parentshiftbook Chapter 119: Inside Red Maple City
Chapter 119: Inside Red Maple City
"Your Majesty, look there!"
On the city wall of Red Maple City, several figures stood on a high point.
Miao Zhan suddenly saw Zhang Ping flying towards him and called out to Miao Caixin in surprise.
Hearing the shouts, everyone looked up and saw figures gradually approaching.
Miao Caixin frowned slightly. "It seems to be a human martial artist."
"It must be the Holy Mountain sending people to support us!" someone behind us exclaimed excitedly.
In mid-air, Zhang Ping realized he had been discovered, so he lowered his altitude and hovered in front of the city wall.
"So young!" Everyone was taken aback when they saw Zhang Ping's face. Flying through the air—this was a martial artist at the Marrow Transformation Realm! There was definitely no such person on the Holy Mountain.
Zhang Ping's gaze swept across the crowd, and he took out a purple jade pendant.
"I am Zhang Ping, a warrior of the Great Wei Dynasty. I have come to find the King of Southern Frontier at the request of Miao Caiyan!" His gaze was fixed on Miao Caixin.
The other person's appearance was seven or eight parts similar to Miao Caiyan's, but she had a more regal air about her and was more beautiful.
Upon hearing Zhang Ping's words, Miao Caixin's eyes lit up, and she quickly spoke:
"Fellow Daoist Zhang, may I take a look at the jade pendant?"
Without saying a word, Zhang Ping tossed the jade pendant over.
Miao Caixin took the jade pendant, examined it carefully, and confirmed that it was the very one she had given to her younger sister when she got married.
I couldn't help but think of my younger sister, whom I hadn't seen for over a decade.
He sighed softly and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, please!"
He gestured for Zhang Ping to enter the city. Miao Zhan and the others behind him roughly understood Zhang Ping's purpose. They all knew Miao Caiyan before she got married, and now that a powerful figure had arrived in this crisis, it was truly good news.
Zhang Ping nodded, landed on the city wall, and followed the crowd into the city.
The leather boots sank into the muddy, scraggly road. The city seemed to have just experienced turmoil; many houses were damaged or collapsed. Traces of burning remained among the ruins.
Everywhere you look, there are refugees in tattered clothes, their bodies emitting a foul odor.
On the streets and alleys, respectful yet fearful gazes were cast upon them.
The man carrying the tattered bundle hurriedly avoided their path, pulling his wife and children aside with their heads down.
Looking at the surrounding scenery, Zhang Ping shook his head inwardly.
The group soon arrived at a well-preserved grand courtyard. There were few signs of damage on the outside.
Upon entering, the house was completely empty, with bare walls and nothing of value to be seen.
The soldiers, whether on guard in the open or in the shadows, all straightened up upon seeing Miao Caixin: "Your Majesty!"
"Yes, thank you for your hard work." Miao Caixin smiled faintly and nodded in response.
Upon entering a large hall, one finds about a dozen prayer cushions on the floor.
"Please sit down," Miao Caixin gestured, while simultaneously releasing a Gu worm the size of a fingernail from a small bottle at her waist. The Gu worm flew upwards, emitting a bright white light.
"May I ask what brings Fellow Daoist Zhang here?" After everyone sat down, she looked at Zhang Ping and asked.
Zhang Ping revealed that he needed the essence worm.
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the people around him became noticeably strange. Miao Zhan, in particular, widened his eyes and scanned Zhang Ping from head to toe, seemingly surprised that he needed this item.
They were all powerful figures from the Southern Frontier, and very familiar with Gu worms. Although the spirit Gu was ancient, it had left behind many legends in the history of the Southern Frontier. They knew perfectly well what it was used for.
Miao Caixin guessed that Zhang Ping wanted her to refine Gu, as this had happened before. But she didn't expect it to be a spirit Gu.
She paused, startled. "Fellow Daoist Zhang, are you sure you need the essence gu?"
Zhang Ping, unconcerned by the stares of the crowd, nodded and said, "That's right. I met the noble princess a few days ago and learned about the current method of refining the spirit gu. It was at her request that I come to bring you back, Fellow Daoist Miao."
Upon hearing this, a bitter smile appeared on Miao Caixin's beautiful face.
