Chapter 361: Absolute Heaven and Earth Connection · Battle of the Practitioners (Part 1)

"Whoosh!" Zhao Chuanzong released the bowstring. The arrow accurately struck the neck of a galloping barbarian general in front.

*Splurt!* The barbarian general clutched his throat as blood gushed from between his fingers. He toppled headfirst from his blue-maned horse onto the ground.

Zhao Chuanzong felt his body suddenly grow hot, his blood surging. All previous fatigue vanished.

"Late stage Gathering Essence," Zhao Chuanzong thought, pleased.

He scanned his surroundings. Seeing no further trace of the enemy, he blew the eagle-head whistle hanging around his neck, gathering his subordinates. The clear whistle echoed in the sky, and soon more cavalry gathered from all directions.

"Captain!" Lieutenant Liu Er appeared beside Zhao Chuanzong.

"What's the situation?" Zhao Chuanzong asked.

"All the scouts sent north from Xichang City have been killed; none escaped," Liu Er said with a smile. "I believe this fourth wave of eighty men must be Xichang City's last reconnaissance party. They shouldn't send anyone else to scout; they'll just hunker down and defend the city."

"Hmm," Zhao Chuanzong nodded. "From this, it seems Xichang City doesn't have many troops, perhaps only a few thousand, which matches our previous intelligence." The number of scouts usually indicates the size of an army. Zhao Chuanzong had previously captured prisoners for interrogation and led light cavalry to intercept barbarian soldiers leaving Xichang City. Now, he could largely confirm the situation within the city.

"Notify Mechanical Engineer Zhang Wu to relay the intelligence back to the main army."

"Understood!"

On January 19th, the 16th year of Yuanding, Zhao Xing, Xia Jing, Long Xiao, and Chen Shijie issued the "River Crossing Combat Plan" to their respective armies. After conquering Xichang City, the Ten Suns Army Corps would cross the Tianshui River in three columns, heading southeast. They would then pass through Lanwan, Hudukou, and Jiangsheng before crossing the Canglan River to rendezvous with Li Hao's Wuyao Army Corps.

All heavy loads, except for essential food supplies and small carts, horses, and boats, were to be discarded. The 30,000 troops around Fengwu City had to depart that very day. Upon receiving the orders, the generals of each army immediately reorganized and retreated on January 19th, withdrawing sequentially from Fengwu City, Yangbei, and Tujiao, heading towards Xichang City and the Tianshui River.

On January 23rd, the Azure Dragon Army was the first to arrive outside Xichang City.

On January 24th, at dawn, Long Xiao led 5,000 men of the Azure Dragon Army, crushing the resistance of Xichang City's defending general and successfully occupying the city.

At 1:45 PM.

*Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop...*

Zhao Xing rode his horse into the city with Xia Jing. Long Xiao, busy searching for supplies, was seen cursing and kicking a sack right as they entered. Zhao Xing and others dismounted and approached Long Xiao. "What did you find? I heard casualties were low, so why are you still angry?"

"Damn it, there's not a single useful piece of equipment, only food! It's so ridiculous it makes me laugh," Long Xiao said, pointing at a pile of sacks on the ground. "After taking the city, I wanted to restock on arrows, but after searching for ages, I couldn't find any armory. In the end, I only found about a hundred spare ox-bows and scimitars in the granary, and they were all crude stuff."

Xia Jing laughed. "The defending general of Xichang City is a small tribal leader under the Golden Feather Royal Court. He only had 1,500 soldiers and fifteen cultivators. For such a small city, how much military supply do you expect them to have? It's good enough that there's food. You still haven't grasped Brother Zhao's combat philosophy; isn't having food even better?"

Long Xiao looked at Zhao Xing, who was reviewing the post-battle summary.

"Indeed," Zhao Xing said, closing the list. "Xichang City was originally just a granary; strictly speaking, it's not even a city. Even counting all the local residents, there are only about five thousand people. Getting some food is quite good."

Long Xiao nodded. If Zhao Xing said it was good, then it must be good.

