Chapter 170 - Breaking the Illusory Mist (1)

Xu Yuan looked at the man kneeling before him and used the power of the Sage's remnant soul to lift him back to his feet. “General Wang, I’m no noble hero. I’m only doing what I can.”

Seeing the young man raise him, a fourth rank Body Integration cultivator, from a distance with no effort at all, General Wang’s pupils tightened. But a moment later, he smiled in relief. “Young Master Zhou, you are too modest. You have no ties to Sageridge. If you had not come all this way to warn us, then even now, I might still have no idea what was happening. Even when the town fell, I doubt I would ever have guessed that the Myriad Manifestations Sect was the one pulling the strings. The fact that you are willing to try for Sageridge is already enough.”

Information that some people treated as common as dirt, not even worth a copper coin, could be worth a thousand pieces of gold to others.

Xu Yuan did not waste time exchanging pleasantries with General Wang. He spoke plainly. “What I just described was the ideal situation. General Wang, you had best prepare for the worst.”

As he spoke, he pointed toward the illusory mist array overhead. “If I break into the formation and cannot find the control node, or if I find it only for the people of the Myriad Manifestations Sect to have already destroyed it, then this array will most likely continue running out of control.”

General Wang fell silent for two seconds. Then a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. A helpless smile. “Young Master Zhou, we do what we can and leave the rest to fate.”

Xu Yuan looked at the deep helplessness in the man’s eyes. After a brief pause, he lowered his voice and asked, “When the demonic beasts attacked, did you notify the surrounding commanderies and counties?”

General Wang hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Of course we did. Is Young Master Zhou thinking of seeking reinforcements?”

Xu Yuan answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “If we cannot control this illusory mist array, then the only option is to ask the surrounding commanderies and counties for help. With your current forces, there is no way you can hold back a beast tide of this size.”

General Wang’s expression grew a little complicated, but he still said, “Young Master Zhou, asking for help is useless.”

“Why?”

“Along the Myriad Ascents Mountain Range, aside from a few key passes, every border town has its own hands full during the spring beast tides. They can barely protect themselves. It is unlikely they would split off troops to come save us.”

Xu Yuan rejected General Wang’s judgment. “General Wang, I’ll give you one more piece of information. The total number of demonic beasts that attack during the spring tide each year is almost fixed. If Sageridge has more demonic beasts this year, then the number attacking the surrounding towns will naturally be lower.”

Every year, along the 50,000 kilometer border defense line of the Myriad Ascents Mountain Range, tens of thousands of border soldiers were killed or wounded, and hundreds of thousands of demonic beasts of every kind were slain.

After each battle, every frontier town would report its exact figures. Once the Chancellor’s Manor gathered and compared all that information, it was easy to conclude one thing. Aside from a few unusual years, the total number of demonic beasts in the tide was almost always the same.

“But what if the Myriad Manifestations Sect has secretly colluded with the demon race?” General Wang no longer had the slightest doubt about how low the Myriad Manifestations Sect could sink.

Xu Yuan shook his head. “That would be evidence enough to wipe out their sect. Unless the Myriad Manifestations Sect has gone brainless, they would never hand something like that over to the demon race. At most, they would use things like beast luring incense along the way to change the direction of the beast tide. General Wang, I need a token from you to seek reinforcements.”

General Wang hesitated only a moment before taking a token from his robes. It was carved with the image of a Lionheart Tiger, and he offered it to Xu Yuan with both hands.

Xu Yuan glanced at it. Strands of spiritual energy clung to the token, and the words Sageridge were carved across its surface. One look was enough to know it was no ordinary object. But he did not take it.

“General Wang, what is the meaning of this?”

A tiger tally for commanding troops. Was this the sort of thing one could just hand to someone?

General Wang smiled faintly and said in a low voice, “With only a letter, the other commanderies and counties may not believe what has happened to Sageridge. But once the local commandery governor sees this tiger tally, he will naturally understand the severity of the matter. Besides, if you fail, then this tiger tally will have no reason to exist anymore.”

After a brief pause, Xu Yuan chose to accept the command token. “I’ll also need you to write a letter.”

“Of course.” General Wang smiled faintly, then cupped his fist toward Xu Yuan. “I wonder if there is anything else our Sageridge border army can do to help Young Master Zhou?”

“Help me?” Xu Yuan was surprised.

General Wang smiled. “Sageridge cannot simply accept your kindness for free.”

Just as he had said earlier, this Young Master Zhou had no kinship or obligation to the Sageridge border army. His willingness to help Sageridge was a favor.

And for such a great favor, whether they survived this crisis or not, that debt had to be repaid.

Xu Yuan’s first instinct was to refuse. He did not think a remote little border county like this could have anything he needed. But in the end, he said softly, “I came to Sageridge to purchase medicinal herbs. General Wang, does your Sageridge border army happen to have any soul type medicinal herbs?”

“Soul type medicinal herbs?” General Wang raised a brow.

“If not, then forget it.” Xu Yuan had not held much hope to begin with.

“We do.” General Wang grinned.

With that, he called over his adjutant and whispered a few words to him. The adjutant immediately flew off toward the town storehouse.

Watching the man vanish into the darkness, General Wang smiled at Xu Yuan. “I have already sent my adjutant to fetch them. Young Master Zhou, please wait a moment.”

Xu Yuan glanced toward the commercial district inside the city and asked, “But I saw no such medicinal herbs for sale in the shops.”

General Wang smiled helplessly. “They are indeed rare in the shops. The only reason our Sageridge border army has a stockpile is because we found a few bargains over the years.”

“Bargains?” Xu Yuan asked.

General Wang explained in a low voice, “If you truly want to buy precious medicinal herbs firsthand, it is best not to go to the shops. You should look at the street stalls instead. Many low level martial apprentices and wandering companies do not know what they have. There are plenty of people who sell dragon flame ginseng as ordinary mountain ginseng. Many of the precious herbs in our Sageridge border army’s stores were picked up from people like that.”

By the end, a look of utter helplessness had crept into General Wang’s eyes.

Xu Yuan fell silent.

Fifteen minutes later, the adjutant returned with a large cloth sack on his back. Once he spread it out on the ground, a dozen or so jade boxes of various sizes were revealed inside.

Xu Yuan swept his gaze over them. The sheer number surprised him a little, but a moment later, he understood.

As a border town, Sageridge was unquestionably poor. But the total resources of an entire town were still more than enough to make any one person feel rich.

After a brief pause, Xu Yuan selected a few jade boxes and said in a low voice, “Then it would be rude of me to refuse.”

General Wang smiled faintly and said directly, “Young Master Zhou, all of these are yours.”

Xu Yuan’s eyes sharpened.

The smile on General Wang’s face was simple and sincere. He cupped his fist. “Young Master Zhou, to tell you the truth, I originally planned to resell these soul type herbs for a high price and use the money to support the soldiers. But I doubt there will be any chance for that now. If you need them, please take them all.”