Chapter 177 - Get Over Here (1)

The Myriad Manifestations Sect’s control array node was in a cave inside a valley three miles away. The cave was deep and dark. As Xu Yuan walked inside, a faint breeze brushed past him.

He moved slowly down the passage, carrying a large cloth bundle in one hand. His eyes flickered with bloody light as he studied the blackness around him.

There was crosswind. That meant there was another exit somewhere inside.

As he went deeper, the cold soon raised gooseflesh across his skin. A thin layer of ice had even formed along the cave walls on both sides of the path.

This was the sort of thing that happened every time Ran Qingmo took action. It suited the nickname Xu Yuan had given her behind her back perfectly.

After following the tunnel for several thousand feet, the view before him suddenly opened wide.

Looking out, he saw a hollow cavern shaped like a pyramid. The ground had been cut smooth and flat, and an opening had been carved into the ceiling. Moonlight poured down through it, shining on the ice across the floor until everything gleamed bright and clear.

A mysterious array pattern was engraved into the ground. Aside from that, there were only the lifelike ice sculptures standing one after another.

It seemed that iceberg of a woman had already handled everything here.

Xu Yuan’s gaze fell on her, and he smiled faintly.

Ran Qingmo stood quietly at the center of the control array node, sword in hand, waiting for him. Moonlight rested softly on the veiled hat over her head, and beneath the black gauze, her slender, graceful figure appeared and vanished by turns.

Xu Yuan looked her up and down once, then asked softly with a smile, “How is the array node?”

His voice and footsteps carried a faint echo through the empty cave.

Ran Qingmo’s cool, pleasant voice came from beneath the veiled hat. “The array node was guarded by low ranking cultivators. I’ve already dealt with them all, but...”

“But?” Xu Yuan’s eyes sharpened.

Ran Qingmo pursed her lips. “This control array node seems to require a soul key before it can be used.”

Xu Yuan’s pupils shrank slightly. He strode forward, reached out with his soul sense, and felt around for a while. His brows gradually drew together.

After a short silence, Xu Yuan said inwardly, “Old Man Luo.”

“Don’t ask me.” The Sage's remnant soul cut him off. “I told you before. In all these ten thousand years, whenever this old man was awake, I spent my time studying cultivation methods. Arrays and formations never interested me.”

Xu Yuan shook his head and glanced at the cloth bundle in his hand. “No. I mean that old man with the strange cultivation method should have a soul key. Do you have any way to forcefully borrow it?”

The Sage's remnant soul was itself a soul body. For the sake of self-preservation, he had spent ten thousand years researching many secret techniques that acted directly on the soul.

The Sage's remnant soul did not answer at once. He seemed to be thinking it over. In the end, though, he still said in a low voice, “No.”

“Not even with my Divine Sakura Dao Essence added in?” Xu Yuan asked.

The Sage's remnant soul sighed and said quietly, “Unless you can recreate that llusion Wang Yuchu dragged you into before she died, and use it to brainwash this boy who cultivated the strange ghost art.”

Xu Yuan fell silent.

That was simply impossible. That kind of illusion had barely been created by combining the memories of more than half the world’s strongest cultivators. Aside from Wang Yuchu, who had been the tree spirit of the Beguiling Divine Sakura, no one else could reproduce it.

Then, suddenly, Ran Qingmo’s voice came softly from beside him. “Xu Yuan, is Sageridge beyond saving?”

Xu Yuan turned to look at her when he heard that. “Why ask that?”

Ran Qingmo took off her veiled hat and held it in her hand. “The closest place to here is Lunardige. At the pace of the border army, it would take them more than ten days at least to reach this place.”

As she spoke, her grip on the sword in her hand tightened slightly. “And besides... besides, whether the other commanderies and counties will even send reinforcements is still unknown.”

Xu Yuan was briefly stunned, but then it made sense. It seemed this iceberg of a woman really was not stupid. She had actually thought of something he had missed.

According to the map General Wang had given him, with Ran Qingmo and the Sage's remnant soul’s speed, they would need only a little over a day to reach the county town closest to Sageridge. But for an army, that same distance would take at least ten days.

Could General Wang and the others hold on for more than ten days?

And that was assuming the other commanderies and counties were willing to break camp immediately and come to the rescue.

Reality, unfortunately, was reality.

Sending troops to reinforce Sageridge sounded simple enough, but in truth, it concerned the official hats of the local county and commandery officials. Maybe even their heads.

What Xu Yuan had said to General Wang before had been the truth.

Since the number of demonic beasts attacking Sageridge had sharply increased, the defensive pressure on the other places in the surrounding region would naturally drop. But the problem was that the officials in those other commanderies and counties did not know that. Or rather, even if they did know, they would most likely still refuse to take the risk.

After all, this past month was precisely when the demonic beast tide had been in violent upheaval.

Given the number of demonic beasts Sageridge was facing now, sending too few troops would be useless. But if they sent out their main force and marched to the rescue... What if, while the army was away, demon beasts suddenly came to attack their own town? If their own town fell, who would bear the blame?

The people of Sageridge were people, yes. But were the people of the other commanderies and counties not people too?

When it came to dividing responsibility like this, any official with even the slightest political sense would not make a reckless decision in a hot-headed rush.

After all, this was the kind of matter that could cost a man his head.

Most likely, the final result would be layer after layer of reports being passed upward.

Xu Yuan did not have a clear understanding of how efficient the various levels of government in the Great Flame Empire were, but he knew one thing. If a matter like this was delayed even a few days, Sageridge truly would have no hope left.

Silence settled over them.

Looking at him as he said nothing, Ran Qingmo’s eyes dimmed slightly.

“If only my cultivation were a little higher...”

Xu Yuan raised his eyes, looked into hers, and asked in a low voice, “Do you really want to save Sageridge?”

Ran Qingmo answered almost instinctively, her voice low. “Master said that cultivators should punish evil and uphold...”

“I’m asking you,” Xu Yuan interrupted. “Not your master.”

Ran Qingmo pursed her lips, then nodded. “I want to save them. Do you have a way?”

Looking at the tangled emotions in the eyes of a girl who was usually so cold and clear, Xu Yuan took a deep breath. “It’ll be hard. You’re right. The other commanderies and counties might not send troops to reinforce Sageridge right away. They’ll definitely report the matter first. From the county to the commandery, then to the prefecture and province, and maybe in the end it’ll have to reach the imperial court in the capital before a decision is made. Given Sageridge’s current situation, they can’t afford that delay. But...”

At this point, Xu Yuan stared at her, curved his eyes into a smile, raised one hand, and lightly tapped his own cheek.

Ran Qingmo looked puzzled.

Xu Yuan grinned. “Kiss me once, and I’ll help you.”

Ran Qingmo’s eyes immediately turned wary. She took half a step back, and the sword in her hand rose slightly. “How will you help?”

Xu Yuan spread both hands and said softly, “Don’t forget, my father is the chancellor of the current empire. I can contact him directly and have him issue an order from the imperial court down.”

Ran Qingmo listened carefully, then fell silent for a moment before asking in a low voice, “Oh. Fine. Then what does kissing you mean?”

Xu Yuan smiled faintly. “It means putting your lips on...”

Before he could finish, the sword arrived first.

SWOOSH! Cold light swept past.