Chapter 665: A Piece of Good News

As dawn slowly broke, smoke still lingered over the various battlefields. Many tents and wooden barricades continued to burn, and the main Ancestral Yue army camps were practically strewn with corpses.

Da Zhen soldiers, weapons in hand, patrolled back and forth, checking the battlefield for any enemy soldiers feigning death. Besides the variously gruesome corpses, there were also many surrendered Ancestral Yue soldiers, huddled together and shivering. It wasn't entirely from fear; they were mainly freezing. When the Da Zhen army attacked last night, many soldiers were still in their beds. Some were cut down, others were dragged out of their tents at weapon point, all wearing only a single layer of clothing. They could only huddle together for warmth.

Yin Zhong, holding his twin halberds, surveyed the battlefield accompanied by three personal guards. His current location was originally one of the Ancestral Yue army's three main camps, which housed elite court soldiers directly under the Ancestral Yue Song clan. After a night of fighting, many were dead or had surrendered; only a small portion had managed to escape.

This was also Yin Zhong's final stop after a night of raiding several camps. At the previous locations, after routing the enemy, he would immediately press forward with extreme speed, his assault so swift that it outpaced the fleeing Ancestral Yue soldiers.

Yin Zhong's armor was stained crimson, and his pair of black halberds were caked with mottled dark red blood. Many surrendered Ancestral Yue soldiers instinctively huddled closer to their comrades when they saw Yin Zhong approaching. The terror of those black halberds had been witnessed by many last night; they could dismember a man or split a horse in half, often in less than two blows.

A soldier jogged up to Yin Zhong, cupped his hands in a salute, and reported.

"General Yin, our unit suffered approximately eight hundred casualties and over a hundred seriously wounded. The situation of other units is currently unclear, but we know the offensive proceeded smoothly."

Yin Zhong nodded, looking at a large, burnt-out tent not far away. In front of it lay the headless corpse of a general in silver armor, personally beheaded by Yin Zhong last night.

"Were Li Dongjiao and Jian Hui captured, or killed?"

"It's difficult to distinguish in the chaos of last night's battle. Many enemy officers were killed, and we are still searching for them."

Yin Zhong said nothing more, waving his hand dismissively.

"Understood. You may go."

"Yes, sir!"

After a night of fierce fighting under extreme mental strain, even Yin Zhong felt a touch of weariness, let alone the ordinary soldiers. However, all the soldiers were in high spirits, displaying robust morale that seemed to dispel the severe cold, leaving their faces ruddy.

Last night's battle primarily involved direct clashes between the two armies. The celestial masters and sorcerers, usually feared by both sides, did not seem to play a significant role.

This was partly because many skilled individuals from both sides engaged in one-on-one combat. It was also due to the formidable martial aura of the army formations; when thousands of soldiers charged fiercely together, practitioners with lower cultivation would be affected. Moreover, with numerous martial arts masters present in the army, celestial masters and sorcerers could easily fall within the ranks if they were not careful.

After a final inspection, Yin Zhong gave a few instructions, specifically advising that while they couldn't drink alcohol tonight, there would be plenty of meat to compensate for the New Year's Eve feast. He then departed amidst the soldiers' cheers. He needed to begin drafting the battle report, as his status as the second son of the Yin family meant the army generally preferred him to write such reports.

The full outcome of that night's battle was gradually confirmed over the following days. It wasn't just the successful raid on the camps; news of Lady Bai's spell at Yongding Pass, which repelled the enemy, and even the events at Tingqiu Mountain, circulated among the armies of both nations.

The last piece of news, though somewhat ambiguous and difficult to verify, had a far greater impact than many soldiers imagined. At least within the circles of cultivators on both sides, it was nothing short of an earthquake.

While there was no concrete proof regarding the events at Tingqiu Mountain, the Ancestral Yue side could at least confirm that five highly skilled Celestial Masters had disappeared while attempting to cross the Tingqiu Mountain Range to aid Qizhou, and had never reappeared.

Whether Da Zhen had the ability to intercept and kill such powerful immortal masters, or if the mountain deity of Tingqiu Mountain had intervened, it was bad news for the Ancestral Yue army, especially the latter scenario.

After Du Changsheng, along with several cultivators from Tingqiu Mountain, explained this situation to Da Zhen generals like Yin Zhong and Mei She, Yin Zhong strongly urged Marshal Mei to press on with the attack, capitalizing on their victory. Regardless of whether the information was true or false, it was the enemy who needed to be wary. In war, any exploitable opportunity should be seized to achieve victory.

Consequently, before the first battle report was even completed, Da Zhen's offensive continued immediately. They even incorporated some of the surrendered Ancestral Yue conscripts and auxiliary soldiers, who joined the army in launching a new round of attacks.

Over half a month later, the first detailed battle report finally arrived at Da Zhen's Capital Prefecture. From the moment they entered the East Gate of the Capital Prefecture, the riders responsible for the urgent delivery had been shouting at the top of their lungs along the way.

"Great victory in Qizhou... Great victory in Qizhou... Great victory in Qizhou..."

"Great victory in Qizhou..."

The fast horses galloped or trotted along the main capital road directly to the Imperial Palace. Along the way, citizens who heard the news were overjoyed, clapping, cheering, and rushing to spread the word.

