A Taoist suddenly appeared in front of the soldiers. He asked, “What’s going on? Why is the left commander-in-chief so angry?”

The white-haired Taoist looked to be in his sixties. He wore a black robe and wielded a horsetail whisk. He was also wearing a jade mask and exuding an ephemeral, mysterious aura.

An assistant commander hurriedly gave him a report, “Advisor, someone snuck into the Sky Mending Palace and stole the Sky Mending Spring earlier. We discovered him and tried to apprehend him, but it turned out that we were no match for him. The thief killed General Chi Fei during the fight, which is why the commander-in-chief flew into a rage.”

The Taoist’s moniker was Profound Spirit Taoist. He hailed from one of the thirty-six unorthodox sects, the Eight Views Sect. An expert in talismans and spells, he was as strong as he was knowledgeable. When he was young, he encountered Guo Ximian and became fast friends with him. After they became sworn brothers, he accepted Guo Ximian’s invitation and joined the Nanjiang Pacification Army as a military advisor. His role was to strategize and plot for Guo Ximian.

Although Profound Spirit Taoist was a Taoist, he was an expert in military affairs, military tactics, army management, and civil management. There was nothing he didn’t know, nothing he wasn’t good at. One might even say that the reason the Nanjiang Pacification Army became so famous today, and the reason Guo Ximian was able to achieve what he achieved was majorly thanks to him.

Such was his achievements that the Emperor of Chu himself invited Profound Spirit Taoist to his court and conferred him a golden medal and a purple ribbon[1]. Calling Profound Spirit Taoist a spirit of literature and a deity of war, he was certain that Nanjiang could never pose a threat to Chu so long as Profound Spirit Taoist was still around.

That was why Profound Spirit Taoist was second only to the Martial Might Duke in the Nanjiang Pacification Army despite not being directly involved in most battles. He was deeply respected both inside and outside the army as well.

In fact, Profound Spirit Taoist was the one who planned the strategy that crushed the Nanjiang Royal Court and the Eight Tribes and Nine Fortresses in a single day.

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

“Is the Sky Mending Spring still present?” Profound Spirit Taoist asked with increased urgency when he heard everything.

“The pond holding the Sky Mending Spring has dried up. It has probably been stolen by the thief,” the assistant commander answered.

“Damn it!”

Profound Spirit Taoist was normally a calm person, but he could not help but let out an angry outburst when he heard this. He was emanating a terrible pressure as well.

If this was any other occasion, the theft of the Sky Mending Spring would not have angered him so. The problem was that he received a secret message from the Chu Emperor several days ago claiming that Consort Yi was ill, and that the Sky Mending Spring was necessary to create a pill that would heal her. He had commanded him to guard the Sky Mending Spring closely, and that someone would appear in a few days to retrieve the spring.

This was why he had stationed so many soldiers around the Sky Mending Palace even though his first priority should be pacifying Nanjiang as swiftly as possible.

Unfortunately, man plans, and the heavens laugh. Despite everything he did to protect the Sky Mending Spring, he still failed in his duty. It took five whole years for the spring water of the Sky Mending Spring to turn into the two fishes and become edible. Now that it was gone, they would have to wait another five years for the Sky Mending Spring to replenish itself.

He could only imagine how wrathful the Chu Emperor would become when he heard of this. Although he had successfully conquered the Nanjiang Royal Court, the Chu Emperor was as unfathomable as he was emotional. Consort Yi was his favorite consort too. It was hard to say how he would react when he heard of this news; if he would choose to vent his anger on him and the Nanjiang Pacification Army.

As if that wasn’t enough, the number of officials who coveted the Nanjiang Pacification Army’s merits were a dime a dozen. They were absolutely going to kick the dog while it was down. He, the Martial Might Duke, and the Nanjiang Pacification Army would all be at a disadvantage if that happened.

Therefore, the first thought that appeared in Profound Spirit Taoist’s mind was this: Did someone in the court find out about the emperor’s secret message? Did they dispatch someone to steal the Sky Mending Spring on purpose to deal a blow to the Martial Might Duke and the Nanjiang Pacification Army?

The more Profound Spirit Taoist thought about it, the more he thought it was the truth. After all, the timing was just too coincidental. The men dispatched by the Chu Emperor to retrieve the Sky Mending Spring would be arriving in a couple hours at most, and now a thief had appeared out of nowhere and stolen it? That was too much of a coincidence, wasn’t it?

In fact, a bolder assumption was slowly but surely growing in the Profound Spirit Taoist’s mind. He was wondering if the thief who stole the Sky Mending Spring… was sent by the Chu Emperor himself.

Now that the Nanjiang Royal Court was annihilated, and Nanjiang would soon fall into Chu’s hands, the threat that threatened the southern borders of Chu was no more. Naturally, there was no longer any need for the Nanjiang Pacification Army. There was an ancient saying that went something like this: If there were no more birds in the sky, then it was only natural to put away one's bow no matter how good it was. If the cunning hares had all been hunted, then it was only natural to slaughter the hound no matter how useful it was.

