After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 304: Chapter 303: Verdant Treasure Bottle

”That was before,” Hong Chenglu said bluntly. ”After Hee Chunhua became the Governor of Xiazhou, he kept sending supplies to the front lines. It looks like he can and will continue to do so. If Zhao Pan doesn’t run out of supplies, Lord Nian, how do you plan to fight?”

Nian Zanli suppressed a flicker of anger and forced a smile. ”Then what wonderful technique does General Hong have in mind?”

’If Wuu Qing hadn’t sent word that Hong Chenglu had a wonderful technique for killing the enemy, why the hell would I be taking this attitude from him?’

Of course, there was another subtle reason, one they were both keenly aware of but could not mention:

Hong Chenglu was a proper general of the Beiga Kingdom, with merits to his name, while he, Nian Zanli, was a recently surrendered general.

Did it even need to be said who should be more polite to whom?

Hong Chenglu glanced at the heavy rain outside the tent. ”Strike in the rain, not the snow. Such terrible weather is actually the perfect time for an attack.” The sound of the rain and the darkness could conceal all preparations for engaging the enemy.

Nian Zanli waited for him to continue. No sane commander would force a river crossing in these conditions; the army would likely mutiny.

Sure enough, Hong Chenglu continued, ”What if I could get Lord Nian’s army across the river and onto the bank?”

’Here it comes,’ Nian Zanli thought, his expression turning serious. ”Please, go on.”

”Twelve years ago, a disciple of the Beiga Kingdom’s Qingyang National Master, named Juan Bao, defected. He was a foreign spy who had infiltrated our ranks, but fortunately, he was quickly apprehended. However, a few of the treasures he stole were never recovered. The most important of these was a replica of the Cloud Water Treasure Bottle, which was a Sacrificial Offering in the Cyan Palace. It’s also known as the Green Bottle.”

Beiga has four palaces—Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter—each housing a National Preceptor of transcendent status and treatment. The other three palaces were fine, but placing the character for ”Spring” before ”Palace” sounded a bit improper and could lead to unsavory interpretations, so it was replaced with the character for ”Cyan.” Thus, the master of the Cyan Palace is the Qingyang National Master.

”A replica?” Nian Zanli asked, curious. ”Then where is the original?”

”The original was in the hands of an Ancient Immortal. After so much time, it has likely been lost to Annihilation,” Hong Chenglu said. ”The real Cloud Water Treasure Bottle could gather the waters of three rivers and five lakes. Legend says an Immortal once used it to end a great drought across an entire state.”

”The replica in the Cyan Palace’s collection was forged in the late Ancient Times. The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was far more abundant back then than it is now, but the Immortals were dwindling, on the verge of disappearing. This replica was also created by accident. It can only hold the water of half a river, its power far inferior to the original’s. Consequently, it consumes far less Spiritual Qi than the original. Later generations took great pains to preserve it, passing it down to the present day.”

A flicker of understanding crossed Nian Zanli’s eyes as he listened. Hong Chenglu wouldn’t bring up this treasure for no reason. ’Which means...?’

Sure enough, the next second, Hong Chenglu took a soft cloth bundle from his robes and unwrapped it in front of Nian Zanli.

Inside was a gray bottle. It was impossible to tell if its material was jade or stone. One might call it a gray stone urn: round-bellied, narrow-necked, with a wide mouth.

It hardly matched the poetic name ”Cloud Water Treasure Bottle.”

The bottle’s lid was carved into the shape of a gecko. Its tail rested on the body of the bottle, its forelimbs hugged the mouth of the bottle to seal it shut, and yet, it had horns on its head and nose.

Four words were carved on the bottle’s body:

Moisten Mountains, Enrich Fields.

Nian Zanli was overjoyed. ”Thank you, General Hong! If we conquer Zhao Pan, you shall have the highest merit!”

”No need. I’m just lending you a bottle.”

Nian Zanli carefully took the bottle to admire it, asking, ”Wasn’t this treasure lost?” ’How did it end up in Hong Chenglu’s hands?’

