenly Water Ravine Pass the moment the water level dropped!At the same time, the family head of the Xiao Family, Xiao FengHan almost went mad in anger! He repeatedly cursed and scolded at the various higher-ups who were put in charge of unblocking the Blue Jade River, and commanded strictly that if the Blue Jade River could not be opened up by them, then they did not bother to return. Even if they had to use their heads to ram the blockage, they had to unblock the river at all costs! There were 400,000 soldiers of the Xiao Family on the other side, after all!Actually, the news of their Xiao Family army being routed had already been flown into the Southeastern region, but because he had in the end never received a single piece of news from Xiao FengYang, Xiao FengHan ended up holding on to this last bit of hope.Furthermore, the secret troops of 500 Above Heavens members who had infiltrated Sky Bearing was also one of the reasons Xiao FengHan still had hope. He believed that as long as they were able to unblock Blue Jade River, resuming the logistics route, they would be able to retain their status quo by sending out their soldiers. Right now, his second brother was likely to be hiding in some place and biding his time. When they attacked again, his brother would be sure to coordinate with them. There was still a chance to rise up once again!The three thousand miles of mountains and rivers around the Southeast all belonged to the Xiao Family, with a population of more than 10 million! Even another 500,000, or even a million strong army, they were naturally able to pull them out and properly equip them! Could this type of strength not be able to shake the earth? What good was just being known for their business and money? If they were able to become the monarchs of all under the heavens, then these riches would not even be worth talking about!As such, during this period of time, the Xiao Family activated 200,000 of their elite soldiers as well as equipping them with 400,000 horses. At the same time, they began to ferociously recruit. One out of every three persons would be chosen! To scrape up a million strong army, it could not be done just through words!Xiao FengHan actually intended that within the next few months, to gather up another 200,000 troops, and once Blue Jade River was unblocked, to use the surging river water as a driving force to slaughter out of the Southeast, staking all on this battle!The few officials that were in charge of the Blue Jade River already felt like crying.It was two whole mountains! Even if they were to really use their heads to smash on that, even when their heads exploded, the mountain would still be perfectly fine!When they had drained out and diverted all the water, revealing the river bed, what they saw caused everyone to open their mouths in shock. The river dike that Ling Tian had created caused fear in all of them, for that was a good half of the mountain over a thousand feet in height! Even if you took any of the loose rocks present, they easily weighed over a few thousand kilograms. Furthermore, all of them were pressed together, as though they had belonged to this place since time immemorial...Ling Tian, Great Master Ling, Grandpa Ling, just how in the world did you manage this?!One had to admit that Ling Tian's move this time was too venomous, too vicious!The Xiao Family's construction had already gone on for more than a month, and yet they were not even close to being half-way done...Everyone was on tenterhooks, having to work directly under the foot of such a colossus, and even needing to move such a huge beast in a short time... Who wouldn't feel fear in their heart?Just clearing the surrounding rocks was already bad enough, but if the entire river dike were to be moved, then even those in charge of unblocking the river wouldn't be spared! This was because behind the huge mountain was millions of tons of water...Even if one's life was not worth anything, no one would take their lives as a joke, just to exchange for a few extra pieces of silver! However much money one earned, they still had to have their life to be able to spend it! Quite a few people had already been crushed by falling rocks the past few days...As such, no matter how high a compensation fee the Xiao Family gave, the progress of work crawled forward at the pace of a snail. In the end, Xiao FengHan was so pissed off that he sent down an order, "For those artisans and soldiers who get crushed by the rocks in Blue Jade River, their families will be compensated with a thousand taels of silver. However, if anyone would be found slacking off, then their families will all be executed, for all nine generations!Under such severe punishments and great rewards, the progress finally sped up. During this time, Yu YanHai's army had long ago arrived at one of the mountain peaks overlooking the Heavenly Water Ravine Pass. They were preserving their strength for the big event, waiting for the time after the Xiao Family had bitterly toiled to