Chapter 2649 - 21: In Memory of Marquis Wu’an (Part 2)

His so-called half-baked healing Dao Technique needs no further comment; apart from using Samadhi True Fire to burn away the "external evils" invading his body, he basically knows nothing else.

Now the Fist Force and the sense of hunger and cold have both been burned clean, but that only temporarily halted the worsening of his injuries. Recovery is a long process; he must find a safe and hidden place as soon as possible, quietly nourish himself for a while with the Light of Tianfu, and only then think about other methods.

Putting together all the known conditions, the only way he can currently think of to return to the Civilization Basin is to hide away to heal, wait for the Silent Period of Frost Wind Valley to end... then, while the Human and Demon Clan Warriors are slaughtering each other, fight his way back from this side.

It sounds simple, but becomes incomparably difficult because of the long eleven months, and because of this body full of wounds.

This is a clumsy method destined to be plagued by endless nightmares over a long night, yet it is also the only choice he has.

How to endure the Long Night, how to endure nightmare after nightmare—Jiang Wang has no answer in his heart.

But since the road lies here, he will walk it.

Comparing against the map, roughly judging the direction, he cautiously withdrew from the wasteland; after confirming he left no traces, he wrapped himself in those uncomfortable Demon clan garments, and plunged headfirst into the endless stretch of deep mountains.

What a great mountain!

Propping up the sky and pressing down the earth, swallowing Evil Beasts, stretching for a hundred thousand li.

Miasmic rain and savage mists break the heart, while outside the mountains the wind and snow hang low.

And there are foolish youths within, who sleep beneath ancient trees listening to the chirring of insects at night.

Outside the mountains they know not what passes within.

Within the mountains they know not the years.

...

...

The great battle between Jiang Mengxiong and Yuan Xianting at the Demon clan’s South Celestial City shook heaven and earth, with the outcome hard to decide, and in the end concluded with the Heaven Demon Zhu Yi entering the battlefield.

On the Human Race side, at present only Qi Country is incandescent with unilateral fury, with no intention of launching an all-out war. On the Demon clan side, they are even less willing to wage a war of extermination against the current Human Race.

Thus a clash at the Yan Dao Level began with a sky-shaking blaze, and ended with the lightest touch.

Although Jiang Mengxiong is stronger than he was twelve years ago, to recreate his past feats of slaying Heavenly Demons has become extremely difficult. Because all his opponents now have expectations of his strength, and face him with sufficient caution.

What is more, as a top Heavenly Demon of the Demon clan, Yuan Xianting has not been lax these years; he has crossed hands with almost every True Monarch who took turns guarding Suiming City on the Human side.

Once the Heaven Demon Zhu Yi arrived, Jiang Mengxiong had no choice but to withdraw.

But on the very day Jiang Mengxiong retreated to the south of Frost Wind Valley, a single Rongchong from Qi Country charged over and blocked the already-breached mouth of the valley. Thorn Boats circled high above, adopting a full battle posture.

With the Rongchong came large quantities of urgently transferred supplies, as well as master craftsmen of the Crafts Institute rushed overnight from Linzi. Right before this fully opened passage, they set to building a great city in a blaze of activity.

Besides personally sitting in command, Jiang Mengxiong also mobilized Daqi’s Valor Count Bao Hang, ordering him to lead ten thousand main-force Annihilation Thunder Army to garrison here and provide protection for the city-building works.

The Mo Family can raise a Xiong City in a single night. The Qi State Engineering Institute may not be so fast, but two days suffice.

A Human Race great city located at the very front line of the battlefield is of extraordinary significance.

It is danger, and also opportunity. It is responsibility, and also resource.

Jinguo showed tacit acquiescence to this: they neither commented on Jiang Mengxiong’s act of blasting through Frost Wind Valley, nor did they demand to share the responsibility—people understood this as Jinguo’s way of settling the matter of Mei Xuelin.

And this newly built Human Race great city is named "Wu An."

Of course, without destroying the Heaven Demon Dharma Altar and without laying more Demon clan bones as its foundation, this city cannot yet be called a Xiong City that can stand firm within the Celestial Prison. But from here on it will have enough time to prove itself... either irrigated with Demon clan blood, or collapsing before Monster Soldiers.

In the blood war between the Human and Demon Clan that has stretched over several great eras, every Xiong City must be tempered in blood and fire.

As for this Wu An City, and this newly opened battlefield, the Demon clan also gave the most direct response.

Yuan Xianting simply uprooted his city!

Under countless watching eyes, he lifted the entire South Celestial City up into the high firmament, then bore it across the sky, and with great fanfare set it down on the other side of Frost Wind Valley, confronting the Human Race with this city. He named it—

"South Heavenly Gate of the Demon clan"!

Once again likening themselves to the Ancient Heavenly Court, regarding the present world as a turbid age, and the Civilization Basin as the entrance to that turbid world.

Judging by the scale of Wu An City and South Celestial City, this battlefield is no major front in the Monster Realm. Though Frost Wind Valley has been leveled and a breach blasted through the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, the two great cities facing each other from afar leave no room to deploy a hundred thousand troops on each side.

However, because it is a newly opened battlefield, its specifications are relatively high. Thus Qi Country sent the Valor Count, and sent ten thousand Annihilation Thunder Army.

After Xiu Yuan returned to the main battlefield, Qi Country’s Imperial Court Adviser Wenren Shen personally came to this place, and announced that he would preside over this battlefield long-term.

Among Qi Country’s nine Imperial Court Advisers, the two hardest to move are Wenren Shen and Zang Zhiquan. The former has long sat behind The gate of all demons, overseeing the governance of Qi Country’s various cities in the Monster Realm, and can be called the Qi Country True Man who understands the Demon clan best. The latter has long remained in Linzi, reclusive and withdrawn, overseeing history and penal codes. Neither has much sense of presence.

Of course, now that Su Guanying has become Governor of Nanxia, he too must align himself with these two, take root in one place, and will hardly leave Nanxia again.

Corresponding to Wenren Shen, South Celestial City also sent a True Monster, Que Mengchen, bringing seven thousand elite Iron Cage Army.

Both sides reacted swiftly; this speed was honed over the long years of racial war, so that they actually managed to stabilize the situation without an all-out war breaking out—surely there must be a real clash of blades and spears at some point, but both sides are deliberately pushing that moment back, to make more preparations.