It was past midnight when the Six Legged Bladelike Chi was flying high in the sky above Qingzhou.
The night wind felt cool.
"We have arrived." Teng Qingshan held Li Jun in his arms as he looked down at the vast land below. Then Li Jun emitted a roar. As the Six Legged Bladelike Chi heard the roar, it dashed down. It descended into the headquarters of the Snowy Lotus Cult, which was located in Huyue County of Qingzhou, like a streak of lightning.
They landed right into Li Jun's residence in the Snowy Lotus Cult's headquarters.
"Swoosh!"
Teng Qingshan, Li Jun, and the Six Legged Bladelike Chi suddenly appeared in the luxurious courtyard, surprising a few guards who were patrolling during the night.
"Who are you?" The guards immediately approached with their lanterns.
Li Jun frowned and answered, "It's me."
As the dozen guards approached, they saw that the three beings who had emerged out of nowhere were the Substitute High Priestess, her husband, and a terrifying demonic beast.
The guards then knelt down on one knee and greeted, "Your Highness."
"Call Hua Ruo here," Li jun ordered. Hua Ruo was Li Jun's assistant.
Two of the guards left immediately, while the other guards moved far away and continued patrolling in the area around the courtyard.
"Qingshan?" Li Jun looked at Teng Qingshan with bemusement.
Teng Qingshan frowned and said while shaking his head, "I can only detect the presence of your teacher, the High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult, and the Godly Thunderbolt Haw in the headquarters. There are no other Emptiness Realm Experts, not to mention Pei San." The moment Teng Qingshan descended, the detection of his 34-Li-wide domain had given him enough information about the headquarters.
"Then what do we do?" Li Jun was stunned.
This time, Teng Qingshan had come specially to find Pei San.
"Be patient. We need to read the detailed information first to know what is really going on." Teng Qingshan knew well that the pieces of information the Gui Yuan Sect had found were only tiny hints and clues. They could only know the true intention and plan of the Heavenly God Palace through the Snowy Lotus Cult. It was only with the knowledge of the real intention and plan that he could then know how to persuade Pei San.
After a while…
Dressed in silver clothes and a purple ribbon tied around her waist, a valiant-looking lady ran over. When she saw that the door of the study room was open and that it was lit inside, she entered it hastily. As soon as she saw Li Jun and Teng Qingshan, she immediately bowed and greeted, "Your Highness, and my Lord."
"Hua Ruo," Li Jun was sitting at the study desk as she asked, "Did anything big happen in the cult during my recent absence?"
"The Bloody Lotus Guard were dispatched," Hua Ruo answered respectfully. Simultaneously, she frowned and said, "It seems like some soldiers were dispatched too… As for the details, I don't know. Your Highness, you know that I am not authorized to read the secret letters."
Li Jun took out a purple token from her waist and threw it toward Hua Ruo while giving an order, "Hua Ruo, take my token. Go to the storage room and retrieve the secret letters we have received during the past month. Bring them here. I want to read them."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Hua Ruo gripped the token and left respectfully, headed toward the storage room.
...
In another luxurious courtyard situated in the headquarters of the Snowy Lotus Cult, there dwelled the High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult and the Godly Thunderbolt Hawk.
"Uncle Chen."
It was still very late at night. Pei Xuelian sat beside the Godly Thunderbolt Hawk and asked bemusedly, "Uncle Chen... is someone here?" She had been sleeping earlier, but the cry of the Godly Thunderbolt Hawk had rung in her ears. Pei Xuelian was well aware that this Godly Thunderbolt Hawk, who was like a brother to her father, would only disturb her sleep if something peculiar happened.
Moments later—
"Bang!""Bang!""Bang!"
Knocks sounded at the door.
"Come in," Pei Xuelian said.
A middle-aged woman walked in. She greeted Pei Xuelian with a bow and said, "Reporting to the High Priestess, Her Highness the Saintess has returned."
"That girl! I thought she'd forgotten that she's the Substitute High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult!" Pei Xuelian was both happy and mad at the same time as she remarked, "She stays with her husband so much that she has almost forgotten me, her teacher."
