Volume 1, Chapter 214 – Campaign

Gazing at the bright moon in the sky, Shi Lan suddenly recalled her first meeting with Wu Lingkong.

At the time, Wu Lingkong had said that among the Demon-Suppressing Army’s junior officers, many were the young scions of the major powers of the Central Heaven Domain, most of them there to temper themselves.

Thinking about it now, that was probably true. From what Wang Ning had said, Xia Yixiu, the one who had crushed the younger generation of the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect so thoroughly they could barely raise their heads, was likely one of them.

Otherwise, it could not be that any random person pulled from the Central Heaven Domain would have such talent.

If that were really the case, the human race would likely have unified the Lingyang Realm long ago.

After letting her thoughts wander in disorder for a long while, Shi Lan shook her head, stopped thinking about it, and turned to enter her tent.

…

At dawn, just as the sky began to brighten, heavy hoofbeats echoed across the drill ground.

Squad after squad of cavalry poured out from the various camps, converging into a black torrent and gathering on the drill ground.

On the drill ground stood a lofty platform, with eight figures upon it. The terrifying power of the laws was on full display, tearing apart layers of clouds across ten thousand miles and shaking the nine heavens.

It was the familiar pre-battle muster, but those stirring words of encouragement only managed to inspire the newcomers who had just joined the Demon-Suppressing Army.

Seated atop a flood-dragon horse, Shi Lan looked toward the high platform, feeling somewhat uninterested. Her thoughts drifted aimlessly, and she found herself wondering whether she should make time to go to Nishang Pavilion and retrieve the Yueji Skirt.

The military formations on the drill ground gradually dispersed. Batch after batch left the drill ground, left Xianwu City, boarded warships outside the city, and scattered in all directions.

Bai Weiyang moved together with two other Demon-Suppressing Generals. After assembling the new recruits and veteran soldiers under their command, a total of one hundred and thirty thousand troops, they boarded a medium-sized flying warship and headed southwest.

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During the journey, Bai Weiyang and the other two Demon-Suppressing Generals distributed a batch of magic treasures to all officers of thousand-man commander rank and above.

What fell into Shi Lan’s hands was a massive azure bow covered in spirit patterns, along with nine arrows that looked as though they had been carved from jade.

The Leiyin Bow and the Shattering Void Arrows were a matched set of top-grade magic treasures of astonishing power. If all nine arrows were combined into one, they could even injure a Heavenly Astral Realm demon beast.

But the consumption required to unite all nine arrows was far too terrifying. An Earth Fiend Realm martial artist would exhaust their true qi after drawing the bow only a little over ten times at a measured pace, leaving them unable to continue. There was simply no way they could loose nine shots in an instant.

This set of bow and arrows had been specially chosen for Shi Lan by Bai Weiyang. He knew that her body contained divine strength and that the depth of her true qi far surpassed that of an ordinary Earth Fiend Realm martial artist, enough for her to wield this set.

…

In less than two hours, the flying warship had crossed nearly forty thousand miles before coming to a stop a little over two hundred miles from a beast horde.

Above the beast horde, demon clouds black as ink blotted out the sky and covered the sun. Clearly, there was more than one peerless Demon King present.

A thousand-zhang golden ramp streamed downward, and the black torrent flowed to the earth like a tide. It spread out at high speed like a great net, casting itself over one corner of the beast horde.

In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, that great net had advanced more than a hundred miles and entered to within a hundred miles of the beast horde.

Rumble!

The hoofbeats of more than a hundred thousand flood-dragon horses crashed like thunder, almost shattering the earth itself. The ground shook and dust billowed into the air.

The Demon-Suppressing Token grew faintly warm as Bai Weiyang’s command came through.

Shi Lan’s expression was cold. Releasing the reins, she took out the Leiyin Bow and nocked a Shattering Void Arrow. Straightening her back like a spear, with qi reaching her organs and true qi surging, she pulled with both arms until the bow formed a full moon.

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In several other places, a few others also raised their bows and nocked arrows at the same time.

Twang! Twang!

Several sharp cracks rang out like thunder, followed at once by several shrill, urgent whistles.

A number of arrows shot from the corners of the great net, soaring into the sky, tearing through the air, dragging billowing shockwaves behind them as they fell into the beast horde.

