Chapter 38
Pei Yun let out a low, amused sneer: "My original plan was to lure the vassal kings to gather at the Immortal Pavilion. All I had to do was spread the word that the descendants of the Witch Clan had appeared here... At that time, we could wipe them all out in one fell swoop and eliminate any future troubles."
Xianloutai…it is a sacred place in the hearts of the people. Legend has it that an immortal once lingered here, guiding the ancestors to cultivate the wasteland, sow the five grains, and enlighten the people. The people are grateful for his kindness and built a tall building to worship him for generations, with incense burning continuously. If a prince seeks immortality and dies here, it can be said that the immortals and gods are angry and have sent down heavenly punishment, which is enough to deter people from ever seeking immortality again.
“What a pity,” Pei Yun’s tone suddenly turned stern, “the news leaked out, the princes searched everywhere for Xi Xiao, and the men I sent to intercept and kill her… none of them survived!” He stared at Xi Yu, his gaze like a knife, “luring them to Qilin Mountain is my only chance to put an end to all of this!”
He paused, his tone returning to its chilling indifference: "In this area, I have laid a net of heaven and earth, a death array activated, with no way to escape. Xi Yu, if you cannot destroy that Ice Jade Powder... then take your loyal servant and be buried in this mud."
Although this move killed the vassal king and others, the Ice Jade Powder remained intact, posing a potential threat.
"Young Master! No!" Yunwu shook her head in terror, her voice shrill with fear. "This man is as cunning as an abyss. He clearly wants to lure you into that perilous place. You must not fall into his trap!"
Xi Yu slowly raised his hand, stopping Yunwu from speaking. He gazed at the ominous swamp that Pei Yun had pointed out as the hiding place of Bingyu San, his eyes filled with struggle and pain, but in the end, a deeper resolve prevailed.
"Ice Jade Powder... must be destroyed." His voice was low but incredibly clear. "It is the only hope to eradicate this scourge. Otherwise, even if we eliminate the vassal king today, as long as Ice Jade Powder remains in the world... this matter will be like weeds, growing back in the spring breeze. She... will never have a peaceful day..." The cold wind whipped up his clothes, rustling as if silently mourning.
Before Xi Yu finished speaking, she resolutely turned around and strode towards the swamp shrouded in the shadow of death. Yunwu and Qingfeng exchanged a glance, both seeing the resolve to die in each other's eyes. Without the slightest hesitation, they followed closely behind. The three figures appeared exceptionally frail, yet they exuded a tragic and solitary grandeur that could shake mountains.
Pei Yun's icy gaze lingered for only a moment on the figure disappearing behind the bushes before indifferently withdrawing. He turned his head, his voice devoid of any emotion: "Keep a close watch on all paths leading to this place. Once you discover any trace of her..." He paused, his tone chilling, "capture her immediately and bring her to me. If any vassal kings' henchmen approach, do not stop them; guide them to that area as well."
He Ying felt a chill run down his spine and subconsciously looked at He Song, who was standing silently with his head bowed beside him. He quickly concealed the complex emotions in his eyes and bowed, saying yes.
The moment I stepped onto the edge of the swamp, a chilling, damp air, so different from the dry, cracking wind outside, rushed towards me, sticky and suffocating. Beneath my feet were no longer frozen clods of earth, but soft, wet mud, each step accompanied by a soft "plop." Ahead, tangled black bushes, like twisted, ghostly claws, surrounded the bubbling swamp, exuding a strong aura of foreboding and death.
The three of them endured the chill and each took a pill to ward off the miasma and poisonous insects, but facing this unknown and desolate place, none of them knew how long the effects of the medicine would last.
Xi Yu's eyes blazed, and he was about to step forward. Qingfeng suddenly grabbed his arm, his voice filled with barely suppressed panic: "Young Master, we can't go any further! Look at this swamp, it's like an endless river of the underworld, with no end in sight! How can we possibly cross it? Besides... besides, if there's no Ice Jade Powder on the other side, wouldn't we just be throwing our lives away? Perhaps Yunwu and I..."
Xi Yu paused, then slowly removed his heavy outer robe, stuffing it along with his personal belongings into Qingfeng's arms. His gaze pierced through the hazy miasma, fixing firmly on an inconspicuous area on the opposite bank of the swamp. His voice was unusually calm: "He's right. Look over there. Unlike the gray-black mud of other places, the soil in that clearing is dark red. Ice Jade Powder is fond of gathering yin and devouring blood. This unusual color must be due to the growth of a large amount of Ice Jade Powder. Its roots absorb the yin energy of the earth's veins, changing the soil."
Having said that, he quickly pulled out an oiled paper packet from his pocket, carefully poured out a handful of white phosphorus powder, wrapped it in another piece of oiled paper, and hid it inside his inner pocket. He then carefully checked whether the tinderbox at his waist was properly sealed. Next, he squatted down and scanned the ground: "The soil here is too wet and soft to support my weight. Qingfeng, Yunwu, help me find some dry and hard clods of earth or stones around here, the bigger the better. We'll work together to throw them into the shallower parts of the swamp to create a few temporary footholds. I'll use them to jump over, ignite the white phosphorus to burn the Ice Jade Powder, and then return in the same way."
Hearing this seemingly feasible plan, Yunwu's heart inexplicably pounded wildly, an indescribable fear making it almost impossible for her to breathe. She suppressed her trembling and hesitantly spoke, "Young Master… Ice Jade Powder grows in such a perilous place, with a near-certain death rate… Perhaps… perhaps no one will dare to come looking for it…"
Xi Yu had already bent down, digging with his bare hands in the cold, wet mud, his fingernails quickly filling with black silt. He found a relatively solid clod of earth, weighed it in his hand, and then moved it closer to the edge of the bubbling swamp.