"Refining essence gu is already troublesome, and now I'm afraid I don't have enough time to help you refine it."
Zhang Ping frowned: "Fellow Daoist Miao, are you worried about the rebels? As long as you can help me refine the essence Gu, I can help you defeat the rebels."
"It's not entirely about the rebels," Miao Caixin shook her head.
"As Fellow Daoist Zhang has surely seen, the demons are instigating my people to kill each other behind the scenes, their schemes are far from small. If we don't resolve the crisis brought by the demons, even if we temporarily repel the rebels, they will come back again."
Miao Caixin was telling the truth; everyone present understood that the demon was the key. But who could defeat the demon?
Zhang Ping didn't respond this time. He felt he was capable of dealing with the rebels, and judging from the strength of Miao Caixin's group, the Marrow Transformation Realm martial artists in the rebels shouldn't be that strong.
But how to deal with demons? Forget it. He didn't think he had the ability.
Seeing Zhang Ping remain silent, Miao Cai sighed inwardly and said:
"Since it was entrusted by my sister... if Fellow Daoist Zhang can agree to one thing, I can help you refine the essence gu."
"What is it?" Zhang Ping asked, raising an eyebrow.
As long as it's not too dangerous or troublesome, obtaining the essence gu is still negotiable.
"This matter cannot be discussed now. But rest assured, fellow Daoist, I will not cause you any trouble." Miao Caixin shook her head, then said to the others:
"Go and make preparations. We will break out tonight as planned."
Red Maple City had already been emptied out, and there were few resources left. They had to retreat back to the royal city. This was a strategy that had been planned long ago.
Miao Zhan and the others acknowledged the order and got up to leave.
Zhang Ping noticed that as he was leaving, Miao Zhan, carrying a sledgehammer, quietly turned back to look at Miao Caixin, his eyes filled with admiration.
Only Zhang Ping and Miao Caixin remained in the lobby.
"Fellow Daoist Miao is a beauty of unparalleled grace, which has caused others much distress." Zhang Ping saw through the connection and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
Miao Caixin's expression remained unchanged as she calmly said, "Fellow Daoist Zhang is joking. Let's talk about the Spirit Gu."
"Fellow Daoist should know the origin of the Spirit Gu."
"I know," Zhang Ping nodded.
Miao Caixin continued, "Although rumors circulated that the royal family stopped refining essence gu after that crisis, in reality, some clansmen were injured while refining gu worms and needed to repair certain functions. Although the amount of essence gu refined was not large, it has never stopped."
With a sigh on her face, she said, "But hundreds of years ago, the Essence Yang Grass almost disappeared. Without the Essence Yang Root, the refining of Essence Gu became more and more difficult and unstable."
"In the end, the royal family basically abandoned the method of refining this Gu worm. Until later, a genius with a talent for Gu refining, a talent rarely seen in a thousand years, emerged within the clan!"
"This person has been lustful since childhood. He was injured in a fight, leaving an incurable damage to his lower limbs. In order to recover his body, this genius has spent decades of effort, and even... thought of using royal blood for experiments."
Zhang Ping hadn't expected these inside details. He had previously thought that the royal family had proactively improved the formula because they had lost their vital essence.
He continued, "Later, he developed a new refining method? Is this person still alive?"
Miao Caixin sighed: "Later, he did manage to develop a new method for refining spirit gu, but it also led him down a dark path, causing him to secretly slaughter countless members of his own clan."
"In the end, he was executed by the clan elders. Before he died, he said that the method of refining the essence worm was flawed, and he also revealed... another method of refining it."
"Another set?" Zhang Ping's brows furrowed and then relaxed, his expression changing.
He only cared about whether he could obtain the essence gu so that he could brand the Yin-Yang Divine Union Heavenly Capital Fate Crossing Beast Pattern, and had no interest in the royal family's old stories.
But now that this has happened, will the spirit gu still be able to be refined?
Miao Caixin took out a blue Gu worm from her waist.
She parted her red lips slightly and uttered a spell that Zhang Ping couldn't understand. Suddenly, the blue Gu worm emitted a soft white light, which condensed in the air and formed a page woven from black and white light.
"This..." Zhang Ping raised an eyebrow as he looked at this amazing scene.