It wasn’t impossible that the Emperor of Chu was plotting to retake control of his army of three hundred thousand. It wasn’t impossible that this was a show conducted by the Chu Emperor himself to suppress the Martial Might Duke and the Nanjiang Pacification Army’s reputation and pave the way to that future.

Of course, Profound Spirit Taoist snuffed out the thought as soon as it appeared in his mind.

He didn’t dare, and he couldn’t. To even think about it was a sin and a crime.

Besides, it was just a possibility. Although they had obtained the decisive victory, the war wasn’t over yet. He did not think that the Chu Emperor would choose now of all times to undermine the army’s morale—and use such cheap tactics no less—when there were far superior timing and methods.

Therefore, it was far more likely that this was the act of some bastard from the imperial court.

The temperature in Profound Spirit Taoist’s eyes cooled a little as he ordered in a cold voice, “Assemble all the troops and guard every entrance. The thief must not escape no matter what.”

Only by capturing the thief and prying the name of the mastermind out of his mouth could they defend themselves properly when the Chu Emperor came demanding for an answer.

One way or another, the thief must be caught.

“As you command.”

The assistant commander left after receiving his order.

“Hahaha… is that all you got, Crimson Flame God Demon?”

It was at this moment a loud laugh stole Profound Spirit Taoist’s attention. He turned just in time to see Ye Qing crushing a dark red spear with his bare fists.

The Crimson Flame God Demon he spoke of was of course the six-armed god demon he was fighting, a.k.a the left commander-in-chief of the Nanjiang Pacification Army.

The Nanjiang Pacification Army boasted an army of three hundred thousand. The Martial Might Duke Guo Ximian was their commander-in-chief, and he was supported by a left commander-in-chief and a right commander-in-chief. Each commander-in-chief commanded one hundred thousand troops.

The man Ye Qing was currently fighting was the left commander-in-chief of the Nanjiang Pacification Army, Chi Tian. He was a late-stage Trueman a.k.a a Great Trueman, and he practiced a cultivation art named the “Crimson Flame God Demon Scripture”. He could transform into a demon god of crimson flames with three faces and six arms, and it boasted the power to burn mountains and boil a sea. That was why people called him the “Crimson Flame God Demon”.

Before Ye Qing came to Nanjiang, he had taken the time to study every higher-up and noteworthy elite in the Nanjiang Pacification Army. Naturally, he recognized Chi Tian.

“You are courting death!”

Ye Qing’s taunt caused the six-armed god demon to fly into a greater rage. His head slowly spun, and the blue-faced fang ghost was replaced by the Crimson Flame God Demon.

The dark red flames of the six-armed god demon grew even darker. Now, it was dark as the night and perfectly flawless.

Unlike the fiery and explosive dark red flames from before, the black flames were cold, yin, and absolutely dangerous.

As the black flames spread, it felt as if it was slowly devouring every ray of light in the world. The sun and moon were nowhere to be found, and the stars were conspicuously missing.

“Oh no. Left commander-in-chief! We need him alive!” cried out Profound Spirit Taoist when he saw this.

The “Crimson Flame God Demon Scripture” Chi Tian practiced was split into three levels: crimson flame, dark flame, and black flame. When the practitioner had reached the level of crimson flame, their god demon form would gain a face and a pair of arms named the Crimson Flame God Demon. When they had reached the level of dark flame, their god demon form would gain another face and a pair of arms called the Dark Flame God Demon. Finally, when the practitioner had reached the level of black flame, they would gain a third face and pair of arms called the Nether Flame God Demon.

At this level, the practitioner was considered to have reached the adept level of the “Crimson Flame God Demon Scripture”.

Therefore, every time the Crimson Flame God Demon changed his face and his flame, he would become twice as strong as before. When he transformed into the Nether Flame God Demon, he was at his peak and could scorch hundreds and hundreds of kilometers of land into a lightless wasteland with his black flames.

It was clear that Chi Tian had lost his cool. He wanted the thief to die now.

However, the thief couldn’t die yet. Only by prying the name of the mastermind from the thief’s mouth could they give the Chu Emperor a proper explanation and save the Martial Might Duke and the Nanjiang Pacification Army.

Unfortunately, he was too late. Profound Spirit Taoist had just finished yelling when the Nether Flame God Demon thrust his spear forward. For a moment, black flames flickered, the sky was pitch black, and the world fell completely silent. It wasn’t until a few breaths later that a series of deafening explosions erupted at the same time.

The black flames slowly receded amidst the explosion. When they were completely gone, the space where Ye Qing existed a while ago had turned into a massive hole. All sorts of strange things were happening inside the hole, and it was as chaotic as it was lightless. It was as if the Nether Flame God Demon had literally punched a hole in this world and revealed the chaos beyond.

Ye Qing was nowhere to be found.

1. The old version of awarding someone a medal for their merits. ☜