Tome of Troubled Times-Chapter 775 (2): Smoke From All Directions

The sound rang like a temple bell at dawn, reverberating through every soldier’s soul. Like the first domino tipping over, more weapons soon followed, crashing onto the earth in an unceasing symphony. The ripple spread, swallowing the entire battlefield. Even the enemy commander unsheathed his sword only to drop it to the ground before kneeling in surrender.

This was a force thirty thousand strong, and these thirty thousand men were now laying down their arms before a defending force of only a fraction of their number.

“Young miss...” Baoqin whispered, leaning close. “What now?”

Tang Wanzhuang discreetly swallowed a pill and murmured, “You handle the surrender. Use them to stabilize Jinbei properly this time. Vermillion Bird’s approach worked yesterday, but it won’t work tomorrow. We need to restructure the entire system from the ground up.”

“But you... Ah, why do you always end up looking so battered? Honestly—”

Tang Wanzhuang cut her off. “I don’t do this to attract men.”

“...I never said you did.”

“I know what you’re thinking. You’re even wondering if I rushed this battle so I could head north to help.”

Baoqin fell silent.

Tang Wanzhuang rolled her eyes and said, “Injured or not, I can’t leave the pass or go anywhere else. The capital isn’t far. I can still move between here and there to provide support. But if I go too far, the capital would be left too vulnerable. We still don’t have an exact count on how many ancient demon gods have awakened. If a new one suddenly appears, it would be a disaster.”

Yes. The “empty city” in the empty city strategy was not Yanmen but the capital. No one had expected Tang Wanzhuang to leave the capital at such a crucial moment.

The strongest presence in the imperial capital was the Empress herself, and she had just broken into the third layer of the Profound Mysteries. In past years, that level of power would have made her an unshakable wall in front of all invaders. But now? It was not enough.

Fortunately, the battle here had ended swiftly. She was wounded, but it was not severe. She could still stand. She could still fight.

Tang Wanzhuang rose to her feet and gazed toward the northern horizon, her lips pursed in thought. She whispered to herself, “Hidden Wind appearing here confirms that Li Boping is indeed coordinating with the northern barbarians... Which means, at this very moment, the flames of war may not be limited to this battlefield alone. I need to stay mobile, to assess whether another front requires immediate support. As for the battle beyond the border... he’ll have to handle that himself.”

Baoqin sniffled and sobbed, her small face scrunched in distress. “Uwaaah... Why is he even trying to keep up this noble act? Ten, twenty days without even sneaking a bite, who does he think he’s fooling? Uwaaah... Like I’d be mad if he snuck a bite...”

“He just... hasn’t been thinking about it. He used to fantasize about piling two people together, yet lately, it’s always been me making the move...”

“Then why don’t you make a move and I—”

“Hey! Is that something a proper young lady should be saying?”

Baoqin sniffled but said nothing.

Tang Wanzhuang sighed. “Besides, this is for your own good. You’re still untouched. If he doesn’t come back, you can still marry someone else.”

“If he doesn’t come back, would you keep on living?”

“No.”

“Then neither will I! Mind your own business, old woman!”

With that, Baoqin huffed angrily and marched off to oversee the surrender.

Tang Wanzhuang watched her increasingly unruly maid disappear beyond the gates and let out a soft sigh.

Truthfully, she had more confidence in Zhao Changhe than she did in the other battlefields.

Take Hangu Pass, for instance... While it was defended by Cui Wenjing, who was a veteran of the Ranking of Heaven, along with the so-called “reclusive” Yang Jingxiu and others who would surely fight if the enemy breached their walls, the situation still was not reassuring. Yang Jingxiu had possibly broken through to the third layer of the Profound Mysteries by now, which should have made their defense formidable. Yet, like Xia Chichi in the capital, Cui Wenjing had yet to break into the Profound Control Realm. A Ranking of Heaven expert in this era of gods and demons... who knew if that was even enough anymore?

