Jia Mu believed that Ju Hua wouldn't joke about something this serious for no reason. So, after making sure of it, he immediately informed the commander of the army, Immortal Jiuhua.
Compared to the elusive Celestial Immortals, Immortal Jiuhua's name was even more widely known. He was a Loose Immortal with a fearsome reputation spanning a million years!
More terrifying still, Immortal Jiuhua was already over one and a half million years old!
Yet at over one and a half million years old, Immortal Jiuhua was still living with ease. That meant he wasn't an ordinary million-year Loose Immortal—his strength was even greater than that of an ordinary Celestial Immortal!
The Celestial Immortals were all staying behind the scenes on this campaign. Immortal Jiuhua was the strongest person in the army whose power was openly known, and Emperor Xia had gone out of his way to appoint him commander for a reason!
Not long after Jia Mu informed Immortal Jiuhua through the Communication Magic Treasure, a Daoist appeared in the Zhuanshui Clan's temporary camp. He wore a black-and-white robe, and a faint, hard-to-place smile rested on his face.
"Would you be Daoist Friend Ju Hua?" the Daoist asked, looking at him.
"I'm Zhuanshui Juhua. Greetings, Daoist Friend Jiuhua!" Ju Hua said, cupping his hands.
Ju Hua sensed a faint hint of danger from the Daoist before him. The only person in the camp who could make him feel that way was probably Immortal Jiuhua, so there was no need to ask who the newcomer was.
"Daoist Friend Ju Hua, I'd originally planned to meet with you all after every clan had arrived. I didn't expect something like this to happen," Immortal Jiuhua explained. He continued, "Let's dispense with the pleasantries. Tell me about the God-Fiend attack."
"Of course!"
Ju Hua nodded and didn't hesitate. He left out what had happened with Fuyun and Zhuanshui Pingqiu, but related everything else in meticulous detail.
"So that's what happened!" Immortal Jiuhua nodded, then gave Ju Hua a thoughtful look.
As the commander of this campaign, Immortal Jiuhua knew quite a bit about the forces each clan had dispatched. If he remembered correctly, Zhuanshui Juhua had become a Loose Immortal less than four years ago, hadn't he?
He'd reached the point where he could stop a Void-Return Fiendgod with nothing but the support of a battle formation in such a short time. With talent like that, how had he failed his tribulation?
Immortal Jiuhua was naturally puzzled, but the situation left him no time to investigate. The Void-Return Fiendgods of Autumn Mountain Great Marsh might ambush the Zhuanshui Clan, and they could just as easily ambush the other clans. He had to deal with this as quickly as possible.
"Daoist Friend Ju Hua, keep the Zhuanshui Clan's army in check from now on. A battle could break out at any moment," Immortal Jiuhua said gravely.
"The Zhuanshui Clan is ready to fight at any time," Ju Hua assured him.
"Good. With your word, Daoist Friend Ju Hua, I can rest easy." Immortal Jiuhua nodded. Then, without further hesitation, he left the Zhuanshui Clan's camp.
Watching the spot where Immortal Jiuhua had departed, Ju Hua thought for a moment, then slowly let out a breath.
Immortal Jiuhua didn't seem like the arrogant, domineering sort. From their exchange, he seemed quite reasonable. With a commander like him leading the campaign, the days ahead shouldn't be too hard to bear.
Not long after Immortal Jiuhua left, Ju Hua dismissed Jia Mu with a few words. But just as he was about to rest for a while, one of the Zhuanshui Clan's Loose Immortals walked in.
The Loose Immortal quietly sent Ju Hua a message. After hearing it, Ju Hua simply nodded, his expression unchanged.
After thinking for a moment, he said, "Have the two of them come see me."
"Yes!"
The Loose Immortal nodded and left.
A moment later, two somewhat bedraggled figures walked in. Without a doubt, they were Immortal Fuyun and Zhuanshui Pingqiu, who had fled in the midst of the battle not long ago.
Ju Hua sat in the main seat of the tent, watching the two men's troubled expressions without a word.
After a long while, Zhuanshui Pingqiu finally couldn't hold back. "Younger Cousin Ju Hua—"
But as soon as Zhuanshui Pingqiu began to speak, Ju Hua cut him off without the slightest courtesy.
"Zhuanshui Pingqiu, this is a military camp. I'm the commander of the Zhuanshui Clan's army on this campaign. Mind your place," Ju Hua said coolly.
"...Yes."
Zhuanshui Pingqiu replied with a gloomy expression. After that, though, he fell silent and said nothing more.
After leaving the two men waiting for a while, Ju Hua suddenly spoke:
"Whether by the rules of the Zhuanshui Clan or the military regulations of Great Xia, those who flee in the midst of battle must be punished with the annihilation of their souls. You both know that, don't you?"
"."
As soon as Ju Hua finished speaking, the expressions of Immortal Fuyun and Zhuanshui Pingqiu changed at once!
Soul annihilation meant losing even the chance to be reincarnated. As Loose Immortals, reincarnation was their only hope of becoming Celestial Immortals. This punishment was countless times worse than simply killing them.
But neither Zhuanshui Pingqiu nor Fuyun said anything, because they knew Ju Hua was telling the truth!
When they fled, they had naturally considered the consequences. But at the time, they had thought they stood no chance against the Void-Return Fiendgod, and that the Zhuanshui Clan's army couldn't stop those prepared Fiendgods either. Rather than risk dying in a hopeless fight, they had decided it was better to run!
The Zhuanshui army had been routed, so they weren't deserters; they were merely part of the defeated army! If everyone was running, the only difference was who ran first and who ran later!
The one thing the two of them hadn't expected was that Ju Hua had been hiding his strength. He had used the Zhuanshui Clan's formation to stand alone against the Void-Return Fiendgod and turn the tide by sheer force!
When Immortal Fuyun and Zhuanshui Pingqiu heard what had happened from the Loose Immortals who went looking for them, they couldn't believe it. Their worlds had collapsed!
After suddenly becoming deserters, they had considered not returning to the Zhuanshui Clan's army and simply running away for good. But that had only been a passing thought, because doing so would have made the consequences even worse!
The Zhuanshui Clan would show no mercy to traitors, sending an army to capture them!
If the Zhuanshui Clan caught them, then even soul annihilation would be a luxury. The clan would prepare a "hell" just for them, one where they would be tortured for endless ages until they could no longer endure it and their souls were reduced to ashes!
Zhuanshui Pingqiu and Fuyun had obediently returned not only because they feared the consequences of fleeing for good, but also because they hoped Ju Hua wouldn't punish them too harshly. After all, the decisive battle was at hand, and they believed that, as top Loose Immortals, they could be of considerable use in the fighting!
But now, the moment Ju Hua spoke, he had bluntly brought up "the punishment of soul annihilation." The two men immediately understood that this matter couldn't be smoothed over!