Chapter 195: A Crushing Defeat by an Immortal’s Rope

Su Wu waved his hand and had them leave. The moment they were gone, he could no longer stay in his tent. He went out and came to the outside of Qin Haoxuan’s tent.

“High Immortal, this humble general has an urgent military matter to discuss with you. I wonder if it is convenient?” Su Wu asked respectfully from outside the tent.

Qin Haoxuan, who was meditating, felt a slight emotion in his heart. If he had not gone to the Taichu Sect to cultivate, with the current civil unrest in the Soaring Dragon Nation, he would surely have been conscripted. When faced with these high and mighty generals, he would have had no choice but to kneel. But now that he had cultivated, these so-called nobles had to be respectful to him, not daring to overstep in their words or actions in the slightest.

This was the difference between a cultivator and a mortal. This was the distinction between an immortal and a mortal.

Entering the mortal world… tempering in the mortal world…

Qin Haoxuan was beginning to understand why he had to “Enter the Mortal World.” At the same time, he also sighed with emotion. Although he had been chased by Master Chi Lian like a stray dog, in a way, his time in this military camp was also a great stroke of luck. Here, he had experienced the distinction between an immortal and a mortal more deeply.

Qin Haoxuan let out a long breath, suppressing the emotion in his heart. “Come in,” he said.

Su Wu cautiously entered and knelt on the ground, kowtowing three times respectfully. “Su Wu pays his respects to the two High Immortals.”

“You may dispense with the formalities. General Su, if you have something to say, please speak directly.”

After Su Wu stood up, he said, “High Immortal, another enemy army is approaching us. They will arrive here by tomorrow morning at the latest. According to the routed soldiers who fled here, they also have an immortal in their camp. Right now, this canyon lies before us, and we cannot pass through it. It seems we have no choice but to fight. I ask for your guidance on how to respond.”

What bad luck! Qin Haoxuan cursed inwardly. He had thought he could rest for a few days, but now there was more trouble. After all, no one knew the strength of the rogue cultivators on the other side. What if one of them was at the forty-ninth leaf? He would have no choice but to run.

“Allow this immortal to observe for a moment…”

Qin Haoxuan had already looked at the nearby terrain with the Thousand-Mile Mirror. If they were to go around the canyon, the path was rugged and difficult, only wide enough for one person to pass. For a cultivator like him, it was like walking on flat ground, but for a mortal army of tens of thousands, their progress would be as slow as an ant’s. They certainly wouldn’t be able to evacuate in one night. At that point, the head and tail of the army would not be able to support each other, and the remaining part would be routed by the enemy.

He secretly weighed his options. If he did not leave Su Wu’s army, then he would have to fight the enemy’s cultivator. But if he left, he would very likely be discovered by Master Chi Lian. Which path should he choose? Qin Haoxuan sighed repeatedly. To avoid that old fellow Chi Lian, he could only stay with Su Wu’s army for now. If he was no match for the enemy, he could still activate the Thousand-Mile Talisman and escape. But if he were to leave directly, he would most likely be discovered by Master Chi Lian immediately, and a Spirit Tree Realm expert was far more terrifying than an ordinary cultivator.

Qin Haoxuan said, “We will cross that bridge when we come to it. You may leave for now. Tomorrow, I will go and meet the immortal of the enemy army.”

Seeing that he had agreed to help, Su Wu breathed a sigh of relief. He kowtowed in thanks with great joy and then departed.

For the rest of the day, Su Wu reorganized the scattered imperial troops, strengthening his defenses and preparing for battle at a moment’s notice. Fortunately, the enemy did not raid the camp that night.

That night, Qin Haoxuan, following the energy circulation method of the Advent of the Ghost God, activated the yin energy in his body and infused it into his spiritual energy. He then used the special technique of the art and sent it into the small jade vial, using the method to make the ghosts inside become violent, savage, and kill each other. The moment this extremely weak but exceptionally pure yin energy entered the vial, it immediately spread, and any soul it touched became violent and ferocious, their ghostly eyes glowing with a tragic red light as they began to tear each other apart senselessly. The more they killed, the more savage they became, devouring each other. The entire process took a full night. In the end, there were not many ghosts left, but they had become much more powerful.

