Chapter 224: The Plague God Sparrow’s Shrine?

“I’m thinking about tomorrow’s battle.” Zhu Ge frowned. “I keep feeling like there’s something I’ve overlooked.”

He preferred foolproof plans.

And he always tried to make them.

But his strength was insufficient, so his standing wasn’t high enough. And because his standing wasn’t high enough, he couldn’t see the whole picture.

Hua Liusha said no more. A wisp of red mist seeped out from Zhu Ge’s body and gently wrapped around his wrist like a soft hand.

“Brother, I believe in you.”

…

The next evening, the sun was setting.

The atmosphere in the camp was heavy and solemn. The Soldiers wiped down their weapons, straightened their armor, and sharpened their blades until they gleamed like snow.

The Confucian Scholars chanted classics, their voices louder than usual, their Literary Energy surging like a tide.

The Demon Beast Legion formed ranks under Liu Jianjian’s command. The tens of thousands of Demon Beasts were deathly silent; even the Strong Monkey King had wiped the grin off its face.

Zhu Ge took a deep breath. Standing on high ground within the camp, his gaze swept over everyone.

“Brothers,” he began, his voice not loud, but clear enough to reach every ear. “Tonight, the moon is full. As planned, we attack from three directions.”

“Zhao Tieshan, you will lead your men and feint an attack on the east gate.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Liu Jianjian, you will lead the Demon Beast Legion and infiltrate via the Red River channel. Once you are near the Underwater Palace east of the city, do not act rashly. Wait for the signal from the city walls.”

“Understood!”

“Yu the Scholar, you will lead the Confucian Scholars and follow Zhao Tieshan. You are responsible for dispelling the poison mist.”

“Alright.”

“Black-Horned Bull, you will take your herd and guard the banks of the Red River. Intercept any Demon Beasts that try to escape.”

“MOO!”

Zhu Ge exhaled, then raised his Purgatory Star Rod. “Move out!”

The troops began to move.

Zhao Tieshan led the Martial Artists and Soldier Daoist Soldiers toward the east gate, their footsteps like thunder.

Liu Jianjian led the Demon Beast Legion, sneaking toward the Red River. The tens of thousands of Demon Beasts moved without a sound, like ghosts in the dark night.

The Black-Horned Bull led its herd, running downstream along the Red River. The hooves of a thousand Ox Demons flew, kicking up clouds of dust.

Zhu Ge did not leave immediately.

He stood his ground, watching them disappear into the night before turning and heading north.

Behind him, Yu the Scholar stood with the other Confucian Scholars in the center of the camp, watching him go.

“Take care,” Yu the Scholar said softly.

The moonlight, like water, washed over everyone’s shoulders.

Ahead, the poison clouds roiled.

Zhu Ge headed north alone, his footsteps silent.

His Incense Lighting Body Technique, combined with the lightness skills of the Thief Dao, made his every step feel like treading on cotton. He didn’t even startle the insects in the grass.

He had left Mazhu behind in the camp. At this moment, he was alone—except for Hua Liusha in his mind.

“Brother, the poison cloud is near,” Hua Liusha’s voice was grave.

Zhu Ge looked up.

Ahead, a dark green poison cloud, like an overturned giant bowl, completely shrouded the northern half of Yuan Yang City’s sky.

The cloud churned slowly, with occasional flashes of lightning that were followed by low, muffled rumbles of thunder.

He did not stop.

He crossed the last patch of grass, and the edge of the poison cloud was right before him.

The stench of decay in the air was so thick it was almost tangible. The plants on the ground had long since withered and died, leaving only scorched earth and white bone fragments.

Zhu Ge took a deep breath, and a thin shield of Blood Qi formed over his body as he stepped into the poison cloud.

His vision suddenly dimmed.

Inside, the poison cloud was even more bizarre than it looked from the outside.

The dark green mist was as thick as paste, reducing visibility to less than a hundred feet.

The ruins of buildings on the ground were faintly visible, like reefs submerged in deep water.

There were no sounds in the air, not even the wind, only a suffocating, dead silence.

“Liusha, Yin Qi,” Zhu Ge said in a low voice.

A wisp of red mist seeped from Zhu Ge’s body and coiled around him, forming a thin, pale red haze.

When the plague’s poison met the red mist, it was blocked as if by an invisible barrier, unable to get close.

Zhu Ge continued forward.

