Ghosts Steal the Crops at Midnight, the Soul Capturing Straw Figure Rises!

At dawn the next day, Long Xiao, who was sleeping, sensed something, suddenly got up, and flew into the sky.

Zhao Xing, who was still awake, Upper Steward turtles on the warship when he suddenly saw Long Xiao's figure soaring into the sky and directly flying into the Astral Wind layer on his sword.

Zhao Xing activated his Heaven's Eye Art to monitor Long Xiao's movements. Through the Astral Wind Layer, he could see Long Xiao continuously ascending, quickly reaching the 3,000-meter Astral Wind Layer.

"So this is what 'Great Fortune' means?" Zhao Xing suddenly realized.

However, he was not worried about Long Xiao's breakthrough.

Long Xiao is a sword cultivator. Even without the blessing of national fortune, his breakthrough will not be as dangerous as that of an ordinary Seventh Grade.

Natural cultivation is inherently defying the heavens and is extremely difficult. If an ordinary Seventh Grade intends to draw in internal energy, they need to make many preparations, such as using Bowel Protection Pill Viscera Protection Pill to safeguard their internal organs, and even then, success is not guaranteed.

In ancient cultivation systems, the description of breaking through a cultivation level is invariably "a matter of life and death." Of course, those with exceptional talent or a wealthy family background are an exception.

At noon, Long Xiao broke through the shackles of the Seventh Grade Earthly Fiend Realm, successfully drawing in Qi and entering the Sixth-Rank Heavenly Dipper Realm.

But the breakthrough was not over yet. Long Xiao continued to fly upwards and soon disappeared from Zhao Xing's Heaven's Eye Art range.

"I can't see it anymore." Zhao Xing withdrew his gaze. "With the Astral Wind blocking the way, even a high-level Heaven's Eye Art can only see about three thousand meters."

At noon, Long Xiao flew down from the sky.

Zhao Xing reactivated his Heaven's Eye Art and could see that Long Xiao had a small golden sword in his dantian— the Heavenly Dipper Sword.

Transforming internal energy into sword energy for one's own use—this is the difference between a sword cultivator and an ordinary martial artist.

After breaking through, Long Xiao directly reached the mid-stage of the Heavenly Gang realm.

Zhao Xing activated his Aura Observation Technique to take a look.

A beam of light appeared above Long Xiao's head.

"Its aura is two zhang high, entirely red, without any gray or white. This is a solid Derivation Two aura."

"The energy is pillar-shaped, condensed and not dispersed, which means that a wave of good fortune has just passed."

"There's a hint of blue light in the center, a sign that he's Derivation Three of destiny, but he's still a long way from Derivation Three destiny," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

The Aura Observation Technique cannot be used to observe oneself, but since he has a panel, he doesn't need to use the Aura Observation Technique to see himself.

"Your divination was really accurate!" Long Xiao jumped onto the warship with a smug look, giving Zhao Xing a thumbs up. "You just said it yesterday, and I broke through today, reaching the mid-stage of the Heavenly Gang realm."

"It's not that mysterious," Zhao Xing laughed. "You've already reached your bottleneck and can break through at any time. Besides, I can only predict good or bad fortune; I don't know the specifics of where it will occur."

He only calculated that the Long Xiao would bring great fortune, but he didn't know the specifics or in which area it would manifest.

"Can't you specify something concrete?" Long Xiao asked.

"I haven't tried it yet," Zhao Xing said. "Why don't you give it a try?"

Long Xiao said, "Then calculate the outcome of the Pacifying Barbarians War."

Zhao Xing: "... If you want me dead, just say so."

Long Xiao asked in surprise, "What's wrong? What do you mean?"

Zhao Xing pointed south and then north. "The imperial court has Fate Officials, a Creation Disc, Earth Mirror, constantly deducing the secrets of heaven."

"The Sacred Mountain of the Southern Barbarians has ten heavenly shamans and Yan Jiu, which are the same as those of the imperial court."