Finally, only one fierce ghost remained in the jade vial. After it had devoured all the other souls, it had become a low-level ghost soldier. After observing it, Qin Haoxuan confirmed that its strength was at the level of a Twenty-Fifth-Leaf Spirit Sprout Realm cultivator.

Just how many people had to die to refine a creature of this level? Qin Haoxuan couldn’t help but marvel. He had fought and risked his life to cultivate, but this Advent of the Ghost God… it was too evil…

The final step was to draw the ghost into one’s body. According to the art, this would place a ghost-shaped mark on the host’s arm, and it could be summoned to aid in battle. The process was not simple, especially for a ghost soldier of this level. Qin Haoxuan hesitated for a moment. Just then, the jade vial began to tremble. The ghost soldier inside was no longer content to stay within and wanted to break out and wreak havoc.

An entire night had passed. The next morning, the rebel army arrived and began to issue challenges from their battle lines. With the “High Immortal” Qin Haoxuan as his firm backer, Su Wu was completely fearless. A vanguard general from the rebel army rode out with his men and began to shout insults. “Su Wu, you little whelp, come out and die! Your grandpa is here to take your head today!”

With Qin Haoxuan present, Su Wu and his generals were no longer afraid. After being cursed at all morning, he sent out a vanguard officer with a few hundred men to meet the challenge. But before the two sides could even make contact, the enemy officer threw out a brownish-yellow rope and shouted with a laugh, “Grandson, have a taste of your grandpa’s Immortal-Binding Rope! This is an item from a High Immortal. It is your honor to have it used on you!”

The rope was about two meters long and seemed to be made of ordinary silk, with a talisman tied to each end. The moment it was thrown, it floated in the air like a nimble snake and shot straight for the officer of Su Wu’s army, wrapping him up and carrying him away. With their vanguard officer captured, the few hundred soldiers were immediately left without a leader.

“What do we do? The general has been captured!”

“Should we charge or retreat?”

The enemy soldiers, their morale greatly boosted, charged forward under the leadership of their vanguard officer and routed Su Wu’s vanguard, dealing a heavy blow to their morale.

From the high platform in the rear, Su Wu witnessed this scene and immediately began to appoint his generals. “The enemy is fierce, and our vanguard has been defeated. Who dares to meet the challenge?” His generals looked at each other, all of them having seen the power of the Immortal-Binding Rope. It was an immortal’s item; how could a mortal possibly resist it?

Seeing that no one dared to step forward, Su Wu appointed two of his lieutenants to lead a frontal assault and a flanking maneuver. After giving his orders, he hurriedly dismounted the high platform, preparing to go back to the camp and personally ask Qin Haoxuan for help. He understood that the rope in the enemy’s hands had to be the Immortal-Binding Rope. It was an immortal’s treasure; how could a mortal possibly deal with it? He thought that if he could get Qin Haoxuan to help, that would be for the best. At the very least, he needed to get an immortal’s treasure from him to counter the enemy’s threat.

At this time, Qin Haoxuan had not yet finished cultivating the Advent of the Ghost God. He had been refining the ghost soldier all night and was exhausted. He had just finished meditating when Su Wu came to find him.

“High Immortal, High Immortal, I beg for your aid! The enemy’s vanguard officer has an Immortal-Binding Rope and has already captured several of our generals. Our army’s morale is low, and we are without a leader. If this continues, we will collapse without a fight!”

Seeing his panting appearance, Qin Haoxuan also guessed that the situation was not good. “What is the battle situation now?” he asked.

“Our vanguard officer was captured, and the vanguard was scattered. I have now sent out an army to engage them frontally and a light cavalry to ambush them from the side, but the enemy general has that rope. He can easily capture our generals. Once they are taken, without a leader, we will surely be defeated! If this continues, in less than half an hour, all of our generals will be captured, and the entire army will be wiped out!”

Although Qin Haoxuan didn’t understand military affairs, seeing Su Wu’s pale face and terrified expression, he knew he wasn’t exaggerating. The situation was critical, and he couldn’t just stand by and watch. After all, he was still relying on hiding in this army. If Su Wu was defeated, he would be back to a life of fleeing from Master Chi Lian.

“Go, I will go with you to see,” he said. Although he was a hundred times unwilling in his heart, he had to bite the bullet and go.

He and Su Wu rode to the battlefield together. The morale of Su Wu’s army, which had been low, immediately soared after his appearance.