Chapter 854 - 796: Demon Clan Spy

Chapter 854: Chapter 796: Demon Clan Spy

A few days ago, in the Spiritual Platform Realm.

When Jiang Yuebai was still hiding in the mountains, the main forces of the Yellow Stone Ridge camp in the Spiritual Platform Realm went all out.

The armies of the Four Directions Star Alliance—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Black Tortoise, and Vermilion Bird—had all arrived, ready to besiege the main forces of the Demon Army from eight directions.

They would make a decisive effort to annihilate the Demons in the Spiritual Platform Realm!

Xie Jingshan led a single army, with Shen Huaxi as his strategist, in a force of five thousand. Zhuo Qingfeng, Hua Yingshi, Xu Qianjin, Xu Qiancheng, and Zhao Kunling were appointed as deputy generals, each leading a thousand men from the Guiyuan Sword Sect.

Originally, Xie Jingshan had fellow disciples from the True Martial Immortal Sect as deputy generals, but Shen Huaxi did not trust them, fearing they were connected with the Jing Family from the True Martial Immortal Sect and might sabotage Xie Jingshan.

He then persuaded Xie Jingshan to assign the five deputy positions to Zhuo Qingfeng and the others.

All five of them had reached the Nascent Soul Stage, more than capable of being deputy generals.

Shen Huaxi also had two attendants with him, one was Bai Jiuyou, who was only at the Golden Core Stage, and the other was Xingchou, whom he had to bring along.

Their task was to bypass Yellow Stone Ridge and launch a surprise attack on the Demon Army from behind while the other forces engaged the Demons, cutting off the Demon Army’s retreat.

So, after receiving their orders, they set out early under the cover of night, each carrying a Jade Talisman that could conceal their presence, weaving through Yellow Stone Ridge.

Along the way, Shen Huaxi secretly observed and discovered that Xie Jingshan was indeed very suited for leading an army.

Unlike other generals who were intimidating and relied on brute force to suppress their troops, Xie Jingshan was open and approachable, mingling with others and creating a relaxed and non-pressured atmosphere within the army.

Even when dealing with the old cultivator responsible for logistics and caring for the Spiritual Beasts, he would lower himself to squat behind a beast and chat a bit without showing any airs of a Major True Monarch.

When encountering enemies, Xie Jingshan would enthusiastically shout exaggerated slogans, lead the charge, and boost the army’s morale.

Back during the Qingyun Conference, he did the same, leading everyone to fight passionately, disregarding their own safety, following him until the last moment.

Compared to Xie Jingshan, Shen Huaxi, the military strategist, seemed distant, with people greeting him politely, performing formal ceremonies, not daring to offend in any way.

Of course, it might also be that his performance at the Qingyun Conference made people a bit fearful.

Xie Jingshan trusted Shen Huaxi, giving him full command of the army, and Shen Huaxi publicly assured everyone that he had a brilliant plan to not only get behind the Demon Army’s main force in advance but also surprise them.

Xie Jingshan was full of anticipation, ready to take action, but the result was...

"Shen Huaxi, what on earth are you doing!"

Under the dark night and high winds, deep in a gorge in Yellow Stone Ridge, Xie Jingshan angrily ran to Shen Huaxi, resting at the foot of the mountain, and gritted his teeth, questioning in a low voice.

"We only have seven days to travel. You keep changing orders, sometimes heading east, sometimes west, claiming ambushes ahead or pursuers behind. Now it’s already the fifth day, and you’re still leading the army in circles within Yellow Stone Ridge. Even if we fly at high speed now, we might not reach behind the Demon Army’s main force in time!"

Not far away, the soldiers sitting and resting glanced over, many of them quietly seething as Shen Huaxi had left them dizzy and disoriented these past few days.

Beside Shen Huaxi, Xingchou sat cross-legged, eyes closed, quietly adjusting his breathing, while Bai Jiuyou leaned against a rock, noisily tinkering with an Armored Puppet, disassembling and reassembling its arm.

Shen Huaxi smiled and said, "Brother Jingshan, would you believe me if I said I’m lost?"

"......"

Xie Jingshan looked speechless, trembling with rage, and after holding back for a while, he lowered his voice and cursed angrily.

"Nonsense! When you were six, you could remember the entire map of the Heavenly Interence Sect at a glance, down to every tree and stone!"

"This tiny Yellow Stone Ridge, and you now tell me you’re lost? Not even if my head were on backwards would I believe your nonsense! Tell me the truth, what the hell are you up to?"

Shen Huaxi looked up at Xie Jingshan, seeing anger in his eyes, yet there was no trace of doubt in them toward him.

Other generals had suspected him of being a Demon spy.

He wasn’t a Demon spy, but neither was he of the Human Clan.

"Shen Huaxi, if the Human and Demon Clans both suffer heavy losses, do you think the Heavenly Witch Clan might have a chance to rise?"

Fuzhang’s voice echoed in Shen Huaxi’s mind. His gaze darkened as he avoided Xie Jingshan’s eyes.

"If Brother Jingshan trusts me, by dawn, I will give you an explanation."

"Dawn?! By dawn, it will be too late!! If we don’t arrive in time, you know the consequences!"

Shen Huaxi’s eyes grew deeper, "I know."

By then, with no one to block the Demon Army’s main force’s retreat, they might escape, prolonging the battle in the Spiritual Platform Realm, and the Human Clan’s army could get stuck here, unable to support other areas.

One small move can affect the entire situation!

Xie Jingshan clenched his fists, "If we hadn’t grown up wearing the same trousers, I’d have already cut you down!"