"High Priestess, the Saintess just ordered her subordinate Hua Ruo to retrieve the secret letters we received during the past month," the middle-aged woman told Pei Xuelian. Then she added, whispering, "The Saintess has returned with the Foreign Dignitary Huhe. The black demonic beast with blood-red eyes is also here."
"Huhe?"
Pei Xuelian sneered coldly and said, "I can't believe that fellow is willing to bring his wife back here… Oh... But why are they retrieving the secret letters we received during the past month? Could it be that Little Jun is willing to help me manage the Snowy Lotus Cult again? No, this doesn't make sense. If that was her intention, she wouldn't have to come back here this late at night. The fact that they've come back so anxiously shows that something urgent must have happened… Perhaps it is because Father is about to attack Yangzhou?"
As this thought flashed in her mind, Pei Xuelian glanced at the middle-aged woman and ordered, "Leave first."
"Yes, High Priestess."
When the middle-aged lady left, Pei Xuelian leapt onto the Godly Thunderbolt Hawk's back and pointed toward Li Jun's residence.
In Li Jun's study room:
The candlelight flickered as Teng Qingshan and Li Jun read the secret letters the Snowy Lotus Cult had received during the past month.
"I see," Teng Qingshan perused the secret letter in his hand and commented, "I thought it was weird that so many soldiers of the Heavenly God Palace died during the battle to destroy Hong Tian City. I see… It was because the Heavenly God Palace was unwilling to risk losing the most elite troops on the Great Prairie, the Immortal Guards." The information that Zhuge Yuanhong had was too little.
However, the secret letters they held in their hands gave a very clear explanation of the situation.
What?!" Li Jun shouted as she flipped to another sheet of paper.
"What's wrong?" Teng Qingshan looked at the sheet of paper in Li Jun's hands. "Energy Destroyer? 12,000 Energy Destroyers? LIttle Jun, the person who came to find you and me the last time was Cao Yan, the commander of the Energy Destroyers. Just what exactly are the Energy Destroyers?"
"Qingshan, the Energy Destroyers are the troops directly under the Heavenly God Palace. They form the most elite army of the entire Heavenly God Palace. One must be at least a First Rated Warrior to be an Energy Destroyer. Initially, there weren't this many Energy Destroyers. As far as I know, there were only three thousand to four thousand Energy Destroyers previously. Why is it like this now..."
"First Rated Warrior?" Teng Qingshan was well aware of how daunting First Rated Warriors could be.
First Rated Warriors could leap a height of ten Zhang, and they could insert blades and arrows in strong walls. By borrowing the force from those blades and arrows, the First Rated Warriors could then enter the city with just a few continuous leaps. High walls were useless against First Rated Warriors.
Normally, the assault of several hundred First Rated Warriors could easily and rapidly break an army apart.
Back on the Great Yan Mountain, when Teng Qingshan gave Zhuge Yuanhong the two cauldrons filled with the Elixir of the North Sea, Zhuge Yuanhong had been astounded... After all, the two cauldrons of the Elixir of the North Sea could produce an army of around 10,000 First Rated Warriors who could annihilate the entire Yangzhou.
"There weren't this many?" Teng Qingshan suddenly recalled and said, "Little Jun, it should be because of the Elixir of the North Sea which the King of Beast obtained during the fight on the Great Yan Mountain."
"The Elixir of the North Sea?" Li Jun uttered in realization.
Teng Qingshan continued reading the secret letter and said with a frown, "100,000 Immortal Guards and 40,000 Bloody Lotus Guards. Just this army of 140,000 elite soldiers would be able to compete against an army of millions. Moreover, the most elite army, the 12,000 Energy Destroyers, is even more daunting than an army of millions. These 152,000 soldiers will be able to sweep across all of Yangzhou. Additionally, don't forget about the 800,000 soldiers that the Snowy Lotus Cult has been training for a long time."
"It's no wonder that the Heavenly God Palace would have the audacity to do such a thing," as Teng Qingshan thought this, he felt the depths of his heart quiver.
