After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 48: Chapter 49: Celestial Thunder Guardian

It tried to attack another enemy, but Zeng Feixiong’s blade rose and fell, lopping off half its head. Only then did the Heroic Spirit dissolve into ash.

Faced with such a fierce enemy, the Black Water City Army lost their will to fight and quickly retreated. After all, their orders were to explore, not to fight to the death.

Hee Chunhua made a quick calculation. Even if they won, it would be a pyrrhic victory. Besides, the enemy commander still looked full of life; taking on another twenty or thirty men by himself seemed like it would be no problem at all!

Sunx Fuping seemed to sense his worry. ”Don’t worry,” he said. ”As long as you use your Providence, you can hold them off for a long time.”

By now, Zeng Feixiong had led the rest of his squad back into the Array. His left arm had been slashed, nearly severed, but he acted as if he hadn’t even noticed. He only raised his sword to the sky and roared, ”United in heart and strength, to protect our Da Yuan!”

Everyone roared in unison: ”United in heart and strength, to protect our Da Yuan!”

The Magic Staff Beast Head instantly erupted in brilliant light.

It was a pale green light tinged with gold, yet it was enough to make the surrounding Resentful Souls halt their pursuit. They raised their hands to shield their eyes as if the light was blinding. Their mounts also grew restless, shaking their heads, swishing their tails, and stomping their hooves.

This was the Providence of the nation, drawn from Hee Chunhua’s yuan coins and activated by the National Preceptor!

It was the confidence and consensus of all living souls in Qiansong County, fused with and amplified by the morale of Zeng Feixiong and the other county soldiers. It immediately transformed into a vast, righteous power!

Had their dozen or so opponents been ordinary Resentful Souls instead of Heroic Spirits forged in a hundred battles, they would have faced immediate Annihilation upon being touched by the light.

But Zeng Feixiong turned his head and barked at Situ Han, ”Why aren’t you shouting?”

Situ Han was taken aback. ”Me... We have to as well?”

”You’ve been incorporated into the Black Water City Defense Army. You’re one of us now, not a band of Sand Bandits and Roving Bandits!”

’So they were serious about recruiting us?’ Since it was a matter of life and death, Situ Han turned and gave the order, and his men shouted the slogan along with the main force.

The addition of these few dozen voices was the tipping point.

The light on the Magic Staff Beast Head condensed, and it suddenly let out a roar toward the heavens.

A shimmering, cyan ball of light shot out of its mouth. It swelled in the wind, transforming into a great cyan bird more than fifty feet tall. It had a high crest, magnificent tail feathers, and a graceful form.

It circled once above their heads before soaring up into the clouds.

This was the National Guardian Beast for which Da Yuan was named.

Of course, the true Cyan Kite still guarded the National Capital; this was merely a manifestation of Providence.

When it vanished into the clouds, the dense gray overcast sky began to churn into a vortex. Lightning danced wildly within, and flashes of cyan and purple light pulsed from the cloud masses.

Many Resentful Souls were still drifting in mid-air. Seeing this, they scattered and fled like a school of fish pursued by a great white shark.

Only a few breaths later, a thick bolt of lightning split the sky, striking the very center of the Talisman Array—the Array Hub.

Tendrils of lightning snaked along the Array that Sunx Fuping had drawn. Viewed from above, the entire Array glowed with a brilliant silver light.

Describing this series of events takes time, but in reality, it all happened within a matter of moments.

Faced with such a display, the soldiers of the Great Wind Army, now Heroic Spirits, finally showed fear and began to back away.

In life, they had witnessed countless strange powers and Exotic Techniques, but in death, they feared the power of the heavens most of all.

They were, after all, ghosts now.

The Commander jerked his head, and a rider immediately charged forward.

The moment the horse’s hooves touched the Talisman Array, lightning flashed, and both rider and horse were instantly obliterated.

As if in defiance, the Commander once again hurled his Long Spear like a javelin.