”After I resigned from my Official Position, I was passing through Xiling Town. The neighboring county was where the Qingyang National Master’s disciple was caught. I took my wife into town for a meal and happened to see the Green Bottle in a general store, just sitting on a shelf behind the door.” Hong Chenglu shook his head. ”The treasure was covered in dust and cobwebs, very inconspicuous. If I hadn’t seen it in the Cyan Palace back then, I would have missed it. In the end, I bought it for fifteen Copper Plates, and the shopkeeper looked at me like I was a huge sucker.”

Nian Zanli sighed in amazement. ”Such a Supreme Treasure, and no one recognized its value?”

”Powerful artifacts cannot be used by just anyone, or at just any time. Lord Nian, now that you’re holding it, can you feel any fluctuation of Magical Power?”

Nian Zanli shook his head.

In his hand, it felt no different from an ordinary piece of Stone Jade.

”Try injecting a little Primordial Power.”

Nian Zanli did as he was told. The moment he channeled a sliver of Primordial Power into it, the gecko on the bottle’s mouth stretched its body and opened its jaws.

When its mouth opened, the bottle was unsealed.

Hong Chenglu casually picked up a teacup and poured a little water into the bottle.

The bottle immediately shed its dull, gray stone-like exterior, revealing a base color of Mutton Fat Jade. ”It also reacts to Spiritual Power, but all the Spiritual Power you and I have combined wouldn’t be enough to awaken it.”

Nian Zanli withdrew his Primordial Power, and within three breaths, the bottle returned to its original appearance.

”To swallow half a river, how is this Treasure Bottle used?”

”Only two kinds of power can drive this treasure to its full effect,” Hong Chenglu said gravely. ”Either a massive amount of Spiritual Power, or a massive amount of Primordial Power.”

Otherwise, given how hard-pressed he had been in Yuanbei these past few years, he would have sold the bottle for money long ago.

After resigning his Official Position, he no longer had Primordial Power and couldn’t make the bottle change. The thing just looked like a worthless, poorly made handicraft.

As for Spiritual Power... heh. Who in the entire world could possibly possess a ”massive amount” of it?

”Let me be clear, this treasure could originally only be wielded by a National Preceptor. With our Official Positions and ranks, we don’t meet its requirements. To make it work, Lord Nian, you must mobilize the Primordial Power of your entire army and pour it all into the bottle.” Hong Chenglu had already considered this. ”Even then, how long the Green Bottle can swallow the river’s water depends on how long the supply of Primordial Power can be maintained. And the current volume of the Hanhe River is several times greater than normal.”

The Hanhe River was currently flooding, its flow rate an astonishing figure.

Nian Zanli showed no intention of backing down. As the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, he had endless troubles to deal with even outside of combat. It was like the saying goes: when you have enough lice, you stop itching.

”General Hong, if my army uses this bottle, how long do you estimate it can placate the Hanhe River?” ’If the main force is halfway across when the bottle gives out and the raging tide crashes down, this attack will become a massive joke. Zhao Pan on the other side would laugh about it for years, wouldn’t he?’

”From what I can see, your army is well-organized and strictly disciplined. Lord Nian must have the hearts of his soldiers.” Hong Chenglu led troops himself; some things he could tell at a glance.

”They’re old subordinates I’ve led for over a decade.” Nian Zanli had defended the borders for many years, sharing thick and thin with his officers and men. ”Thanks to their trust, leading them is a load off my mind.”

”Are there fifty thousand men here?”

”Forty-six thousand.”

”In that case, the Primordial Power this army can generate should last for... a little over a quarter of an hour?” Hong Chenglu couldn’t give an exact number. ”We both know that the essence of a Magical Artifact is to use human power to fight against the heavens and the earth. In the face of a flood like this, I can’t guarantee how long your army can hold out.”

Although the Green Bottle was miraculous, it was essentially just a medium, allowing the Xunzhou Army to use its Primordial Power to resist the flood.