The attack of such a huge army…
Unless the Long Gang Guards of the Gui Yuan Sect were all equipped with the Fiery Gilt Steel Battle Armor, Yangzhou would never be able to defend against such an attack. If the First Rated Warriors were equipped with the Fiery Gilt Steel Battle Armor, they would become the same as the Innate Steel Cavalrymen. Due to the huge difference in the quality of the battle armor, the Long Gang Guards could then defend against the Energy Destroyers or even defeat the Energy Destroyers.
No matter how great the force was, the strikes of the Energy Destroyers' swords wouldn't be able to penetrate the Fiery Gilt Steel Battle Armor.
It would be impossible for both armies to fight against each other.
However—
Now was not time to reveal the existence of the Fiery Gilt Steel Battle Armor.
"Eh?" Teng Qingshan uttered, turning around.
"What's wrong?" Li Jun asked in surprise.
"Your teacher is here." Teng Qingshan place the secret letter down and looked toward the courtyard. Immediately, Li Jun left the table and proceeded to welcome her teacher, the High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult.
"Whoosh!"
The Godly Thunderbolt Hawk and the High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult appeared simultaneously in the courtyard.
"Hey…." The High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult said with a smile as she walked over, "Foreign Dignitary Huhe, didn't you say that Little Jun is sick? Didn't you instruct Little Jun not to care about the affairs of my cult? Why are you two here in the middle of the night, reading the secret letters we have received for the past month? I am now very confused. Foreign Dignitary Huhe, do you not care about Little Jun's health?"
A flicker of irony could be heard in the words of the High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult.
"High Priestess," Teng Qingshan said with a smile, "We did come here because of an urgent matter."
"Oh! What matter can be considered urgent by you?" The High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult asked with a shocked expression. "Tell me about it. Let's see if I can help you."
Teng Qingshan was very straightforward as he replied, "High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult, where is the Sovereign of the Heavenly God Palace? I need to meet him to discuss an important matter."
"My father is busy. He has no time to meet you," the High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult immediately rejected him without any hesitation.
"Teacher…" Li Jun whispered.
"Hmph," the High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult scolded, "You are becoming more and more disobedient."
"A married disciple is like water splashed," Li Jun responded with a grin.
Hearing this, the High Priestess' expression softened.
Li Jun then continued, "Teacher, Huhe really has something important to discuss with the Sovereign. Please, Teacher. Just help us once. Please tell Huhe where the Sovereign is."
Immediately, the High Priestess' expression hardened again as anger surged up from the bottom of her heart.
All throughout her life, the High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult had never been angered.
She loved and pampered Li Jun. However, it was obvious that Li Jun was on Teng Qingshan's side. As the saying went, "If you marry a chicken, you follow a chicken." It meant that a woman would follow whatever her husband ordered. Thus, what Li Jun did was very natural and very normal. However, the High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult was no ordinary woman. She was the daughter of the Sovereign of the Heavenly God Palace, and she had never been angered since the day of her birth.
The High Priestess had not been fond of Teng Qingshan starting from when she first met him. As a matter of fact, since that time Teng Qingshan took the Hong Tian Godly Armor away, she had grown to detest him.
Now, her disciple was helping Teng Qingshan. It made the High Priestess feel as though her own precious disciple was taken away by him.
The High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult waved her arm and snorted furiously, "Little Jun, you are really becoming more and more disobedient. All you think of is helping this Huhe."
"Huhe," the High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult glared at Teng Qingshan and spoke with a superior attitude, "I know why you've come here this late at night… You must be looking for information on the imminent attack of Yangzhou. I'll tell you the truth. Yes, the Heavenly God Palace is going to attack Yangzhou. In fact, the attack will happen very soon.
"The great monk Su Mengte and I have dispatched soldiers to attack Yangzhou."
The High Priestess then said coldly, "I have told you what you wished to hear. In the future, if you wish to know anything, just ask. Don't always depend on Little Jun, and don't come here sneakily to read the Heavenly God Palace's secret information."