Hearing Yunwu's words, he didn't stop moving. His voice was low and somber, carrying a sense of worldly-wise sorrow: "They dare not come, but there are desperados driven by power who will. In this world, the strong prey on the weak, and life is as worthless as grass. The nobles only need to sit in their high halls, and with a single command, countless 'weaklings' will be used as stepping stones, as livestock to test the waters, pushed into this place of no return, and even in death... they may not be able to choose their own fate." The heaviness in his words weighed on Yunwu and Qingfeng's hearts like a boulder.
Yunwu shuddered, her face turning even paler. She fell silent, silently searching for relatively firm clods of earth and carefully moving them to the front.
When the three of them finally gathered several hard objects of different sizes, they were about to throw them forcefully into the seemingly shallow muddy area.
A cacophony of voices, the ear-piercing clang of swords and spears clashing violently, and chaotic shouts and cries of battle erupted like thunder from a clear sky, suddenly bursting forth from the bushes behind them! The sounds, carrying a strong stench of blood and a frenzied killing intent, were sweeping madly towards this death swamp, growing louder as they approached!
Xi Yu's pupils contracted sharply, and the last trace of color drained from his face. He glared at Qing Feng and shouted sternly, "Too late! Throw it!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Three deep, drum-like thuds crashed into the viscous swamp!
"The Ice Jade Powder is right across the swamp!" A man dressed in fine clothes and wearing a jade crown spotted Xi Yu's figure disappearing into the bushes before the swamp. Hearing Wei Guo's commotion beside him, he became frantic. Pointing in the direction Xi Yu had vanished, he roared at his hesitant soldiers behind him, "That thief must be going to steal the Ice Jade Powder too! Follow him! Quickly!"
"Gurgle, gurgle..."
The clods of earth that Xi Yu had stepped on with his strength had long been silently swallowed up by the bubbling swamp, leaving only ripples that gradually expanded before quickly returning to a chilling calm.
The soldier leader, his face pale as he gazed at the bottomless swamp, swallowed hard, and stepped forward, clasping his hands in a gesture of remonstrance: "Your Highness, this...this swamp is extremely dangerous, its depths unfathomable. To venture in rashly would be certain death. It would be better...it would be better for me to immediately send men to dig and build a path..."
"Smack—!"
A resounding slap landed hard on the leader's face, the force so great that he staggered, his helmet tilting slightly. The man's face was contorted with rage, trembling with fury: "Fool! By the time you, you idiot, lead your men to dig a path, it'll be too late! The Ice Jade Powder will have been devoured by those thieves and the barbarians of Wei! There won't be any left for us!!"
Before the words were even finished, the opposing Wei Kingdom's camp had already begun a brutal "crossing the marshland"!
The soldiers of Weiguo were like driven livestock, or moths drawn to flames, leaping one after another into the deadly swamp! Those behind did not hesitate to step on the rapidly sinking heads or shoulders of their comrades in front, using the momentum to leap forward a short distance, only to sink into the mud themselves.
The people behind followed suit, stepping on the bodies that were being devoured and continuing to move forward... A "passage" paved with the blood and flesh of living people and the fleeting lives of others stretched forward amidst the shrill screams, desperate sobs, and the terrifying sounds of mud being swallowed!
People kept sinking, and people kept stepping on them. The mud churned and bubbled, greedily devouring everything. When the last elite soldier finally managed to step onto the solid land on the opposite bank using this incredibly tragic "stepping stone," the first group to jump had already completely disappeared beneath the dark green mud, leaving not even a trace.
Then, a second and third wave of soldiers surged forward like a tide, repeating this horrifying sacrifice until most of the troops had crossed the swamp in this cruel way.
The commander-in-chief of Wei had a cold, hard face, as if those who had just sacrificed themselves were not his men, but merely a pile of useless weeds. He stood steadily on the opposite bank, his voice cold and high-pitched, piercing through the pervasive miasma: "Issue the order: collect all the Ice Jade Powder, leaving not a single piece for anyone else. After this battle, whoever brings back the most Ice Jade Powder will be promoted three ranks, rewarded with a thousand gold pieces, and granted a noble title!"
"Yes, sir!" A thunderous roar of response came from the opposite bank, greed and fervor instantly overriding the fear of death. The surviving Wei soldiers, like ravenous wolves that had caught the scent of blood, charged in a mighty, roaring charge toward the clearing where the dark red ice jade powder grew.
Over here, the Third Prince witnessed Wei Guo's crazy yet effective methods firsthand, and his eyes turned bloodshot with rage. He slapped the still-shocked leader hard on the back of the head again, roaring, "Fool! Open your dog eyes and see clearly! If they can do it, why can't we? Do it! If you delay the important matter, I'll exterminate your entire family!"
The leader's cheeks burned with pain. Gazing at the swamp before him, a scene of utter devastation, a profound sense of pity and helplessness flashed in his eyes, ultimately settling into a heavy sigh. He slowly raised his hand, his voice hoarse and desperate, and issued the cruelest order of his life to the terrified soldiers behind him: "...All troops, heed my command!...Cross the swamp!...Those who advance will be rewarded! Those who retreat...will be executed!"
Hidden behind the dense, damp bushes, Yunwu and Qingfeng witnessed this horrific scene and felt their blood freeze. They looked at the opposite side with worry and couldn't help but want to stop it, but remembering the young master's words, they stopped in their tracks, anxiously watching the situation and waiting for the right moment to come to their aid.
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