Little Flower

"Splash!" A shower of blood rained down on Ye Pingshui's spiritual energy shield. Opposite him was a young boy who was only at the age of a dancing elephant, but whose skills were inferior to Ye Pingshui's.

He was scalded and turned into a pile of minced meat by the black sand sprayed from Ye Pingshui's gourd magic Law Artifact.

"Phew, the second one." Ye Pingshui gasped for breath, picked up the boy's brand-new Storage Bag, silently counted the number in his mind, avoided the pile of purple soil next to him, and then found a low mound to sit down.

This was his twentieth day since he came to Little Wu Mountain with his senior master, but he still hadn't gotten used to it.

As a Sect Leader Kang Da was assigned this dangerous task by Sima Fei, requiring him to lead his cultivators to be stationed in a dangerous place like the Jiazi Xu Mountain, he could still secure relatively safe positions for his disciples.

Ye Pingshui and Song Hui were not close to the battle lines. The reason why Ye Pingshui encountered the Clear Cloud Alliance cultivators this time was the same as last time.

The reason was that the Mandarin Duck Hall cultivators guarding the front were overwhelmed by the Clear Cloud Alliance's elite troops, who moved so fast that even Jiang Qing didn't have time to lead his men to plug the gap.

Fortunately, Chu Huer and his men sealed off the breach, blocking the Clear Cloud Alliance cultivators who were surging forward.

Although Ye Zhengwen arrived and led his men to defeat the enemy's elite troops, they were unable to surround and wipe them out before they scattered and fled for their lives within the enemy ranks.

This is why Ye Pingshui was so exhausted that he also had to fight a battle with the Clear Cloud Alliance cultivators.

Fortunately, the one who ran up to Ye Pingshui was also a young and inexperienced cultivator with very poor fighting skills. It was a mystery how he managed to infiltrate that elite troop.

To be honest, this place is relatively safe. Ye Pingshui has been here for twenty days and has only seen the Clear Cloud Alliance cultivators twice, yet he has already killed a second one.

This honest kid wasn't really afraid. He had witnessed the whole ordeal when Heng Mountain was in trouble, but his killing skills were still lacking.

The scale of this battle was much larger than when Sima Fei attacked and destroyed the Five Aspects Sect. The two Sima himself came and brought twenty or thirty Foundation Establishment True Cultivator, all of whom were extraordinary. Among them were people from the capital region, such as Sima Office's Chief Secretary Buse.

All the local militia in Cloud Horn Prefecture were mobilized, with five hundred from large counties and dozens from small counties. Together with the prefectural court guards and Tie Liuyun's Xiezhi Guard, they formed a coalition of two thousand Qi Refinement cultivators and marched in a mighty force.

According to Kang Dabao's private thoughts, there were probably only about 10,000 cultivators in the entire Cloud Horn Prefecture, and the prefectural government had not yet fully taken over the entire territory of Cloud Horn Prefecture. In fact, this battle had already cost a great deal of money.

As for Auspicious Brocade Gate Sect, including its vassal states, its own four hundred Qi Refinement cultivators were trapped in the formation, with almost no chance of victory.

Seeing that the state court's power was unstoppable, the two Foundation Establishment in True Cultivator did have thoughts of turning against the government.

However, before the war even began, the Two Instruments Sect had already transferred all of their Foundation Establishment seedlings to the main altar at Rosy Lake Mountain.

Not only that, the Two Instruments Sect also sent a peak-level Pill Master to persuade the various Foundation Establishment forces in Cloud Horn Prefecture. Those who were loyal to the prefectural government were asked to betray the sect, while those who were loyal to the Two Instruments Sect were asked to support Auspicious Brocade Gate to share the burden.

The Two Instruments Sect had long held sway in Cloud Horn Prefecture, and this Pill Master, without resorting to force, simply continued to offer official titles and promises, successfully persuading several sects.

After all, everyone knows that when Shen Lingfeng was stationed in Shannan Circuit after the campaign to pacify the barbarians, serving as the chief administrator, the Immortal Dynasty was just as powerful as it is today.

Many powerful families and sects followed him, including some of the leading forces in Cloud Horn Prefecture, enjoying immense prestige. Meanwhile, the loyal followers of the Two Instruments Sect were overwhelmed by the pressure.