With a ZAP of electricity, the Long Spear penetrated less than a foot into the Array before it, too, silently dissolved.

This was the Celestial Thunder Guardian, summoned by Sunx Fuping through the Society Command. The more powerful the Providence attached to the Society Command, the greater the power of the Array.

The power of an entire county should be more than enough to deal with a mere dozen Heroic Spirits.

”Hee Prefect, I’ll leave this to you.” Sunx Fuping clapped Hee Chunhua on the shoulder, then turned and walked to the edge of the pool.

”Wait!” Hee Chunhua said, seeing him about to slip away. ”I’m going with you!”

”You can’t.” Sunx Fuping pointed to the Magic Staff standing in the middle of the Array. ”The Society Command becomes ineffective if it’s too far from its master. I need every last one of you to hold the line here and prevent the Resentful Souls from following me into the pool.”

Everyone only just noticed that the old fellow had, with surprising speed, drawn the Celestial Thunder Guardian Array to encompass the entire pool. As long as the Array held, the Resentful Souls could not return to the water.

’The National Preceptor wants to go in and snatch the treasure for himself, but he’s leaving us here to guard the gate.’ Hee Chunhua’s expression darkened, but he knew Sunx Fuping had brought so many people for this very reason. Still—

”I will look after your son. You two will be reunited very soon, rest assured!” Sunx Fuping was in a hurry. He offered this quick consolation to Hee Chunhua before jumping into the pool.

SPLASH! He vanished from sight. Only the candle remained on the edge of the pool, its flame burning eerily.

Situ Han said resentfully, ”That old bastard is using us!”

Hee Chunhua’s expression flickered. He suddenly summoned Zeng Feixiong. ”Take a few men and go help Chuan’Er.”

Although Hee Lingchuan had always been fortunate, he was now alone in a treacherous place. With both that Nian fellow and Sunx Fuping harboring ill intentions, Hee Chunhua, as his father, couldn’t rest easy.

Zeng Feixiong acknowledged the order, quickly chose five men, and leaped into the pool.

Hee Chunhua stared at the water, knowing he’d been outmaneuvered again. Sunx Fuping had deliberately left him and the Black Water City Army outside. It was an overt plot; to fend off the Great Wind Army’s Heroic Spirits, his hundred-odd men couldn’t enter the Blood Pool.

But as he looked away from the pool, he paused. ”Why is there one less Great Wind Army Soul?”

Situ Han said, ”While you were talking with the National Preceptor, one of them slipped away.”

’This is bad,’ Hee Chunhua thought, but he still had to rally his men’s spirits. He announced, ”No matter how powerful the Great Wind Army was in life, they are now mere ghosts, rejected by heaven and earth and bound by Divine Techniques and Magic! As long as we remain calm and resolute, this Celestial Thunder Guardian will be an impenetrable fortress!”

An army’s morale was built on confidence. If he wanted the Society Command to remain effective, he had to keep that confidence high.

Everyone had witnessed the power of the Celestial Thunder, which settled their hearts. As a result, the light from the beast head grew even brighter.

But just then, Situ Han pointed toward the horizon. ”Huh? What’s that?”

The night was pitch-black. The thunder and lightning in the clouds had vanished, but a strange red light was now flashing in the western sky.

The light grew closer and closer.

Hee Chunhua could now see it clearly, and his face changed. ”Reinforcements. That Heroic Spirit that got away went to find reinforcements.”

’What is with these Great Wind Army Souls? Unlike other Resentful Souls, they haven’t lost their minds. Not only can they figure out how to wound a living person, but they even know how to call for backup.’

’This is big trouble.’ Hee Chunhua couldn’t help but gasp. The new wave of Great Wind Army Souls was approaching with terrifying momentum!

***

Hee Lingchuan had been terrified when he first fell into the water.

He tried to swim back, but his body wouldn’t move. An inexplicable force was dragging him down, pulling him deeper and deeper.

The light was dim in the dark red water. Even with his eyes wide open, he couldn’t see far.