From a loser to an immortal sage

Chapter 473 Internal and external difficulties

When I stood at the entrance of the council hall in the early morning, the morning dew was still clinging to the bluestone slabs.

Last night, when Wen Chen shielded me from the roof beam, the warmth of the blood droplets on the back of my hand hadn't yet dissipated. He said that the Thunder Demon King's demon core hadn't shattered. These words were like a fine needle, pricking the tendons in the back of my neck.

"Sect Master, all the elders have arrived." My little apprentice, A-Tao, came over with a medicine cup. I noticed that there were still water droplets on her eyelashes—this girl must have stayed up half the night watching over me.

As I took the medicine cup, I touched her icy fingertips. I couldn't resist patting the top of her head. "Go to the side hall and have a bowl of hot porridge. Come back later."

As I pushed open the door, the sandalwood incense mingled with the morning dampness wafted out of the hall.

General Zhao sat at the lower left, his armor gleaming, but his knuckles were white as he gripped the edge of the table, clearly having not slept all night; Pharmacist Lin rubbed his temples, three empty medicine bottles in front of him, their necks still stained with wound medicine powder; most conspicuous was Deacon Li, huddled in a corner, his fingernails almost digging into the wooden table, sweat trickling down his forehead and wrinkles, staining his front a dark patch.

"Gentlemen," I said, taking my seat in the main seat and glancing at everyone. "You all worked hard last night."

But the Thunder Demon King's demon core is not broken, so he will come again.

The reason I've summoned everyone here today is to discuss countermeasures.

The hall was so quiet that you could hear the crackling of burning sandalwood.

The first to speak was Deacon Li. His throat moved, and his voice sounded like it had been sanded: "Sect...Sect Master, how about...how about we send an envoy to the Demon Palace to sue for peace?"

Demonic cultivators may be ruthless, but they might be willing to negotiate...

"Bang!" General Zhao slammed his fist on the table, making the teacup jump. "Deacon Li is muddle-headed!"

Yesterday, the demonic soldiers killed anyone they saw, not even sparing the young disciples who were healing them. What peace is there to speak of?

Deacon Li shrank back in fright, his fingertips trembling even more violently: "But...but our spiritual veins are damaged, and the mountain-protecting array only has three layers left. If it weren't for Immortal Venerable Wen yesterday..." He suddenly fell silent, his gaze sweeping over my wrist—the veins there were so faint they were almost transparent, a trace of the star core's backlash.

I pressed my hand against the edge of the table, the warmth of my palm seeping through the wood grain.

The bloodstains on Wen Chen's back from last night were still vivid in my mind's eye, and his voice still echoed in my ears, "I found an ancient book in the far north." "Deacon Li, do you know why the Thunder Demon King chose this time to attack?" I softened my tone. "He tested our limits yesterday, and if he sees internal divisions today, he will only become more ruthless."

Pharmacist Lin adjusted his glasses, seemingly lost in thought: "Is the Sect Master saying he's waiting for us to make things chaotic on our own?"

“Not bad.” I recalled the look in Zhou Xianzi’s eyes last night as she wiped her sword. Dark blue demonic blood dripped from the blade, yet she smiled like a wild chrysanthemum. “Yesterday, General Zhao broke his shield to protect the wounded, Zhou Xianzi single-handedly held off twenty demon soldiers, and even Qinglian and her young disciples managed to pick flowers from the ruins—our confidence doesn’t lie in the spiritual veins, but in the hearts of the people.”

Deacon Li's fingernails finally loosened, and he looked down at his trembling hands: "But...but what if..."

“There’s no chance.” I stood up, the morning light streaming through the carved window lattice onto me. “I’m going to the front lines.”

General Zhao, send two of your disciples to accompany him.

As we left the council hall, the smell of burning still lingered in the air.

As I walked past the training ground, I heard a familiar voice—"What are you afraid of?"

Yesterday I slew seven demon soldiers, today I can slew seventeen!

Following the sound, one could see Fairy Zhou standing on the earthen slope, her sword tassel fluttering in the wind.

She was surrounded by seven or eight disciples, some of whom I recognized as the little radish head that Qinglian had protected last night.

At that moment, they looked up, their eyes shining like stars.

Fairy Zhou patted her shortest apprentice's shoulder: "Yesterday you delivered the medicine pouch for Pharmacist Lin, running faster than the demon soldiers' blades. Today, you'll guard the left flank for me, how about it?"

