From Zhuanshui Qing, Ju Hua gained a comprehensive understanding of the war. Soon, the three-day deadline arrived right on time, and all the forces Zhuanshui Clan had dispatched had assembled atop Jueling Mountain.
Not long after Ju Hua arrived, Zhuanshui Pingqiu came as well. Once there, he joined Ju Hua and Zhuanshui Qing in conversation, showing no sign that he and Ju Hua had been at odds only recently.
"Two junior clan brothers, the time has come. Let's set out!" Zhuanshui Qing said solemnly.
Zhuanshui Pingqiu nodded, and Ju Hua cupped his hands. "All right!"
As Zhuanshui Qing watched, Ju Hua slowly rose into the air.
Ju Hua said nothing more. He directly activated the Message Token that represented his position as commander. Then he waved a hand, and a gigantic warship, more than ten kilometers long, appeared in midair.
This was the Shuixuan Warship, an immortal-tier flying treasure. Not only was it far faster than ordinary Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals, it also had remarkably powerful defenses and attacks!
Ju Hua didn't own a treasure like this himself. But as commander of the Zhuanshui Clan army on this expedition, he had been entrusted with many of the important supplies Zhuanshui Clan had provided. The Shuixuan Warship was just one of them!
"Destination: Autumn Mountain Great Marsh. Move out!" Ju Hua called. In an instant, his voice, wrapped in the magical power of a Loose Immortal, reached the ears of every Black Armor Profound Army soldier.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
No one spoke. One after another, black figures rose from the summit of Jueling Mountain and filed into the Shuixuan Warship in perfect formation.
The Shuixuan Warship had plenty of room inside. Carrying a mere ten thousand Black Armor Profound Army soldiers was well within its capacity. In just a moment, every soldier below had boarded.
Ju Hua didn't hesitate. After cupping his hands once more toward Zhuanshui Qing, who was still on the mountaintop, he flashed into the Shuixuan Warship.
A moment later, a dark, mysterious shield appeared over the warship's surface. It began to accelerate, then swiftly sailed southeast!
Autumn Mountain Great Marsh lay tens of millions of miles from Zhuanshui Clan's territory. Most of the Zhuanshui Clan army consisted of Primordial Spirit Daoists, and even traveling day and night aboard the Shuixuan Warship, they would need at least a month to reach their destination.
An immortal-tier treasure required a cultivator at the level of an Earth Immortal or Loose Immortal to operate. But plenty of ordinary Loose Immortals were traveling with this expedition, so Ju Hua didn't need to provide the warship's magical power himself.
After handing over the task of operating the warship to a Loose Immortal, Ju Hua returned to his room to continue his seclusion.
His talent was truly astonishing. He couldn't afford to slack off during this month of travel. If he kept cultivating diligently, perhaps he would make another breakthrough!
Though he already possessed the strength of a Loose Immortal with a million years of cultivation, Ju Hua wouldn't be satisfied with that. His goal was far greater!
But the next day, Zhuanshui Pingqiu brought an old man with a full head of white hair and a young-looking woman into Ju Hua's room.
"Clan brother Pingqiu, these two must be the famous Immortal Fuyun and Fairy Ling, right?" Ju Hua asked.
"This old man is Fuyun. Greetings, Daoist Ju Hua!" The old man saluted him.
"Daoist Fuyun, there's no need for such formality!" Ju Hua returned the salute.
"Qing Muling greets Daoist Ju Hua. I've long heard you're a heaven-blessed genius. Now that I've met you, I see the rumors were true!" the young-looking woman said with a smile.
"You flatter me, Fairy Ling!" Ju Hua couldn't help taking another look at her. It was said that Qing Muling's body grew extraordinarily slowly because she practiced a special cultivation method. Seeing her today, Ju Hua found the rumors were indeed true.
Even after more than ten thousand years, Qing Muling still looked like a child who hadn't yet grown up!
After exchanging a few polite remarks, Ju Hua got down to business.
"May I ask what brings you all to see me?" Ju Hua asked.
"Daoist Ju Hua, the target Emperor Xia plans to attack is Autumn Mountain Great Marsh. Even its publicly known strength is terrifying!" Immortal Fuyun said gravely.
"Setting aside its eight Void-Return Fiendgods, there are a great many God-Fiends at the peak of the Primordial Spirit stage in Autumn Mountain Great Marsh. And with all the dangers lurking in its treacherous regions, one mistake in a place like that could cost us our lives!"
"Daoist Fuyun is quite right!" Qing Muling said with a cheerful nod.
"I know all that, of course. But Zhuanshui Clan has a Celestial Immortal ancestor secretly accompanying us this time. We should be on guard against the Void-Return Fiendgods, but there's no need to worry too much about them. As for the other dangers, since when was war an easy undertaking?" Ju Hua asked calmly.
"What junior clan brother says is right. When we go to war, we must be prepared to lose our lives!" Zhuanshui Pingqiu suddenly said. "But sending out ten thousand Black Armor Profound Army soldiers is a considerable drain even for Zhuanshui Clan. It would be in our clan's interest to preserve as much of that force as we can."
"That goes without saying!" Ju Hua nodded at once.
By now, Ju Hua understood what the three of them meant. They were simply urging him to be careful and not act recklessly.
Though all three were top Loose Immortals, Ju Hua's current strength meant he had no need to take them seriously.
Still, their warning wasn't wrong. Ju Hua valued his life, too. If possible, he would naturally prefer to fight this war from beginning to end without a hitch.
"I understand what all three of you mean, but there's something I must remind you of!" Ju Hua said evenly.
"Outside the battlefield, we are fellow Daoists. But on the battlefield, I am the commander. If anyone dares to obey me only in name, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"
"..."
Ju Hua's blunt warning left them silent. Qing Muling glanced from one to the other. Immortal Fuyun and Zhuanshui Pingqiu both stared straight ahead, pretending the matter had nothing to do with them.
Seeing their reaction, Qing Muling, who had been about to say something, could only swallow her words.
Of the three, Zhuanshui Pingqiu, a Loose Immortal of Zhuanshui Clan's main line, had the most authority to speak. Next came Immortal Fuyun, Zhuanshui Clan's guest Loose Immortal. Qing Muling ranked last. Since neither of the two men spoke, she didn't dare say much more.
After Ju Hua warned them, Zhuanshui Pingqiu and the others soon left. Ju Hua shook his head, gave it no further thought, and closed his eyes to resume cultivating.
Ju Hua's strength was no longer what it had been. Zhuanshui Pingqiu and the others weren't worth spending much thought on. As long as they didn't cause trouble, Ju Hua didn't care about a few minor tricks.