Chapter 800: Execution of the Monster Army

Though it was rare to get useful information from Xiezhi, Ji Yuan didn't dwell much on Li Feng. He maintained his usual composure, having already made many unfavorable assumptions about Li Feng's situation.

This time, Ji Yuan left a letter. He didn't wait until the next day when Li Feng would come to Nichen Temple to deliver it. By the time he finished questioning Xiezhi, dusk was already approaching, so Ji Yuan decided to go directly to the Li residence to pay a visit.

The streets were bathed in the golden hues of the setting sun. From the blacksmith's shop, one could see the entrance of the Li residence in the distance, with the last pieces of ironware forged today neatly arranged nearby.

The old blacksmith walked over with a smile, glancing at the various tools lined up – both farming implements and kitchenware were excellent. Then he looked at Jinjia, noticing that the taciturn man seemed lost in thought.

“Little Jin, what are you looking at?”

Jinjia pointed towards the front of the Li residence.

“Looking over there.”

The old blacksmith followed Jinjia's gaze. In front of the Li residence, a man in white stood bathed in the afterglow of the sunset. Though a bit far, his posture and demeanor suggested he was a highly learned scholar. The confidence and composure he exuded were unlike the nervousness of ordinary scholars visiting the Li residence.

In the old blacksmith's view, the servants of the Li residence tried several times to invite the gentleman inside, but he gently shook his head, declining.

“Heh heh, this is unusual. Who outside wouldn't want to enter the Li residence, right? But this person isn't going in.”

The old blacksmith chuckled, nudging Jinjia with his elbow. Jinjia lowered his head slightly to look at the old blacksmith. Perhaps feeling he should respond, he eventually uttered a simple “Hm”.

Not long after, in the sight of the two men at the blacksmith's shop, the young master of the Li residence ran out. He scurried up to the great gentleman and respectfully bowed. Then, the two stood in front of the mansion gate, seemingly exchanging a few words. The gentleman handed the young master a letter, and the young master appeared quite excited.

“Looks like a messenger.”

The old blacksmith commented. Jinjia again looked at his current nominal master, hesitating before saying.

“I... don't think so.”

No sooner had Jinjia spoken than the gentleman in the distance reached out and touched the young master of the Li family's head. This was not an action an ordinary person could or would dare to make. The young master then suddenly embraced the gentleman. After holding his arms up for a moment, the gentleman finally placed one hand on the young master's head and gently patted the child's back.

“You were right! Would a messenger dare to do that? Could he be a distant relative of the Li family?”

This time, Jinjia remained silent, his eyes fixed on the distant scene. Eventually, the young master of the Li family let go of the great gentleman, and they parted ways in front of the Li residence gate. Before leaving, the gentleman seemed to glance towards the blacksmith's shop.

Jinjia clasped his hands and bowed slightly towards the distance. The old blacksmith sensed Jinjia's movement, but when he turned to look at the man beside him, he saw nothing, as if Jinjia hadn't moved at all, causing him to wonder if his eyesight was failing.

Ji Yuan was unsure how long it would be before he returned after this departure, and his observation time for Li Feng hadn't been long enough. Leaving Jinjia and Little Paper Crane here to watch, coupled with the local land spirit's help, served as a kind of safeguard. Even if something truly went wrong, whether for Li Feng or externally, Jinjia would prove a formidable obstacle.

As night fell, Ji Yuan had already soared away on his cloud. This time, there was no convenient boundary ferry to take; reaching Tianyu Continent would truly depend entirely on his own flight.

The layer of fierce winds, which Ji Yuan once viewed with some trepidation, now seemed like nothing special to him. After admiring the beautiful scenery of the Southern Wilds Continent, Ji Yuan transformed the cloud beneath his feet into wind, ascending higher and higher, until he finally turned into a streak of escaping light and flew into the high-altitude fierce winds.

Although the fierce wind layer appears at varying altitudes, the higher one goes, the more violent the wind becomes, like razor-sharp blades. Ji Yuan's current cultivation allowed him to travel through the fierce winds with ease, flying to extreme heights. Amidst the strong turbulent winds, he found a suitable wind current, then rapidly used the fierce winds to fly towards Tianyu Continent. His very being held a sword intent, making him seem like a fleeting sword-light.

During his journey, Tianji Pavilion's flying sword messages naturally ceased. During this time, Ji Yuan couldn't learn about the situation in Tianyu Continent. He could only infer auspicious or inauspicious changes by observing the state of a few “chess pieces” from his “World of Artistic Conception” that were in Tianyu Continent, and by noting changes in the constellations in the night sky. It was better than nothing.

Of course, the most important thing was to observe the positions of the heavenly stars and sense qi flows to determine his direction. After all, though Tianyu Continent was vast, if he didn't find the right direction, he might end up flying to some unknown corner of the world.

On the night of the third day of the third lunar month, Ji Yuan first flew to Tianyu Continent. With his divine sight fully open, he observed the qi phenomena as far as his eyes could see. Even the qi of heaven and earth, yin and yang, was unstable, not to mention the intertwined fates of various paths. Fortunately, although the fate of humanity had undoubtedly weakened significantly, it had not truly reached a precarious state.

Ji Yuan looked up at the sky. The night sky was filled with brilliant stars. With his special attention, the light of the Wuqu star in the Big Dipper constellation seemed brighter than before.