Boom!

Several craters dozens of zhang across instantly appeared within the beast horde. Thousands of demon beasts were blown to pieces. Towering waves of blood burst skyward, while chunks of flesh and white bones flew everywhere, as though the horizon itself had been stained red.

Those few arrows seemed to signal the attack. Countless bowstrings snapped taut, and a rain of arrows screamed into the sky, then descended in a storm that blanketed the beast horde.

“Whizz! Whizz!” “Roar!” “Awoo!”

Countless miserable beast cries rose into the air together with a choking stench of blood.

No one knew how many demon beasts were turned into pincushions in an instant.

But even more demon beasts were enraged and surged toward the Demon-Suppressing Army like a raging tide.

The Shattering Void Arrows flew from the bowstring, then quickly returned.

Shi Lan’s gaze was like lightning as it swept over the distant beast horde. Jade arrows circled at her side, and every time she drew the Leiyin Bow, at least one Earth Fiend Realm demon beast was taken down.

Clang!

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A clear sword cry echoed across the battlefield. Bai Weiyang’s eyes were cold as he stepped out from the warship, drew the jade sword in his hand, and unleashed an azure sword qi more than a thousand zhang long that shot straight into the sky.

Leaving one person behind to command the battle, another Demon-Suppressing General also rose into the air together with Bai Weiyang.

The sword qi tore through space and instantly split apart the ink-black demon clouds overhead.

After cleaving open a path through the clouds with a single sword strike, Bai Weiyang did not pause in the slightest and charged straight into the depths of the beast horde.

Slaying the Demon Kings first was the fastest way to crush the beast horde.

…

The great net formed by the Demon-Suppressing Army gradually began to tighten around the beast horde, and the vanguard of the frenzied demon beasts had already charged up to the army formation.

Shi Lan did not put away the Leiyin Bow. While she continued drawing it without pause, she also took a moment to quietly release Golden Rainbow.

As a spirit sword, Golden Rainbow was not conspicuous amid this chaotic battlefield, making it an enormous help.

Hum!

Golden Rainbow let out a cheerful sword cry and shot forward. Drinking the blood of powerful living beings was of great benefit to it. To Golden Rainbow, these demon beasts rich in blood and qi were a supreme tonic that could temper its spiritual consciousness.

“Kill!”

The soldiers put away their bows and slung their crossbows, roaring as one. Their battle cries shook the heavens. Sabers and swords flashed with chilling light as they were abruptly drawn and met the demon beasts in close combat.

Shi Lan sprang up and stood atop her horse’s back, holding the Leiyin Bow level. Three Shattering Void Arrows were nocked at once. As she pressed the bow and drew the string low, true qi surged out wildly, and killing intent flooded her eyes.

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A shriek like ghosts crying and wolves howling split the air as three thick streams of arrow qi shot forth like long rainbows piercing the sun, carving out an empty stretch within the beast tide.

The violent gale thrown backward lifted the ponytail bound behind Shi Lan high into the air and nearly blasted apart the hair crown atop her head.

Once the arrows left the string, Shi Lan stole a glance across the battlefield and could not help being slightly startled.

Within the battle formation, every one of those young officers she had seen before and those she had not had bloodshot eyes brimming with frightening killing intent. Their powerful physiques surged with dragon-like blood and qi, and they were displaying battle strength far beyond that of ordinary martial artists.

In the instant that Shi Lan was distracted, a petite ape less than three feet tall darted to the side of her horse. Then its body abruptly swelled to more than three zhang in height.

Its entire body was knotted with bulging muscle. Golden fur blazed like fire, and its eyes were crimson, filled with savage killing intent.

“Raaah!”

With a fierce shriek, the golden ape swung both arms. Its hands, each larger than Shi Lan’s entire body, slammed toward her from both sides.

The brutal force nearly warped the air itself, and the wailing wind almost pierced the eardrums.

Shi Lan’s heart turned cold as warning bells rang in her mind. She did not hesitate in the slightest and stepped into the air.

Bang! Splat!

The flood-dragon horse beneath Shi Lan was almost instantly smashed into a pool of blood and flesh, flattened into a slab of meat before it could even let out a scream.