Volume 1, Chapter 155 – Fortress

The path of cultivation was very long and anything but easy, a road filled with obstacles and distance.

But you ate a meal one bite at a time, and walked a road one step at a time.

Leaping straight to the heavens was fast, but if you missed that step, you would be shattered to pieces and your soul would fall into the underworld.

After setting that small goal, a faint sense of clarity rose in Shi Lan’s heart. The restlessness was washed away and her mind finally settled completely.

The warship quickly set off again, changing course and heading southwest.

……

Roughly ten days after the warship departed, a crack suddenly appeared in the void and several figures stepped out from it.

Five men and two women, seven people in total.

“Yan Jun, Weiyang once stirred his bloodline here, about ten days ago.” One of the two women sensed the surroundings, then looked to the man at the head and spoke.

The man looked to be around thirty, clad in white whiter than snow, his figure tall and straight. His sword-like brows slanted toward his temples and his gaze was as sharp as a blade, unfathomable in its depth.

Hearing the woman’s words, the man’s expression did not change. His eyes narrowed slightly.

“I smell the aura of a heavenly demon.”

“Then hasn’t Weiyang fallen into the hands of the demon race?!”

“What should we do?”

“You have to be within a hundred thousand li of his soul flame to sense Weiyang’s location. If he’s entered the boundless demon domain…”

Reαԁ оո KαtRеаԁіոɡСαfe

The faces of the others all changed slightly, a trace of anxiety showing.

“It is fine.” The man shook his head. “It should only have been an encounter, without a fight breaking out.”

After a short pause for thought, the man said softly, “We split up. You go two by two and spread out to search.”

With that said, he raised his hand and tore open a rift in space, striding into it.

……

The warship’s journey was uneventful. They did not even run into any moderately large beast hordes.

Half a month later, the warship smoothly arrived at a massive fortress.

The fortress spanned several hundred li, like a great chasm that cut across several mountain gorges. Countless powerful auras lay dormant within it, crouching dragons and hidden tigers everywhere.

Aside from those powerful auras, many warships of various sizes hovered in the sky above the fortress. Endless figures flowed in and out like water.

Seated in her meditation chamber, Shi Lan could feel a sweep of undisguised divine sense pass over the warship every half cup of tea.

This much was enough to show how strict the defenses were.

Once the warship came to a halt, Shi Lan finished her cultivation and left the meditation chamber.

Just as she stepped out, she ran into a tall woman in battle armor, a half-black mask covering one side of her face.

This was Lü Anqing, the Ten-Thousand-Man Commander of the Demon-Suppressing Army’s women’s corps.

Rеαԁ оո КаtRеαⅾіngCаfе

Because Shi Lan did not belong to the women’s corps and had spent most of her time cultivating in her chamber without going out, she and Lü Anqing had barely exchanged more than a couple of sentences altogether.

Behind Lü Anqing followed a group of delicate young women. They were the people of Miaoyin Valley.

When Lü Anqing saw Shi Lan standing at the meditation chamber door, she gave a slight nod in greeting and walked past without stopping.

Walking among the Miaoyin Valley group, Gu Rongyue also nodded after seeing Shi Lan.

The group soon passed by Shi Lan, faint whispers drifting back.

“Finally we get to stop and rest.”

“It was so inconvenient to bathe and change on the warship. Our clothes all reek of medicine, it’s suffocating. We can finally breathe a little…”

……

Shi Lan stretched her limbs and followed the others down off the warship.

The warship had docked not far from the fortress gate. The city walls rose over a hundred zhang high, forged from some unknown metal. Their surface was a dark bluish black, covered in countless array patterns that gleamed with a cold light.

For several thousand zhang in front of the walls, the land was flat, as if some vast force had shattered every peak and ridge and ground everything down completely.

Nearly a hundred thousand people disembarked from the warship, yet even gathered on this level stretch of ground, they did not seem crowded.

Bai Weiyang stood with his hands behind his back in front of the fortress gate, quietly waiting.

The heavy gate slowly opened and a group of a dozen or so people walked out. At their head was a burly man in his fifties who strode like a dragon and paced like a tiger.

Rеаd оո KαtRеαdіոɡСαfе

The old man was clad in black armor and clearly a member of the Demon-Suppressing Army.

After carefully studying the patterns on his armor, Shi Lan understood. This was a Ten-Thousand-Man Commander.

The Demon-Suppressing Army’s armor was almost identical aside from the distinction between men’s and women’s styles. Only a few special markings were used to denote rank.

The old man came to a stop before Bai Weiyang and bowed, then spoke with him for a while. After that, Bai Weiyang began ordering everyone to enter the fortress.

As they entered, a team from within the fortress took control of the warship.

One flood-dragon horse after another was led down, and the supplies were likewise transported off along paths of golden light.

Inside the fortress, the level of vigilance relaxed a bit. Now it was only every half an hour or so that a sweep of divine sense passed by.

As they walked, they often saw martial artists who were clearly not part of the Demon-Suppressing Army moving through the fortress.

Soon, under the old man’s lead, the nearly hundred thousand people arrived at an open space. Judging from the traces around the edges, this place had originally been a massive drill ground.

“General, my deepest apologies. There really isn’t enough housing in the fortress to go around. I must ask that you pitch your own camp.” The old man apologized.

“It is fine, you may go.” Bai Weiyang waved his hand.

“The tents will be sent over shortly.” With that, the old man turned and left at a brisk pace.

Before long, several hundred handcarts were dragged over by a few hundred soldiers. As soon as the carts drew near the open ground, Shi Lan could faintly smell the aroma of wine.

Sure enough, of the several hundred carts, half were tents. The rest were jars of strong liquor and demonic beast meat.

Reаd оո ΚatRеαⅾіnɡСαfe

“The Grand Marshal is burdened with countless affairs and could not personally welcome the general and wash away the dust of the road. He asked me to convey his words and hopes the general will not take offense.” The old man from before returned with the convoy and came to stand before Bai Weiyang.

“The Grand Marshal is too courteous.” Bai Weiyang shook his head slightly without putting on airs. The Demon-Suppressing Marshal was not giving him face, but giving it to the Bai Clan behind him. Both sides understood that well enough.

“The Grand Marshal instructed that your troops have traveled long and hard and may rest and reorganize for two days before joining the battle.”

Bai Weiyang nodded. “Thank the Grand Marshal for me.”

The old man soon took his leave.

Once the tents were hastily set up, the martial artists pounced on the carts of beast meat and strong liquor. The Demon-Suppressing Army only rushed over after receiving Bai Weiyang’s permission.

Campfires flared to life and slabs of meat were set over the flames.

Shi Lan did not have to lift a finger. Her subordinates very naturally brought over cut portions of roasted meat and jars of liquor.

As soon as a jar was opened, a rush of spiritual qi mixed with the fragrance of alcohol hit her in the face.

After a light sip, Shi Lan felt a wave of heat roll down her throat. It turned into a ball of spiritual qi in her stomach that spread through her limbs and bones, and she could not help feeling invigorated.

After only a few mouthfuls, she actually felt a faint tipsiness. The strength of this liquor was shockingly great, and even with her physique as it was now, she could barely handle it.

The women of the women’s corps camped a bit apart from the others, but once the liquor took effect, quite a few of them found their courage growing. Faces flushed with drink, they swayed over, soon provoking a round of teasing and scolding. After a brief flurry of fists and kicks, they were sent back covered in dust, drawing a burst of laughter.