"What are you doing? Get out of here!"

"I want to see the general!"

Suddenly, a group of armored soldiers on the street caused a commotion. Zhao Xing looked over and saw a barbarian whose facial skin was wrinkled like fish gills being driven away by the Azure Dragon Army. "What's going on?"

Long Xiao glanced over. "A local fellow. Says he wants to join us, and he even speaks a bit of Great Zhou language. But I refused. He's come to me twice; he's quite persistent."

"Why did you refuse?" Zhao Xing asked, surprised.

"Those not of our kind are sure to be of a different mind," Long Xiao said matter-of-factly. "While we don't kill barbarians, my Azure Dragon Army doesn't want them. Even if he's genuinely loyal, he'd be difficult to use, and communication would be inconvenient. How could he compare to our soldiers, who have been trained for years? Taking him would only be a hindrance."

"Your Azure Dragon Army is elite, so you don't need him, but he could be useful in other units," Zhao Xing said. "You don't need to worry about them having ulterior motives. These barbarians hate the main royal court more than the people of Great Zhou."

"What's the logic behind that?" Long Xiao was puzzled this time.

"The natives of Xichang City belong to the Kash tribe, but the garrison you just drove away belongs to the Ox Tribe of the Golden Feather Royal Court," Zhao Xing explained. "'Those not of our kind are sure to be of a different mind' applies more fittingly to them. I've looked at the records; five years ago, Xichang City had over thirty thousand residents, but now only five thousand remain. What do you think happened?"

Long Xiao looked thoughtful, but Zhao Xing waved his hand, telling the armored soldiers to bring the barbarian over.

"General, General, my humble self is called Wang Gang, and I am willing to serve the Great Zhou Divine Dynasty." The barbarian spoke broken Great Zhou language. Zhao Xing immediately knew his name was freshly made up, a common Great Zhou name. Although the man's skin was wrinkled, he was actually in his prime. This was simply the natural appearance of his race, with the wrinkles being organs similar to fish gills.

"Wang Gang, why do you want to join us?" Long Xiao asked curiously.

"General," Wang Gang bowed. "Simply seeing that the General did not kill unarmed people or those without armor after entering the city makes you worthy of following."

Long Xiao couldn't understand. Were the Southern Barbarian Royal Court's troops even more terrifying to their own people? His mere act of not killing civilians had become a reason for him to be admired. It was truly strange.

"The armies you fought before were the main royal court's regular forces; they had some military discipline," Zhao Xing said. "This Xichang region is governed by a hodgepodge of barbarian militias. They have little concept of a nation, only tribes. They obey the main court's orders to fight and only care about completing their tasks. As for the lives of barbarians from other tribes, they don't care."

"Yes, exactly," Wang Gang affirmed, his voice choked. "Our Kash tribe has been conscripted eight times in five years. Once all our brave soldiers were taken, we had no strength to protect ourselves. The Ox Tribe people who came here last year didn't treat us as their own at all. Five years ago, our Kash tribe numbered tens of thousands, but now we don't even have five thousand people. In between, we only fought two wars, losing over three thousand people. All the other tribesmen died at the hands of those supposedly 'our own people'. They made us contribute to the royal court in the name of the Witch Moon God, but what have the Witch Moon God and the royal court brought us?!"

"General, I am willing to join Great Zhou and guide your way."

Zhao Xing nodded. "Good, Wang Gang. Since you speak the language of Great Zhou and have taken a Great Zhou name, you are a person of Great Zhou. However, I won't give you a fixed position, but you can apply for food and weapons from the city at any time. If you can find five people to follow you, you'll be a squad leader. If you find ten, you'll be a platoon leader. If you can find a hundred, you'll be a captain!"

"Thank you, General," Wang Gang said, delighted. "General, if I can recruit a thousand men, can I become a deputy general?"

"You wish," Zhao Xing laughed. "Where would you find that many people?"