The young apprentice sniffed, nodded vigorously, and the medicine pouch at his waist made a crisp sound as it jingled.

When Fairy Zhou turned her head and saw me, her eyes immediately curved into crescents: "Sect Master!"

Look at them, yesterday they were cowering behind Senior Sister Qinglian, but today they're clenching their fists.

Her sword blade gleamed in the sunlight, and I suddenly remembered how she wiped it last night—the demonic blood was still wet then, but now it was like steel that had been tempered.

I reached out and touched her scabbard; the warmth seeped through my palm—the warmth of a living person. "You did a good job."

“Of course.” She tilted her head and smiled. “I’m waiting to see you lead us to the gates of the Demon Palace.”

The wind lifted the hem of her dress, and as I gazed at the smoke rising in the distance, I suddenly remembered the book "Ancient Star Records" in the library.

Wen Chen said the solution to the star core might be in the book, but at this moment, looking at these disciples with shining eyes, I suddenly realized that the solution might never have been in the book at all.

When I returned to the council hall, General Zhao was standing at the door waiting for me.

He saw me, his Adam's apple bobbing: "Sect Leader, what you just said...about people's hearts..."

“Go inside.” I patted his shoulder, the scent of sandalwood wafting over again. “I have an idea that might completely thwart the Thunder Demon King’s plans.”

All eyes in the hall turned to him. Deacon Li was still wiping his sweat, but this time his gaze no longer darted away.

I gazed at the rising sun outside the window, remembering what Wen Chen had said last night: "Go to the library as soon as it's light"—wait a minute, I have to tell him first that I've found something more important than the Star Core Solution.

I sat down in the main seat again and tapped my knuckles lightly on the table: "Gentlemen, I have an idea—do you remember Eagle Beak Cliff in Qingya Valley?"

On both sides are sheer cliffs, wide enough for only three people to walk side by side.

If the Thunder Demon King attacks again, he will inevitably pass through this place.

General Zhao's armor rattled first, and he suddenly straightened up: "Eagle Beak Cliff!"

I guarded that place for three years. The cliff top could hide thirty people, and a single boulder thrown down could shatter half a demon army. A glint of light flashed in his bloodshot eyes. "But an ambush alone might not be enough. If the demon cultivators split their forces and take a detour..."

"So we need to send a strike team." I unfolded the Demon Palace defense map that Wen Chen had drawn last night, pointing my finger to a red dot on the map. "The demon cultivators' supplies are all stockpiled in Black Wind Swamp. They maintain their fighting strength by consuming corpse pills. If their supplies are cut off, even the fiercest demon soldiers will turn to mush."

Deacon Li's Adam's apple bobbed, and his nails dug into the cracks in the table. "But...but Black Wind Swamp is guarded by demon generals. Can our people get in?"

“Zhou Xianzi is gone.” I turned to look at the doorway—I didn’t know when she had followed me in, her sword tassel still covered in grass clippings. “Yesterday, when she cut down twenty demon soldiers, she used the ‘Cloud Piercing Step’ that I taught her.”

This footwork is specifically designed to counter the brute force of demonic cultivators; no matter how fierce the guards of Black Wind Swamp are, they can't catch up with her.

Zhou Xianzi's eyes immediately lit up like sparks. She strode in, her sword sheath clanging against the threshold. "Sect Master, trust me! I'll burn the Black Wind Marsh's grain piles until they glow like the moon!" She turned to Deacon Li with a smile, her little tiger teeth flashing. "Uncle Li, don't be afraid. The men I brought can pick wild fruit on cliffs; climbing the Demon Palace's walls is child's play for them."

Deacon Li recoiled as if burned by her smile, his fingers slowly loosening their grip.

Pharmacist Lin pushed up his glasses and suddenly tapped the table: "I have three bottles of 'Awakening Powder' here. Inhaling it can counteract the effects of corpse poison for half an hour."

The commando team should bring it along, in case they encounter the Corpse Pill Mist...

“Alright.” I pressed down on the porcelain bottle that Pharmacist Lin was pushing towards me, the warmth seeping into my veins through my palm. “General Zhao, select ten skilled crossbowmen to ambush Eagle’s Beak Cliff; Fairy Zhou, take five agile disciples and depart at midnight tonight; Deacon Li…” I turned to the old man huddled in the corner, “You move all the kerosene from the storeroom to the training ground; I want to watch it being packed into military leather bags.”