* * *

For the time being, at least, Hangu Pass remained untouched.

The army marching east was led personally by Li Boping, yet the troops stationed at Hangu were not to be underestimated. Reinforcements had been pulled from Jiangnan and Jianghuai to fortify the pass. Though these southern troops struggled with the harsh frontier conditions, they were still competent for defense.

Tang Buqi, Wan Dongliu, and Cui Yuanyang were all here, along with the entire Yang Clan. Their forces were well-trained and formidable.

If neither side had a Profound Control Realm expert take the main stage, this battle was bound to become a textbook large-scale war, one that could not be resolved swiftly.

However, Li Boping had no interest in a prolonged siege. freёnovelkiss.com

No matter the outcome of the war in the north, his position was precarious. If Zhao Changhe emerged victorious and returned, Guanlong would be doomed. If the northern barbarians triumphed and marched south, he would be little more than a lapdog. Neither scenario suited his ambitions.

His only chance lay in striking swiftly, seizing the Central Plains while the battle in the north was still undecided. If he could establish dominance before the dust settled, then neither the returning Han forces nor the invading barbarian armies would be able to remove him so easily.

But to breach Hangu Pass in a short time? Without a Profound Control Realm asset on his side, it was nothing more than a fantasy. And even with such an entity, the reality proved far different from what he had expected.

Desolate Calamity sat down in a tent, his withered face turning red with exertion until suddenly, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Li Boping paled. “Sir, what happened?”

“The Qinghe Sword...” Desolate Calamity’s mind flashed back to that gaze—those icy, unwavering eyes that did not fit the cute face of a young girl. A lingering chill coursed through his heart.

Nobody would have thought that the true pillar holding Hangu Pass was not Cui Wenjing but his young daughter, who had barely since just had her wedding. And nobody had expected to witness... the fully awakened Qinghe Sword!

The four divine swords of the mountains and rivers safeguarded the world. These were forged by Piaomiao, created specifically to suppress beings like Desolate Calamity, Dark Oblivion, and the other demon gods of destruction. They were his natural bane.

But that was not all. Cui Yuanyang’s cultivation was strange.

On the surface, she seemed barely capable of breaking through to the second layer of the Profound Mysteries, her progress sluggish at best. And yet, when Desolate Calamity unleashed his divine arts, it was as though he had struck an impenetrable wall, one so absolute that he had nearly shattered his own soul in the process.

Is it the Qinghe Sword shielding its wielder? No... it didn’t quite feel like that.

“General Li, don’t panic. Let me try again.” Desolate Calamity steadied his breathing and prepared for a second attempt.

This time, he avoided targeting the military encampment directly. Instead, he turned his powers upon the ordinary soldiers on the outskirts.

As a god of desolation and decay, his ability was to wither all life, draining the strength from entire armies and reducing fertile lands to barren wastelands. The more devastation he caused, the stronger he grew. This was his way, a balance of destruction and decline.

When he faced Zhao Changhe in Qinghe, he had struggled. Zhao Changhe’s blood and qi were overwhelmingly abundant, his physical resilience tempered by relentless training. That alone had been enough to resist the corruption. That was understandable.

But this time? It was as if he had dipped a single drop of ink onto a vast, boundless landscape. At first glance, the corruption seemed effective. But when he took a broader view, that ink was insignificant. The corruption was but less than a speck of dust against an endless expanse of mountains and rivers. No matter how much he struggled to spread his influence, he accomplished nothing. It was not just ineffective; it was an exercise in futility.

To call it a mere drop in the ocean was too generous. It was more like an insect trying to erode an entire mountain range with a single bite.

And then, those cold, indifferent eyes appeared before him once more.

“Piaomiao!” Desolate Calamity screamed, his voice hoarse with terror. His body jolted upright in his tent, drenched in sweat, as if he had just woken from the worst nightmare of his existence.

Li Boping and his officers exchanged bewildered looks. They had no idea what had just transpired.

