Chapter Twelve: The Encounter

“Fellow Daoist, you didn’t come to join this war of your own volition, did you?” Seeing Ding Ziwei’s expression, Li Chengzhu couldn’t help but ask.

Ding Ziwei pressed his index finger to his lips, “Shh!” He glanced ahead, then whispered, “Indeed, I did not.”

“Then why did you come here?”

Ding Ziwei pulled a bitter face. “I had no choice. Once the Celestial Emperor’s conscription order appeared, if I resisted, not only would my family have no chance, but even my sect would be doomed. Do you think I could let my sect fall into disgrace?” He sighed, his sorrow plain to see.

Li Chengzhu comforted him, “Brother Ding, for you to consider things this way is truly the good fortune of your sect.”

“You flatter me.” Ding Ziwei replied modestly, though his expression had softened.

Li Chengzhu patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. If someone is to die, it’ll be me, this rookie at the Nascent Soul stage. You, my friend, are already at the Integration stage; what do you have to fear?”

Ding Ziwei was taken aback, then looked more closely at Li Chengzhu and realized he truly was only at the Nascent Soul stage. Relief washed over him, and he quickly laughed, “Indeed, what do I have to be afraid of? Ha!” With that, he sped up, flying ahead and leaving Li Chengzhu behind without another glance.

What the hell kind of person is that? Li Chengzhu thought bitterly. All that effort wasted on idle talk.

Their covert guide led them for nearly fifty miles before coming to a halt. “Everyone, this is as far as I can take you. From here on, you’re on your own. Remember, from the start of the attack to the retreat, you have the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. If you can’t withdraw by then, my advice is to self-destruct your Nascent Soul. Angels love nothing more than the energy from our Nascent Souls.”

Everyone gave him a look of contempt.

The scout, thick-skinned, added, “I have other duties. Farewell!” Without another word, he fled.

Li Chengzhu curled his lip. “That guy sure knows how to run.”

Qiu Feng said coldly, “Let’s hope you don’t run faster than him later.”

Gu Linglong interjected, “Enough, everyone follow me.” She led her one-hundred-strong team forward.

Li Chengzhu couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off about this attack. Sending ten thousand to ambush two hundred thousand? Not only were they outnumbered, but there wasn’t a single overall commander. Was the plan just to let a hundred teams charge about aimlessly? It all felt like a setup—using others as pawns.

But who was the real target? Even if it was a setup, they wouldn’t use ten thousand as cannon fodder, especially with a hundred immortals among them.

Unable to reach any conclusions, Li Chengzhu could only grit his teeth and follow behind Gu Linglong.

Once Gu Linglong’s team set out, the immortals in the other squads were unwilling to fall behind and led their own people forward.

Thanks to the little creature’s keen sense of smell, Li Chengzhu could always detect enemy scouts in advance, quietly warning Gu Linglong in time. She was well aware of the creature’s talents and always heeded Li Chengzhu’s words, so their journey remained uneventful.

The teams behind them were clever as well, sticking close to Gu Linglong’s group and, quite by accident, avoiding all enemy surveillance.

When a chaotic surge of spiritual pressure washed over them from ahead, everyone knew the enemy was near.

Whether immortal or cultivator, everyone was tense, nervous sweat dampening their palms.

Gu Linglong turned, lowering her voice. “I don’t care what orders the Celestial Emperor gives, but remember this: fight if you can, run if you can’t. Don’t try to die a hero. If things go south, retreat immediately. If there are consequences, I, Gu Linglong, will shoulder them alone. It has nothing to do with any of you.”

Her words stirred the group. Qiu Feng stepped forward and said, “My lady, with your assurance, we have nothing to fear. Don’t worry, we’ll all get out safely.”

Li Chengzhu smirked off to the side. His precious wife was truly gifted at motivating people—after a speech like that, anyone with a scrap of spirit would be fired up.

As Li Chengzhu continued his careless posturing, Xiao Ying reached from behind and pinched the flesh at his waist, making him grimace with pain.

Gu Linglong cast a caring glance at Li Chengzhu. “Be careful.”

He grinned. “Relax, there are bound to be people who die before me!” He threw Qiu Feng a provocative look.

Before Qiu Feng could retort, the sounds of battle suddenly erupted in the distance.

“Damn it!” Li Chengzhu cursed aloud.

They were supposed to be launching a sneak attack, so who the hell was making such a racket? The magic weapons booming louder than thunder—weren’t they just announcing to everyone that enemies had arrived?

A bunch of idiots!

Before Li Chengzhu could finish his thought, a cultivator shouted, “Kill! Slaughter these bird-men!”

Damn, Li Chengzhu nearly fainted. Were these people just too adorable for their own good?

“If I ever find out who’s responsible for this mess, I’ll ram his head up his own ass!” Li Chengzhu fumed inwardly.

The moment their position was compromised, the raiding force fell into peril. Feeling waves of spiritual pressure surging toward them, Gu Linglong acted without hesitation. “Quick! This way!” she ordered, leading the group away from those idiots’ position.

Breaking off from the main force made things more dangerous, but sometimes destruction breeds opportunity. Smaller units could maneuver better in a raid.

Using the Red Dust Storm as cover, Gu Linglong led them along the edge of the angels’ encampment.

In no time, they encountered over a dozen isolated angels. These two-winged angels didn’t even last a heartbeat before Gu Linglong’s flying sword tore them apart.

The urgency left no time to extract the divine crystals from the angels’ bodies.

This, however, was a boon for Li Chengzhu. Hanging back, he quietly released the little creature, letting it dig up the treasures.

The creature’s speed was no joke; the first time Li Chengzhu met it, it had burrowed into an electric-spitting immortal beast and dug out its immortal core within seconds.

This time was no different. The instant it was let loose, it extracted the divine crystals and stashed them in the storage ring in its mouth, then darted back to hide in Li Chengzhu’s backpack.

A single two-winged angel’s divine crystal was worth just one top-grade stone, but that was money, and with thirty crystals, one could be exempt from battle.

Li Chengzhu was already making plans for Xiao Ying and Gu Linglong.

This battlefield was fraught with danger—not a place to linger. No matter how high your cultivation, there was always someone stronger. To preserve their lives, Li Chengzhu could only think of collecting enough divine crystals to buy Xiao Ying and Gu Linglong their freedom.

He didn’t know how many divine crystals it would take for Gu Linglong to withdraw from the war, but if a hundred weren’t enough, he’d save five hundred; if five hundred fell short, then a thousand. Eventually, he’d reach the number.

Li Chengzhu even found himself dreaming of the day he could roam the celestial realm with Gu Linglong and Xiao Ying by his side.