"General, as the saying goes, 'it's hard to leave one's homeland.' After Xichang City was breached, a small portion of the defenders and barbarians fled, but most are still hiding in underground caverns. Among them, there are still eight hundred able-bodied young men who can fight. We originally thought of waiting for the enemy to leave before coming out," Wang Gang bowed and said. "However, seeing the General's benevolence, I risked my life to approach you."

"Wang Gang, I just told you what rank you'd get if you can find that many people. But if you want to secure a future for your own people, it will depend on your performance."

"Yes, General, I'll go bring them over now." Wang Gang understood Zhao Xing's meaning: to gain similar treatment, he still needed to prove his worth through meritorious deeds. However, this was still better than continuing to be ruled by other barbarian generals. The Kash tribe had seen the true face of the Royal Court over five years. They had reached a point where anyone else was acceptable, as long as it wasn't the Royal Court ruling them.

Zhao Xing waved his hand and dispatched a team with carts of food to follow Wang Gang.

No sooner had Wang Gang left than Long Xiao began scolding two commanders responsible for searching the city. "What were you doing? You didn't even know there were eight hundred barbarian soldiers hiding?"

The search commanders felt wronged. The barbarians weren't even inside the city; they were hiding in caverns outside. How could they find them so quickly? "Don't be too hard on them," Zhao Xing said. "If such a small number of people are determined to hide in caves, and they know the terrain, it's very difficult to find them."

"Brother Xia, have the scouts sent to explore Tianshui City returned?"

"Not yet," Xia Jing shook his head.

"Order the Divine Might Army and the Black Armored Army to enter the city for rest and recuperation, prepare meals, and quickly restore their strength," Zhao Xing commanded. "In two days at most, we will attack Tianshui City."

"Understood."

In the early morning of January 25th, the Divine Might Army and Black Armored Army, led by the command post in Xichang City, received bad news. The Tiger Dragon Army and Blazing Sun Army, led by Liao Rulong and Wang Ji, were ambushed in the Huangling and Zhangshan areas by Zang He, a commander of the Nine Nether Army. The Sea Suppressing Chariots, led by Chen Shijie, Zhao Zheng, Tu Li, and Han Bing, were intercepted at Erdaowan by Hou Sen, a commander of the Nine Nether Chariots. Except for Zhao Xing and Xia Jing's relatively smooth advance, the other two divisions encountered problems right at the beginning of the river crossing plan.

Originally, they were supposed to rendezvous at Xichang City and the Tianshui River area by the early morning of the 25th, but the other two divisions still hadn't arrived by the evening of the 25th. Zang He and Hou Sen were commanders from the Nine Nether Army Corps. Commander Youyun, the Nine Nether Army's overall commander responsible for encircling Xia Jing's unit, discovered the Great Zhou army's escape from Fengwu City on January 20th. He then dispatched Zang He and Hou Sen, each leading over 800 vanguard troops, to intercept the Ten Suns Army Corps as they crossed the river.

Chen Shijie's and Liao Rulong's units each numbered over ten thousand men. The eight hundred men led by Zang He and Hou Sen were all cultivators, but ninety percent of them were in the Gathering Essence realm, mostly martial artists, with very few mages. It was completely unrealistic to try to eliminate two divisions with only eight hundred men, so their goal was merely to slow down the Great Zhou army's retreat.

Zang He and Hou Sen saw that Chen Shijie's and Liao Rulong's units marched in neat formations and moved in an orderly fashion, clearly elite troops. They dared not engage in ground combat. They could only throw firecrackers and cast spells from their flying boats. Once their firecrackers were expended and their essence was nearly depleted, they had to return. Both the flying boats and the people needed resupply. Zang He and Hou Sen themselves had traveled quickly to Fengwu City by flying boat, so they couldn't carry many large-scale destructive weapons. Therefore, this pursuit only slowed down the march of Chen Shijie's and Liao Rulong's divisions, without gaining any significant advantage. Few people died on either side.

It wasn't until the afternoon of the 26th that Zhao Xing in Xichang City received news: both divisions had temporarily repelled the pursuers. Zang He and Hou Sen had retreated with their men to Fengwu City for resupply, rest, flying boat maintenance, treating the wounded, and awaiting follow-up heavy vehicles. After shaking off the pursuers, both divisions reached their designated encampment by evening.

