Small Forest Town. Zhao Rucheng and Du Yehu had lost their fighting strength, and Ling He was carrying Zhao Rucheng on his back. That meant Jiang Wang was the only one who could fight on the way back to the Central Palace Position. Fortunately, he had gotten quite adept at dealing with the Wandering Souls, and the Purple Qi Comes from the East Sword grew more practiced with every unbroken clash.
There was no need to worry about running out of stamina, either. Since returning from Tangshe Town, he had been cultivating Pulse-Opening, and had amassed more than seventy strands of Dao Essence. Though each one was gone once spent before his Dao Vortex formed, in a pinch, every strand of Dao Essence could give him ample support, and the pressure of a battle this intense was no cause for concern. In fact, these strands of Dao Essence were the trump card behind his decision to have the four of them break through the Xun Palace Position. He just hadn't expected Zhao Rucheng to suddenly run into danger, or Du Yehu to act with such decisiveness.
"I'm telling you, would you all stop looking so gloomy?" After a while, Zhao Rucheng couldn't help speaking up again. "It's just excessive loss of blood and qi. It's not like there's no way to fix it."
"What way?" Du Yehu hadn't said a word, but Ling He grew excited first. Still supporting Zhao Rucheng, he shook him back and forth. "Hurry up and tell us!"
As Jiang Wang cleared away Wandering Souls, he couldn't help shooting Ling He a glance. He really wanted to give him a couple of sword strikes. This kid had a solution and hadn't said anything until now—he'd just been keeping them in suspense.
"Hey, hey, you're going to shake my handsome head right off!" Zhao Rucheng finally managed to calm his "temporary mount" and continued, "As it happens, I know someone bought a Foundation-Solidifying Pill at a high price from the Cloud Kingdom a few days ago, and is about to resell it. This pill is remarkably effective at nourishing blood and qi and stabilizing one's foundation. Some noble youths even make a point of taking one before opening their meridians, so that after their meridians are opened, their Dao Vein True Spirits will be livelier! And that's without even mentioning Du Tiger's little case of depleted blood and qi."
"I just don't know..." He even curled his lips into a smirk. "Whether certain people are willing to buy it."
Du Yehu paused, then rumbled, "I don't have any money."
"You can borrow from me. The industry standard is nine in, thirteen out." Zhao Rucheng smiled.
"Usury's fine. Brother Tiger likes usury." Du Yehu put on a seemingly honest smile.
"Enough, enough." Jiang Wang was at a loss for words. In all of Maple Forest City, who didn't know Du Yehu had a reputation for borrowing money from usurers and never paying it back? As Du Tiger put it, those usurers weren't decent people anyway, so he might as well squeeze a few drinks out of them. If he hadn't come from the Dao Academy, they would have thrown him into the moat long ago.
"Xiao Wu, who's the person? How much silver would it take to get them to sell?"
Jiang Wang had already quietly resolved that, no matter what price the seller named, he would find a way to scrape the money together.
"Would you believe it? The person who bought the Foundation-Solidifying Pill was surnamed Zhao. What are the odds?" Zhao Rucheng sighed theatrically. "And, even more amazingly, he was a member of my household. What are the odds!"
Jiang Wang took a deep breath and reminded himself that Old Five was seriously injured and could easily be beaten to death. Only then did he manage to suppress the urge to hit him.
This kid had spent ages winding his way around to say that his family had a Foundation-Solidifying Pill that could make up for Du Yehu's losses. That was all he had to say, yet he'd kept his brothers on tenterhooks for half an incense stick.
Even broad-minded Ling He was grinding his teeth.
Still, with this assurance, everyone felt a lot more at ease. As they spoke, they had already returned to the Central Palace Position.
Li Jianqiu and Zhao Lang had been waiting there for some time, discussing something with Wang Changxiang. Several other senior brothers were also present, and none of them looked well. Wei Yan had gone to support Dui Palace, the only formation point that had yet to be breached.
"Junior Brother Jiang did well," Li Jianqiu greeted him casually.
Wang Changxiang nodded to him, too.
"I'm ashamed. It was all thanks to my Brother Wild Tiger and Rucheng's burst of strength," Jiang Wang said with a wry smile.
In front of the main fighters, he readily gave them the credit. The most important thing now was to help them successfully open their meridians. He hadn't mentioned Ling He because Du Yehu and Zhao Rucheng's condition made a more convincing case.
Ling He didn't mind at all.
Li Jianqiu and the others were all seasoned fighters. One look at Du Yehu's condition told them what sort of state he was in, and they were secretly astonished by the strength of his blood and qi.
"Once Wei Yan returns, we'll head straight into the Central Palace," Wang Changxiang said. "Everyone fought bravely to slay the evil spirits this time, and your performance was commendable. Maple Forest City won't forget your contributions, and neither will the Dao Academy."
"Exactly!" As he spoke, Wei Yan emerged from the thick fog, followed by three Dao Academy disciples. Two others hadn't appeared; it seemed they had already met with misfortune.