Xie Jingshan turned away angrily, noticing the eyes of those around him, unusually furious.

"What are you looking at? If you don’t understand the strategist’s mind, don’t make wild guesses. Just wait quietly, we will surely win this battle!"

Xie Jingshan stormed off, even though he was angry and puzzled, he never doubted Shen Huaxi in the slightest. He even started considering how to take responsibility for him if Shen Huaxi’s strategy failed.

Shen Huaxi observed all this, his fingers rubbing his knuckles inside his sleeve, with his brows slightly furrowed.

Xingchou opened his eyes secretly, glanced at Shen Huaxi, then closed them unobtrusively and continued meditating.

The night breeze blew gently, yet the night at Yellow Stone Ridge remained unbearably hot, with the underground heat continuously rising, carrying a pungent odor.

In such an environment, many impatient people find it difficult to sit still and meditate. Occasionally, someone would get up, walk around, and find a breezy spot to catch some air.

When the moon was at its zenith, the old cultivator responsible for looking after the spiritual beasts at the rear of the army got up without disturbing anyone and went into the great array to check on the condition of these combat spiritual beasts one by one.

After completing his inspections, he looked up at the moonlight, opened his mouth, wriggled his abdomen, and spat out a bead full of demonic qi from his mouth.

A shadow descended from above, and a chilling wind blew on the back of the old cultivator’s neck. He shuddered involuntarily and turned around abruptly.

There stood the petite Bai Jiuyou, hands on her hips, on a giant rock at the foot of the mountain. The tiny her cast a great shadow in the moonlight, exuding a cold aura, with eyes as sharp as knives.

"Good evening, old-timer!"

As soon as she spoke, the Undetermined Cold Ice Qi surged up from under the old cultivator’s feet, instantly freezing him into an ice sculpture. Bai Jiuyou wielded her heavy hammer and descended from the sky, swinging it in a wide arc and smashing it down heavily.

Bang!

The explosion inside the array was earth-shattering, while outside the array, it was silent.

The demonic spy, the old cultivator, was dead!

Bai Jiuyou stood up straight, exhausted from the past few days of effort. After checking each of the five thousand individuals, she finally caught this guy.

With Shen Huaxi constantly changing orders, the demonic spies couldn’t ascertain the army’s movements and needed to increase their reporting frequency to prevent issues.

Otherwise, this completely inconspicuous old fellow would have been hard to find.

As dawn approached, Xie Jingshan was as restless as an ant on a hot pan, pacing back and forth, unable to sit still.

Suddenly, Shen Huaxi, who had been meditating all night, stood up and walked towards a deserted place, with Xingchou immediately following him to ’protect’.

Xie Jingshan wanted to follow, but a small figure suddenly blocked him. Bai Jiuyou, with a Mystic Ice Stick in her mouth, mumbled, "Stay put, old man, or I’ll beat you up!"

Xie Jingshan: !!!

After rounding a corner, Shen Huaxi disappeared, causing Xingchou’s heart to tighten, and she hurriedly followed.

When she reached the place where Shen Huaxi had vanished, Xingchou suddenly felt a tightness in her Dantian, with excruciating pain in her Sea of Consciousness, and her entire body’s energy and blood flow reversed.

She was poisoned!

"I’ve thought it over, and I reject Immortal Monarch Fuzhang’s proposal!"

Shen Huaxi’s voice came from behind, terrifying Xingchou. She hurriedly crushed the Jade Token hidden in her palm.

A crimson dragon shadow erupted from the Jade Token, dispersing Shen Huaxi’s attacking blood claws, wrapping around Xingchou and disappearing into the ground.

Shen Huaxi was staggered by the aftershock, retreating as he sensed the aura belonging to Fuzhang.

Shen Huaxi was not surprised by this. When Xingchou came to see him at the Heavenly Interence Sect, he had already deduced that Xingchou had met Fuzhang.

The reason he allowed her to follow him was to avoid alerting Fuzhang and to prevent Fuzhang from striking prematurely.

Reviving the Heavenly Witch Clan was naturally something he desired, but he wouldn’t allow chaos or harm to his dear friends and family; he would do it in his own way and restore the name of the Heavenly Witch!

After calming his mind, Shen Huaxi returned to the army’s camp. Currently, the Taiwei Star Alliance was stationed there with Immortal Monarch Wu Wei.

As long as they won this battle, and he proved his worth, Fuzhang wouldn’t dare act rashly against him.

"Move aside! This is not a place for a brat like you to play. Go back and play with mud!"

"Old man, don’t think I won’t smash you!"

From afar, Shen Huaxi saw Xie Jingshan and Bai Jiuyou in a staring contest, and his gloom lifted, causing a smile to form.

"Jiuyou, show Brother Jingshan your achievements from the past few days."

Upon hearing Shen Huaxi’s voice, Bai Jiuyou grumpily bumped Xie Jingshan aside and walked down to the foot of the mountain.

Shen Huaxi said he could locate Jiang Yuebai and help clear her of accusations, letting her return to the Heavenly Interence Sect.

If it weren’t for that, Bai Jiuyou would have already tied up Shen Huaxi and Xie Jingshan and hammered them to pieces!

Dare to order her around?

She’d jot it down in her little notebook and settle scores with Jiang Yuebai when she found him!

Bai Jiuyou walked to the place where she had previously dismantled the armored puppet and casually kicked the mountain wall.

Crack!

The mountain wall cracked, the array dissipated, and a large hole suddenly appeared before everyone.

Zhuo Qingfeng and Hua Yingshi, who had just returned from guard duty, also gathered around, faintly hearing weak digging sounds from the cave, indicating that the digging had already gone very far.