The Emperor and his ministers in the palace were equally ecstatic. They had not expected such a decisive victory directly on New Year's Eve, followed by an immediate expansion of their gains. In one fell swoop, they had recaptured half of Qizhou's territory, including its capital, transforming their defensive stance into a major offensive.

In the Imperial Astronomy Bureau's archives, Ji Yuan was still perusing books. Yan Chang, looking excited, quickly entered the archives room and hurried towards Ji Yuan.

"Mr. Ji, Mr. Ji, good news, great news! Our army achieved a great victory, a great victory!"

Usually, Yan Chang would not speak loudly when visiting the archives, much less shout as he was now. But at this moment, he simply couldn't contain his excitement and longed to share it with Ji Yuan.

"Sir, a great victory in Qizhou! Our army won!"

Yan Chang quickly reached Ji Yuan's side and saw a pot of wine and two wine cups on the ground beside him, both already filled. Without a word, he squatted down, unceremoniously picked up the outer cup, and drained it. Immediately, a spicy, pungent sensation rushed into his mouth, making him nearly choke.

"What potent wine!"

Yan Chang rarely saw Ji Yuan pouring wine directly into his mouth, and he hadn't expected the wine to be so strong. Ji Yuan, watching Yan Chang's reaction, put down his bamboo slips and chuckled.

"A small drink upon hearing good news, and only strong liquor can suit such military tidings."

"Did you know already, Sir?"

Ji Yuan raised his own cup, drank it in one gulp, and nodded.

"I knew a little earlier."

As he spoke, Ji Yuan moved to pour more wine for Yan Chang, who quickly covered his cup.

"Oh, no need, no need! I can't hold my liquor. By the way, Sir, do you think Da Zhen can use this victory to turn the tide and directly invade Ancestral Yue territory? I hear we also have some powerful immortal cultivators assisting our army now!"

Ji Yuan neither confirmed nor denied it. There were indeed powerful individuals; Bai Ruo certainly counted. Additionally, the Da Zhen army likely had a shapeshifting demon and a few capable rogue cultivators. Though Master Qingsong's cultivation wasn't particularly high, his divination skills, which could seize heavenly secrets and fortune, were extremely powerful as support. He was also quite effective at bluffing people, as very few could discern his true cultivation level.

However, compared to Ancestral Yue, Da Zhen's resources were still insufficient. After all, Ancestral Yue had been plagued by demons, monsters, and ghosts for a long time. While Ji Yuan believed the influence of ghostly paths would be much less due to Wuyacheng, other influences were hard to say. Da Zhen, on the other hand, had far fewer "resources" in this regard.

As for righteous immortal sects like Yu Huai Mountain, they would absolutely not interfere in mortal conflicts. Instead, it was possible that some cultivating families with close ties to Yu Huai Mountain might intervene.

Ji Yuan did not voice his complex thoughts, merely smiling at Yan Chang.

"Warfare is not that simple, but Da Zhen will ultimately prevail. The fate of humanity ultimately rests with humans; relying on unorthodox methods only provides temporary advantage."

"Hmm, I still have many scrolls and documents here that I haven't finished reading. I'm quite reluctant to stop, so I'll come back another time to pore over them."

Yan Chang paused, then looked at Ji Yuan and asked.

"Sir, are you leaving? But... but Da Zhen is currently at war with Ancestral Yue, Sir..."

Yan Chang felt a slight panic. In his mind, Mr. Ji's presence was like a stabilizing anchor. Even if Mr. Ji seemed unresponsive, Yan Chang believed that if Da Zhen were truly in danger, Mr. Ji would certainly intervene.

Yan Chang wasn't entirely sure how powerful Ji Yuan was, but he knew he was definitely stronger than the so-called immortal masters who appeared on the battlefield. Du Changsheng had once confided in Yan Chang, saying, "Everyone else is merely a cultivator, but Mr. Ji is an immortal." This single sentence highlighted a near-impassable chasm between them.

Ji Yuan shook his head and smiled.

"Lord Yan, why are you panicking? Da Zhen will not lose. I'm just going to Tingqiu Mountain to take a look; I won't be going far."

After offering a word of comfort, Ji Yuan stood up, holding the wine pot. Yan Chang also instinctively rose from his squatting position. He watched as Ji Yuan casually flicked his sleeve, and a large pile of bamboo slips and paper books on the ground floated into the air, flying back to their respective shelves.

Having done this, Ji Yuan, still holding the wine pot and cups, slowly walked out. Yan Chang, snapping out of his daze, quickly followed, saying with a hint of excitement.

"Sir, are you going to Jinzhou, or Qizhou? Is it possible you're finally going to intervene?"

Ji Yuan gave a slight grin and reached out to take back the other cup from Yan Chang's hand.

"Just going to see the mountain deity of Tingqiu Mountain, that's all."

With the echo of his words, Ji Yuan stepped out of the archives. Due to the parallax effect, the bright sunlight outside made Ji Yuan's retreating figure appear somewhat blurry to Yan Chang.

But by the time Yan Chang, just a few steps behind, reached the outside, Ji Yuan was nowhere to be seen.

"Sir? Sir? Sir—"