On January 27th, the Divine Might Army, Black Armored Army, Blazing Sun Army, and Tiger Dragon Army, totaling over 18,000 men, launched a three-pronged attack on the Level 8 Witch City, Tianshui City. Chen Shijie's Sea Suppressing Army, along with some reserve units, remained at the ford and Xichang City to guard against Zang He's and Hou Sen's vanguard forces.

The Divine Might Army attacked Tianshui City from the east, deploying their chariot units first. Originally, war chariots were pulled by exotic beasts or powered by magical arrays and core energy crystals, allowing them to fly in the sky and travel on the ground. But now it was different. Even restored to their full strength, mechanical engineers could only revive part of the power of magical mechanisms. War chariots could now only move on the ground. Similarly, flying boats couldn't stay airborne for long, because this world was different. The chariots within the "Forbidden Zone of Earthly Isolation" also looked different from before, somewhat resembling a combination of an elliptical vehicle and a battering ram.

The siege chariots used by the Divine Might Army were all built by Wang Ji. They resembled a carriage but instead of horses, they had a spiraled ramming horn at the front, about three meters long. The top of the chariot had a sail. A total of 120 siege chariots rammed towards the eastern wall of Tianshui City. The exterior structure of the chariot's cabin had three layers of defense: first, a leather layer soaked in beast hide; second, metal plating; and third, a combination of hardwood. These three layers protected the fragile core of the magical array. Within the "Forbidden Zone of Earthly Isolation," mechanical constructs were very fragile and prone to malfunction because the available materials were too weak. Moreover, they would cease to function if they moved too far from the mechanical engineer. There was no other way; this was the only method to protect the magical array.

*Whoosh!* A strong gust of wind appeared on the battlefield. The fierce wind blew against the chariots' sails, pushing them forward. The chariots had caterpillar tracks, allowing them to cross ditches. Due to the scarcity of cultivators, each Divine Might Army member had to use wind magic to power the sails of three or more chariots. Zhao Xing, with his peak Level 8 Spirit Bridge cultivation, was also casting wind spells. He controlled thirty chariots, pushing them towards the enemy's city walls. The sails billowed, and the chariots slowly moved towards the city walls below.

"Blow! Quickly, blow them back!"

"Don't let these abominations get close!"

On the eastern wall of Tianshui City, a red-skinned barbarian general wildly waved his longsword, roaring furiously. The mages on the city wall also began to furiously conjure wind, blowing it outwards. There was no choice; if they didn't stop the 'Boundary-Breaking Chariots,' these things could destroy the structure of the magical array wall just by touching it.

*Whizzing!* Two distinct gusts of wind began to rage wildly in front of the eastern city wall. The chariots' sails alternately billowed eastward and westward, seesawing back and forth, quickly reaching a stalemate. All 120 chariots, still over a hundred meters from the city wall, had largely slowed to a crawl, like turtles. But soon, twenty chariots broke the stalemate.

Zhao Xing controlled the powerful wind, pushing twenty Boundary-Breaking Chariots forward. The mages contending with him immediately paled.

"Commander, they have a master on the other side; I can't hold them off," three mages immediately reported.

"Idiots! How powerful can they be? Hold them back!"

"Yes, yes..."

However, reality did not bend to personal will. Even though Zhao Xing was at the Level 8 Spirit Bridge realm, his wind magic was much stronger than that of his peers. Furthermore, due to the Cloud-Treading Vine, Zhao Xing could access the Pure Essence Soil, which normally only cultivators of Level 5 and above could open, continuously drawing spiritual energy from it. This meant he barely had to worry about energy consumption; he was essentially always at full strength. Other mages or wind elementalists, in high-intensity combat, would have to stop and recover their essence after blowing wind for three to five minutes. Low-level cultivators expended a lot of energy when casting spells at full power. But Zhao Xing could keep blowing the wind here until the end of time.

