Together in Life and Death

The Imperial Study.

The eunuchs brought over a sand table and small flags, arranging them according to the Empress's instructions. The red flags represented the Great Feng, and the blue flags represented the Yunzhou Army.

In addition, there are the Southern Frontier, the Western Regions, and the Witch God Cult, making the whole thing a miniature version of the Nine Provinces continent.

Among them were more than a dozen small black flags with gold trim, bearing the characters "Luo, Zhao, Xu, Kou, Jin, A, Sun" and other similar words.

Huaiqing waved his sleeves, and the eunuchs in the hall withdrew one by one.

In the quiet imperial study, Huaiqing pushed the "Luo" flag to the northern border, and then their respective allies and enemies pushed it over together.

Eliminating all other supernatural beings and focusing solely on fighting the White Emperor and the Gara Tree is the best outcome the Great Feng faction envisions.

But perhaps the enemy will have a different opinion.

Therefore, Huaiqing pushed the small flags of "White Emperor" and "Galuo Tree" to Yongzhou.

If the Yunzhou army were to take advantage of Luo Yuheng's tribulation and concentrate its forces to seize Yongzhou in one fell swoop, then in Huaiqing's view, this would be a tolerable loss.

Even if Huaiqing were to surrender the capital without lifting a finger, let alone conquer Yongzhou, he wouldn't bat an eye.

Because Xu Pingfeng couldn't possibly refine the fortune of Yongzhou and the capital within thirteen days, conquering Yongzhou would only be a short-term occupation. However, what he gained was Luo Yuheng's successful tribulation and advancement to a first-grade terrestrial immortal.

By then, the Great Feng will be fully capable of launching a counterattack.

This is her overall perspective.

Subsequently, Huaiqing moved the "Luo" chess piece to the Southern Frontier. What if the battle were held in the Southern Frontier?

This place is full of allies of the Great Feng.

"The pros and cons of this choice are obvious. The Buddhist School still has two first-rank experts and one second-rank expert, while the Gu clan, although it has many extraordinary experts, lacks third-rank experts who are not capable of intervening in battles at this level. The only second-rank Heavenly Gu Granny is not skilled in combat."

"The key issue is that Xu Qi'an is unable to mobilize the power of all living beings in the Southern Frontier. As a result, while the number of our extraordinary experts has increased exponentially, our high-level combat strength has actually declined."

Huaiqing shook his head.

Moreover, the extraordinary beings of the Gu clan might not be willing to help, because for them, it meant certain death at any moment.

In addition, she had another concern: everyone knew that the one in Aranya still had the strength to unleash the Dharma form of Vairocana Buddha.

If Shenshu joins the battle, and that person still has spare power, and the Dharma form of Mahavairocana Buddha appears in the world, well, the whole game will be lost.

After careful consideration, having Luo Yuheng choose the Northern Territory as the safest option is to do so.

So Huaiqing moved the chess pieces back to the Northern Territory and placed the Gara Tree, the White Emperor, and the four extraordinary beings "Xu, A, Jin, and Zhao" next to the "Luo" chess piece.

Xu Qi'an

Huaiqing closed his eyes and murmured:

Are you truly confident, or have you already gone all in?

The Xu Residence.

A column of imperial guards hurriedly entered the mansion.

Inside the inner hall, Aunt was still enthusiastically asking Mu Nanzhi for tips on growing flowers. The outer and inner courtyards of the Xu Residence were filled with vibrant flowers, making it look like a fairyland in the cold late winter.

"Sister, please teach me! How can I learn such amazing Law Technique?"

My aunt now idolizes the Flower Goddess; she calls her "sister" all the time.

My unlucky nephew brings people to the mansion every few days. First was Li Miaozhen, who was polite and courteous on the surface, but behind my back she was talking badly about me in that little mirror.

Then there's Lina, the glutton who only knows how to eat all day long. Not only does she eat all the rich food from the Xu Household, but she also conspires with her wicked daughter Xu Lingyin to steal her beauty pills.

