The Shadow Gu Tribe

Songshan County, inside the barbican.

After listening to the deputy general's report on casualties, Xu Xinnian silently let out a sigh of relief.

"Go down and tell the soldiers to be vigilant and not give the enemy's experts a chance to launch a night attack."

After two sieges, the enemy's elite troops remained intact, while the dead were mostly a mixed force of refugees.

The commander of the Yunzhou army was a clever man who knew how to use the lives of the refugees to deplete the city's artillery shells and crossbow bolts. In addition, they also had skilled soldiers mixed in with the regular troops, waiting for an opportunity to scale the city walls and wreak havoc, destroying the city's ballistae and cannons.

"The enemy commander is a smart man, but the night attack seems exceptionally foolish."

Xu Erlang glanced at Miao Youfang beside him and said:

"That's a bit strange."

Miao Youfang was completely baffled and shrugged. "What's so strange about it? I think he's a smart man; he knows how to launch a surprise attack at night."

"I've already told you about the drawbacks of attacking a city at night. A mature general wouldn't be so reckless, unless he has a deadline to capture Songshan County in a short period of time."

Xu Xinnian's calm analysis.

"I'm only responsible for killing enemies; I'll never get involved in anything that requires thinking."

Miao Youfang first stated his position, and then began to boast:

"I may not have told you, but back in the Hundred Thousand Mountains of Southern Frontier, this great hero assisted Xu Yinluo in storming into the Buddhist School stronghold of Nanfa Temple and fighting to the death with many eminent Buddhist School monks."

"Finally, you defeated Asura, a second-rank Buddhist School, laying the foundation for the Southern Demons' uprising. With my assistance today, you can rest assured."

Xu Xinnian glanced at him and slowly said:

"I met Protector Yuan in Qingzhou, and he told me in detail about the Hundred Thousand Mountains."

Miao Youfang's expression froze when his leather was punctured, then he grinned and said:

"That's an annoying monkey demon."

Xu Xinnian wholeheartedly agrees with this:

"Great minds think alike."

The two exchanged a knowing glance, as if to say:

It seems you've also experienced an embarrassing situation.

At this moment, a soldier rushed in and loudly reported:

"Lord Xu, the enemy has sent a message by arrow."

Xu Xinnian's eyes flickered slightly, and he calmly said:

"Bring it here."

Miao Youfang immediately stood up, took the arrow and letter from the soldier, and handed it to Xu Xinnian.

The latter opened the book, read it, and then gave a cold laugh.

What did they say?

Miao Youfang hurriedly asked.

Xu Erlang said calmly, "The enemy's commander is named Zhuo Haoran. He said he would break through the city within three days, cut off my head, and send it to my elder brother as a gift."

Ten miles outside the East Gate lies the camp of Lord Yunzhou.

The campfire blazed, the tents stood silently, the soldiers had gone to bed early, and heavily armored warriors patrolled back and forth.

There are also scouts patrolling the outer perimeter.

Outside the military tent, Zhuo Haoran, clad in armor and possessing a robust physique, personally beheaded the captured scout of the Great Feng.

He licked the blood-stained back of the knife and grinned maliciously:

"I never imagined that the one in charge of guarding Songshan County would be Xu Qi'an's cousin. Once I conquer Songshan County and cut off that bastard's head, I'll keep it safe and send it to that Xu fellow."

Deputy General Zhao Tian said in a deep voice:

"According to the scout's report, Xu Xinnian is a disciple of Zhang Shen of the Cloud Deer Academy, and is well-versed in military strategy. We must not be careless."

Knowing Zhuo Haoran's arrogant nature, he immediately added:

"However, with your valor, General, the city will fall in no time. If the Grand General knew that you had beheaded Xu Xinnian, he would surely reward you."

Zhuo Haoran nodded:

"Pass down the order: whoever beheads Xu Xinnian will be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver and granted the title of a hundred-household commander."

The next day, Xu Qi'an awoke from his meditation and saw a woman who resembled a lilac flower, bearing a sorrowful expression.

She was beautiful, but her melancholic air made people overlook her physical beauty, and they couldn't help but want to enter her heart and listen to her sorrow.

"Xu Lang, you're awake."

Luo Yuheng said softly.

"It's you!" Xiao Ai Xu Qi'an breathed a sigh of relief. Of the seven emotions, the most troublesome are the three personalities of "desire," "anger," and "evil."

The angry personality type is relatively good, but they are a bit short-tempered and prone to losing their temper and hitting people at the slightest disagreement.

The desire-driven personality is what Xu Qi'an fears most, as it means he's in constant motion 24/7, expending enormous energy.

I haven't experienced a villainous personality before. Last time, the villainous personality was the last one to appear, and Luo Yuheng chased him away early on.

Based on his aunt's wary behavior, Xu Qi'an deduced that the evil personality was like the vicious empress in palace dramas.

