Chapter 1751 - 883: Dire Plight of the Lone Swan, Misfortunes Never Come Singly

Within White Tiger Gully, the dead silence overwhelmed the wind and snow.

The Fuxi Eight Trigrams Array isolated the direct erosion of the Evil God’s power, yet couldn’t block the piercing cold.

Thick fog clung like maggots on bones, still wrapping outside the gully, with visibility no more than several steps.

Though the army didn’t collapse, the post-battle tally was chillingly cold:

Nearly twenty percent of the grand army was lost, corpses lied strewn, the wounded mourned everywhere. More fatal was the loss of various Mystical Sect masters accompanying the army—elders from Dragon and Tiger Mountain, Qi Refiners from Zhongnan Mountain, Shamans from Five Immortals Hall... almost wiped out in that blood battle where Hundred Demons attacked the gate.

The remaining young disciples, each injured, guarded the array base or tended to the wounded with ashen faces.

A large number of Magic Artifacts were either consumed or destroyed, now only some talisman water and Blood Stopping Spells were left, simply a drop in the ocean.

The supply carts were mostly damaged and burned by Hu Li’s Beastified Ghost Soldiers and ninjas.

Marshal Gao Zhenxiong looked at the booklet presented by the quartermaster, clenching his knuckles till they were white.

The remaining supplies, calculated precisely, could sustain at most five days.

After five days, no need for enemy action, hunger and severe cold could swallow this remnant army.

Inside the Central Army tent, the few remaining beef tallow lamps flickered in the cold wind, casting weary and heavy faces into alternating light and shadow.

Gao Zhenxiong sat in the main seat, his armor covered in congealed blood and gashes.

His gaze remained sharp, yet couldn’t hide the anxiety buried deep within.

Sha Lifei and others remained silent, the atmosphere in the tent was heavy.

"Everyone,"

Gao Zhenxiong looked at them, voice hoarse, "the situation, you must be clear about it. Our army has become an isolated force, trapped in a dead land. Supplies exhausted, the wounded increasing, with the Evil God lurking outside and demons causing trouble inside. Without reinforcements, after five days..."

He didn’t continue, but everyone understood that conclusion.

Everyone’s gaze, instinctively, turned to the corner.

Li Yan leaned against a simple military chair, eyes closed in meditation.

He looked even worse than Wang Daoxuan, lips devoid of color.

Outside Divine State territory, forcibly communicating with the Five Dao Generals and setting up the Fuxi Eight Trigrams Array almost drained his spirit and blood, at this moment even breathing carried a heavy sense of weakness.

Even with the Daluo Dharma Body repairing internal and external injuries, his foundation was already damaged.

Kong Shangzhao coughed lightly, voice deep yet clear: "Marshal, the only chance for survival now lies in seeking assistance. The main force of Liaodong Iron Cavalry is still across the Yalu River. If we can break through the blockade and relay the state of affairs here along with Zhao Changsheng’s ’Grinding Plate’ array’s substance, we might be able to attack from inside and out and break this stalemate."

Sha Lifei chimed in, looking at everyone: "It’s not that Old Sha is talking defeatist. The walls of White Tiger Gully are an absolute barrier, its only exit is tightly blocked by the Evil God. The miasma outside hasn’t dispersed, Ghost Soldiers, ninjas, mongrels of Dark Five Immortals, and those three ghostly entities are watching with ferocious eyes. Sending a large force to break out is a path to death!"

The tent fell silent once again.

Though crude, Sha Lifei’s words were the blood-soaked truth.

Ordinary soldiers, even those injured Mystic Sect disciples, charging out of White Tiger Gully is no different from walking to their death.

Li Yan slowly opened his eyes.

He listened to everyone’s words, but his attention was on the Hook Paper in his arms.

Since forcibly communicating with the Five Dao Generals, the Hook Paper had changed, its color darkened like ink.

More crucial was the internal aspect.

Hook Paper, to those unaware, appeared magical.

But Li Yan, having roamed the Daluo Law Realm and coupled with past experiences, had already understood its principle.

The existence of the Daluo Law Realm, using concepts from a past life, is essentially a higher-dimensional space-time where matter and spirit unite, hence a multitude of miracles appear, and it serves as the projection of collective consciousness of the human world.

Thus, many deities revered in human history leave traces there.

There are interlayer gaps between the two.

Large in scale are those so-called Secret Realms.

Minor and weak are Hook Paper, Heavenly Official Order, and other Magic Artifacts.

Though unclear how the Heavenly Court or Yin Bureau fixed them in human Magic Artifacts via some method, these small gaps are enough to transmit Yin Bureau’s power to the human world.

Of course, this item has limitations.

The Daluo Law Realm is a void, where powerful entities forcibly carve out pathways and shelter newcomers, intersecting to form Divine systems.

Which is precisely the golden branches Li Yan saw in the void.

The existence of Divine systems is also closely tied to geography.

Like now in the era of opening the seas, due to personnel exchanges, Divine systems are approaching each other.

Outside Divine State, the forces of the Heavenly Court and Yin Bureau cannot reach, hence the limitation of Hook Paper.

Even Goryeo and these vassal states are no exception.

Yet now, a slight loophole has appeared.

Plunging his spirit within, Li Yan discovered the reason.

Inside the Hook Paper, unexpectedly appeared a gap!

Unlike the previous gap through which he communicated with the Nine Netherworld Yin Bureau, this one was more ethereal and cold. Just the thought of probing it made Li Yan inexplicably apprehensive.

Intuition told him probing it meant death!

Daluo Void!

Li Yan immediately realized where it led.

And the cause of this event had been found, it was the mysterious Jade Pendant obtained from Yin Changsheng.

This treasure could enhance the sensing of Hook Paper.

With this item, he could even breach the barrier of the Yin Bureau, hearing conversations of Judge Cui and other great Yin Bureau deities during Yin Bureau missions, thereby learning many secrets of heaven and earth.

Yin Changsheng relied on this to cultivate all the way to successful Ascension.

Now, a crack appeared on the Jade Plate, its amplifying power vanished.

Having lost the amplifying ability, it had formed a bizarre pathway.