"At this moment, the fates of the two nations are like two millstones... no, like two long rivers filled with whirlpools turning."

"If a nobody like me dares to predict such heavenly secrets, I will immediately suffer a backlash and die a violent death."

Long Xiao was startled. "Is it that exaggerated?"

It's no wonder Long Xiao doesn't understand; the Destiny Profession is far removed from their lives.

"That's what the book says, but I wouldn't dare try it," Zhao Xing said. "Why don't you ask something else, like what to eat tomorrow?"

"Pshaw, do I even need to ask? Just go to the cookhouse and you'll find out."

Zhao Xing shrugged. Being on the battlefield of the Southern Barbarians, there wasn't much he could actually calculate.

Although the Tortoise Hanging Technique used a spirit tortoise to bear the cost, if he dared to calculate the outcome of the Pacifying Barbarians War, let alone Seventh Grade spirit tortoise, even a first-grade spirit tortoise wouldn't be able to withstand it.

"Let's go, this is boring." Long Xiao planned to disembark.

"When you go to see Old Chen, tell him to come over."

How did you know I was going to see him?

Zhao Xing smiled but didn't say anything.

Long Xiao has broken through to the Sixth Rank. With his personality, wouldn't he like to show off to his brothers?

He definitely has to see Old Chen, and also Yu Ziqi. The little brother is still at the Seventh Grade, so he has to show off a bit before Yu Ziqi breaks through!

After Long Xiao left, Zhao Xing continued to butcher the tortoise.

"Big problems are no big deal, but small ones are manageable."

Zhao Xing looked at the cracks on the tortoise shell.

At this point, the tortoise shell no longer only displays good or bad fortune, but also the Heavenly Stem and Earthly Branch of the hour.

In Zhao Xing's eyes, the tortoise shell was magnified and covered with the Divination Position.

"The original hexagram is Ze Shan Xian, which means there is a lake within a mountain. The mountain and water interact with each other, and the superior man is humble and open-minded, accepting advice from others with modesty."

This is a divination using Seventh Grade tortoise shell, inquiring about the outcome of the cooperation negotiations between Liao Rulong's and Nangong Ye's tribes.

The result was that Nangong Ye was persuaded, and the negotiations were resolved immediately.

The Tortoise Coin Divination originated from the Six-Line Classic. At that time, only tortoise shells were available, and there were no coins used by Fate Master. Zhao Xing did not know how accurate this method was.

Seeing that the tortoise shell was still usable, Zhao Xing inquired about the follow-up, specifically the situation of the six armies cooperating to attack Soul Offering Pass.

The question was very general, and it was only a local war in the exercise phase, so Zhao Xing estimated that it could be successful.

"Click click click~"

The cracks in the tortoise shell widened, and a grayish color emanated from the flames, as if it had encountered great resistance.

"Snap!"

At the last moment, the tortoise shell finally completed its hanging appearance, and then completely shattered.

"Whoosh~"

The Turtle Shell splattered outwards like razor blades.

Zhao Xing turned to the side, the tortoise Turtle Shell scraping his shoulder, and a strand of hair fell down.

"Even a local war involving the Southern Barbarians is difficult to withstand." Zhao Xing looked at his palm, where he had just been cut and a little blood was seeping out.

"The change of the hexagram lines, from Ze Shan Xian to Shan Di Bo, signifies that petty people are in power, virtuous people are losing power, and crises are lurking everywhere."

"Knowing when to stop is the key to great fortune."

A thoughtful look flashed in Zhao Xing's eyes. "Does this mean we should stop cooperating after we defeat the Soul Offering Pass? Who would sabotage our cooperation? The Beginning Origin Army? The Primal Glory Army? The Illusory Nether Army? Or the Liang King's faction?"

There were too many possibilities, and Zhao Xing didn't know what the outcome would be for the time being.

"Zhao Xing, why did you call me here?" Chen Shijie arrived on a cloud and landed on the warship.

He frowned as he looked at the charred fragments of Turtle Shell scattered on the ground. "You're actually telling fortunes?"