unblock the river to rush in, allowing them to reap the benefits!Due to Xiao FengHan's temper, the moment he received word of Yu YanHai's whereabouts, he nearly died due to anger...You people used some unknown method to barricade the entire Blue Jade River, massacring my soldiers on the other side and sinking my territory into a patch of panic, but you're still not satisfied?! You actually want to take advantage of the situation at this time, snatching the Heavenly Water Ravine Pass that my Xiao Family occupies?!Xiao FengHan's brush flourished, and the newly formed army of the Xiao Family in the Southeast immediately marched forward, standing in direct opposition with Yu YanHai and pressuring them!No matter what, he had to ensure that Yu YanHai's boundless arrogance, together with him and his 200,000 soldiers would be buried forever in the Heavenly Water Ravine Pass!After huge numbers of deaths from the various artisans and soldiers, they finally had a proper structure up, and following the increased speed of unblocking the river, the clouds of war once again gathered, heralding the rain of chaos that was going to fall on the continent!A faint stench of blood pervaded the entire continent.Meng LiGe had taken over command of Sky Bearing, and he repeatedly fired out command after command, summoning the reinforcements of the Ling Family, at the same time sending orders to Grand Marshall Ling Xiao's army on the Southern lines to split off 100,000 strong and rush day and night to support Yu YanHai. He also sent a command to Shen RuHu, urging them to end the situation within the Eastern Zhao before assisting Yu YanHai as well.As the blockage on Blue Jade River was being cleared, so was the storm of bloodshed brewing in that half of the continent.During this time, the Northern Wei's Yu Family troops had made triumphant progress. They had cut into the entire Western Han like a hot knife through butter, commanding their troops to invade through Wu County, winning victory after victory as they occupied all the cities. Their achievements did not pale to the Ling Family in the slightest.This lasted all the way until they reached Bright Moon City. No one knew why, but they actually fell for an ambush in the valley outside the city, and the commander of the combined armed Yu forces, Yu LiuQing, was actually mysteriously assassinated on the battlefield. If not for the fact that the current head of the XiMen Family, XiMen Sa, had stepped up to calm the troops, fighting hard to save this desperate crisis, most likely the entire Yu Family army would have suffered a complete defeat!XiMen Sa immediately became a person who could command the winds and rains in the Yu Family army, with Yu ManLou even praising him and sending down a personal order to appoint him as the Vice Commander of the army. At the same time, Yu ManTang stepped up to take the reins of Commander for the combined forces, continuing to invade Wu County.Yu ManLou also sent down a severe order that they had to finish the invasion of Wu County within this half month, before returning back to the North!The entire Heavenly Star continent was enveloped in the flames of war, with the color of crimson spreading over thousands of miles. The blood flowed like rivers, and corpses were heaped up like mountains!The reason why Yu ManLou had to reward XiMen Sa was that he was left with no choice. Even his own brother holding the reins as commander was not the ideal person in Yu ManLou's heart. XiMen Sa's ability to manage troops was out of the ordinary. Even though he had surrendered to the Yu Family, the XiMen aristocratic family was still an elite strength, and because they had surrendered they actually fully retained their strength! The higher the prestige of XiMen Sa in the army, the more Yu ManLou had the feeling that he could end up stabbing him in the back. If there was a chance, Yu ManLou would rather silence XiMen Sa right here and then rather than to continue using him. This person was young, but he definitely could not be overlooked. Yu ManLou would never do such a foolish thing as to raise a blight that would turn around to bite him later.As for Yu ManTang, he had always been the ideal commander for the Yu Family's army. If one were to compare the abilities of a general to not only prevent defeats in war but to even turn the situation around, then other than Yu ManLou himself in the Yu Family, there would only be Yu ManTang! What worried Yu ManLou was that his brother's daughter, Yu BingYan, had actually rejected the family order to return to the clan on the basis that she had already married over to the Ling Family! No matter what, Yu BingYan was still Yu ManTang's flesh and blood and even the apple of his eye. He would definitely have lingering feelings for that brat Ling Tian. Even if it was because he liked whatever his daughter loved, if Yu ManTang were to face off against Ling Tian, the ending would be one that was difficult to determine. Yu ManLou would naturally not take such a risk.