She didn't like the first two, but she really liked this one named Mu Nanzhi.

We're about the same age and have common topics to talk about.

What is the relationship between Aunt Mu and my older brother?

Xu Lingyue, standing to the side, had an innocent, gentle, and harmless appearance.

Xu Lingyue didn't really think her older brother would be interested in such an ordinary woman, who was the same age as her mother.

But this woman clearly has a husband, so why does she insist on living in the Xu Residence?

"It's nothing, he just keeps bothering me," Mu Nanzhi said.

Upon hearing this, the aunt became angry, and guiltily took Mu Nanzhi's hand:

"That unlucky brat is shameless! It's my fault for not teaching him properly. Sister, tell me how he's been bothering you. I'll make him kneel in the ancestral hall for three days and three nights."

Just then, the steward led the Imperial Guards in.

The three women in the hall stood up at the same time and looked outside blankly.

The imperial guards stopped outside the hall, lining up on both sides. The clanging of their armor ceased, and the leader stepped into the hall, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and bowed.

"By order of His Majesty, the women of the Xu Household are to be brought into the palace."

On this day, the families of all powerful figures in the capital, from the commander of the Imperial Guard to the officials of the court, were brought to the palace.

The national treasury and granaries were covered with teleportation arrays.

The imperial court has already prepared for the worst. If Luo Yuheng fails to transcend his tribulation and a powerful figure from the Great Feng perishes, the real power holders in the capital will be immediately transferred.

This battle was a gamble for the fate of the nation, for the Empress, for the officials, and for the court.

For ordinary people, today is no different from yesterday; their lives may not be wealthy, but they are peaceful and happy.

At most, they would discuss the war in the south over tea or after meals, complaining that the imperial court had not yet sent news that Xu Yinluo had single-handedly wiped out the mere 100,000 troops in Yunzhou.

Lingbao Temple.

Luo Yuheng stood by the small pond, looking at the young man opposite her, and reached out her hand:

"Return!"

The divine sword above Xu Qi'an's head was unsheathed and returned to its master's hand, bringing with it a bunch of red and white things.

"My brains."

Xu Qi'an quickly caught it, absorbing the life force from the blood and brain matter, then squatted down and washed his hands.

During the process, the sword wound on his head healed completely.

Luo Yuheng shook his hand to remove the blood from the sword, then let out a cold snort.

"He's supposed to be the leader of the Human Sect, yet he's so petty." Xu Qi'an thought to himself, then subconsciously looked around and, not seeing Protector Yuan, breathed a sigh of relief.

It's heartbreaking to think about it. He's a second-rank big shot, yet he was traumatized by a monkey.

Luo Yuheng narrowed his eyes and said coldly:

What are you thinking about now?

"I was praising the Imperial Preceptor's beauty as if she were a celestial being. To become her dao companion is the greatest blessing of my life," Xu Qi'an said with a shameless grin.

Luo Yuheng said calmly:

"Then cancel the marriage with Lin'an."

Xu Qi'an laughed, then his smile faded. He scratched his head and sighed.

All I can give her is a formal title.

Luo Yuheng gave him a deep look.

Xu Qi'an stood up, stepped across the small pond, gazed at the exquisite and flawless face of the mature woman, and whispered:

What I can give you is to share life and death with you.

"In this battle, if I live, you live; if you die, I die!"

Luo Yuheng pursed her lips, then suddenly lowered her head, seemingly unable to meet his gaze. Gazing at the ripples on the pond's surface caused by the wind, she softly hummed in agreement.

The two transformed into a rainbow and disappeared over the capital city.

Before the tribulation even began, Yongzhou was already engulfed in flames of war.

The Yunzhou army bypassed Xunzhou and assembled outside Nanguan City, eighty li southeast of Xunzhou.

With lightning speed, they launched a massive attack on the city and captured the relatively weak South Gate City within half a day.