When Long Xiao mentioned that Zhao Xing had told him about his fortune telling, Chen Shijie thought it was just a joke, but he didn't expect it to actually be true.

"I've read some miscellaneous books, just doing it for fun," Zhao Xing said.

"You've even used Seventh Grade spirit tortoise; this isn't something to be taken lightly," Chen Shijie said. "You mustn't learn it recklessly; the art of divination is easy to get lost in."

"Are you afraid I'll get caught up in this?" Zhao Xing laughed. "Have you forgotten what I told you?"

Chen Shijie's brows relaxed. Indeed, Zhao Xing didn't seem like someone who believed in superstitions, since he could say "My fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens" in the Flame Mountain.

Since there was no such worry, Chen Shijie became somewhat curious and asked, "What are you calculating?"

Zhao Xing said, "Let's take stock of the cooperation."

Chen Shijie asked, "Oh? And the result?"

Zhao Xing said, "Of course, the deal was reached."

Chen Shijie raised an eyebrow. "You've actually learned a thing or two? I just came from the council hall. Nangong Ye, Qi Yuan Army, and Yi Yue have already left. They agreed to our cooperation plan."

While Old Chen was speaking, Zhao Xing activated the Great Evolution Aura Observation Technique.

"The center of the fortune is grayish-white, with only the outer layer being dark red and full of cracks. The fortune is scattered, with red, gray, and white often intermingling, and occasionally grayish-white even takes the lead."

"Old Chen's luck is somewhere between the Derivation One and Derivation Two, which is a bit of a stretch for his Sixth Rank status. He's much worse than Long Xiao," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

Old Chen is the kind of person who is destined for a short life. If he hadn't become an official in the Great Zhou, he probably would have died long ago. He shouldn't have lived this long at all.

"Give me a little blood, and I'll do your calculations," Zhao Xing said.

Chen Shijie flicked a drop of blood from his fingertip.

Zhao Xing then obtained a new Seventh Grade tortoise shell.

This time, Zhao Xing not only wanted to ask about good or bad fortune, but also about Old Chen's luck for the year.

Because there are less than two months left until the eighteenth year of the Jingxin Calendar.

When the time comes, there will be a calamity in Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven. He needs to see if Old Chen will die in this calamity, so he can't directly count Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven.

"Rise!"

The tortoise shell floated, smeared with blood, and then a flame engulfed it.

"Click~"

Faint cracks appeared on the Turtle Shell, gradually spreading across the entire plastron.

As the calcination proceeded, Zhao Xing extended his five fingers and Observe Heaven.

Five Finger Heavenly Mandate Technique! Activate!

Zhao Xing sensed a slight resistance.

Because he took a longer time to calculate this time.

Chen Shijie is protected by the fortune of the Great Zhou, and others are forbidden from making calculations about him.

Although his Tortoise Coin Divination Art and the Five Finger Heavenly Mandate can bypass this prohibition, they still encounter resistance when calculating too far into the future.

"Bang!"

The Seventh Grade tortoise shell exploded directly.

"Um?"

Chen Shijie immediately grabbed Zhao Xing and retreated.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh~"

The sharp Turtle Shell immediately cut many wounds on both of their bodies.

"Are you alright?" Chen Shijie frowned as he looked at Zhao Xing.

"It's nothing." Zhao Xing subtly slipped his right hand into his sleeve. "The fever got too high, I couldn't calculate it."

"It's not a proper method, so it's best to practice it less," Chen Shijie said. The imperial court didn't have any secret methods regarding destiny and professions, and he was afraid that Zhao Xing might have mistakenly practiced some unorthodox methods.

"Okay, I'll practice less in the future." Zhao Xing nodded.

"I'm leaving now; I still have military duties to attend to."

"Um."

Zhao Xing watched Chen Shijie leave, his face turning gloomy.

He then took his hand out of his sleeve; by then, all five of his fingers were broken.