It was past midnight when the Six Legged Bladelike Chi was flying high in the sky above Qingzhou.
The night wind felt cool.
"We have arrived." Teng Qingshan held Li Jun in his arms as he looked down at the vast land below. Then Li Jun emitted a roar. As the Six Legged Bladelike Chi heard the roar, it dashed down. It descended into the headquarters of the Snowy Lotus Cult, which was located in Huyue County of Qingzhou, like a streak of lightning.
They landed right into Li Jun's residence in the Snowy Lotus Cult's headquarters.
"Swoosh!"
Teng Qingshan, Li Jun, and the Six Legged Bladelike Chi suddenly appeared in the luxurious courtyard, surprising a few guards who were patrolling during the night.
"Who are you?" The guards immediately approached with their lanterns.
Li Jun frowned and answered, "It's me."
As the dozen guards approached, they saw that the three beings who had emerged out of nowhere were the Substitute High Priestess, her husband, and a terrifying demonic beast.
The guards then knelt down on one knee and greeted, "Your Highness."
"Call Hua Ruo here," Li jun ordered. Hua Ruo was Li Jun's assistant.
Two of the guards left immediately, while the other guards moved far away and continued patrolling in the area around the courtyard.
"Qingshan?" Li Jun looked at Teng Qingshan with bemusement.
Teng Qingshan frowned and said while shaking his head, "I can only detect the presence of your teacher, the High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult, and the Godly Thunderbolt Haw in the headquarters. There are no other Emptiness Realm Experts, not to mention Pei San." The moment Teng Qingshan descended, the detection of his 34-Li-wide domain had given him enough information about the headquarters.
"Then what do we do?" Li Jun was stunned.
This time, Teng Qingshan had come specially to find Pei San.
"Be patient. We need to read the detailed information first to know what is really going on." Teng Qingshan knew well that the pieces of information the Gui Yuan Sect had found were only tiny hints and clues. They could only know the true intention and plan of the Heavenly God Palace through the Snowy Lotus Cult. It was only with the knowledge of the real intention and plan that he could then know how to persuade Pei San.
After a while…
Dressed in silver clothes and a purple ribbon tied around her waist, a valiant-looking lady ran over. When she saw that the door of the study room was open and that it was lit inside, she entered it hastily. As soon as she saw Li Jun and Teng Qingshan, she immediately bowed and greeted, "Your Highness, and my Lord."
"Hua Ruo," Li Jun was sitting at the study desk as she asked, "Did anything big happen in the cult during my recent absence?"
"The Bloody Lotus Guard were dispatched," Hua Ruo answered respectfully. Simultaneously, she frowned and said, "It seems like some soldiers were dispatched too… As for the details, I don't know. Your Highness, you know that I am not authorized to read the secret letters."
Li Jun took out a purple token from her waist and threw it toward Hua Ruo while giving an order, "Hua Ruo, take my token. Go to the storage room and retrieve the secret letters we have received during the past month. Bring them here. I want to read them."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Hua Ruo gripped the token and left respectfully, headed toward the storage room.
...
In another luxurious courtyard situated in the headquarters of the Snowy Lotus Cult, there dwelled the High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult and the Godly Thunderbolt Hawk.
"Uncle Chen."
It was still very late at night. Pei Xuelian sat beside the Godly Thunderbolt Hawk and asked bemusedly, "Uncle Chen... is someone here?" She had been sleeping earlier, but the cry of the Godly Thunderbolt Hawk had rung in her ears. Pei Xuelian was well aware that this Godly Thunderbolt Hawk, who was like a brother to her father, would only disturb her sleep if something peculiar happened.
Moments later—
"Bang!""Bang!""Bang!"
Knocks sounded at the door.
"Come in," Pei Xuelian said.
A middle-aged woman walked in. She greeted Pei Xuelian with a bow and said, "Reporting to the High Priestess, Her Highness the Saintess has returned."
"That girl! I thought she'd forgotten that she's the Substitute High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult!" Pei Xuelian was both happy and mad at the same time as she remarked, "She stays with her husband so much that she has almost forgotten me, her teacher."