*Click, click, click!* Twenty chariots quickly approached the city wall and then encountered the second challenge: the moat.

*Splosh!* A large volume of water surged from the moat, forming waves that blocked their path.

Seeing this, Zhao Xing had no choice but to use his cheat-like ability again. "Cloud Walking!"

The Cloud Devouring Technique was unleashed, and sun-like clouds floated above the moat, rapidly absorbing its water. "What?!" Watching the moat's water level rapidly drop, the barbarian general on the eastern city wall's eyes nearly popped out. "Do they have a Level 5 Army Agricultural Official? How can his clouds be so powerful?"

"No wonder the Nine Nether Army's Grand Commander wants to encircle this army. Can we, can Tianshui City, really hold out?" The defending barbarian general began to panic. His gaze shifted towards the twenty flying boats docked within the inner city. Within the "Forbidden Zone of Earthly Isolation," due to material and various restrictions, only medium-sized flying boats were possible. Warships didn't exist. Barbarian generals of his rank could at most use small flying boats, capable of carrying only five to twenty people, with a limited altitude not exceeding a thousand meters. They also needed to bring the mechanical engineer who built them along, otherwise, they couldn't fly far at all.

"The enemy is determined to use this city to cross the river, attacking from three sides. We don't know how many tens of thousands of people they have, and we only have six thousand in the city. Can we hold out?" This barbarian deputy general began to have other thoughts. But out of fear and faith in the Nine Nether God, he suppressed his inner dread and issued commands.

"Fire archers, prepare!"

"Release!"

The barbarian general watched as his mages began casting spells, letting the wind carry their projectiles, mainly aimed at the sails of the Boundary-Breaking Chariots. But this was useless, as the material of the sails crafted by Wang Ji had a very high ignition point; ordinary fire simply couldn't burn them. Magical flames might work, but the problem was Zhao Xing was also using wind magic, so the fire couldn't drift over. It would only reverse and harm their own people. Tianshui City was now under attack from three sides, and the cultivators assigned to each side were simply insufficient. Except for those who inherently received 'Heaven and Earth Protection', the spells of others were only effective within the city.

*Thud!* A crashing sound against the wall startled the barbarian general. He looked at the city wall and saw that the ramming horn of a chariot had already reached the wall and begun to sparkle. What he didn't know was that on the other side, Zhao Xing was already contemplating whether to abandon the attack. This was because the situation reported from the other two sides was not good. If casualties became too heavy or if the delay was too long, allowing the three divisions of the Nine Nether Army pursuing them to catch up, they would be in serious trouble. At that point, they would have to fight with their backs to the wall, which went against his original intention of fighting a guerrilla war.

"Messenger, ask Xia Jing in the west how long it will take to capture the city?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Understood!" The messenger was a mechanical engineer from the Boundless Rectilinear School. He closed his eyes and quickly replied to Zhao Xing. "Sir, General Xia says the west side can hope for a breakthrough in at least four hours."

"What about General Liao's north side?"

"Two hours."

Zhao Xing calculated, realizing he was the luckiest; the eastern side he commanded was the enemy's weakest defended area. Now, twenty Boundary-Breaking Chariots had begun to dismantle the city wall's magical array. The enemy's reinforcement speed was significantly slower than the rate of penetration. In about forty-five minutes, the eastern city wall would be left bare. Once the city wall's magical array failed, the difficulty of the attack would be greatly reduced.

Under the Divine Might Army, there was a mechanical artillery battalion. Within the "Forbidden Zone of Earthly Isolation," it could be considered a great weapon of mass destruction. Long ago, when Zhao Xing suggested to Ji Che that the Six Ministries hold meetings while suppressing their cultivation realms, some great weapons of mass destruction within the "Forbidden Zone of Earthly Isolation" were also put on the research agenda. For example, Wang Ji of the Divine Might Army had developed a mechanism called the Divine Might Cannon. Its materials were very ordinary and had no relation to magic, yet its power was astonishing. It wasn't without reason that the Nine Nether God dispatched three cultivator armies—Youyun, Zang He, and Hou Sen—totaling over thirty thousand men (not including small local forces) to encircle the Ten Suns Army Corps. This army's destructive power against Southern Barbarian forces within the "Forbidden Zone of Earthly Isolation" was far more efficient than armies elsewhere. This was because Zhao Xing had used the Ten Suns Army Corps as a pilot project at that time; they were also the first army to train with the "Forbidden Zone of Earthly Isolation" as their hypothetical enemy.