"Old Chen's calamity may indeed be at the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven," Zhao Xing pondered, repositioning his finger bones. "The Jian hexagram, Water Mountain Jian, is unfavorable for traveling north, and the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven is located to the north of this direction. The Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven is a treasure land, filled with both mountains and water. If Old Chen goes in, it will be full of challenges and dangers, and his fate will be unpredictable."

Of course, this is only one possibility, but based on his experience from his previous life, he felt that this possibility was very high.

"We still need to get this guy to accumulate a million battle merits as soon as possible. When he gets promoted to the Sixth Rank and Nobility Title next year, we can boost his luck a bit and maybe he can get through this."

The Dao of Destiny is mysterious and profound, but there are still some basic rules. In this matter, Zhao Xing cannot take the blame for Chen Shijie.

For example, he directly told Chen Shijie, "Don't go into Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven next March."

In this way, if Chen Shijie is truly destined to suffer a calamity, he may not die, but the calamity will fall upon Zhao Xing.

Even Derivation Three's luck might not be able to withstand the calamity of the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven, a calamity that would kill even Fifth Grade cultivator.

To resolve this, Chen Shijie's own luck needs to improve.

For the next few days, Zhao Xing stayed on the warship, slaying turtles and practicing the four new secret techniques he had learned.

The progress of practicing the Five Finger Heavenly Mandate is so-so, but the Tortoise Trigram Art in the Tortoise Coin Divination Art has already reached the intermediate level of perfection.

More than two thousand turtles were also killed.

It is impossible to go any further because the Coins Trigram Art is missing. These two methods must be combined to transform into a higher-level method.

The Five Finger Heavenly Mandate is only a mid-level spell, and it can only advance to the Seventh-Turn, which is related to its own strength.

On the contrary, the Omen Observation Method, perhaps because it was related to his job, and coupled with the unpredictable weather in the Southern Barbarian Lands, made it easy for Zhao Xing to master. He reached the intermediate level of perfection in no time.

Time flies, and October 19th has arrived in the blink of an eye.

At this time, Zhao Xing had already followed the army down from Fire Dragon Pass and arrived at a place called 'Tonghuo City' to set up camp.

The current army is a joint force of six armies.

Xia Jing led 18,000 Black Armor Army, Liao Rulong and Wen Shaoyang led two Divine Might Army totaling 70,000 men, Sea Pacifying Army Jiang Ming and Li Que totaled 50,000 men.

The above only includes the combat battalions of three armies. The logistics and supply battalions were deployed along the way to build fortifications, repair cities, and cultivate land, and could be converted into combat personnel at any time. The total size remained at around 100,000.

Why have the logistics battalions increased so much?

As a result of discussions, Nangong Ye of the Illusory Nether Army, Qi Yuan Army of the Beginning Origin Army, and Yi Yue of the Primal Glory Army each led 8,000, 10,000, and 15,000 men respectively, totaling 33,000.

Of the 33,000 people mentioned above, almost all were combat personnel, with less than one-tenth being logistics personnel. This figure includes both Military Sima Nong and ship-operating Mechanism Master.

In other words, these three armies cannot supply themselves with their own logistics. They all rely on the logistics of the Divine Might Army, Sea Pacifying Army, and Black Armor Army.

Since this is our first collaboration, we must rely on each other. No one can do without the other for the collaboration to succeed. Otherwise, given the strength of the three powerful armies— Beginning Origin Army, Illusory Nether Army, and Primal Glory Army —once they pass the Fire Dragon Pass, they will no longer need anyone else.

This put a lot of pressure on Zhao Xing, the "logistics supervisor".

Nominally, he only commanded a mixed battalion of three thousand men, but in reality, he was in charge of the entire army's supplies.

There is pressure, but also motivation.

Because the Military Realm will be watching everything that happens on the eastern front, if Zhao Xing can guarantee the logistics of these six armies, then his promotion to the Sixth Rank will not be far off.