As long as these three personality types don't appear, Xu Qi'an doesn't care about any of his other personalities.

Xiao Ai is very sentimental and often feels that she is old enough to be her lover's mother, which makes her somewhat melancholy.

"Grand Preceptor, you are as beautiful as the rising sun, captivating all who behold you."

Xu Qi'an cared for the fragile and sensitive Xiao Ai as if she were a delicate flower.

Ai blushed with delight and whispered:

"Young Master Xu, there's no need to call me National Preceptor; just call me Yuheng."

Here you go again, you're back to your old tricks. Xu Qi'an shuddered, thinking to himself, why bother? When you reply, you'll be thinking of coming back with your sword to kill me.

The outer edge of the abyss, at the edge of the primeval forest.

Led by extraordinary leaders such as Granny Tiangu, the fourth-rank experts from the seven tribes gathered at the edge of the primeval forest.

The Gu Clan members felt heavy-hearted. The surge of Gu God's power often meant the potential birth of a Gu beast at the extraordinary level.

A mutated monster with a deranged mind, and one that has reached the transcendent realm, it symbolizes slaughter and destruction. In the history of the Gu Clan, many leaders have died at the hands of transcendent Gu beasts.

It can be said that the extraordinary Gu beasts were dealt with by the Gu clan leaders at the cost of their lives.

"The power of the Gu God is several times stronger than usual."

The speaker was a fourth-rank elder of the Corpse Gu Clan, accompanied by three powerful walking corpse puppets.

"Not to mention the emergence of extraordinary beings, the number of fourth-grade Gu beasts and Gu worms will increase dramatically in a short period of time. If we are careless, we may be at risk of perishing."

When the elder of the Poison Gu Clan said these words, he was looking at the six elders of the Strength Gu Clan.

The elder cursed:

"What are you looking at? I've killed more Gu beasts than you've eaten meat."

Despite his outward Qi Ingestion, Old Zhang's brows remained furrowed.

The power of the Gu God has erupted only a few times in their lives; they have only experienced it twice in their lives, and neither of those times can compare to the commotion of yesterday.

After a night of absorption and digestion, the Gu worms and Gu beasts near the Abyss have probably undergone initial transformation.

Power is not the key factor. The main issue is that the primeval forests surrounding the Abyss are vast and boundless, making it difficult to conduct a thorough search. Any oversight could give future extraordinary Gu worms room to breathe.

"Fortunately, Xu Yinluo is there to help. He is a martial artist, skilled in killing. With his assistance, we are like a tiger with wings."

"That's what the Second Elder of the Power Gu Clan said."

The elders nodded slightly. Even those who disliked the Central Plains people's poison, corpse, and love poison techniques had to admit that what the Second Elder said was true.

"If only we had Warlock to help, bombarding the Abyss would save us a lot of trouble. Or, a system like the Daoist School sect that can control sword formations."

A middle-aged man spoke beside Granny Tian Gu.

As they were discussing, everyone saw a golden light coming on the wind; it was Xu Yinluo, with a ring of fire burning behind his head.

Beside him was a woman flying on a sword, wearing a feathered robe and holding a whisk. The vermilion mark between her eyebrows was particularly eye-catching.

The moment the Gu clan men saw the woman wielding the sword, they were all stunned, then their eyes lit up with infatuation. Reason told them that she was a fair-skinned woman from the Central Plains, but their eyes told them that she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

They saw in this woman the type they had fallen for.

Xu Qi'an landed on the ground, nodded to Granny Tian Gu and the others, and said:

"This is the head of the Human Sect and the Grand Preceptor of the Great Feng Dynasty."

Apart from Granny Tiangu, everyone else in the Human Sect was staring at Luo Yuheng in astonishment. If they remembered correctly, the current leader of the Human Sect was a second-grade expert.

"I specifically invited them to help clear out the Gu beasts."

Xu Qi'an continued.

With the participation of the sword cultivators from the Human Sect, clearing out the Gu worms and Gu beasts will be much easier. The elders of the Power Gu, Heart Gu, Heaven Gu, and Dark Gu tribes' eyes lit up with genuine joy.

The elders of the three tribes—Poison Gu, Love Gu, and Corpse Gu—remained silent or embarrassed, because they harbored hostility towards Xu Qi'an.

Because he represents the Great Feng Dynasty.

Why treat your enemies with courtesy? This is their shared sentiment.

But now, seeing that Xu Qi'an had actually invited the head of the Human Sect from the Great Feng Kingdom to help the Gu Clan clear out the Gu beasts, it's clear that he's done so.

This sincerity and goodwill made it impossible for them to say anything harsh.

The elders of the three departments thought to themselves, "To be able to invite the Grand Preceptor of the Great Feng Kingdom to the Southern Frontier must have required an enormous favor."

"To be able to invite the head of the Human Sect, they must have used an immense favor."

The Grand Elder sighed.

