The Quest for Immortality

All subsequent plans were as Mo Hua had schemed.

Before the battle, Lugu made a declaration, stating that his journey was to avenge his brother, the strongest warrior of the Shugubu, the Sibone General.

The Sibone General was treacherously killed by a conspiracy between White Bone, the Bi Fang Tribe, and a traitor within the Sibone Tribe, dying with grievances unavenged.

Now, White Bone had been defeated by him, losing an arm, and was now seeking refuge with the Great Chieftain.

The Great Chieftain, unaware of the situation, was being bewitched by White Bone, and if this continued, the Shugubu would be in danger.

”This journey aims to avenge my brother Sibone, kill the scoundrel White Bone, prevent the Great Chieftain from being deceived by vile people, and save the Shugubu from perishing overnight.”

The barbarian cultivators here in the Great Wilderness are mostly savage and violent by nature.

But this violence only lies on the surface; when it comes to sly thinking and the abundance of evil intentions, they are certainly far inferior to Mo Hua.

Even compared to Mo Hua, these barbarian cultivators are as pure as blank paper.

Therefore, when Lugu spoke these words, most of the Shugu Barbarian Soldiers were filled with righteous indignation and rage.

Though Sibone was fiercely aggressive, his power in life was enormous.

The more they revered strength, the more they admired Sibone, the General, in the Shugubu.

Now, this mightiest General of the Shugubu was framed and killed by scoundrels, a true disgrace.

It was only right for General Lugu to avenge his brother.

The old Great Chieftain, confused and deceived, must also be rectified.

This battle had an ”undeniable justification,” and the morale was high. Though not everyone wanted to face the Great Chieftain, the general consensus was unified.

When Lugu’s speech stirred the crowd to rage, Mo Hua stood silently behind him, saying nothing.

In the eyes of some in the Shugubu, Mo Hua, the Shaman, seemed like a ”mascot,” symbolizing the Divine Lord’s support for General Lugu.

But in the eyes of those with insight, especially Iron Skill Bone, Mo Hua appeared to be the real mastermind behind the scenes.

General Lugu was just a ”puppet” controlled through his strings.

Then the army set out, heading toward the direction White Bone had fled, targeting the Shugu’s main headquarters where the Chief Shugou resided.

The journey was rugged with occasional skirmishes, and after ten days, the army arrived before the Shugu’s main base.

The Great Wilderness Tribe is a variant of a coalition, and this is especially evident in the Shugubu.

The main headquarters is the strongest among the rightful divisions.

But on its own, it wasn’t much stronger, and its size wasn’t much larger than a general ”rightful division.”

In ordinary times, if the main headquarters was in trouble, it could ignite the beacon fire to summon all rightful and auxiliary divisions for defense.

But these weren’t ordinary times; famine had spread, and all tribes were struggling to fend for themselves, having no time to assist the Great Chieftain.

Not to mention, they had lost some of their forces in previous battles with the Wujiu Tribe.

Hence, when the two sides confronted each other, Lugu’s forces were actually stronger.

Moreover, with Mo Hua present, the quality of the Barbarian Armor commanded by Lugu gave them a hidden edge.

As the two sides faced off, Lugu stood grandly at the front of the army.

Opposite him, on a heavily guarded high platform surrounded by crowds, the Chief Shugou in his Shugubu ceremonial robes shot a cold, menacing gaze.

It was Mo Hua’s first time seeing the Chief Shugou.

But the Chief Shugou didn’t glance at Mo Hua at all.

His gaze was fixed on Lugu, the Shugubu General who claimed to ”avenge his brother” and to ”cleanse the court,” having become quite influential.

A feeling of inexplicable bitterness arose in the Chief Shugou’s heart.

What he once thought to be his major nemesis was Sibone.

He went to great lengths to eliminate this major threat.

But unexpectedly, after getting rid of Sibone, the real formidable ”enemy” now standing before him was none other than Sibone’s younger brother, Lugu.

Fate truly loves to toy with people.

Fate often plays ”cold jokes” that aren’t laughable.

The Chief Shugou had no idea when fate diverged, or what changed Lugu’s destiny.

He didn’t feel inclined to explore any further.

Now, as an old man, he could only stand on the high platform and question Lugu:

”Why do you, as a General, revolt?”

Lugu looked at the old and gloomy face of the Chief Shugou, recalling how his once brave brother died under this old man’s schemes, and was filled with rage. Just as he was about to speak, he felt the deep, demon-like eyes watching him quietly from behind.

Lugu’s heart calmed, and he spoke: ”Forgive me, Great Chieftain, Lugu does not rebel, nor dares to...”

He pointed to White Bone beside the Great Chieftain.

White Bone, previously schemed by Mo Hua, frightened by Sibone’s corpse, and had his arm cut off by Lugu, now stood with a piece of White Bone as a ”prosthetic,” a face full of resentment, beside the Chief Shugou.

Lugu spoke solemnly: ”Lugu is here only to slay this scoundrel White Bone. Though he held the title of Shugubu General, he performed vile and beast-like acts, disregarded tribal interests, schemed treacheries, and murdered my brother Sibone. Such crimes deserve dismemberment.”

”Lugu only wishes for the Great Chieftain to hand over this beast to me, so I can flay his skin, strip his tendons, cut his flesh, drink his blood, and open his innards to console my brother’s spirit in the heavens...”

Lugu’s gaze was cold as a sword, with every word targeting White Bone.

But to the Great Chieftain, these sharp words seemed directed at him. .

Chief Shugou, enraged, was even more puzzled at how Lugu, previously no match for his brother Sibone in strategy or prowess, was now so astute?

Moreover, how did this warrior, who only knew how to kill, suddenly possess such eloquence, speaking words as if stars fell from the sky, swords bloomed, and words were as deadly as blades?