Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 302 - 299: Wang Xiaoyuan’s Indifference to Fame and Fortune

Chapter 302: Chapter 299: Wang Xiaoyuan’s Indifference to Fame and Fortune

The layered fortress stood majestically like a mountain, connecting with the white clouds above and dominating the vast desert below at "White Cloud Pass."

A middle-aged man wearing simple cloth attire, his temples touched by frost, appeared quite ordinary. He was sitting cross-legged on a tiger skin chair, with an unremarkable goose feather saber resting on his knees.

Though his body didn’t look particularly robust, within it echoed the sound of wind and thunder, reminiscent of crane calls, raging torrents, and startling thunderclaps.

With each breath he took, the airflow in the entire tent surged, turning into a howling gale.

It was as if not a mere human, but a primordial beast of a size comparable to mountains, was perched there.

Suddenly.

Hurried footsteps sounded from outside the door. A deputy general, his face covered in dust, rushed into the tent and saluted with a fist clasped in hand, urgently addressing the middle-aged man:

"Report—!

Marshal Xie, urgent military intelligence!

Since last night, the Wulan Tribe has suddenly attacked our Yunmeng Mountain Pass, the Wuhuan Tribe has attacked our Piantou Pass, the Bayegu Ancient Clan has attacked our Xiaxi Town, the Tuwa Tribe has attacked Yansui Town, the Jiegu Tribe has attacked Kaiping Town...

All garrison lines in the Desert South are on alert!

Marshal Xie, the Naiman tribes have gone utterly mad, it’s only spring!"

"Oh?"

Xie Tianke slowly opened his eyes, his gaze as profound as the high heavens, and a bright flash of lightning suddenly illuminated the tent.

Yet his tone remained calm and measured.

"While it’s true that sects are usually filled with madmen, this level of insanity is indeed rare.

The Naiman tribes suffered losses last winter even worse than ours; could it be that they are prepared to drain their very last bit of primordial qi by taking action at this time?"

During the thousands of years of standoff between north and south, nomadic tribes, under normal circumstances, would typically head south to raid in the autumn.

Because then they were at their strongest, with well-fed mounts, and the Central Plains just happened to have reaped the harvest, perfect for raiding food and women.

And then they would procreate during the winter.

On the other hand, Great Yan usually counters during spring.

Because in the spring, most of the Naiman women and livestock enter their gestation period, and the long winter has depleted their stored food supply.

The cattle and sheep, having fed on dry grass all winter long, have lost all their fat and become nothing but skin and bones.

They desperately need to recuperate and resupply; it is when they are least willing to fight and genuinely least able to afford a war.

Yet, this bizarre situation had somehow arisen.

Of course.

Having dealt with them for so many years, Xie Tianke and his commanding officers all understood one thing very well.

If the supreme rulers of the Naiman were human, they would certainly not make such grave mistakes for the survival of their race.

Unfortunately, the sole purpose of the Naiman People’s existence was to serve the sect and devote their lives and afterlives to the Great "Cang God."

Therefore, whenever there was an anomaly, it was a sign of deceit!

Connecting this to the disturbances on the steppe a few days ago, Xie Tianke’s thoughts stirred, and he quickly asked the deputy general:

"Who is leading the rear guard?"

"It’s ’Tent Master Bai!’ It approaches alone and is less than a hundred miles from White Cloud Pass. Should any issue arise, it can be here in an instant! Meanwhile, ’Earth Mother’ is nowhere to be seen."

Though the land of Desert North was bitterly cold, it was vast beyond measure, far greater in size than Red County Shenzhou to the south.

In possession of such a region, the number of cultivators from the "Heaven Righteous Dharma Dao" naturally far exceeded those sects mixed within the Great Yan Realm.

Even among all the mortal world forces of the "Heavenly Officials," they were among the top.

There were a full two "Green Seal Strange Immortals."

Besides "Earth Mother" Aoxin, another rose to prominence in recent decades as the mini ice age worsened: "Tent Master Bai."

Also known as the "God of Frost," its true form is a white wolf that grew out of the collective fear of snow disasters. Its powers are "Frost" and "Wind Snow."

If it fully unleashes its "Power · Returning Wind Dancing Snow," it could drag thousands of miles of land into an intense winter where even a drop of water turns to ice.