"High Priestess, the Saintess just ordered her subordinate Hua Ruo to retrieve the secret letters we received during the past month," the middle-aged woman told Pei Xuelian. Then she added, whispering, "The Saintess has returned with the Foreign Dignitary Huhe. The black demonic beast with blood-red eyes is also here."
"Huhe?"
Pei Xuelian sneered coldly and said, "I can't believe that fellow is willing to bring his wife back here… Oh... But why are they retrieving the secret letters we received during the past month? Could it be that Little Jun is willing to help me manage the Snowy Lotus Cult again? No, this doesn't make sense. If that was her intention, she wouldn't have to come back here this late at night. The fact that they've come back so anxiously shows that something urgent must have happened… Perhaps it is because Father is about to attack Yangzhou?"
As this thought flashed in her mind, Pei Xuelian glanced at the middle-aged woman and ordered, "Leave first."
"Yes, High Priestess."
When the middle-aged lady left, Pei Xuelian leapt onto the Godly Thunderbolt Hawk's back and pointed toward Li Jun's residence.
In Li Jun's study room:
The candlelight flickered as Teng Qingshan and Li Jun read the secret letters the Snowy Lotus Cult had received during the past month.
"I see," Teng Qingshan perused the secret letter in his hand and commented, "I thought it was weird that so many soldiers of the Heavenly God Palace died during the battle to destroy Hong Tian City. I see… It was because the Heavenly God Palace was unwilling to risk losing the most elite troops on the Great Prairie, the Immortal Guards." The information that Zhuge Yuanhong had was too little.
However, the secret letters they held in their hands gave a very clear explanation of the situation.
What?!" Li Jun shouted as she flipped to another sheet of paper.
"What's wrong?" Teng Qingshan looked at the sheet of paper in Li Jun's hands. "Energy Destroyer? 12,000 Energy Destroyers? LIttle Jun, the person who came to find you and me the last time was Cao Yan, the commander of the Energy Destroyers. Just what exactly are the Energy Destroyers?"
"Qingshan, the Energy Destroyers are the troops directly under the Heavenly God Palace. They form the most elite army of the entire Heavenly God Palace. One must be at least a First Rated Warrior to be an Energy Destroyer. Initially, there weren't this many Energy Destroyers. As far as I know, there were only three thousand to four thousand Energy Destroyers previously. Why is it like this now..."
"First Rated Warrior?" Teng Qingshan was well aware of how daunting First Rated Warriors could be.
First Rated Warriors could leap a height of ten Zhang, and they could insert blades and arrows in strong walls. By borrowing the force from those blades and arrows, the First Rated Warriors could then enter the city with just a few continuous leaps. High walls were useless against First Rated Warriors.
Normally, the assault of several hundred First Rated Warriors could easily and rapidly break an army apart.
Back on the Great Yan Mountain, when Teng Qingshan gave Zhuge Yuanhong the two cauldrons filled with the Elixir of the North Sea, Zhuge Yuanhong had been astounded... After all, the two cauldrons of the Elixir of the North Sea could produce an army of around 10,000 First Rated Warriors who could annihilate the entire Yangzhou.
"There weren't this many?" Teng Qingshan suddenly recalled and said, "Little Jun, it should be because of the Elixir of the North Sea which the King of Beast obtained during the fight on the Great Yan Mountain."
"The Elixir of the North Sea?" Li Jun uttered in realization.
Teng Qingshan continued reading the secret letter and said with a frown, "100,000 Immortal Guards and 40,000 Bloody Lotus Guards. Just this army of 140,000 elite soldiers would be able to compete against an army of millions. Moreover, the most elite army, the 12,000 Energy Destroyers, is even more daunting than an army of millions. These 152,000 soldiers will be able to sweep across all of Yangzhou. Additionally, don't forget about the 800,000 soldiers that the Snowy Lotus Cult has been training for a long time."
"It's no wonder that the Heavenly God Palace would have the audacity to do such a thing," as Teng Qingshan thought this, he felt the depths of his heart quiver.
