Chapter Seventy-Five: The City of Death

At this moment, if the Qi cultivators from Wuji Mountain were to join forces with those Ghost Kings, the situation would become even more troublesome!

This intelligence was extremely important. Chen Bushi immediately dispatched a messenger to report the news to the prefectural government.

Then, the prefectural government would notify the county militias.

However, when the messenger returned, he brought back bad news.

Xiayi County had been occupied by the Qi cultivators; the city’s protective deity temple was destroyed, the county magistrate killed, and the county soldiers coerced into submission.

Upon hearing this news, Chen Bushi’s face turned ashen!

Even Wang Zhenling felt an ominous sense growing in his heart.

Though it was never explicitly stated, it was clear that this operation in the Lower Mi Prefecture was being driven by Chen Bushi—or rather, the Chen family of Hezhong—behind the scenes.

Yet now, such a grave situation had arisen: an entire county city had fallen to the Qi cultivators.

Losing a city was a major matter. This incident was no longer just a local problem of Lower Mi Prefecture; the imperial court would soon learn of it and take notice!

From a political standpoint, this was significant. From a tactical perspective, the situation was also unfavorable.

Xiayi County lay at the foot of Wuji Mountain and was the gathering point for the militias of various counties.

Now, the county troops had not yet arrived, and Xiayi County was already lost—an ill omen for the campaign’s outset.

Furthermore, this military action was originally intended to exterminate the Qi cultivators, not to prepare for large-scale warfare.

But with Xiayi County lost, many uncontrollable chain reactions were bound to follow.

Though the Chen family of Hezhong was a renowned noble lineage with generations of ministers and great influence at court, they were not omnipotent and had enemies.

It went without saying that any force capable of opposing the Chen family would be nearly as strong—if not stronger.

If the political adversaries at court seized this opportunity to strike, things would become very difficult!

At this critical moment, Mr. Feng stepped forward and said, “Captain, the only plan now is for us to fight desperately forward!

We cannot control the militias from other counties, but we do have three thousand county troops under our command. It is not impossible for us to retake Xiayi County quickly!”

Wang Zhenling had not seen the other Mr. Yu for a long time, so Mr. Feng had become Chen Bushi’s most important strategist.

His words carried great weight. Upon hearing him, both Chen Bushi and Wang Zhenling understood clearly.

At this juncture, the best course of action was to swiftly recapture Xiayi County and eliminate this source of trouble.

They could not control the militias from other counties, but they had three thousand county soldiers, which might be enough.

However, it would be extremely risky.

If the Danling County troops were completely wiped out by a single careless mistake, even with Chen Bushi’s Chen family backing, he would suffer greatly—perhaps not dead, but certainly badly wounded.

Moreover, war is fraught with danger; who could say if Chen Bushi himself would survive the battlefield?

For a moment, Chen Bushi hesitated.

Wang Zhenling knew that his lord was rather magnanimous and willing to listen to advice, but he was somewhat indecisive—human nature being what it is.

Usually, the more decisive a person is, the less likely they are to heed others’ opinions, because of a strong will.

Those who can listen to others tend not to be as forceful.

Hence, it is rare to find someone both decisive and receptive to others’ counsel.

Such a person is often described as wise and valiant.

Clearly, Chen Bushi was not quite at that level.

Wang Zhenling’s thoughts flickered. He wanted to continue thriving in officialdom, and for that, having the Chen family of Hezhong as a strong backing was indispensable.

Even though he had no experience in officialdom in his previous life, he knew from observation and hearsay that if Chen Bushi fell into misfortune this time, so would he.

It would be difficult to avoid blame for the defeat; losing his post and returning home would be an achievement in itself.

He might even lose his head.

The Dachen Dynasty’s laws were harsh, highly valuing military merit, but also punishing defeat severely.

On the other hand, the spiritual veins ran throughout Wuji Mountain. If this operation succeeded, Wang Zhenling would have the chance to harvest spiritual energy from the earth’s veins.

Otherwise, where else could he acquire massive amounts of spiritual energy to replenish the spiritual pool in the Juntian Cave Mansion?

With this in mind, Wang Zhenling stepped forward and volunteered, “Captain, I am willing to serve as the vanguard for the army!”

With Wang Zhenling’s voluntary offer, Chen Bushi finally made up his mind. “Very well, then we shall first storm Xiayi County!”

The entire Danling County militia hastened their march toward Xiayi County.

Wang Zhenling led three hundred Guangyang countryside soldiers at the forefront of the army.

Xiayi County was the closest to Wuji Mountain and the stronghold of the Qi cultivators, who had recruited many followers.

This internal and external alliance had easily seized Xiayi County, killed the county magistrate, and disbanded the militia.

Wang Zhenling believed that these Qi cultivators were a ragtag bunch. Though they could capture the county, they had no effective means to govern it.

Especially among the Qi cultivators, their factions were numerous and mixed, each pursuing different interests, making unified governance impossible.

Although Xiayi County was taken, it must have been in utter chaos.

Yet, what happened next greatly exceeded Wang Zhenling’s expectations.

When Wang Zhenling led the army on a forced march to Xiayi County, the entire city seemed like a deserted ghost town.

Before even approaching the city, Wang Zhenling could see from afar a mass of black energy hovering over Xiayi County like a giant pot lid, pressing down as if ready to crush the city into dust at any moment!

“This is death energy... could it be that the entire city is dead?” Wang Zhenling was secretly alarmed and ordered the militia to halt.

They were still three to five miles from Xiayi County, but seeing such a scene, Wang Zhenling involuntarily felt a chill.

If these Qi cultivators were truly so depraved as to slaughter all the city’s inhabitants, then this situation would indeed be dire!

Fortunately, it was still afternoon. By calculation, there was at least another hour and a half before nightfall, so Wang Zhenling could feel somewhat reassured.

But what to do now?

Wang Zhenling found himself trapped in a dilemma.

In front lay Xiayi County, saturated with such massive death energy, obviously very dangerous, perhaps haunted by thousands of ghosts.