Chapter 220: Consumable
Chapter 220: Chapter 220: Consumable
Hongmi Immortal’s hand wavered as he held his teacup, spilling a bit of tea.
With his power as a Great Immortal, he wouldn’t so much as tremble even if he held the entire Yuan Yang City in his hand, let alone a single cup of tea.
And yet, the tea had spilled?
This proved just how shocked he was.
"Brother?" he repeated the word, his gaze sweeping back and forth across Zhu Ge’s face as if trying to determine if he was lying.
Zhu Ge’s expression was calm, allowing the other man to scrutinize him.
A moment later, Hongmi Immortal set down his teacup and took a deep breath.
No one would dare lie about something like this, least of all a Cultivator like Zhu Ge who had embarked on the path of cultivation.
Hongmi Immortal stood up, walked to the window, and gazed at the inky-green poison cloud outside.
"True Monarch Minmian slew all the Great Realm masters of Nanyue Mianhuang with a single strike. The entire world was shaken by this event."
Hongmi Immortal sighed in admiration, then turned to look at Zhu Ge, his eyes full of envy. "You certainly have a good brother."
Zhu Ge neither confirmed nor denied it.
Hongmi Immortal walked back, sat down opposite Zhu Ge, picked up his teacup, and set it down again. He was silent for a long time, as if making a momentous decision.
"Alright." Hongmi Immortal finally spoke. "I will submit to the Six Paths Palace."
He stood and gave Zhu Ge a deep bow.
"I, Hongmi Immortal, City Lord of Yuan Yang City, wish to lead all the Soldiers and citizens of the city in pledging allegiance to the Six Paths Palace and await Palace Master Zhu’s command."
Zhu Ge nodded, accepting the bow. "City Lord, there’s no need for such formalities. What I want is not your submission, but for Red River Prefecture to unite as one and resist the Demon Beasts together."
"That is what must be done, but..."
Hongmi Immortal hesitated. "With our Six Paths Palace being so conspicuous, are we destined to rebel?"
"Rebel? Against whom?" Zhu Ge chuckled. "Against Da Sheng? Or against the Demons, Ghosts, Spirits, and Monsters?"
At these words, Hongmi Immortal sighed.
The Da Sheng Dynasty of today was but a shadow of its former self, existing in name only.
All the cities, prefectures, and territories under heaven were fighting their own battles.
Who had the time or energy to care about who was rebelling and who wasn’t?
Hongmi Immortal straightened up, a touch of emotion in his eyes. "I have lived for over three hundred years and have seen too much treachery and deceit. This is the first time I have met a young man like you, Palace Master Zhu—powerful but not arrogant, with a strong background but not one to throw his weight around."
"City Lord, let’s get down to business." Zhu Ge smiled and shook his head, sitting back down in his chair. "I need to know more about the situation with the Plague God Sparrow and the Red River Dragon Python."
Hongmi Immortal nodded, took a map from his sleeve, and spread it on the table.
"The Plague God Sparrow’s lair is in that poison cloud. The cloud is its Divine Domain. Once inside, one’s Divine Sense is suppressed, and visibility is no more than ten zhang."
"The Red River Dragon Python lives at the bottom of the Red River. There’s an Underwater Palace there, which it formed using the Power of Incense. It’s intrinsically linked with the entire Red River, making it incredibly difficult to breach."
"As for their strength, even at my peak, I could only fight one of them at a time. Now that I’m injured, I can’t even beat one," Hongmi Immortal sighed, then added:
"But if you can keep one of them occupied, I’m confident I can kill the other within half a shichen."
"I’ll keep the Plague God Sparrow busy," Zhu Ge said directly.
"You?" Hongmi Immortal frowned. "The Plague God Sparrow is a Great God, not an ordinary Third Realm Demon Beast. Even I am wary of its plague poison, and you’re just a Second Realm..."
"I have a way," Zhu Ge interrupted him. "I dealt with a Fungus God back in Jianshan Village. I know how to handle this type of enemy."
Hongmi Immortal glanced at him but didn’t press for details.