Apart from Xuanjizi of Tianji Pavilion knowing that Ji Yuan had left the Southern Wilds Continent for Tianyu Continent, Ji Yuan did not inform anyone else of his arrival, including the old beggar.

Upon reaching Tianyu Continent, his connection with the “chess pieces” located there significantly strengthened. Ji Yuan was slightly surprised to find that Lu Shanjun and Niu Batian were no longer in an area of Tianyu Continent severely plagued by demons. Instead, one was on the outskirts of Tianyu Continent, and the other was actually in the seemingly safe central part of Tianyu Continent, which was under the control of the righteous path.

Logically, this period should be the most intense time of conflict between good and evil in Tianyu Continent. The Tianqi Alliance had been causing trouble for so long, and this time they were putting in their full effort. It was abnormal for members like Niu Batian and Lu Shanjun, who were definitely not cannon fodder, not to be fighting on the front lines with the righteous path.

‘Could there be another trick?’

Ji Yuan pondered for a moment, then made a decision without hesitation. He first flew towards the central part of Tianyu Continent, but his speed was not as rushed as before. He was both more cautious and intended to observe the situation of various factions in Tianyu Continent. The “chess piece” in his direction was Niu Batian.

The direction he was theoretically heading was relatively safe, but looking down from the sky at night, due to the great chaos in Tianyu Continent caused by the conflict between good and evil, evil miasma rose everywhere across the vast land. Human vitality was much sparser than before, though one could still see nighttime lights in places where people gathered.

After flying for several more days, Ji Yuan suddenly slowed his speed. A strange aura appeared in his vision, rolling like fire and flowing like a river. He therefore deliberately reduced his speed and altitude.

“Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap...” “Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap...”

Massive footsteps moved along a slightly rugged path, accompanied by the clanking of armor and weapons, and the neighing of horses and mounts.

This was an army that had endured bloody battles, not because their armor was ragged or stained with much blood. In fact, their armor was bright and their weapons sharp. However, the aura they exuded and the nearly unified baleful qi of the entire legion were truly astonishing.

What surprised Ji Yuan even more was that at the center of this army, numbering around several thousand, a considerable number of demons were being escorted. Although they were mostly demons of not-too-exaggerated size, most of them had sharp fangs and bristly fur, which would certainly be terrifying to ordinary people. Yet, these soldiers seemed accustomed to it, marching in silence and, while vigilant towards the escorted demons, showed little fear.

Compared to these circumstances, the presence of a few immortal cultivators accompanying the army was not particularly strange. Moreover, in Ji Yuan's view, these few cultivators had very shallow cultivation; they might not even be comparable to Wei Yuansheng and Sun Yaya, and their immortal spiritual qi was rather impure.

Ji Yuan hesitated for a moment, then descended a bit further, aiming for a clearer view. With a thought, his figure gradually blurred. He could feel the surging baleful qi of this army; ordinary illusions would be useless. Fortunately, Ji Yuan's magic was instantaneous, his current spells and divine abilities at his command, so there was no risk of him becoming visible if he landed within the army formation.

Neither the soldiers nor the demons could see Ji Yuan. He landed directly on the ground and followed the team, very close to the demons being driven forward by thick iron chains.

The nearest soldiers were strong in vitality, holding their steel spears steadily. Although their faces showed fatigue, their gaze towards the demons remained stern and filled with killing intent. This killing aura was not unique to these few soldiers but shared by hundreds, even thousands, of soldiers around them. Ji Yuan was slightly surprised to find that the escorted demons were very afraid, most of them shrinking within the marching ranks, with very few even baring their fangs.

Around dawn, the army crossed a small mountain, and the marching path became easier. The sound of their footsteps became more orderly. Ji Yuan looked up into the distance and could see a city of considerable size.

“Ahead is Yuqiu City. Keep a close watch on these beasts. Any disobedience will result in summary execution!”

A commander declared loudly, his voice clear and carrying far in the silent night march.

The next moment, all the soldiers in the army responded almost simultaneously.

“Yes, sir!”

The sound was like mountains calling and seas roaring, startling even Ji Yuan, who was within the army formation. Many of the demons trembled. One of them, a burly mountain spirit about one and a half times a man's height at the rear of the line, seemed to be overly startled, or perhaps had already made up its mind. At that moment, it suddenly charged towards one side of the army formation, pulling down several other demons chained to it.

“Roar…”

The mountain spirit charged wildly, but surprisingly, every surrounding soldier possessed excellent battlefield combat skills, and some kind of spiritual light glowed on their bodies. They all deftly dodged the direct impact, leaving no one hit. Immediately, dozens of men, wielding steel spears and sabers, approached from all sides. Their roaring battle cries converged with terrifying blood-soaked baleful aura, making it difficult for the mountain spirit to breathe.

“Kill—”

The shouts of killing merged into one continuous roar.

Pfft... Pfft... Pfft...

Blades and spears plunged into flesh, and blood splashed forth. The mountain spirit's coarse hide could not withstand the soldiers' combined assault. It was soon hacked and stabbed to death. A nearby immortal cultivator quickly leaped closer, cast a talisman, and directly extracted the mountain spirit's soul.

“Continue marching! We will execute them outside Yuqiu City before dawn!”

“Yes, sir!”

The army marched forward again. Ji Yuan understood now. They were escorting these demons to be executed outside the city, likely to boost public morale, and these specific demons must have been carefully chosen.