Chapter 1979: Frontline Summary

In the Cihua Mountains, the air was biting cold. Peach blossoms that had just opened on the branches during the day were already covered in frost by night.

Deep in the mountains, there was a small, long-abandoned village, almost swallowed by wild vines and weeds. Yet tonight, lights shone within it.

“It’s so cold,” someone said. The room was empty, but the fire in the pit burned brightly, and Taoran and others gathered around it to warm themselves.

Even with their cultivation, no one enjoyed being cold.

After the first round of battles, the Dragon God Army had been reorganized, with adjustments made to the officers and soldiers in each regiment. This secret meeting in Cihua Mountain Village was attended only by a few leaders of the Black Armored Army.

And, of course, the Great Emperor of Nine Serenities himself.

Taoran and Lu Yaofei’s two armies were converging here, and He Lingchuan’s main force, which had advanced from the northwest to the south, was also scheduled to meet here to exchange information and re-deploy tasks.

The generals had already reported on the battle conditions of their respective campaigns.

He Lingchuan had been keeping track of front-line developments through battle reports, but now, meeting with the generals, he wanted to know more details. Details during combat and post-battle summaries could not be fully conveyed in concise battle reports. He Lingchuan needed to promptly understand the army’s condition, identify weaknesses, and solve problems.

Taoran pointed to the sand table as he summarized his report: “At the end of the first phase, our Lord identified eighty-one strongholds. These were supposed to be the targets for the second phase, but during our training period, dozens of them suddenly invaded the Dragon God’s territory. Currently, the Black Armored Army, along with local defense forces, has either persuaded eleven of them to surrender or eliminated them.”

“Of these eleven targets, two surrendered voluntarily due to circumstances, while the other nine were taken by force in hard-fought battles.”

Those willing to surrender had largely done so in the first phase; the remaining ones were all stubborn holdouts. Consequently, the Dragon God Army’s progress had visibly slowed, and they had suffered losses in several key battles, such as the recent Battle of Wutun.

“Among these dozens of targets, there are widespread signs of alliances forming. They refuse to sit idly by and await their fate. For instance, the Rain-Summoning Pavilion in Wencheng has allied with the Kanxia and Chang’an tribes. The Xuyuan Sect has even made peace with its former enemy, the three-headed great demon Yan Ran. This has caused us significant trouble.”

“The Sky Demons won’t simply watch us annex Shanjin; they will naturally try to obstruct us. They are instigating the remaining powerful factions in Shanjin, providing these forces with money, supplies, personnel, weapons, and additional military support,” He Lingchuan analyzed. “However, the Celestial Realm is currently in chaos, with the Lingxu gods fighting among themselves. They haven’t been able to unite against me, so the support given to their mortal followers should be very limited.”

Lu Yaofei chuckled, “Bai Shilu, whom we eliminated in Copperfang Mountain, even pushed a woman forward before his crushing defeat, shouting about welcoming some god’s descent. It gave us quite a scare, but nothing happened. Those who should scatter scattered, and those who should die died.”

“God Songxiao,” Zhao Yibing prompted.

“Indeed. You didn’t see Bai Shilu’s face right before he died—from surprise and confusion, to disbelief, and then to boundless resentment. That fellow must have felt utterly deceived.”

“God Songxiao?” The others looked puzzled. “Why haven’t we heard of that name?”

There are too many deities in the heavens; obscure minor gods often appear.

“That was once one of Miaozhantian’s subordinate deities. There’s still a statue of it in the Tianshui City temple, though it’s in a less prominent position,” He Lingchuan recalled. “After Miaozhantian’s death, it pledged allegiance to Duowentian.”

To survive well, celestial beings, like humans, also need to align themselves with powerful patrons.

“If Bai Shilu invoked a god, why didn’t God Songxiao descend?”

Zhao Yibing chuckled, “The gods—no, the Sky Demons aren’t foolish. Seeing his defeat was certain, they probably refused to descend, right?”

It takes a great deal of energy for a Sky Demon to descend to the mortal realm. Who would be willing to come down for a losing battle?

Lu Yaofei continued, “We’ve captured that woman. According to her confession, she was originally the daughter of a merchant from Xiling, a devout follower of Miaozhantian. The Celestial Palace Enforcer sent someone to find her, telling her she was a vessel for divine descent, and had Bai Shilu bring her back to Songbo Slope. Bai Shilu had kept her enshrined until he was losing the battle and brought her out.”

The others wondered, “So, was she truly a vessel for divine descent?”

“Even after the battle, she remained convinced that the Sky Demon simply looked down on Bai Shilu and therefore refused to descend,” Lu Yaofei shrugged. “Since the Celestial Palace Enforcer found her, perhaps she was.”

He Lingchuan, however, shook his head. “Failed divine descents are not new. Qiu Hu reported that when he attacked Mount Hongya, the enemy also tried to invoke a god for aid when they were losing, but no god descended, even as they died. However, that so-called ‘vessel for divine descent’ was far more dangerous than the one you captured; it exploded right after capture, causing seven casualties.”

“Brother Qiu really has bad luck,” Lu Yaofei exclaimed with a laugh. “So there can be fake vessels for divine descent?”

He Lingchuan continued, “Precisely because these ‘vessels for divine descent’ were provided by the Celestial Palace Enforcer, this matter is particularly suspicious.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Indeed. What kind of person is Qingyang? Apart from He Lingchuan and Shuangye, no one could find a third person more cunning than her.

“After Miaozhantian’s divine manipulation, Qingyang probably doesn’t have that many vessels for divine descent left, but she still needs to win over the Shanjin factions…” He Lingchuan mused, “Hmm, maybe people are demanding them from her, or from the gods. Rather than doing nothing, she simply provides empty promises and passes off fake divine vessels to them to get the job done.”

Taoran wondered, “Is that acceptable? Isn’t that just deception? Who would believe them in the future?”

“If she doesn’t get through this round, will Qingyang even have a future? Furthermore, a vessel for divine descent is no different from an ordinary person, and the Shanjin factions can’t tell the fakes apart immediately. While they might be exposed on the battlefield, Shanjin is isolated and in chaos, so other factions might not find out quickly.”

Lu Yaofei immediately said, “We should widely publicize this for her, so everyone in Shanjin knows that the former Grand Preceptor of Beijia and the Grand Enforcer of the Celestial Palace love to deceive people into their deaths!”

“If we publicize it, will they believe it?” He Lingchuan chuckled. “Qingyang proclaims every day that I’m a false Dragon God—do you believe her?”

Everyone could only shake their heads.

“It’s still the same principle: if this tactic works for a short period, that’s enough. Besides, how do you know you won’t encounter true divine descents on later battlefields? I believe Qingyang can still produce one or two genuine vessels for divine descent.”

He Lingchuan understood: “She wants to take advantage of our large-scale training to launch more counterattacks and completely disrupt our rear. But she can’t do it alone or with just Baitan, so she needs many cannon fodder units at the front.”

Zhong Lizheng said angrily, “That old hag is truly malicious.”

“Even the gods care about their reputation; only Qingyang would resort to such methods.” He Lingchuan was secretly wary. Beijia’s former Grand Preceptor had abandoned all pretense of a bottom line; what she might do in the future was terrifying to contemplate.

The discussion then returned to military strategy.

“This phase is indeed unfavorable for us. The enemies are numerous and scattered, and our troop strength is clearly insufficient. However—our current rate of advance is also below expectations, and that shouldn’t be the case!”