Chapter 41 Nirvana and its Brother
It was late autumn, and the chilly rain pattered on the soldiers, intensifying their homesickness. A long dragon snaked through the mountains and valleys north of the capital, slowly crawling and silently advancing northward. The brightly colored flags, soaked by the drizzle, clung limply to their flagpoles, like hanged ghosts.
After only two days of marching, the enthusiasm of the group of noble heirs had largely faded. It seemed they were only now realizing this was truly a trip to the battlefield, not a hunting trip in the mountains with their retinues and lackeys. Surrounded by troops, crowded together, they offered little in the way of safety or comfort.
There are many routes from the capital of the Great Xia Dynasty to Ulan City in the northern wilderness, but the most important and easiest route is to head north from the capital to Xuanhua Prefecture, then northwest to Guihua City, and finally north to Ulan City. Ulan City, formerly known as Kulun, is the northernmost city of the Great Xia Dynasty, facing Maimai City, a traditionally orcish-held territory.
Huba's traditional grazing area of the Tatar tribe is in the western part of the Chule River, not far from Guihua City. This time, Qin Mo agreed to exchange sea salt for his warhorse, which made him very happy. It's only a third of the market price! The Crown Prince of Heng is the best nobleman. Compared to him, the other nobles of the Great Xia are just bloodsucking gadflies.
His Highness the Crown Prince had many, many carriages made, some with two wheels and some with four, laden with sea salt, dried meat, and pickled fish, all stored in large, bellied jars. There were also sweet raisins. Just thinking about those delicious dried fruits made Huba's mouth water uncontrollably.
Qin Mo had made thorough preparations for this northward expedition. Although the imperial court would be responsible for the army's provisions after the generals were appointed and the expedition began, he didn't hold much hope for the benevolence of the feudal leadership. "It's good enough if they can feed you to your fill," he thought, "you expect a balanced diet?"
Sure enough, most of the first batch of military rations he received were several years old. It was considered good, as they were given a new batch of rations as a bonus; the nobles were simply given only old rations, and they were lucky if they didn't get moldy. This is where the various seasonings Qin Mo brought came in handy. Dayuan is rich in seasonings, especially star anise, which could mask the smell of stale rations and enhance appetite.
"Reporting to the general, a camp left behind by the vanguard has appeared ahead." A scout galloped over, dismounting only when he was ten zhang away from Qin Mo's central army to report. These scouts with red flags on their backs were the only soldiers besides Qin Mo's personal guards who could get close to Qin Mo's central army.
"Pass down the order: set up camp and rest. All procedures must follow wartime regulations." Qin Mo glanced at the sky. Although it was still early, with an existing campsite, they should set up camp to avoid tiring the soldiers. This was the advantage of following closely behind Chen Xuanji's central army. Other armies might just casually pitch tents and call it camp, but Chen Xuanji, as the commander-in-chief, would not be so hasty. The selection and construction of the campsite were all done in a proper manner, which benefited the private armies of several nobles following behind.
Qin Yumu and Qin Yuanze's troops were quite far from Qin Mo, so Qin Mo, bored by himself, started messing around with his own troops. He practiced things like forced marches, simulating ambushes, and changing defensive formations to engage the enemy while on the march. As for night scouts, they were spread out over dozens of miles, and the scouts were all eager to go, because they could get a jug of strong liquor to ward off the damp chill of autumn.
Qin Mo didn't request the expansion of the distillery in Dayuan, but Uncle Lin still increased alcohol production at an unimaginable speed. Sea salt was transported out of Dayuan, and on the return trip, grain or low-alcohol liquor was brought back to Dayuan. Then, high-alcohol liquor continuously flowed into Qin Mo's camp, ostensibly to help the army withstand the cold. Qin Mo was well aware of the old men's ulterior motives, and helplessly had to use military orders to stipulate each person's quota of strong liquor, forbidding excessive drinking, with punishment for those who did. As for wartime, alcohol was completely prohibited.
"Alright, Kai, you can go and rest. I can do it myself," Qin Mo said to the Japanese beauty who was making her bed. Ever since Xu Liyan took her in as his goddaughter, she had been learning martial arts from Old Xu in the wounded soldiers' camp. At night, she was assigned to Qin Mo's place as a maid. She set up a tent next to the main tent, washing clothes, folding blankets, serving tea and meals, and she served Qin Mo quite comfortably.
"Your Highness, please rest well. If you need anything, Kai is nearby. I'll take my leave now." After tidying up Qin Mo's bed, Kai Hime returned to her tent to comprehend her "Breaking the Technique." She had already begun to sense the existence of Lin Yuan Qi, but she was not yet able to channel it into her body.
Chen Xuanji was a cultivator at the Earth Realm, and was extremely sensitive to the earth's elemental energy. The density of this energy varied depending on the terrain, and the location of Chen Xuanji's command tent was always in a place rich in elemental energy. This was one of the reasons why Kaihime was able to initially sense the presence of elemental energy. When she first started serving Qin Mo as a maid, she was reluctant, but after Xu Liyan told her that Qin Mo's location had the densest elemental energy, she became exceptionally attentive to Qin Mo, fearing that the Crown Prince would send her back to the wounded soldiers' camp.
Qin Mo opened the window at the top of the tent and sat cross-legged in the center. He began to absorb the surrounding spiritual energy to cultivate. Over the past few days, a thought had been growing stronger in his mind, and today he finally made up his mind to try an alternative cultivation method.
After Qin Mo absorbed the Earthly Qi into her body, she used the "Returning Heart Sutra" to separate the gentle Qi from the violent Earthly Qi and incorporate it into her Dantian for fusion and refinement.
The *Return to the Heart Sutra* has two main functions: first, it draws gentle primordial energy into the dantian and fuses it using a secret method, thus liquefying it; second, it expels excess, volatile primordial energy from the body, preventing harm to the cultivator. The *Return to the Heart Sutra* became a top cultivation method in the Great Xia Dynasty precisely because of its powerful second function, protecting the cultivator's foundation.
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