He passed a stretch of collapsed residences, a dried-up street, and a half-demolished memorial archway.

There was no sign of any living creature within the poison cloud, not even an insect.

This place was like a domain of death, where even time seemed to have frozen.

“Brother, there’s something ahead,” Hua Liusha suddenly warned.

Zhu Ge stopped and held his breath.

A hundred feet ahead, a massive black shadow lay sprawled on the ground. It was covered in dark green scales, its body the size of a small hill.

Its breathing was slow and heavy, each exhalation releasing a thick cloud of poison mist.

A Third Realm Demon Beast.

Zhu Ge narrowed his eyes. Without disturbing it, he made a wide detour and continued deeper in.

The deeper he went, the more Demon Beasts he encountered.

Some were sleeping on the ground, others roamed through the ruins, and some were coiled atop collapsed buildings.

Most of them were Third Realm, with a few Second Realm beasts, all covered in dark green scales. It was as if they had been infected by the Plague God Sparrow’s plague and mutated.

Zhu Ge bypassed them all, moving like a silent wisp of smoke through the poison cloud.

After walking for about an hour, the mist ahead suddenly began to thin.

A massive altar appeared in his field of vision.

The altar was built from enormous black stones, standing about one hundred feet tall with a base over five hundred feet in diameter.

Atop the altar, a gigantic sparrow was perched, its wings folded and its eyes closed.

The Plague God Sparrow.

It was much larger than Zhu Ge had imagined.

Its wingspan was at least three hundred feet. It was covered in dark green feathers, each one glowing with a cold, sinister light.

A crest of upright feathers stood on its head like a crown, proclaiming its supreme status within this domain of poison.

‘A Great Deity!’

‘The Plague God Sparrow!’

A chill ran through Zhu Ge’s heart.

He didn’t get any closer. Instead, he found a collapsed pavilion and hid inside.

“Liusha, can you sense the range of its Divine Sense?”

“I can’t,” Hua Liusha’s voice was tinged with anxiety. “Its Divine Sense must cover the entire poison cloud. If you didn’t have your Stealth Technique, Brother, we probably would have been discovered long ago!”

[Secret]!

This trait was the greatest guarantee for his infiltration!

“We’ll wait here.” Zhu Ge narrowed his eyes. “Wait for a signal from the Hongmi Immortal.”

He had previously discussed many things with the Hongmi Immortal, including the plan for the general assault.

And so, time passed, one second at a time.

There was no day or night within the poison cloud, only an eternal twilight.

Zhu Ge hid in the pavilion, motionless, slowing his breathing to the bare minimum.

An unknown amount of time passed before a dull roar suddenly echoed from the distance.

“BOOM—”

The sound came from the east, immediately followed by battle cries, the roars of Demon Beasts, and the clash of weapons.

‘Zhao Tieshan has made his move…’ Zhu Ge tightened his grip on the Purgatory Star Rod.

On the altar, the Plague God Sparrow opened its eyes.

They were a pair of dark green eyes with slitted pupils, like a snake’s.

It lifted its head, glanced to the east, then lowered its head and closed its eyes again to rest.

The feint hadn’t caught its attention; at most, it might have just swept the area with its Divine Sense.

“Brother, should we keep waiting?” Hua Liusha asked.

“Wait.” Zhu Ge tried to keep his nerves in check. “We wait for the Hongmi Immortal to make his move.”

Another fifteen minutes passed, and then a world-shaking explosion suddenly erupted from the south.

“RUMBLE—”

The Red River exploded, and a crimson pillar of fire shot up from the water, soaring into the clouds.

The Hongmi Immortal had made his move.

On the altar, the Plague God Sparrow shot to its feet, spread its wings, and let out a piercing shriek. “Hongmi! So you finally dare to show yourself!”

The sound could shatter gold and stone. It pierced straight into his mind, and Zhu Ge felt as if his very soul was about to be shaken apart.

At that same moment, the Plague God Sparrow beat its wings and flew up, lunging toward the south.

Zhu Ge instantly burst from the pavilion, using his Incense Lighting Body Technique to charge toward the top of the altar.

There were no Demon Beast guards on the altar, only a huge depression left by the Plague God Sparrow, lined with its dark green feathers.

In the center of the depression, a fist-sized, dark green orb was slowly rotating, emitting a faint, sinister glow.

‘The Divine Core?!’

‘It was this easy?’