"Tell Xia Jing and Liao Rulong that if they cannot take Tianshui City within two hours, they must retreat immediately. We will find another direction to cross the river," Zhao Xing shouted to the messenger.

"Understood!"

Time passed. Nine Boundary-Breaking Chariots were progressively destroyed, but the light on the city wall grew weaker. Finally, after forty-five minutes, the city wall became dim and dull. Every brick turned earthy gray, losing its luster. The city wall barrier vanished!

"It's finally breached!" Zhao Xing let out a long sigh of relief. In another place, a Level 7 Witch City like this, with its medium-level magical array, could be easily broken. But here, breaking it was incredibly slow.

"Mechanical Artillery Battalion One, open fire!"

*Boom!* Large-scale explosions erupted on and within the city walls. Flames surged, and the immense sound instantly boosted morale.

"Fire Bow Battalion One and Two, fire!"

"Where are the Sky-Breaker Flying Boats? Zhao Chuanzong, get the God-Slaying Crossbows onto the Sky-Breaker Flying Boats! Launch them and target Level 7 cultivators specifically!"

"Assault Vanguard, prepare to follow me..."

Just as he was giving orders, Zhao Chuanzong suddenly tugged at Zhao Xing. Zhao Chuanzong was a light cavalry captain and couldn't play a significant role in siege warfare, so he was serving as Zhao Xing's aide. "Why are you tugging at me?"

Zhao Chuanzong hesitated. "Brother, the Cloud-Flowing Flying Boat is prepared for you, not for combat. General Xia said it's only meant for your escape..." Within the "Forbidden Zone of Earthly Isolation," the flying boats' energy cores became primal crystals, but they also became fragile. If used to charge the city, they could easily be destroyed. The Ten Suns Army Corps didn't have many small flying boats, only about fifty across the entire army. There were only four medium-sized ones, which were the Sky-Breaker Flying Boats. While small flying boats only had short-distance low-altitude flight capability, the medium-sized Sky-Breaker Flying Boats had long-distance flight capabilities.

"Nonsense! Call me Grand Minister of Agriculture!" Zhao Xing pushed Zhao Chuanzong aside. "Is the Grand Minister of Agriculture greater, or is General Xia Jing greater? Obey my orders and launch! I never intended to escape alone!"

Zhao Xing's voice was loud and clear, seen and heard by all. In reality, Old Master Zhao knew this thing was just for psychological comfort. With the Nine Nether God's massive sweep, it would be difficult to escape even with this. Otherwise, he would have long since fled back to Great Zhou. Unless he reached the max level (Level 5) within the "Forbidden Zone of Earthly Isolation," he would absolutely not think of running. Once he reached Level 5, he wouldn't be afraid. If he reached Level 5, he would have many more means at his disposal. Unbeknownst to him, when Liu Tianning was Level 5, he was renowned as invincible among his peers, able to challenge higher levels as easily as eating and drinking. At Level 5, Old Master Zhao could summon powerful straw-man clones. Of course, the prerequisite was surviving this current massive sweep. Tianshui City was breached; he couldn't let these "level-up experiences" escape. Simply killing ordinary barbarian soldiers and generals was useless.

"Yes!" Zhao Chuanzong gritted his teeth. "General's order! Load the God-Slaying Crossbows onto the flying boats, including the Sky-Breaker Flying Boats!"

"Kill!"

"Charge!"