"Fifty miles east of Tonghuo City, there is a volcano, to the south there is a river, and to the north there is a large amount of flat land. Only the west is a bit worse, a barren wasteland of sand and gravel. I plan to make Tonghuo City the largest supply city for the six armies."

Zhao Xing stood in front of a sand table. "Using Tonghuo City as the center, supply troops along the three lines."

"Han Bing, you will lead the first to fifteenth Agricultural Official battalions to the north to sow seeds. Cultivate according to the thirty-six types of supplies on the list. This region will serve as our largest granary!"

"Yes!" Han Bing replied.

"Che Shihai, take three hundred Agricultural Official and head south to the great river to collect Rain Water using Cloud Rain Pearl. Work in three shifts to ensure that there is sufficient cloud and rain in the north."

"Yes!"

"Wang Ji, there's no need to repair the barrier around Tonghuo City. The land is all outside, so it doesn't matter whether there's a barrier inside the city or not. Go to the great river in the south and set up the Water Clarity Pure Origin Formation to prevent attacks from the Insect Witch."

"Then we need to set up the Earth Treasury Return to Origin Formation in the north, and also build the foundation for the Earthfire Three Absolutes Formation at the volcano in the east."

"Especially the large river to the south, I plan to develop that area into a medicinal herb base. Heart Insect Grass and Blood Yuan Fruit must grow by the water; we absolutely cannot afford to lose them!"

"I entrust my entire mixed battalion of three thousand to you. You must safeguard the water supply and defend against the Insect Witch!"

Wang Ji's expression was solemn. "Yes, if anything goes wrong, I'll cut off my own head!"

"He Fengnian! Zhang Zhong!"

"You two are..."

Zhao Xing swiftly gave the order, and soon the flying boats and warships in Tonghuo City took off, with each battalion beginning to carry out its mission according to Zhao Xing's arrangements.

As for Zhao Xing himself?

He boarded one of the Sea Pacifying Army's Sea Overturning Tower Ship, and began to patrol cities 110 to 135 around Tonghuo City.

Tonghuo City is the largest supply city because of its excellent Earthly Advantage Institute location, but there are also many smaller cities around it.

It may possess unique Earthly Advantage Institute or have access to water resources.

Managing the logistics and supplies of over 100,000 people kept Zhao Xing extremely busy.

After several days in a row, he was exhausted.

Because there are so many things to consider, I have to process at least tens of thousands of messages a day!

Not only did he have to handle logistical matters, but he also had to keep an eye on the front lines and even the movements of the entire war zone to avoid missing any great opportunities or encountering any major disasters!

"I really need to go back and learn how to be a self-soothing person from Old Liu True Self Straw Puppet at once," Zhao Xing couldn't help but sigh.

If there were True Self Straw Puppet, it would be able to move hundreds of miles apart!

You can get information about cities in various places immediately, without having to travel back and forth.

Even if you have to run, at least you can run in a planned way.

November 4th, the Soul Offering Pass the Kanto Line, Luo Ya City.

The leader of the Luo Ya City was named Morik.

He was a Sixth Rank sorcerer. Morik came from a superior tribe in the Sacred Spirit Royal Court. He was young, not even a hundred years old, yet he was already a Soul Manipulation Sorcerer.

In the Sacred Spirit Royal Court, sorcerers related to Yin Soul are divided into three ranks: Soul Servant Sorcerer, Soul Manipulation Sorcerer, and Myriad Soul Sorcerer.

The lowest Third Grade are those who serve ghosts and understand them. They can also borrow the power of ghosts, but this requires a precious medium and comes at a relatively high price.

Unless one comes from a prominent family and has a powerful Yin Soul guarding them, it is difficult to achieve anything significant and one is prone to backlash.

Soul Manipulation Sorcerer are already able to control powerful ghosts and even begin to Soul Tempering, possessing many strange spells.

Before he was even a hundred years old, he had already become Sixth Rank Soul Manipulation Sorcerer. Morik was highly regarded by the clan leader, and this was definitely not because his grandfather was the clan leader.