After capturing Nanguan City, the Yunzhou army did not occupy it, but instead massacred the city's inhabitants.

They then plundered the remaining population and resources, retreated in force, and left the city in ruins.

This is a classic raiding tactic: concentrate forces, strike once and leave, plunder resources to sustain the war effort, while keeping the defending army busy and expending manpower and resources to repair the city walls.

Foreign tribes often use this tactic; the core idea is that "those with nothing to lose are not afraid of those with shoes on."

After the massacre, scouts from the Great Feng infiltrated Nanguan City to investigate and found that the city, which had originally housed tens of thousands of people, was now nothing but ruins.

The city was utterly deserted; houses collapsed and burned, and the bodies of the defenders and civilians piled up like mountains, forming twelve mounds of corpses.

In front of each mound of deadly beasts was a wooden plaque inscribed with words written in blood:

The Slaughterer of the City—Zhuo Haoran!

They built a mound of skulls to commemorate their victory.

Yang Gong, the supreme commander of the Yongzhou battlefield, convened a meeting with his staff overnight. While retaining the scorched-earth strategy, he allocated 30% of his troops to tasks such as providing reinforcements, harassing the enemy, and cutting off their supply lines.

The war shifted from a defensive posture to a combination of field battles and city defense.

Xu Xinnian led four thousand cavalry and five hundred artillerymen, roaming across the desolate battlefield.

During the defense of Qingzhou, Xu Erlang demonstrated exceptional command abilities. As a result, he and several members of the Heaven and Earth Society each led a cavalry unit to wage guerrilla warfare.

Besides his own abilities, there were two other reasons why Xu Erlang was entrusted with such an important task.

Master Hengyuan was in the team he led, and Hengyuan could contact other members of the Heaven and Earth Society, so the speed of information transmission was extremely fast, making it easier to coordinate.

On the battlefield, this is an absolutely unreasonable advantage.

What's even more absurd is that Xu Xinnian possesses a mirror that can reflect a vast Law Treasure.

The Celestial Mirror!

This was the cheat code that Xu Qi'an handed over to his cousin before he left.

The Heavenly Mirror can observe a thousand miles, allowing for surprise attacks on enemy forces, catching them off guard. It can also be used to avoid enemy attacks and ensure one's own safety.

This is why Xu Qi'an insisted on keeping the Hun Tian Divine Mirror; it was simply too important on the battlefield.

"Amitabha!"

Master Hengyuan carefully put away the fragments of the Earth Book, his face full of compassion as he clasped his hands together and chanted the Buddha's name.

Xu Erlang turned his head and asked:

"Master?"

Master Hengyuan sighed:

"Fellow Daoist Li Miaozhen just went to South Gate City and described the tragic scene there through the Earth Book. This humble monk cannot bear to look at it any longer."

Xu Erlang's heart skipped a beat, and he tentatively asked:

"Show me?"

Master Hengyuan nodded and took out a fragment of the Earth Book, handing it over.

Xu Erlang reached out and took it, staring intently at the jade mirror, where lines of small characters were clearly visible.

[Part Two: The Yunzhou army has finally revealed their true colors. They didn't even spare women and children, slaughtering everyone in Nanguan City. These traitors and rebels, and that Zhuo Haoran—I'll kill him with my own hands!]

True Qi.

[Four: The Yunzhou army is coming in with overwhelming force, massacring the city to boost morale. I have a feeling this battle in Yongzhou will be even more brutal than the one in Qingzhou.]

[Seven: How about we assassinate Zhuo Haoran?]

After hearing his junior sister's description, Li Lingsu felt a bit annoyed. He was still not completely detached from emotions and could still be swayed by them.

[Four: First, you need to confirm his location. Yunzhou has Vermilion Bird Army scouts patrolling; when we find him, he'll also be able to spot us. Locating Zhuo Haoran will be extremely difficult.]