An hour after the battle began, the eastern side of Tianshui City was breached. The western and southern sides were also breached successively two hours later. After Zhao Xing, Xia Jing, Long Xiao, and other masters ascended the city, they immediately broke the stalemate, secured their footing on the city walls, and, having recovered their strength, blasted open the city gates. After the city was breached, it became street fighting. Once inside, the battle fully transformed into a conflict for lower-level cultivators. Tianshui City was a Level 7 Witch City; once inside, the Ten Suns Army Corps members would recover their cultivation realms up to Level 7. The most difficult part was breaching the city, a process that incurred many casualties. On the evening of January 28th, Tianshui City was completely captured.

"How many people recovered their strength?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Originally there were 350; after taking Tianshui City, it reached 880," Xia Jing replied.

"Tianshui City had slightly more cultivators than us, but fortunately, none were masters. They were far weaker than Fengwu City's forces and also weaker than the pursuers behind us," Chen Shijie said.

"What about casualties?"

"Over a thousand died," Xia Jing replied. "It's fortunate we captured the city; otherwise, that number would have been more than triple."

Witch Cities were crucial because as long as soldiers weren't immediately killed, once they entered the city after it was breached, they would receive the maximum possible recovery. Their inherent resistance would also improve as their cultivation realms recovered, turning serious injuries into minor ones and minor injuries into superficial ones.

"Quickly reorganize, treat the wounded soldiers, and prepare boats to cross the river. We can only stay here for two days at most," Zhao Xing said. They had taken about three days to travel from Fengwu City to Xichang City. Advancing with an army of tens of thousands was relatively slow, but this was already considered fast. Now, with tens of thousands of pursuers behind them, they didn't have much time to rest and cross the Tianshui River.

On February 1st, the main army gradually crossed the swift Tianshui River.

On the evening of February 2nd, Zhao Xing once again divided the Ten Suns Army Corps, this time into six routes instead of three. Xia Jing, Liao Rulong, Zhao Zheng, Long Xiao, and Chen Shijie each led one route, while the river-crossing boats were hidden in Sanshu Bay. Xia Jing and the others didn't understand this. "We won't need these boats when we head north to cross the Canglan River later. Why not destroy them?"

Zhao Xing looked at the soldiers hiding the boats and mused, "Let's keep them for now, just in case."

On February 5th, Grand Commander Youyun of the Nine Nether Chariots, leading over ten thousand men, arrived at Tianshui City with Zang He and Hou Sen, who led two tens of thousands of men.

"Grand Commander, the Valiant Lord Xia Jing and his forces have crossed the river," Zang He reported. "Their marching speed is very fast, as if they knew we were trying to encircle them."

"So what if they know?" Hou Sen said coldly. "South of the river, there are ambushes in every direction. How long can they last, running so lightly equipped? As the encirclement tightens, our reinforcement speed will only increase. We were a step slow this time, but it will be hard for them to take another city for supplies next time."

"Hou Sen is right," Grand Commander Youyun said, looking at the map. "As long as we keep watching them, we'll eventually drive them into a dead end. Then they'll have nowhere to escape." In the wilderness, cultivators couldn't get supplies. The higher their recovered cultivation realm, the more food they needed. Once a large army was annihilated, it was difficult for individuals to enter cities. Through repeated culling, they would either be captured, killed, or starve to death in the wilderness. Try flying through the air? That would make them even easier to catch.

"Report, Grand Commander! A major discovery!" Suddenly, a personal guard rushed in excitedly.

"Speak," Youyun said, his face partially covered by purple tattoos, making him appear somewhat enchanting.

"We just received news that among the Great Zhou forces that crossed the river, the highest-ranking Great Zhou official is not just Valiant Lord Xia Jing, but also the long-missing Grand Minister of Agriculture, Zhao Xing!"

"What?!" Grand Commander Youyun shot to his feet with a gasp, staring intently at his personal guard. "Are you sure this information is true?"

"Absolutely certain. Our people devoured a wandering soul from Great Zhou and personally saw Zhao Xing and Xia Jing enter Xichang City, and also saw him at Tianhe City."