Desolate Calamity panted heavily, his voice trembling as he said, “This battle... is unwinnable. Not unless Master personally intervenes. If that truly is her... then aside from the Night Emperor and my master, no one in this world can stand against her!”

His master... Jiuyou!

Jiuyou had gathered a pantheon of demon gods beneath her command—beings of destruction, chaos, and entropy. She had also taken in those like Hidden Wind, who sought only the Heavenly Tome. This was why they now fought under Li Boping’s banner.

“Did you see clearly?” And now, a voice echoed through the void. Jiuyou’s voice was calm, yet it carried an oppressive weight, “Are you certain it was Piaomiao?”

Desolate Calamity gasped for breath. “I, I’m not entirely certain... If it were truly Piaomiao, I wouldn’t have made it back alive. I think... it’s more likely that it was just the essence of the Qinghe Sword. But still, I cannot break through its protection.”

“If it really is Piaomiao... that would actually be a good thing,” said Jiuyou with a light smile. “That would be ideal.”

As she spoke, she flicked a finger lightly. “If it’s just the Qinghe Sword, I can render it powerless for a while.”

Inside the military camp, Cui Yuanyang was attending a war council when Cui Wenjing suddenly frowned. “Yangyang, what just happened to you?”

Cui Yuanyang scratched her head. “It felt like a mosquito was biting me, so I smacked it away.”

The gathered generals: “...?”

Just as they were speaking, her expression changed. “Qinghe? Qinghe!”

Cui Wenjing stood up abruptly. “What is it?”

“I don’t know! Qinghe suddenly... It feels like it fell asleep again!” Cui Yuanyang’s voice grew frantic. “That shouldn’t be possible!”

A voice that carried a tone of calm and amusement suddenly echoed through the war tent, “It’s taking a little nap. Why are you so surprised? After all, a sword is just a sword.”

A shadowy figure of a woman in black materialized before them, her gaze lazily sweeping up and down as she examined Cui Yuanyang. “Tch... you really do look alike.”

Had Zhao Changhe been here, he would have immediately realized. This was far beyond the projection of Jiuyou he had once seen in Chang’an. This was Jiuyou’s true body, descending from beyond Kunlun.

Cui Yuanyang’s face went deathly pale. “Who... who are you!?”

Jiuyou smiled playfully. “Oh, just your dear sister~”

Cui Wenjing suddenly interjected, “This is the young miss of the Li Clan. I heard she’s been chasing after King Zhao, crying and begging to be taken as a concubine.”

Jiuyou: “...?”

Cui Yuanyang, whose face had been frozen in terror, immediately transformed. She put one hand on her hip and pointed an accusing finger with the other. “You old vixen! Shameless hussy! The Li Clan has been nobility for generations! To think you’d mess around with other people’s husbands... Have you no shame?!”

Jiuyou was utterly uninterested in bickering with a little girl. If she wanted to stir up trouble in Zhao Changhe’s love life, this was definitely not the way to go about it...

With a lazy flick of her wrist, an invisible force coiled around Cui Yuanyang. “Yes, yes, a properly wedded young lady. Now, come with me. Let’s see how much he really values you.”

Cui Yuanyang suddenly felt herself being lifted into the air, as though an unseen hand had grabbed hold of her. She was weightless, completely at its mercy.

But in the very next moment, the pressure vanished. The force restraining her was effortlessly neutralized.

She looked up, stunned. Jiuyou’s shadowy figure was rising into the sky, her voice carrying through the air, “So... you’ve finally made a move, my dear sister.”

Cui Yuanyang saw another presence emerge. It was an ethereal figure; her features were strangely similar to Jiuyou’s, though veiled in a tranquil stillness, and her eyes were closed.

Cui Yuanyang’s heart skipped a beat.

Why... Why is it that even when faced with someone like Jiuyou, I felt nothing but anger and defiance, yet now, facing this presence, I feel no hostility?