Chapter 856: Chapter 514: The Female Chancellor Accompanying the Army
The wheels creaked over the uneven official road, the carriage swaying constantly, with the sound of horse hooves coming from beyond the thick, trembling curtains.
Zhao Douan slowly calmed the surging qi mechanism within himself, his eyes lowered as he pondered over the dark red armor, where a streak of bright red shimmered across its surface.
The day before leaving the Capital, the Red Flame Saint Armor was finally fully "recharged." Although it hadn’t been tested in real combat, comparing the armor’s color intensity when it was with Prince Heng and now with him, Zhao Douan judged that this Holy Relic from the Zoroastrianism six hundred years ago had been restored to its peak state.
"Just a single full recharge almost drained all the reserves. This thing needs to be used sparingly, only for life-saving purposes, otherwise, it must not be used."
"However, if this artifact is used in conjunction with the Mystic Turtle Seal, allowing the Water and Fire Two Gods to descend together, according to the answer given by Pei Niannu, some wondrous changes should occur."
Zhao Douan mused.
Yes, he successfully extracted information about the Holy Armor from Pei Niannu—not from the Golden Armor Pei Niannu in the Six Chapters Scripture.
But from the Silver Armor Pei Niannu in the Big Dream Scroll.
These past days, he occasionally practiced cultivation with the Big Dream Scroll, entering that era at the end of the Da Qi Dynasty, during the Heavenly Hunting years, by means of dreamwalking.
Following his encounter with Pei Niannu in the dream where she came to recruit disciples in the village and town, he had once again pushed the progress bar a significant ways forward during these days.
Unsurprisingly, he became Pei Niannu’s disciple in the dream and then followed her as they traversed the Martial World.
"The Pei Niannu in the dream was not yet the ’Number One Female Sorcerer in the Martial World,’ her cultivation level was only at the Worldly Realm, corresponding to the silver face armor, and the version of her in the Big Dream Scroll is somewhat similar to Xu in the Martial God Map, with an ’intelligence level’ far inferior to her counterpart in the Six Chapters Scripture... Moreover, the memories of the two Pei Niannu do not overlap.
Indeed, if I were to make an analogy, it’s like two servers of the same game account where the data isn’t shared... but the gameplay is similar. The content of the Big Dream Scroll, much like the Martial God Map, is a journey.
However, while the focus of the Martial God Map is on cultivation, with Xu leading me from the desert, across snowy plains, reaching the East Sea, cultivating both mind and martial arts along the way...
The Big Dream Scroll emphasizes experiences, although Pei Niannu did impart some magician cultivation knowledge to me, its level was quite shallow. She was more like a guide, leading me through different places, witnessing different lives...
Could this be the true meaning of the name ’Worldly Realm’?"
Zhao Douan sat cross-legged inside the carriage, lost in thought, trying his best to recall the contents of the dream. He found that the related memories quickly faded, only remembering that he followed Pei Niannu and encountered members of the Zoroastrianism in the Martial World.
As for what followed... he’ll have to wait for the next time he dreams.
"Step by step, haste makes waste. How many cultivators are there in the world? Yet there are only four Heavenly Humans, highlighting how difficult it is to break through."
Zhao Douan shook his head, setting aside cultivation, as the carriage slowed down, and from beyond the curtain came the voice of Lang Shiba: "My lord, it’s noon, shall we stop to eat?"
"Let’s stop."
Zhao Douan tidied up his lapel, hiding the Red Flame Saint Armor beneath his clothes—as long as he did not infuse it with qi mechanism, it would not "self-activate."
...
...
The carriage swiftly came to a steady stop.
Zhao Douan lifted the curtain, stepping out of the carriage onto the muddy ground with his boots.
A gentle breeze brushed against his face, carrying the earthy scent of mud and grass after the rain.
The scene before him quickly became clear.
On either side of the official road were desolate mountains and trees. It was late summer, and a glance into the distance revealed nothing but green, with sparse clouds scattered haphazardly across the sky.
Zhao Douan was amidst a convoy that wasn’t large, consisting only of two dusty carriages, one at the front occupied solely by Zhao Douan, while the one behind was somewhat special.
Additionally, there were over ten mounted guards accompanying them. This group dressed in an unremarkable manner, like attendants of a noble family, but upon closer inspection, their faces were familiar.
Leading them were over ten court tribute experts, with Inner Court Tributor Tang Jinzhong and Song Jinxi at the forefront.
The Northern Swordsman Lang Shiba and the socially anxious female mage Ji Yue from Eastern Sea Thousand Islands... all were part of the ranks.
Stashed within the bulging luggage beside the saddles were blades, military bows, and crossbows—all weapons for killing.
Because Eunuch Hai had other arrangements from the Empress, he didn’t accompany Zhao Douan on this southern journey, and the Jinyi guards from Lihua Hall were not suitable for such large-scale battles, so Zhao Douan left them in the Capital to protect the home.
Of course, the number of men Zhao Douan brought along was more than just this.
Behind Zhao Douan’s convoy, slowly following were the Divine Mechanism Camp and the Five Army Camp, two massive armies numbering in the tens of thousands. The soldiers’ formations stretched out for tens of miles behind, along with supplies and provisions.
However, Zhao Douan thought traveling within such a large army was indeed too conspicuous. The grand procession of tens of thousands moving in unison—what a spectacle it must be?
Compared to sitting in the camp, waiting for scouts to bring news from the outside, he preferred to take the initiative, gaining a real understanding of the situation at the front line.
"My lord, this way, please."
Song Jinxi, an expert court tribute known for assassination, smiled and carried a small stool over, placing it on a flat piece of ground. Little Song was a perceptive one.
"I’ll take people to gather firewood." The calm and cold Tang Jinzhong silently led people into the forest, searching for dry wood to set up a spot for cooking.
Lang Shiba, with his stubbly beard and closely resembling the Gale Sword Master, grabbed fodder to feed the horses, leaning against the side of the carriage as he pulled open the cork of a wine flask and drank quietly.
With wet black hair hanging loose, ghostly white pupils, and resembling a ghostly witch, Ji Yue dismounted and silently walked towards the corner, but was stopped by Zhao Douan, who was sitting casually on a chair: "Ji Yue, stay and disperse the moisture."
"...Okay." The deeply socially anxious Ji Yue floated back like a ghost, and plopped down on a half-horizontal fallen tree, hugging her knees with her hands.