The attack of such a huge army…
Unless the Long Gang Guards of the Gui Yuan Sect were all equipped with the Fiery Gilt Steel Battle Armor, Yangzhou would never be able to defend against such an attack. If the First Rated Warriors were equipped with the Fiery Gilt Steel Battle Armor, they would become the same as the Innate Steel Cavalrymen. Due to the huge difference in the quality of the battle armor, the Long Gang Guards could then defend against the Energy Destroyers or even defeat the Energy Destroyers.
No matter how great the force was, the strikes of the Energy Destroyers' swords wouldn't be able to penetrate the Fiery Gilt Steel Battle Armor.
It would be impossible for both armies to fight against each other.
However—
Now was not time to reveal the existence of the Fiery Gilt Steel Battle Armor.
"Eh?" Teng Qingshan uttered, turning around.
"What's wrong?" Li Jun asked in surprise.
"Your teacher is here." Teng Qingshan place the secret letter down and looked toward the courtyard. Immediately, Li Jun left the table and proceeded to welcome her teacher, the High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult.
"Whoosh!"
The Godly Thunderbolt Hawk and the High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult appeared simultaneously in the courtyard.
"Hey…." The High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult said with a smile as she walked over, "Foreign Dignitary Huhe, didn't you say that Little Jun is sick? Didn't you instruct Little Jun not to care about the affairs of my cult? Why are you two here in the middle of the night, reading the secret letters we have received for the past month? I am now very confused. Foreign Dignitary Huhe, do you not care about Little Jun's health?"
A flicker of irony could be heard in the words of the High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult.
"High Priestess," Teng Qingshan said with a smile, "We did come here because of an urgent matter."
"Oh! What matter can be considered urgent by you?" The High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult asked with a shocked expression. "Tell me about it. Let's see if I can help you."
Teng Qingshan was very straightforward as he replied, "High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult, where is the Sovereign of the Heavenly God Palace? I need to meet him to discuss an important matter."
"My father is busy. He has no time to meet you," the High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult immediately rejected him without any hesitation.
"Teacher…" Li Jun whispered.
"Hmph," the High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult scolded, "You are becoming more and more disobedient."
"A married disciple is like water splashed," Li Jun responded with a grin.
Hearing this, the High Priestess' expression softened.
Li Jun then continued, "Teacher, Huhe really has something important to discuss with the Sovereign. Please, Teacher. Just help us once. Please tell Huhe where the Sovereign is."
Immediately, the High Priestess' expression hardened again as anger surged up from the bottom of her heart.
All throughout her life, the High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult had never been angered.
She loved and pampered Li Jun. However, it was obvious that Li Jun was on Teng Qingshan's side. As the saying went, "If you marry a chicken, you follow a chicken." It meant that a woman would follow whatever her husband ordered. Thus, what Li Jun did was very natural and very normal. However, the High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult was no ordinary woman. She was the daughter of the Sovereign of the Heavenly God Palace, and she had never been angered since the day of her birth.
The High Priestess had not been fond of Teng Qingshan starting from when she first met him. As a matter of fact, since that time Teng Qingshan took the Hong Tian Godly Armor away, she had grown to detest him.
Now, her disciple was helping Teng Qingshan. It made the High Priestess feel as though her own precious disciple was taken away by him.
The High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult waved her arm and snorted furiously, "Little Jun, you are really becoming more and more disobedient. All you think of is helping this Huhe."
"Huhe," the High Priestess of the Snowy Lotus Cult glared at Teng Qingshan and spoke with a superior attitude, "I know why you've come here this late at night… You must be looking for information on the imminent attack of Yangzhou. I'll tell you the truth. Yes, the Heavenly God Palace is going to attack Yangzhou. In fact, the attack will happen very soon.
"The great monk Su Mengte and I have dispatched soldiers to attack Yangzhou."
The High Priestess then said coldly, "I have told you what you wished to hear. In the future, if you wish to know anything, just ask. Don't always depend on Little Jun, and don't come here sneakily to read the Heavenly God Palace's secret information."