The Luo Ya City, where Morik is stationed, has not yet been directly affected by the war.

Because the Six Armies Alliance attacked the Soul Offering Pass via the top, middle, and bottom lanes, while Morik was located in the 'jungle'.

Morik was not the kind of person to sit idly by and wait for death. Today, he decided to do something big—to launch a surprise attack on the supply city of these six armies!

"Guardian Art Qi Yuan, I intend to launch a surprise attack on the enemy's supply city. Where should I begin?" Morik, looking at a Daoist priest sitting next to him.

The Profound Heaven Sect holds a high position within the Sacred Spirit Royal Court. Although it is not the "state religion," it is highly valued by the royal family.

The Sacred Spirit Royal Court sent troops to support the Golden Feather Royal Court, and to show its respect, it also sent many experts from the Profound Heaven Sect.

Qi Yuanzi was Morik's chief advisor.

"According to intelligence, Tonghuo City is the largest supply city. If we can inflict a devastating blow on this city, the three armies of the Great Zhou will collapse directly," Qi Yuanzi said with a smile. "The punishment from the Military Realm alone will be enough for them to suffer. They will have to retreat."

"Tonghuo City is probably heavily guarded." Although Morik was impulsive, he wasn't stupid. If he wanted to destroy it so easily, he wouldn't have sent the Sacred Spirit Royal Court's elite troops to guard the Soul Offering Pass.

"If we can't destroy it, we can still cause some damage," Qi Yuanzi said. "We can..."

Upon hearing Qi Yuanzi's words, Morik's eyes lit up. "Great, we can give it a try!"

Tonghuo City, Rat Hour.

Zhao Xing, who was reviewing intelligence in the city lord's mansion, suddenly had a thought.

"Um?"

Zhao Xing immediately flew out of the city lord's mansion and into the sky.

At the same time, he activated his Heaven's Eye Art and looked towards the north.

"The aura is dark and obscure; could it be that a group of Yin Soul is lurking towards Tonghuo City?"

Without obstruction, the Heaven's Eye Art can see very far.

Zhao Xing was able to detect a faint, sinister aura spreading in the north.

"Zhang Yi!"

Zhao Xing immediately called out to Zhang Yi inside the temple, "Zhang Yi, have you noticed anything?"

Zhang Yi, inside the temple, immediately opened his eyes. "My lord, I don't sense anything unusual."

Zhao Xing frowned. "Quickly take two hundred Priest and head to the great river in the south."

"Yes!"

The yin energy came from the north, but Zhao Xing ordered Zhang Yi to lead men to guard the south, because the water source in the south was of vital importance.

As for the north?

Zhao Xing wasn't actually worried; he made many Soul Capturing Straw Figure that squatted in the northern fields.

The current Soul Capturing Straw Figure is at the mid-level Nine Turns.

It might not be able to swallow a big fish, but dealing with ordinary Yin Soul is no problem.

"The Soul Manipulation Sorcerer of the Sacred Spirit Royal Court wouldn't be so secretive... Let's go take a look." Zhao Xing used his Mist Concealment ability and quickly flew towards the northern planting area.

When he arrived at the northern planting area, he activated his Heaven's Eye Art, and the ghosts below were immediately exposed.

However, after seeing their actions, Zhao Xing was speechless.

One or two thousand ghost warriors entered the planting area and began to move the mature crops.

"The Five Ghosts Transporting Method, this is a sectarian magic... Damn it, that Old Schemer from the Profound Heaven Sect dares to steal my vegetables?"

Zhao Xing's fingers Entanglement Golden Light, and after they all entered the planting area, the Golden Light spread out.

"Soul Capturing Straw Figure, rise!"

Swish swish swish swish~

Four Fang Zhen of straw figures were hidden in the dense forests in the north.

As Zhao Xing's magical command arrived, the Soul Capturing Straw Figure immediately raised their heads, their eyes flashing with a captivating light.

They leaped out quickly and rushed towards the ghosts.

"Arrest them all, sir!"

One more chapter!