"If it’s just the Red River Dragon Python..." Hongmi Immortal mused. "Then it might be worth a try."
Zhu Ge nodded, his finger moving across the map.
He asked as he scanned the map.
"How many Third Realm experts are left in the city?"
Hongmi Immortal answered, "Including me, fewer than ten. And most of them are injured. They don’t even have a tenth of their original strength."
Zhu Ge frowned.
’Fewer than ten?’
’I thought there would be more.’
"Outside the city, I have six thousand Soldiers, tens of thousands of Demon Beasts, and four Third Realm Demon Beasts, but they can only hold back a portion of the enemy."
Zhu Ge narrowed his eyes, his mind racing.
’The other cities can’t be moved, and neither can their City Lords.’
’Besides, this is the Great Realm we’re talking about. The difference in power can’t be overcome with sheer numbers.’
’It was just like him—with his Body Refinement, even if he just lay there and let a First Realm cultivator attack him, they might not even be able to break his skin.’
"...So that’s how it is. I have a general understanding now." After a moment of thought, Zhu Ge nodded slightly. "Hongmi Immortal, how many able-bodied young men are there in the city?"
Hongmi Immortal shook his head. "There aren’t many able-bodied youths, but the city’s academies can gather two hundred members of the Confucian Family. If they attack with the power of ’Jade Shattering,’ they can kill two Third Realm experts."
Scholars!
Second Realm Confucian Family members!
Zhu Ge knew from before that when members of the Confucian Family reached the Second Realm, they gained an ability called "Jade Shattering."
Better to be a shattered jade than an intact roof tile!
Jade Shattering allowed a Confucian Cultivator to instantly burn all of their lifespan, Literary Energy, flesh and blood, energy, and soul to unleash a power several times greater than what they could normally wield.
As one of the great Daos of the current era, the Confucian Family’s power began to manifest after the Second Realm, its sheer destructive force in certain aspects surpassing even the Sword Dao and the Martial Dao.
It was a kind of resolve encapsulated by the phrase, "Where righteousness leads, I will not regret it even if I die nine times."
One hundred Second Realm Confucian Family members, using Jade Shattering, could take down a Third Realm Demon Beast!
However, the calculation wasn’t that simple.
These were people of flesh and blood, not expendable resources.
"My Immortal Dao also has five hundred Golden Core and three Nascent Soul cultivators. If the Nascent Souls are burned, it can prevent all the Third Realm Demon Beasts outside from using their Divine Sense," Hongmi Immortal said:
"If the five hundred Golden Cores detonate in unison, they can kill at least one Demon Beast. Afterward, although the Cultivation of these five hundred Golden Core and three Nascent Soul cultivators would be lost, they would at least survive."
Hearing this, Zhu Ge’s mind began to race once more.
’Cold-blooded and cruel, but real.’
’This was the perspective of a superior.’
’A person like Yu the Scholar was, in Hongmi Immortal’s words, just another consumable—a resource to be expended against the Plague God Sparrow and the Red River Dragon Python’s forces.’
’But this was, without a doubt, war.’
Zhu Ge was not a cold-blooded person. What he could do was not prevent the Soldiers from going to battle, but to ensure that every death had meaning.
Therefore, he adapted to Hongmi Immortal’s way of thinking in an instant.
"Mm," Zhu Ge nodded. "With this, I have a general understanding. Is there anything else you need to tell me? If not, I will sneak out of the city to make preparations."
"Anything else..." Hongmi Immortal frowned in thought, then mused after a moment:
"True Monarch Minmian wiped out the descendants of Nanyue Mianhuang, so he is likely not in his best state. And yet, I have never sensed anyone of the Great Realm coming to Red River Prefecture..."
"I suspect that someone from above is watching."
Hongmi Immortal speculated, "Your talent is exceptional. If possible, you must make a point of displaying your full potential in this battle."
"I have a feeling..."
"This whole affair with Nanyue Mianhuang feels more like a trial for the Third Realm prodigies of our Human Race."