People from other tribes might keep their doubts to themselves, but the Li Gu tribe has always been known for speaking their minds.

Xu Qi'an glanced at Luo Yuheng and said "Oh".

"It's alright, the Imperial Preceptor is my dao companion."

Upon hearing this, Xu Qi'an noticed the expressions of the twenty-odd people present and immediately became very strange.

The leader of the Human Sect was his dual dao companion.

Damn it, such a stunning beauty was taken by this crude brute!

Xu Yinluo truly lives up to his reputation as the number one warrior of the Great Feng; his influence in the Central Plains is far greater than we imagined.

Hmph, you stole my man!

Various thoughts flashed through everyone's minds.

Granny Tian Gu nodded to Luo Yuheng and said:

Let's go.

With Luo Yuheng's help, the operation to eliminate the Gu beasts became easy and quick.

A sword cultivator about to undergo tribulation, the destructive power she could unleash made the Gu Clan look at her with new eyes.

As dusk fell, Xu Qi'an and the Gu Clan withdrew from the Abyss and returned to their tribe.

He did not return to the Power Gu Clan with Long Tu, but caught up with Granny Tian Gu and said:

"Mother-in-law, may I speak to you in private?"

Granny Tian Gu, leaning on her cane, walked alongside him for a while. The old woman asked with a kind expression:

"The matter of requesting reinforcements?"

Xu Qi'an nodded.

Granny Tian Gu walked slowly forward, pondering:

"Forget about the Love Gu and Poison Gu; the two tribes have too deep a prejudice against Great Feng, and it can't be changed overnight. But we can try to win over the Corpse Gu tribe. Wei Yuan has a blood feud with You Shi, but his people don't hate Great Feng as much."

"Due to their habits, the Dark Gu tribe is only slightly better off than the Power Gu tribe, but they also lack resources and money, and live a poor life. You can start from this aspect."

Was it due to their habits? Did they play hide-and-seek all day long? Xu Qi'an held back his complaints.

"The Heart Gu tribe is quite rational. Chun Yan seems to have a good impression of you. If you discuss it properly, it shouldn't be too difficult. The Strength Gu tribe can be appeased by offering them food; their people are warlike and unafraid of sacrifice. The Heaven Gu tribe is not skilled in combat, but they can rely on astronomy and Warlock, so they don't need to worry about us."

Thank you, Grandma.

Xu Qi'an cupped his hands in greeting.

After finding out the addresses of each department, he and Luo Yuheng returned to the Li Gu Department. The first thing the Grand Preceptor did after entering the room was to put talismans on the doors and windows to isolate the inside from the outside.

Xu Qi'an then took Xu Lingyin to Lina's room.

"Clap clap clap"

In the dimly lit room, the climate of Southern Frontier was hot and the mosquitoes were annoying. Xu Qi'an swatted mosquitoes for the Imperial Preceptor until late at night.

The next day, just as the sun rose, Xu Qi'an went to the Shadow Division before the Imperial Preceptor woke up.

The Shadow Division is located in the southwest of the Abyss. It is a fairly large town, surrounded by three-meter-high earthen walls, backed by mountains, and with a small river flowing gently outside the town.

The town has a population of about seven thousand.

This is certainly not the entire population of the Shadow Tribe. The Gu Clan has thrived in the Southern Frontier for thousands of years, developing into numerous small tribes. Many small villages are scattered around this large town.

Xu Qi'an leaped through the shadows until he arrived at the Shadow Division, by which time the sun was already high in the sky.

The river outside the town was tinged with a beautiful golden-red hue, flowing serenely.

The town was eerily quiet, like a village that had been teeming with life but had suddenly lost all its inhabitants, leaving an unsettling stillness.

He turned his head and looked around, and saw a child dressed in Southern Frontier clothing sitting at the door of his house eating a cornbread.

Where are the adults at home?

Xu Qi'an moved closer.

As he spoke, he scrutinized the little boy, who was simply dressed and whose breakfast appeared to be a cornbread bun in his hand.

The little boy looked at him blankly, clearly not understanding the Central Plains Mandarin.

At that moment, a young man emerged from the shadows beside the water vat by the door. He was dressed in blue and green stripes, his face was deathly pale, and a blue cloth was wrapped around his head.

Is that Xu Yinluo?

The young man said respectfully.

"Are you his father?"

Xu Qi'an countered with a question.

"I'm from the patrol team. We noticed you as soon as you entered the town. The chief instructed us to take you to see Xu Yinluo if he visits."

After the young man finished speaking, he looked at the child:

His parents are hiding; they won't come out for at least two hours.

"You've got me hooked too, and I can't help but want to hide it. "Xu Qi'an nodded, his tone calm:

"Lead the way."

P. S.: I'm adjusting my sleep schedule recently, making sure I'm in bed before midnight every day, so I'll be updating twice a day for now. I'll catch up on the updates once I get my schedule back on track.