The Nonexistent Ice Mountain

Chapter 36: The Non-existent Ice Mountain

Several days later.

Ning Xuan didn't get the arranged marriage he expected, but he did get his elder brother out of seclusion.

Meanwhile, Wangyue Prefecture began receiving refugees from the north. Strange occurrences involving Yao began to erupt, with reports of gnawing sounds in the middle of the night, Human Skin fluttering in the wind, and the newly buried rising from their graves. In short, the populace was in a state of panic.

Ning Xuan figured there was no way to avoid it, so he had no choice but to brace himself and "open for business."

And so, a party of three, accompanied by four battalions of prefecture soldiers and one hundred thirty-six individuals from the Jianghu, set off north along the official road.

No Alchemists were brought along, as they were needed to deal with those "Human Skin Yao."

While Wangyue Prefecture was far from being in "great chaos," the citizens living in peace had now begun to witness the "Yao."

As for the four battalions of prefecture soldiers, three were ordinary troops, while one was the "Blazing Fire Camp," equipped with oil barrels.

Of the one hundred thirty-six Jianghu members, a full half belonged to a gang called the "Hunter Gang."

Wangyue Prefecture had many mountains and many hunters. These extra hunters had spontaneously formed the "Hunter Gang," leading dogs and eagles, roaming the mountains and forests. Ning Xuan had interacted with them quite a bit in the past.

This time, when heading to Ping'an Prefecture, people were recruited from the "Hunter Gang" specifically for their hunting dogs, which would scout ahead and reduce casualties.

Those ghostly things were invisible and intangible, only detectable once they burrowed into a target's body.

Yet, those ghostly things were also very easy to deal with; a single blast from the Blazing Fire Camp's flamethrowers was enough to kill them.

With the hunting dogs scouting, if any problems arose, the Blazing Fire Camp would immediately engage. If that wasn't enough, Ning Xuan and the others would step in.

This was Ning Xuan's first time leading troops on a campaign in such a novel manner. He didn't have to manage the soldiers; everyone protected him, keeping him in the very center. Still, he felt a bit uneasy.

He truly understood what it meant to say "war costs money," and "f***, war is all about money."

If no one died today, it would be fine. But if people died, the funeral expenses would drain his coffers like water.

That money could have been enough to assemble a harem of three hundred beauties.

And if the enemy was ferocious, and everyone he brought today died, he could have enough to establish an imperial palace harem.

The critical point was that while this money appeared to belong to the Prefect, it was actually his family's.

He looked at his elder brother beside him.

This army wasn't assembled by him; it was brought out by his elder brother.

To protect his safety, his elder brother had brought a well-trained army, operating on the principle that if something could be solved with money, he wouldn't let Ning Xuan solve it with a blade.

Ugly Slave rode his horse, his expressionless gaze fixed on the advancing formation ahead.

Sensing Ning Xuan's stare, Ugly Slave slightly turned his head and asked, "General Ning, do you have any orders?"

Ning Xuan replied, "No."

The Ning family needed stability.

If stability could be bought with money, then so be it.

As for the dead?

Ning Xuan had long known the principle of "mercy does not command troops."

Raise soldiers for a thousand days, use them for one moment.

On the battlefield, a superior should ideally view everyone as a chess piece, striving for victory with the fewest sacrifices, rather than thinking "these people will be sacrificed" when moving them.

If one lacked even this basic awareness, the usual outcome would be a crushing defeat achieved with the greatest sacrifice.

Letting the soldiers lead the way, observing from the rear before acting, this was the minimal sacrifice.

The Yaozhen Immortal Aunt, clad in a python robe, did not ride a horse. She moved gracefully, her feet not touching the ground, utterly light. Compared to when she first arrived at the Ning family's residence, she now wore a white veil over her face, obscuring her appearance from view.

Her ability to move like this indicated that traveling by floating required almost no effort for her.

She had witnessed Ning Xuan's sword strike and already knew this young man was qualified to be a General. Now, she had entrusted her only "whispering" connection to this young General, creating a sense of "destiny, bound by imperial authority and responsibility to partner together."

At this moment, she was sensing information from the "Imperial Capital Celestial Master Circle." These people were scattered across various locations, providing a wealth of intelligence.

She carefully selected the information and then moved her lips.

She only needed to speak in the faintest tone, so quiet that even someone listening intently nearby couldn't hear it, to transmit her words into Ning Xuan's ear.

"North of Ping'an Prefecture, a mountain that previously did not exist has appeared.

It is an Ice Mountain, with many hard ice spikes, and numerous bodies impaled on them.

This Ice Mountain is very strange. It is already nearing summer, yet the Ice Mountain shows no signs of thawing.

The Yao infestation in Ping'an Prefecture may be related to this Ice Mountain."

"In Ping'an Prefecture?"

"No, north of Ping'an Prefecture."

"So, is it within Ping'an Prefecture?"

"No, it is to the north of Ping'an Prefecture."

"Hmm, then it has nothing to do with us."

"But if you want to become a Divine General, you must actively explore these places. Once you become a Divine General, you will receive the training of the entire nation's resources."

"If it's there, I'll go. If not, forget it," Ning Xuan replied again.

Yaozhen Immortal Aunt fell silent.

Combining his previous dissolute demeanor, she understood what kind of person the General she had come to assist was.

She began to recall why she had left the Imperial Capital and decided to assist this young man in the first place.

Oh.

She remembered.

The memorial stated, "He slew Yaos and Mo on Manfeng Mountain like thunder and lightning, deterring all evil, and also intimidated the arrogant and overbearing personal guards of the Great General. Furthermore, he executed a Celestial Master and a Yao-infected Daoist Boy, all of whom were petty individuals acting illicitly."

