novelSusiti Chapter 139 Defeat
Chapter 139 Defeat
In the middle of the canyon, in front of the carriage.
Li Chunfeng looked at the blood-red light shield, shook his head, and chuckled.
"Fellow Daoist Situ, your formation... is really crude."
He raised his hand and waved, and nine battle flags appeared out of thin air, landing in nine different directions.
"Heaven and earth reversed, yin and yang inverted—break!"
The nine array flags shone brightly, echoing Situ Ming's nine blood flags.
The next moment, a jaw-dropping scene unfolded—
The crimson light shield began to rotate in the opposite direction, and the ghostly figures that were originally rushing towards the Tiger Army suddenly changed direction and roared as they rushed into the depths of the canyon!
"What?!" Situ Ming's expression changed drastically.
"You...you tampered with my formation?!"
"It's not tampering, it's optimization," Li Chunfeng said with a smile.
"Li only adjusted the direction of the formation's refinement..."
Deep within the canyon, more than twenty disciples of the Netherworld Sect were caught off guard and overwhelmed by the backlash of ghostly shadows.
These ghostly figures were originally formed from the Yin energy refined by the formation. Now that they have turned against us, their power remains undiminished.
"ah--!!"
Screams echoed throughout the room.
Within moments, all twenty-odd Netherworld Sect disciples at the Grandmaster level or above were annihilated, their souls scattered and turned into dried corpses.
Situ Ming's eyes were bloodshot, and he spat out a mouthful of blood:
"Li Chunfeng! My Netherworld Sect will fight you to the death!"
He bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood onto the array flag, trying to forcibly regain control of the array.
But would Li Chunfeng give him that chance?
"Disperse."
The two words are "light and airy".
The nine Bloodfiend Wood Array Flags exploded simultaneously!
The crimson light shield shattered with a crash, and the countless ghostly figures vanished into thin air.
Under the backlash of the formation, Situ Ming coughed up blood again, his aura weakened, and he fell directly off the stone platform.
Li Chunfeng took a step forward and was already in front of him, placing his hand on the top of his head:
"Fellow Daoist, please begin your journey."
"No--!!!"
Situ Ming let out a desperate roar, but the sound stopped abruptly.
His body shattered like porcelain, turning into ashes.
An outer sect elder of the Netherworld Sect, a mid-stage Celestial Realm expert, has fallen!
From the activation of the grand formation to Situ Ming's death, less than a quarter of an hour passed.
The canyon was completely silent.
Seeing that their leader was dead and their three commanders were dead, the remaining thousand or so soldiers completely lost their will to fight and knelt down to surrender.
The Tiger Warriors began cleaning up the battlefield, collecting weapons, and counting prisoners.
Inside the carriage, Lin Chen yawned: "All done?"
Qin Shuyan and her two daughters looked at each other in bewilderment.
They thought the battle would end quickly, but they didn't expect it to be... this fast.
The opponent's meticulously planned trap was rendered utterly ineffective by Lin Chen's overwhelming strength.
"My lord, what should we do with the prisoners?" Zhao Zilong rode up and asked.
Lin Chen said lazily, "Ask if anyone is willing to surrender, and if so, recruit them into the auxiliary troops."
If not... send them to mine; the northern mines are short-handed.
"Yes."
Just as Zhao Zilong was about to leave, Lin Chen called him back:
"Wait, there should be something deep in the canyon. Let Mr. Li go and take a look."
"Is the 'ancient relic' that you're referring to, my lord?" Zhuge Liang asked.
"Hmm." Lin Chen nodded. "The Netherworld Sect is so interested, and the Cui family is involved too. This thing must be something special."
Mr. Li, could you please come over here?
Li Chunfeng cupped his hands in greeting: "Yes, sir."
His figure flickered and disappeared from the spot.
……
Half an hour later, Li Chunfeng returned, holding a black stone slab the size of a palm.
The stone slab was neither gold nor jade, but had an ancient and simple texture. Its surface was covered with densely packed runes, and there was a faint spatial fluctuation.