How long it could hold on was not up to the Green Bottle, but depended on the military strength, morale, conviction, and determination of the troops under Nian Zanli’s command.

”Only a quarter of an hour? That’s cutting it too close,” Nian Zanli mused. ”Besides, this will be a one-way attack. The Green Bottle can’t be used twice in quick succession, can it?”

”If you pour the water out, it can swallow more,” Hong Chenglu pointed out. ”The key issue is that you won’t have any Primordial Power to supply it then. And because it will continuously draw upon all of the army’s Primordial Power during the crossing, every soldier will feel dejected, heavy, and demoralized—some might even want to throw down their weapons.”

In other words, this surprise attack on the opposite bank had to succeed; there would be no path of retreat. Furthermore, because the Green Bottle would use up all their Primordial Power, the Xunzhou Army would have no Primordial Power for protection after landing.

If Zhao Pan counterattacked quickly...

Nian Zanli fell into deep thought, then tapped the table lightly. ”It’s worth a try. With their retreat cut off, they will find the courage to press forward without looking back.”

Advance or die; retreat means certain death. The army will have no choice but to fight desperately onward for a chance at survival.

Otherwise, an army with negative morale would likely scatter at the first chance of escape.

For a commanding general, the application of Primordial Power was truly a deadly art.

”But a quarter of an hour is nowhere near enough.”

Hong Chenglu had already thought of this problem. He took out a maple leaf and handed it over. ”This is a Word Law given to me by National Preceptor Frost Leaf. If General Nian is going to use the Green Bottle, you might as well ask National Preceptor Frost Leaf to temporarily allocate some Primordial Power.”

Looking closely, it wasn’t an ordinary maple leaf, but a Talisman Paper made of gold foil. According to Hong Chenglu, as long as one wrote on it, stamped it with a Blood Hand Seal, and burned it, the words on the Talisman would be delivered to National Preceptor Frost Leaf in real time.

A single-use communication device.

Nian Zanli was overjoyed.

Even he could scarcely imagine how abundant the Beiga Kingdom’s Primordial Power was. He was leading a Beiga army now, too. If National Preceptor Frost Leaf could spare him some Primordial Power, would the army still need to worry about the time limit for crossing the river?

”But I must remind General Nian, the Green Bottle hasn’t been used for a very, very long time. It’s not a good-tempered treasure. It can be disobedient at times, and using it will cause a great drain on your personal Essence, Qi, and Spirit.”

”That’s to be expected of a treasure from Ancient Times.” ’Victory always comes at a price.’ ”It won’t drain my Essence Blood or lifespan, will it?”

Some demonic treasures were that difficult to handle, and Nian Zanli didn’t want to fall into that kind of trap.

”It won’t do that.” Hong Chenglu stood up. ”Lord Nian, you can take your time to consider whether to use it. If you decide to make a move, you may as well choose a day with a favorable wind.”

Nian Zanli’s spirits soared. He clapped his hands and called for someone to lead Hong Chenglu to a clean tent to rest.

* * *

「Three days later.」 The rain grew heavier with each passing day.

Even in northern Xiazhou, the sheer volume and duration of this downpour were rare, a once-in-a-century event.

Hee Lingchuan woke up to find the sky still dark. He had only slept for a single double-hour.

Was it because the Rock Wolf was grinding its teeth on a Cow Bone Stick nearby? The CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH was so loud even the rain couldn’t drown it out.

Still, though he hadn’t slept long, Hee Lingchuan had defeated two challengers in the Panlong Dream Realm and successfully defended his position as champion.

Although Yuewu Hall had given him forty days to recuperate, he was always at full health the moment he entered the Dream Realm. He obviously didn’t need that kind of break and could get right back to fighting.

Skinny had been right. Anyone who dared to challenge the champion had a few tricks up their sleeve. The last challenger Hee Lingchuan faced specialized in agility, his movements so fast they were nearly impossible to track.