Yaozhen Immortal Aunt immediately pictured a heroic general in her mind. She felt that waiting might not yield a better candidate, so she chose him. After receiving the imperial decree to assist him, she arrived only to be met with "If I want to sleep with you, does His Majesty agree?" and "It has nothing to do with us."

"Chang Qing Heavenly Venerate, pacify my anger."

"Chang Qing Heavenly Venerate, pacify my anger."

Yaozhen Immortal Aunt silently recited the phrase several times in her heart, suppressing the inexplicable surge of annoyance.

As they were speaking, dog barks suddenly came from ahead.

One of the leading hounds suddenly collapsed, while the surrounding hounds barked at it.

The soldiers of the Blazing Fire Camp immediately stepped forward. Blazing fires erupted, and screams appeared in the air. Then, a mass of black smoke rose into the sky like cooking smoke. The soldiers beside them watched with solemn and tense expressions.

They then looked at the scorched hound.

A soldier nervously stepped forward and cut it open with a saber. The hound immediately split in half, and a large chunk was missing from its abdomen, as if it had vanished into thin air.

A strong sense of dread washed over them.

The army continued to advance.

The sound of dog barks gradually increased.

Soon, the hounds of the Hunter Gang were all used up.

The closer they got to the area of Ping'an Prefecture, the more numerous the invisible ghostly entities became.

This did not mean that Ping'an Prefecture had already fallen. It was because the path Ning Xuan and his party were taking was heading north. Another thirty miles ahead, a right turn led to Ping'an Prefecture, while going straight would take them to the Ice Mountain that Yaozhen Immortal Aunt had mentioned, so it was not unusual.

This also confirmed that these ghostly entities were likely related to the Ice Mountain.

At the same time, both Yaozhen Immortal Aunt and Ugly Slave could now sense the Yao energy.

It was a faint, all-encompassing Yao energy that enveloped the area.

Ning Xuan suddenly stopped his horse.

When he stopped, everyone stopped.

Ning Xuan said, "The road is still long. Soldiers, retreat ten miles and set up camp."

He had been prepared to sacrifice soldiers, but this kind of sacrifice was meaningless and unfathomably deep.

Ugly Slave frowned.

Ning Xuan suddenly said, "Ugly Celestial Master, you stay behind as well."

Ugly Slave was about to speak.

Ning Xuan glanced at the horse Ugly Slave was riding, then at Yaozhen Immortal Aunt, who was floating in the air, and asked, "Ugly Celestial Master, can you do what Yaozhen can?"

Ugly Slave shook his head.

He had been observing for a long time. This Celestial Master from the Imperial Capital had been flying the entire time, something he could not do.

But.

"No, I must go in with you."

"Ugly Celestial Master, you should provide support from the outside. If I am exhausted and run out, at least someone outside can help block for me."

"Then be extremely careful."

Half an hour later.

The young General, carrying a beast-slaying long saber on his back, walked into the depths.

He had sealed all the "apertures" around his body with his Bodhisattva Golden Body, rendering all the ghostly entities useless.

Initially, he had tried to kill these ghostly entities, but as he walked deeper, he gave up.

There were too many.

They were dense, like mosquitoes and flies in the summer.

He glanced again at Yaozhen Immortal Aunt beside him.

Yaozhen Immortal Aunt was surrounded by an invisible golden sphere of light. Things like black smoke continuously rushed into the surface of the sphere, but no matter how fast the black smoke was outside, it became extremely slow once it entered the golden sphere. As Yaozhen Immortal Aunt moved, those extremely slow black smoke wisps were left far behind.

Ning Xuan was not surprised by this scene.

He had already communicated with Yaozhen Immortal Aunt before setting out on the campaign.

He learned two things.

First, Celestial Masters were divided into ranks.

This ranking system was strange, with the lowest being First Rank and no upper limit. If it were divided according to normal official ranks, First Rank would actually be the highest.

Why was it divided this way?

Because no one knew what level a "Celestial Master" could reach, so every time a qualitative leap occurred, they would be promoted a rank, starting from First Rank. A Celestial Master who could see through mountains to the other side, suppress spirits by moving mountains, burrow miles underground in three breaths, and conjure the Celestial Master Seal to smash Yao creatures unconscious was a First-Rank Celestial Master.

Celestial Masters who could perceive the land for dozens of miles, set up mountain barriers, shrink the ground to an inch, making it impossible for enemies to take even half a step, burrow instantly, and recover extremely quickly were Second-Rank Celestial Masters.

Of course, there were also Third-Rank Celestial Masters.

Yaozhen Immortal Aunt was a half-step Third Rank.

And according to this classification, Ugly Slave was a half-step Second Rank.

There was a huge gap between them, so Ning Xuan naturally wouldn't bring his older brother.

Second, Golden Body Demonic Creatures were a very special, very troublesome, and currently very rare type of Yao creature. They were not easily suppressed by Celestial Masters, yet they could use their Golden Bodies to unleash powerful flesh and blood strength, making them extremely difficult to deal with.

Their existence was quite mysterious. While other Yao creatures came in swarms, they always traveled alone.

However, fortunately, the true forms of all Golden Body Demonic Creatures were extremely fragile. This was perhaps their only weakness.

Currently, no matter how strong the Generals were, they possessed powerful flesh and blood but not Golden Bodies. It could be said that the Generals were Yao creatures wearing Human Skin, possessing rational flesh and blood.

But Ning Xuan was different.

He had a Golden Body and flesh and blood.

Therefore, he felt he could cautiously take two steps forward and see if that terrifying Stealing Incense Rat had indeed come here.