"Hahahaha!" Grand Commander Youyun burst into laughter. "I never imagined such a great achievement would fall into my hands!" Regarding Zhao Xing, Ji Che had offered terms to his subordinates: anyone with confirmed information would be promoted two ranks and granted a marquisate. Anyone who brought back the Grand Minister of Agriculture would be promoted five ranks and enfeoffed as a Duke of a Commandery! The Southern Barbarians placed similar importance on him. For Grand Commander Youyun, merely having confirmed information was enough to guarantee a cultivation realm promotion afterward. Capturing or killing Zhao Xing would even grant him the opportunity to be personally instructed by the Witch Moon God!

"I must kill Zhao Xing!" This was Grand Commander Youyun's first reaction, but he quickly dismissed the thought. Because although he had recovered to Level 6, Zhao Xing had probably also recovered to Level 7. In the vast wilderness, how could he find one person alone? There was even a risk of failure; after all, Zhao Xing was famous for challenging higher levels in his past battles. Even the Level 5 Nine Nether God wouldn't be able to find him alone, so they had to rely on the army.

"Immediately report to the Nine Nether God! These three tens of thousands of men are not enough; to create a large encirclement, the more people, the better." Youyun immediately realized that he couldn't monopolize this achievement. It was better to secure the immediate benefits first.

Simultaneously, through layers of message transmission, the news that Zhao Xing was still alive was secretly relayed back to the Royal Capital. "Your Majesty, we have news of the Grand Minister of Agriculture!" Ji reported.

"Are you sure?" Ji Che, seated on the throne, looked excited. "Don't tell me it's another impostor, making me happy for nothing."

"This time it's absolutely true. The Grand Minister of Agriculture wrote a letter, and it matches the secret intelligence from the military realm," Ji said. "However, the front line also brought bad news: the Nine Nether God has concentrated over four hundred thousand troops and is conducting a major sweep of Cangyue Prefecture and He Prefecture in the central Southern Barbarian region."

"The Grand Minister of Agriculture is in the northeast of Lanhe Prefecture, within the Nine Nether God's encirclement."

Ji Che fell silent. This news was truly terrible. He had just received news of his elder brother, only to find him in extreme danger.

"Immediately order Lord Luohou to rescue Zhao Xing at all costs. I repeat, at all costs! Even if it means delaying the war for decades, even if all ten forbidden armies are lost, it doesn't matter!"

"Understood," Ji Si nodded.

Ji Che then looked towards the distant sky, muttering, "Elder Brother, you must hold on."

On February 7th, three days after leaving south of the Tianshui River, Zhao Xing's Ten Suns Army Corps began assaulting Min City, Heshui City, and Yuyou City in Lanhe Prefecture, as per their original plan. Once these three cities were captured, and after passing two more defensive lines, they would have a chance to rendezvous with Dong Ze's Divine Constellation Army. Two of these defensive lines were relatively sparse, as the Nine Nether God had mobilized so many troops, leaving many areas understaffed.

However, after three days of fighting, Min City, Heshui City, and Yuyou City remained uncaptured. Instead, enemy reinforcements were on their way.

"Brother Zhao, the situation isn't looking good. If we can't capture at least one city within three days, we'll be encircled," Xia Jing worried. They now had over a thousand cultivators, with about ten at Level 7. However, this level of strength wouldn't last long within the vast enemy encirclement. As the encirclement tightened, their window for city assaults would become shorter and shorter.

"No more fighting," Zhao Xing said, shaking his head after reviewing the map. "Continuing to fight would be a dead end. Tell Old Chen's and Old Liao's armies to begin retreating."

"Retreat where?" Xia Jing asked.

"Recross the Tianshui River and return to Fengwu City," Zhao Xing said.

"What?" Xia Jing was somewhat bewildered. "How can we go back? We're surrounded by enemy forces on seven sides. Are we going to return to the north of Lanhe Prefecture?"

"The most dangerous place is the safest place. We just crossed the river; the enemy certainly won't expect us to break out of one encirclement only to return into it," Zhao Xing said. "Therefore, we must move quickly to strike their weakly defended river positions before they fully encircle us, and return to the north of Lanhe Prefecture."