Zhuo Haoran and Xu Erlang touched their chests, recalling the day Songshan County fell to the Japanese.

The man surnamed Zhuo had suffered a great loss in Songshan County. After the city fell, Zhuo Haoran massacred the defending soldiers and civilians, chased him for dozens of miles, and almost killed him with a single blow.

Li Miaozhen cursed for a while, then made an agreement with the members of the Heaven and Earth Society that once they found Zhuo Haoran's whereabouts, they would immediately lead their troops to raid and kill this madman who had slaughtered the city.

Afterwards, the group of people who wrote on the ground quieted down, and no one passed on any more books.

Xu Erlang returned the Earth Book to Master Hengyuan and asked:

Why didn't the master form an army like them?

Hengyuan shook his head:

"This humble monk is but a martial monk; I know nothing of such things."

Xu Xinnian nodded, then felt a heat in his arms and quickly took out a bronze mirror that was missing half a piece.

"You brat, you don't even have dragon aura, yet you dare to claim me as your throne?"

The mirror of the Heavenly Mirror revealed a mouth that spat and cursed:

"I am a treasure you cannot possess. If you wish to use me, you must pay extra and nurture me with your own energy."

While its energy cannot compare to dragon energy, it is still a pure and yang form of energy.

Upon hearing this, Hengyuan said:

"Leave it to this humble monk."

Xu Erlang was Confucian School disciple and did not possess any concept of qi (vital energy).

Xu Erlang frowned and said:

"My brother already told me that you made a deal with him to stay with me temporarily. Are you trying to trick me by bringing this up now?"

"So what if it is!" Hun Tian Shen Jing acted as if he had nothing to lose.

Xu Erlang glanced at it. "I think you're asking for a scolding."

"Stop cursing, stop cursing, you human are sharp-tongued."

Half an hour later, the Hun Tian Divine Mirror felt itself had become a scoundrel among Law Treasure and roared:

I can't be bothered to argue with you. Don't call me unless it's absolutely necessary.

"Wait!"

Xu Erlang took off his water pouch and took a sip:

"Show me what you're capable of first."

The Celestial Mirror thought for a moment and decided it wasn't a big deal, so it said:

"Watch closely!"

The bronze mirror immediately vitrified, rippling like water waves. The ripples slowly subsided, revealing a picture.

It was a military tent, furnished with a sand table, maps, and armor and weapons. On the bed, a burly man was brutally torturing a slender boy with a ferocious expression.

The boy's face was pale, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead, as if he were in extreme pain.

Why are you showing me this?

Xu Erlang felt offended and roared in anger.

Among high-ranking officials and nobles, as well as in the military, there are quite a few who have homosexual tendencies, which is not surprising. But Xu Erlang just felt that this broken mirror was implying something about him.

A question mark flashed through Hun Tian Shen Jing's mind, filled with confusion and grievance:

"Don't you like it? Your older brother really enjoys watching men take baths."

A series of question marks flashed through Xu Erlang's mind, followed by a twitch at the corner of his mouth:

"My older brother is my older brother, and I am me. I am not like him."

Xu Erlang didn't quite believe what the mirror said, but that wouldn't stop him from telling his parents about his elder brother's quirks when he returned to the capital, letting them judge his brother and make him feel ashamed in front of his family as he had done before.

At that moment, Xu Erlang saw in the mirror that the burly man had stopped all his movements, raised his head, and was looking at him with a look of enjoyment.

The burly man had rugged features, his left eye was white and he couldn't see, and he had a long scar on his cheek.

Zhuo Haoran!

The border of Yongzhou.

Kou Yangzhou stepped into Qingzhou territory and then unleashed his aura at will.

The next second, a figure in white appeared in mid-air, along with a handsome young man with a sword at his waist.

Xu Pingfeng and Ji Xuan.

The old scoundrel, his head full of white hair like frost, sneered:

"I'm coming, hit me!"

He then took a step back:

"I'm back, come and hit me!"