But today, if you count on your fingers, you can't find many of Steward Shen's followers who still retain their tradition.

Learn from the mistakes of the past, and take heed of the lessons to follow.

Since the allied forces of the state and the court were only halfway there when their rear was on the verge of collapse, Sima Fei had no choice but to divide his troops and hand them over to Acting Sima Gun, ordering him to turn back and wipe out these two-faced cowards in one fell swoop.

Taking advantage of this moment, allies of the Auspicious Brocade Gate from the Clear Cloud Alliance began to arrive to provide assistance, including eight hundred cultivators.

Sima Fei lost his chance for a swift and decisive victory, while the False Core sent by the Two Instruments Sect to persuade various factions was not so lucky either.

He died on his way to the Mo Household in Hong County, his eyes filled with disbelief as he was beheaded by Yue Lin, the patriarch of the Yue Household.

He never imagined, even in his death, that the Han City Yue Household Two Instruments Sect, once staunch henchmen of the Cloud Horn Prefecture Court.

Even the Earl of Earl of Nan'an has condescended to do so; which family wouldn't be tempted?

It is said that after this incident, Earl of Nan'a Kuang Liuting met with the Two Instruments Sect, the head of the Li Yun Sect, at Heavy Lead Peak. No one knows what they talked about, but people say that the two seemed to have a very pleasant conversation.

After this discussion, the state court released a False Core from the Two Instruments Sect, and Yue Lin returned to Han City. He and the rest of the Yue Household cultivators also did not travel to Little Wu Mountain to assist the state court.

Things that important figures could easily agree to with a few words, they insist on making these low-level cultivators risk their lives to achieve.

The Jiazi Xu Mountain, where Ye Pingshui is located, was assigned by Sima Fei to be guarded in Pingrong County. It was once a key array point set up by Auspicious Brocade Gate to provide spiritual energy to his sect's grand array.

As soon as Sima Fei arrived at the Little Wu Mountain, he found the array master who had verified the location and then led his troops to sever the energy channels of the Second Tier grand array on the mountain.

This immediately caused the Auspicious Brocade Gate's grand formation to lose a significant portion of its spiritual energy source.

This means that Auspicious Brocade Gate can only power its grand formation with Spirit Stone, which is extremely costly. Even though his family was once a high-ranking sect that produced True-Grade Golden Core cultivators, it cannot sustain this for long.

Therefore, recapturing this key position as soon as possible is the top priority for Auspicious Brocade Gate.

Sima Fei anticipated that this place was crucial and that Auspicious Brocade Gate would definitely launch a counterattack, so he entrusted the task of guarding the Jiazixu Mountain to Kang, the Sect Leader Kang Da of the Pingrong County Commandery.

After all, this is a crucial place, and the three hundred local soldiers from Pingrong County, who are of varying quality, are unlikely to be able to defend it.

For this purpose, Sima Fei also dispatched a troop of state guards, led by Gun Qiushou, the nephew of Xuanwei West City Acting Sima Gun, whom Kang Dabao had met before.

Among them were many collateral descendants of the Fei Household. Sima Fei truly lived up to the trust placed in him by the Earl of Nan'an, and genuinely sent his closest troops to the most dangerous places as an example.

However, he hadn't anticipated that the False Core user was just as skilled, no less so than Yue Lin.

One person alone was enough to suppress Sima Fei and more than a dozen Foundation Establishment, preventing them from escaping.

The initial two thousand cultivators of the allied army were divided into two groups. One group, led by Acting Sima Gun, was tasked with suppressing the rebellion, and a considerable number of troops were already separated from it.

However, most of the Foundation Establishment cultivators in Fei Sima's area are currently being held back by the fake Pill Masters sent by the Liangyi Sect. The number of Foundation Establishment cultivators remaining on the Zhou Ting side is not much more than the number of Foundation Establishment cultivators that Ruijin Sect and other families have brought to help in the formation.

As for the Qi Refinement cultivators, another four hundred people were stationed at the Jiazi Xu Mountain.

In this way, the cultivators in the state court's besieging Auspicious Brocade Gate, in terms of both quality and quantity, are not necessarily much stronger than the cultivators inside the formation.