Deacon Li looked up abruptly, sweat still clinging to his forehead, but his eyes were no longer unfocused: "Yes!"

"I'll go check the ledgers right away and dig out all that kerosene that hasn't been touched in twenty years." He staggered to his feet, the hem of his robe brushing against the edge of the table, causing the teacups to clink together.

Wen Chen was standing at the palace gate at some point, the morning light streaming in from behind him, casting a long shadow.

He held a bronze box in his hands, its surface gleaming with polished cloud patterns. "This is a map I brought back from the far north," he said, "marking the entrance to the underground river in Blackwind Swamp." He walked closer, his fingertip lightly tracing the ice cracks on the box. "Going in through the underground river allows us to avoid three sentry posts."

Zhou Xianzi leaned closer to look, her hair brushing against the back of my hand: "Immortal Wen's map is clearer than I could find by climbing walls!" She reached out to touch it, then recoiled as if electrocuted, her ears turning red. "I...I'll definitely count every single stone at the entrance to the underground river."

Wen Chen chuckled softly and unfolded the map in front of me.

His fingertips, still fragrant with ink, touched a bend in the watercourse: "There's a protruding rock here. Tap it three times, and the moss will fall, revealing the cave entrance." He looked up, and the red mole at the corner of his eye seemed to sparkle like a falling star. "What you said about human nature yesterday, I believe today."

My heart skipped a beat.

Last night, when he shielded me from the roof beam, the temperature of the blood dripping onto the back of my hand suddenly surged up, burning my throat.

I stared down at the map, drawing a small circle with my fingernail at the entrance to the underground river: "After this battle, I want to go see the far north ice plains."

“Okay.” His voice was as soft as a feather falling on a page.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps came from outside the hall.

When Atao burst through the palace door, her hairpin was askew behind her ear, and she was clutching a blood-stained letter tube in her hand: "Sect Master!"

A man wearing a straw hat came to the door and said, "This letter can only be given to you."

The moment my fingertips touched the mailbox, I felt something sticky—half-dried blood.

The sealing wax on the mailbox was engraved with a withered datura flower, a unique mark of the Demon Palace's assassins.

"Go and prepare." I tucked the letter into my sleeve, and when I looked up, my smile was as steady as ever. "General Zhao will lead Fairy Zhou to select people, Steward Li will check the kerosene, and Pharmacist Lin will prepare the medicine."

As everyone filed out, Wen Chen was the last to leave.

He stood before me, his gaze sweeping over my slightly trembling sleeve: "Do you need me to stay?"

“No need.” I shook my head, the letter tube in my sleeve digging into my wrist. “Go check if the rolling stones at Eagle’s Beak Cliff are ready—I’ll be there soon.”

After he left, I sat down with my back against the carved window.

The bloodstains on the letterbox seeped through the fabric, like a piece of burning charcoal.

I gritted my teeth and pried open the sealing wax. The moment the parchment unfolded, a line of blood-red words pierced my eyes: "The Thunder Demon King is nothing but a puppet; the true mastermind is in the Nine Netherworld Abyss."

A breeze slipped in through the window, rustling the pages.

I stared at the four characters "Nine Netherworld Abyss," a metallic taste rising in my throat—that was the burial ground of ancient demonic cultivators, a place even the oldest texts dared only mention in half a sentence.

Zhou Xianzi's laughter echoed from outside the hall: "Little radish head, if you follow me, I guarantee you'll be even more impressive than yesterday when you handed over the medicine pouch!"

I tucked the letter back into my sleeve, pressing my fingertips against my throbbing temples.

The matter of the Nine Nether Abyss cannot be discussed for the time being—at least until the assault team departs and the rolling stones at Eagle Beak Cliff are in place.

The morning dew had disappeared without us noticing, and the sun was so hot that our backs felt burning.

I stood up, and the letter tube in my sleeve bumped against the jade pendant at my waist, making a crisp sound.

It's time to go to the training ground; it's time to check if the kerosene has been prepared.

But as I took that step, I suddenly remembered what Wen Chen had said last night about the "star core solution".

Perhaps he's right, the answer is in the book—but now I understand even more clearly that some secrets must be kept hidden for now.