As the writing ended, a surge of righteous energy erupted from the Tan Zhong acupoint, and Qin Mu once again felt as if he had been completely drained.
To put it another way, if you use your righteous energy to imbue a weapon for attack, it's like running or exercising normally; you won't feel tired until you reach a certain level. But using this precious scroll is like weightlifting; it requires a tremendous amount of strength in an instant, and even after you drop the weights, the fatigue is still very intense.
It also resembles the emptiness a man feels after a slight shiver, giving one the urge to light a cigarette.
Of course! This is just a mental feeling; in reality, Qin Mu only consumed 30% of his righteous energy. This made him very happy, as his mental strength increased after returning from the secret realm, and the consumption of righteous energy significantly decreased.
His control over the Righteous Qi had become much more refined, a fact he had discovered long ago, but this was the first time he had used the Treasure Scroll since leaving the secret realm. As the Righteous Qi erupted, more than twenty soldiers appeared.
Qin Mu looked closely and saw only five cavalrymen, ten soldiers with swords, five archers, three men with dogs, and two falcons in the sky; most importantly, the general was nowhere to be seen. This made him realize that this precious scroll truly did have a bonus effect on the wolf clan.
Another benefit of the greatly increased mental strength became apparent: Qin Mu felt he could now issue commands to these illusory soldiers. This feeling was incredibly profound; he understood everything with a single thought. He estimated that as his strength grew and his mental power became even more formidable, he would be able to precisely control the attacks of each individual soldier.
Hou Yuan noticed Qin Mu writing, and his expression changed drastically. His horse-like face darkened, and he gritted his teeth, pulling out a handful of beans from his robes. He then spat out a mouthful of blood, chanting incantations as his spiritual energy surged into his hands. By the time Qin Mu's soldiers materialized, he had completed his preparations. With a wave of his hands, the beans scattered, transforming upon landing into seemingly real people with flesh and blood.
"Hmph! Scattering beans to create soldiers! The Hou family is really generous, actually using the golden beans that the immortal cultivated with his own blood and sweat." He was originally happy to see his son display such great power, but he didn't expect Hou Yuan to also reveal his trump card, and he immediately became a little worried.
Golden beans aren't actually made of gold; they're a special plant whose beans are golden in color, hence the name. However, this plant must be planted in a place with abundant spiritual energy. It takes three years to grow, three years to flower, and three years to bear fruit—a total of ten years—to obtain golden beans. Because of its high demand for spiritual energy, each plant is planted individually, so it's no surprise that each harvest is small.
Not only that, the golden beans also require a Taoist master to nurture them with his lifeblood for forty-nine days, and finally create them using a secret method. However, with such a cost, their power is naturally considerable. The people transformed from these golden beans are also called golden warriors. Although they are unarmed, they have immense strength, possess spiritual energy, and their defense is not weak either.
In Taoism, the cultivation levels are as follows: those who haven't entered the path are called Taoist children; those who have entered are called Taoist priests; then come Taoist masters, Taoist elders, True Men, True Lords, and Celestial Masters. True Men are at the same level as Confucian masters, belonging to the backbone of each school and sect. Those who have been nurtured by them with their own efforts are naturally of high quality.
Golden Warriors are at least at the Scholar level, otherwise they wouldn't be able to help True Persons. After all, if the enemy is at the same level, a lower level of strength won't be of much help.
The only drawback of the Golden Warriors is that they cannot use spiritual energy; they can only attack with physical force. However, since they are cultivated from a large amount of spiritual energy, they are equally effective against defenses and objects made of various special spiritual energies.
After summoning the Golden Warriors, Hou Yuan's face turned much paler. He had just used not only the essence of his tongue but also eighty percent of his spiritual energy. These Golden Warriors were his father's life-saving artifacts, which he had reluctantly used to avoid losing the duel. One could imagine how much hatred he harbored for Qin Mu.
"Kill him!" Hou Yuan pointed and ordered. Having summoned the Golden Warrior, he certainly wasn't content with merely blocking Qin Mu's attack; he also wanted to break through the scroll's defenses.
The Golden Warrior immediately charged towards Qin Mu, simultaneously swinging his fist at the soldiers formed from the aura of righteousness.
The clash between the two sides was a head-on collision. The soldiers of the Treasure Scroll were struck so hard that their righteous energy surged continuously, their bodies swaying and some even becoming ethereal. The Golden Warrior possessed immense strength; a single punch would often knock down a soldier of the Treasure Scroll, sending him flying.
Fortunately, the soldiers of the Treasure Scroll are not real people, so they feel no pain or fear. After falling, they simply get up and continue attacking. They possess weapons conjured from their righteous energy, which can also inflict damage on the Golden Warriors. In particular, the shield-wielding soldiers who guard the area have large shields and know how to coordinate. After taking a punch, they will take the opportunity to retreat, allowing another person to take the next attack.
However, the golden warriors were indeed ferocious, charging straight ahead. Soon, two of them reached the front of the stage, smashing the protective shield until it flashed with light. Qin Mu had no choice but to send the halberd-wielding warriors behind him to meet them.
Seeing the soldiers guarding the platform being smashed into illusions and then disappear, Hou Yuan couldn't help but smile. He secretly rejoiced that he had summoned the Golden Warriors, because the soldiers guarding the platform weren't just protecting their own area; they simply couldn't stray far from the platform. They were now besieging the Golden Warriors.
However, Hou Yuan's joy didn't last long, as some of the Golden Warriors, with their increasing wounds and depleted spiritual energy, began to fall. This was actually Hou Yuan's bad luck; ordinary Treasure Scroll soldiers certainly wouldn't have been able to stop the Golden Warriors. But this was Qin Mu's first time using them, and the Treasure Scroll soldiers were not only numerous but also incredibly strong.
The intense, hand-to-hand combat lasted for nearly half an hour. Qin Mu's precious scroll soldiers were reduced to only two halberd-wielding warriors, and even they were ethereal, seemingly about to dissipate. At this moment, Hou Yuan finally revealed a sinister smile and dispatched the last golden warrior guarding his side.
Before the Golden Warrior could even reach the front of the stage, Hou Yuan's smile froze on his face, because Qin Mu picked up his brush again, and then a milky white light flashed, and more than twenty soldiers appeared. As soon as these soldiers appeared, they rushed towards the Golden Warrior, while two falcons took off and swooped down on Hou Yuan.
At this moment, Hou Yuan noticed that there were actually four falcons in the sky. He then realized that Qin Mu had not let them attack him because he saw that he was protected by the Golden Warrior.
"This is outrageous! A few feathered beasts dare to bully me!" Hou Yuan roared, drawing his sword from his waist. The sword, imbued with true energy, swung at the hunting falcon.
When Hou Yuan finally stopped, panting heavily, after hacking the falcon to pieces, he discovered that all the Golden Warriors had been reduced to mangled limbs. And of Qin Mu's soldiers, only two snarling, silently howling dogs remained.
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