The brutal fighting had not been limited to the Xun Palace Position. Apart from Wei Yan and Li Jianqiu, who had dealt with the Resentful Ghost guarding their position almost without a scratch, every other squad had suffered casualties. Eleven had died, nearly half the fighters lost! Almost everyone who survived was wounded. Even Zhao Lang had nearly been disemboweled, and a hideous gash remained across his abdomen.
If Wang Changxiang hadn't coordinated the teams in time from his position before the Central Palace, the squad might not have completed its mission.
Wei Yan said solemnly, "If we make it back from this battle, I'll be the first to petition for rewards on everyone's behalf."
"I hadn't expected this battle to be so dangerous. But Maple Forest City's fighting strength is depleted, and you're the only ones who can take on this fight." As he spoke, he actually bent forward and bowed. "On behalf of the wrongfully slain souls of Small Forest Town, and on behalf of the people of our Maple Forest City, I thank you all for shedding your blood!"
"You're too kind, Brother Wei," Li Jianqiu said.
Everyone turned aside, unwilling to accept his bow.
"General Wei, what are you saying? You're from Maple Forest City. Do you think we weren't raised here, too?" Du Yehu said indignantly. "Enough with the empty formalities. There's no time to waste!"
Even in such a weakened state, he still had no lack of heroic spirit.
Wei Yan gave him a long look, then turned and raised his saber. "This junior brother is right. Everyone, follow me into the fray! Let's see what kind of fiends have been poisoning our hometown!"
With all eight palaces broken, the wall of fog around the Central Palace Position had lost its foundation. It silently crumbled away and no longer blocked their path. Yet the thick fog remained, continuing to obscure their view.
Wei Yan took the lead, with Li Jianqiu and Wang Changxiang guarding his flanks. Zhao Lang was wounded, but most of his fighting strength remained, so he brought up the rear. The group advanced into the Central Palace Position, fully on guard.
By now, there was no need to explain how dangerous Small Forest Town was. After the perilous battles to slay the Resentful Ghosts in the other eight palace positions, everyone could imagine how vicious the danger at the center would be.
If the fiends who had wreaked havoc in Small Forest Town had an ulterior motive, it had to lie at this very center.
This group could be said to represent the hope of Maple Forest City's younger generation. If they all died here, the entire Maple Forest City Daoist Academy would be left without anyone to carry on.
But not one of them spoke of retreat. The road ahead was indeed perilous and terrifying, but this was their hometown!
They had been born here, raised here, and learned here—and they were willing to die here.
Besides Zhao Rucheng and Du Yehu, three other Dao Academy disciples had also lost their fighting strength. With Small Forest Town so treacherous, they obviously couldn't leave them behind. So Ling He continued to carry Zhao Rucheng as the group advanced, while Huang Azhan, Du Yehu's old drinking buddy, stayed beside him to protect him.
Unlike the nearly exhausted Du Yehu, Huang Azhan was full of life. He had been one of the few to come through the earlier battle unscathed, proving he had some real ability and wasn't just all swagger.
The group was moving forward when Huang Azhan suddenly stopped. He sniffed hard. "I smell a fragrance."
The group stopped with him.
Then he added, "A woman's rouge... no, her natural scent."
Everyone turned to look at him.
He added, "A beauty."
Du Yehu said irritably, "Do you have a dog's nose?"
"Ah! A beautiful female ghost!" Zhao Rucheng suddenly perked up. "I knew there'd be one! Du Tiger, you owe me a romantic encounter!"
No one paid attention to the two clowns, because they had reached the very center of Small Forest Town and seen the enormous, moving vortex.
There was nothing else in the entire Central Palace Position.
The Red-Robed Woman, the white-haired old man, and the Black-Robed cultivator seemed never to have existed.
It wasn't just those figures who were missing. There were no people, no livestock, not even a single brick or tile. Apart from the endless thick fog, there was only this strange, solitary vortex.
"Why has the government office here disappeared? What in the world is that vortex?"
No one could answer. Only Wang Changxiang stared wide-eyed, utterly aghast!
"Brother Wang, do you recognize it?" Wei Yan asked in a low voice, holding his saber at the ready.
But his question was soon answered.
From the deep darkness at the heart of the vortex, a pitch-black object slowly emerged.
It was a strange thing to say they could see blackness within darkness. But that was exactly what happened.
The pitch-black object appeared within the darkness, yet seemed to be its very heart. Everyone could see its shape clearly. As it rose little by little from the vortex, its full form gradually came into view.
It was a stone archway, not especially imposing in design, with three bays, four pillars, and seven tiers. If one ignored its pitch-black material and the scene in which it had appeared, it was no different from the archways people saw every day.
But the plaque at the center of the archway made clear that it was anything but ordinary.
Three characters were written there. No one present recognized the script, yet the instant they looked at it, they all understood what it meant.
—Ghost! Gate! Pass!
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