"My lord, this item is indeed extraordinary." Li Chunfeng handed the stone tablet to Lin Chen.
"Li has investigated this object and found that it contains a small cave, but the entrance is sealed by a powerful restriction and can only be opened by specific methods or special bloodlines."
Lin Chen took the stone slab and probed it with his divine sense, and sure enough, he felt a tough barrier.
"A special bloodline..." he mused. "Mr. Li, can you break this restriction?"
"Yes, but it will take time," Li Chunfeng said.
"This restriction is related to the laws of space; forcibly breaking it may damage the inner cave."
To be on the safe side, it would be best to find a way to activate it.
Ye Qingying suddenly said, "The Netherworld Sect values this item so much, perhaps Han Li knows something about it."
"That makes sense." Lin Chen nodded. "Once we get to Dingbei City, we'll interrogate Han Li again."
He put the stone tablet into his system space and looked at Zhuge Liang:
"Mr. Kongming, how far is this place from Dingbei City?"
"About three hundred li," Zhuge Liang said.
"At our current speed, we can arrive in three days."
"Then three days it will be." Lin Chen lay back down.
"Let the soldiers rest for half a day, then continue their journey. Oh, and spread the news of the great victory at Luoyingjian, the more exaggerated the better."
Zhuge Liang understood: "I understand."
Lin Chen intended to use this overwhelming victory to intimidate all forces in the Northern Territory, especially the Cui family.
The more the news spread, the more panicked Cui Yuanhao became.
……
At dusk, the army set up camp outside Luoyingjian.
Inside the command tent, Lin Chen hosted a banquet to celebrate his victory.
The Eight Vajras, Zhao Zilong, Li Chunfeng, Zhuge Liang, Li Bai, and the three women, Qin Shuyan, were present.
After a few rounds of drinks, Zhou Tong slurred, "My lord, today's battle wasn't satisfying enough!"
Those assassins were too weak; they were defeated before they even warmed up!
Wang Meng chimed in, "Exactly! I thought the Netherworld Sect was something special, but it turns out to be nothing special?"
Lin Chen laughed and said, "What's the rush? Once we get to Dingbei City, there will be plenty of tough battles to fight. The Cui family has been operating in the northern border for a century; they have plenty of trump cards up their sleeves."
Zhao Zilong said calmly, "My lord, although we have won today's battle, we must not underestimate our enemy."
The fact that the Cui family could enlist the help of the Netherworld Sect indicates they have connections with the forces in Central China. This suggests that even stronger enemies may emerge later.
"Zilong is right," Zhuge Liang nodded.
"Liang has instructed Tingfenglou to intensify its investigation into the details of the Cui family's dealings with Zhongzhou."
In addition, there are unusual movements in Beishuo; Wanyan Honglie seems to be mobilizing troops again.
Lin Chen finished his drink and said calmly:
"Slay as many as they come. The North was won with the blood of my father and brothers. Anyone who tries to lay a finger on it will have their hands chopped off."
His tone was calm, but the murderous intent in his words caused the temperature inside the tent to plummet.
Qin Shuyan held Lin Chen's hand and whispered:
"Eighth brother, revenge is important, but you must also take care of yourself."
"Don't worry, Third Sister-in-law." Lin Chen grasped her hand in return. "I value my life very much."
The banquet lasted until late at night.
After the banquet, Lin Chen put his arm around Qin Shuyan and returned to the carriage, followed by Xiao Yulou and Ye Qingying.
The carriage was spacious, and even four people could sleep in it without feeling crowded.
Qin Shuyan blushed:
"Eighth brother, get some rest tonight...we have a long journey ahead tomorrow."
Lin Chen hugged her even tighter:
"It's precisely because I have to travel tomorrow that I need to relax properly tonight."
Xiao Yulou chuckled:
"Third sister, don't refuse. Don't you know what kind of person Eighth Brother is?"
Ye Qingying lowered her head and silently took off her outer robe.
The candlelight flickered, and the atmosphere inside the carriage grew increasingly warm and inviting.