Since Sima Fei was unable to leave his post, the current army of the state court was actually commanded by Sima Office's chief secretary Buse.

The latter's abilities were not bad, but compared to Sima Fei, they were worlds apart.

Besides Xiao Guicao relentlessly besieging Auspicious Brocade Gate day and night, he also thoroughly carried out the military order given by Sima Fei to have the Pingrong defend the Jiazixu Mountain.

For over ten days, Sect Leader Kang Da and his disciples and fellow villagers guarded the Jiazi Xu position. None of the other cultivators who were besieging the Auspicious Brocade Gate at the foot of the mountain managed to come down from the Jiazi Xu position alive.

After this, the soldiers from other counties and villages, while feeling the state government's determination to destroy Auspicious Brocade Gate, were also somewhat terrified.

Not to mention Buse, a monk without offspring, who showed no regard for the blood relatives of the two Sima clans for his own wealth and status, so how could he care about the lives of these recruited cultivators?

With the battle escalating to this point, the lower-level cultivators under the state court all knew that regardless of whether the state court could ultimately destroy the Auspicious Brocade Gate's grand formation or whether their lineage would be wiped out, they themselves would find it difficult to survive.

Morale was low, Buse remained obstinate, ignoring even the last remaining registrar of the prefecture. The troops, without rest, continued their attacks in shifts, day and night.

As a result, the state court quickly suffered casualties among its Foundation Establishment True Cultivator.

The day before, Auspicious Brocade Gate suddenly released its great formation, catching the state court's besieging forces off guard. Even the current head of the Mo Household family in Hong County was caught by two or three of his peers and was unable to escape, ending up inside the formation.

On the contrary, it greatly boosted the morale of the two Foundation Establishment who were in charge of Auspicious Brocade Gate.

Lord Mo of Hong County, who had once done business with Sect Leader Kang Da, fought Buse to retrieve half of his father's body. After wailing for a while, he sent the other half back by people from Auspicious Brocade Gate.

The overwhelming force not only failed to achieve its objective, but also resulted in the loss of a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator before the Auspicious Brocade Gate Sect, who were holed up in their formation, could even defeat it.

The morale of the state court was severely damaged, and to make matters worse, the commander-in- Acting Sima Gun, also encountered trouble. A Foundation Establishment clan that had established a foundation had colluded with several Rogue Cultivator different counties, preventing him from leaving to provide reinforcements. This brought the state court's offensive to a standstill.

The soldiers of the state court went through the motions, while the cultivators of Auspicious Brocade Gate Sect were full of vigor.

The Two Instruments Sect had already laid out its plans. If the state court suffered a major defeat or returned empty-handed, the Clear Cloud Alliance would not only receive twenty Foundation Establishment Pill, but the Foundation Establishment cultivators from various families would also have the opportunity to go to Rosy Lake Mountain and listen to Golden Core fortuitous opportunity preach.

As the tides turned, the threat of the state court's offensive diminished, and the Clear Cloud Alliance even dared to step out of their formation and fight against the state court's allied forces.

However, the number and quality of cultivators on the state court's side still held a certain advantage, and under Buse's command, the Auspicious Brocade Gate's side suffered a minor setback.

This was a real setback for them. They Foundation Establishment behind Auspicious Brocade Gate and even defeated an overzealous state court squad before returning calmly.

Meanwhile, seeing that the scene they had expected the state court to swiftly and decisively annihilate Auspicious Brocade Gate had not occurred, it was inevitable that some people would have some thoughts they shouldn't have.

The leaders of the various factions in the Clear Cloud Alliance even dared to pull out a portion of the cultivators left behind at their homes to form a coalition of three or four hundred people to besiege the Jiazi Xu Mountain, where Sect Leader Kang Da was stationed.

This group included many disciples of powerful Foundation Establishment. Apart from the elite troops sent by the state court, the other cultivators under Sect Leader Kang Da could not gain much advantage against them, and holding their ground was extremely difficult.

Thankfully, we managed to hold on for another day!

Seeing that the cultivators of the Clear Cloud Alliance had been wiped out by Ye Zhengwen and Han Yundao and others, Ye Pingshui breathed a sigh of relief. He and Song Hui, who was beside him, supported each other and walked to the clinic where Pei Yi was.

The two arrived a little late, by which time Pei Yi and several Alchemist sent by the state court were already extremely busy.

This attack by the enemy resulted in over a dozen casualties on our side, many of whom could not be saved.

It should be noted that many of the people named in County Magistrate Luo Heng's register were pillars of their respective families. After this battle, the scene of every household in Pingrong County draped in mourning will surely be repeated.

Even those whose families were destroyed and whose lineage was cut off are not necessarily few in number.

Song Hui was still young and had no time to reflect on these things.

His right arm had just been stung by the spirit insect of the Clear Cloud Alliance cultivator that Ye Pingshui had killed. It didn't hurt much, but he couldn't use his strength, so he wanted to find Pei Yi to take a look.

Pei Yi's skills were not very high. He looked at it carefully for a while but could not see anything unusual, so he went to find the Alchemist who had come with the state court's military force.

The latter was currently in a state of utter distress, and out of politeness, he only came over for a cursory glance, then took a bone needle made from a Second Tier Demon Beast and inserted it into Song Hui's wound to examine it.

After a while, seeing that the bone needle showed no abnormality, the Alchemist said to Pei Yi in an annoyed tone, "Hey, what's so interesting? It's just a superficial injury."

Pei Yi was somewhat surprised, but relieved after hearing this. He thanked them repeatedly, bandaged Ye Pingshui's leg wound, and told the two to return to the camp to rest.

Ye Pingshui and Song Hui helped each other walk out. Just as they were about to leave, they saw He Yuanbing and Zhang Le carrying Dong Liu'er in.

At this moment, Dong Liu'er's face was withered, her skin wrinkled like that of an eighty-year-old woman, her face as yellow as paper, and her once thick black hair had been replaced by a sparse head of black and white hair. If people had not been with her day and night, they would not have recognized this innocent girl.

"Oh dear, how did this little girl's vitality deteriorate to such a state?!" At this moment, without Pei Yi even having to invite her, the Alchemist had already poked his head out.

"Ugh," Dong Liu'er saw her uncle Pei Yi and looked sad. She couldn't even speak. She could only open her small mouth with difficulty. Her pale lips were bloodless, and her two rows of pearly white teeth were replaced by a mouthful of cavities.

"We... we were bitten by two scattered Evil Cultivator, and Uncle Ye couldn't save us in time." He Yuanbing showed a hint of shame on his face. The three of them had led the way, but they had caused Dong Liu'er to end up in such a state.

Song Hui stared intently at Dong Liu'er. He seemed to remember the day Dong Liu'er and he entered the sect together. The two innocent children sat together blankly, just looking at each other, without saying a word for a long time.

Song Hui later learned that the little girl loved flowers and birds, and soon after she got her own little courtyard, she decorated it with birdsong and fragrant flowers, making it full of life.

She was Song Hui's best friend; she was a generous friend who was happy to share Spirit Stone with Song Hui; she was a...

"She's not breathing anymore, there's no way to revive her. Just leave her there for now, and we'll have someone bury her later."

Before Song Hui could finish his thought, the cold, numb voice of the Alchemist beside him entered his ears, piercing his head with pain.

"Please take another look, she's only twelve!" Pei Yi held Dong Liu'er's pulse tightly, refusing to let go, and futilely fed her a few pills to replenish her vital energy, then pleaded in a hoarse voice.

"He can't be saved, what a pity." The Alchemist shook his head, showing no intention of stopping, and walked towards the next wounded. "Fellow Daoist Pei, don't rest for too long, hurry up and help."

He Yuanbing and Zhang Le burst into tears upon hearing this, but Song Hui did not. He first helped Ye Pingshui, whose eyes were red, to sit down on a chair, then cleared a clean spot in the corner of the room, wrapped Dong Liu'er in a clean white cloth, and then put her down.

"She's only twelve years old!" Pei Yi's words echoed in Song Hui's ears. He stood blankly in front of Dong Liu'er for a while before dipping his finger in blood and drawing a small red flower on the white silk.

"I'm not good at drawing birds. After we take you back to our clan, I'll ask Mo'er to draw one for you."

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