Unfortunately, this god could only bring calamity and not relieve it.

Otherwise, the Naiman tribes would not have such a miserable winter.

It was because of this "Green Seal God" keeping watch that the "Earth Mother" dared to brazenly conduct rituals without fearing surprise attacks.

If Xie Tianke dared leave White Cloud Pass to slay demons on the steppe, "Tent Master Bai" could immediately lead its tribes to breach the northern border defenses and march straight into the heart of Great Yan.

Speaking of this "Tent Master Bai" holding the line, the deputy general couldn’t help but express resentment:

"These barbarians, whose faith is governed by the sect, are simply impossible to eradicate.

Thousands of years ago, we extinguished the ’Huhanxie,’ then the ’Ashina’ appeared; we wiped out the ’Ashina,’ and the ’Hala Qidan’ emerged.

Upon the fall of the ’Hala Qidan,’ the ’Meng’an Moke’ surfaced; after exterminating the ’Meng’an Moke,’ now we face the ’Naiman Five Tribes’...

Even if the Central Plains stand unyielding, we still have no choice but to live alongside these inhuman things. When will it ever end?"

Upon hearing this, even Xie Tianke fell silent.

Unlike in the Great Yan Realm where one could fell mountains and destroy temples, finding their lair and battling at their doorstep, the steppe does not have permanent fixtures like gold tents or fortifications. To the demons, the lives of the Naiman People are also worthless.

Even the greatest Martial Saint would be unable to keep a dedicated "Green Seal God" who wished to flee.

Unless supported by another of their own "Green Seal Sages."

Being able to reliably hold the northern border without loss was already the limit for this renowned "Martial Saint."

Soon, he looked toward the north with a trace of concern:

"I wonder how Yanji is doing, whether she has discovered what ’Heaven Righteous Dharma Dao’ is up to in the depths of Desert North.

Compared to ’Tent Master Bai,’ which is clearly only raiding the border as a distraction for others, ’Earth Mother’ might well be their real trump card!"

Suddenly, as if he perceived something, his previously worrying expression eased.

The next moment.

"I have found out, it’s the plague!"

A petite figure rode the raging wind from the sky, landing swiftly and striding into the Marshal’s tent. She fist-palmed saluted Xie Tianke, saying,

"Father Marshal, the reason why Heaven Righteous Dharma Dao is planning an attack in spring

is that the previous winter froze countless people and livestock to death in the north.

Now that the temperatures are rising, the unhandled corpses of people and animals will become a breeding ground for fine worms, naturally leading to a major outbreak of the plague!

They are taking advantage of this time to conduct the Blood Sacrifice Ritual, fanning the flames, preparing to take down White Cloud Pass in one fell swoop!"

Upon hearing this, Xie Tianke, the deputy general, and the several trusted generals who followed Xie Yanji into the tent, all changed in their countenance drastically.

"The plague?!"

"Are they for real? They don’t want to live anymore?"

"They have gone mad! If the Flame People can contract the plague, can Naiman People remain unaffected? They’re all lunatics!"

The plague, intangible and elusive, an army of thousands can be resisted, but this plague is unavoidable.

For a moment, everyone in the tent looked extremely grim.

Not to mention whether there was still time to venture deep into the Desert North to stop the opposing side’s blood sacrifice, to leave the town without Xie Tianke at the helm would most likely play right into their hands.

In the past, reinforcements could be requested from the Court, with five Martial Saints conveniently at disposal, along with helpers, but now the Court...

Sigh!

Just as everyone was at a loss and unable to find a solution,

Xie Yanji continued to speak:

"Fortunately, while I was gathering intelligence, I was rescued by Elder Princess Yunhe and her ’entourage’.

It is said that King Jing discovered something amiss on the grasslands and sent them on a special mission to investigate.

After parting ways with us, they continued deeper into the Desert North, planning to infiltrate the Spring Festival ceremony to gather more information."

The several generals in the tent nodded in agreement:

"Indeed, King Jing truly has the bearing of a wise ruler.

It is said that, just like our General Xie, he was promoted to the fourth realm, Military Leader, before reaching the right age, with hopes of advancing into Martial Saint.

Far surpassing that puppet on the Dragon Chair.

Seeing this, he is even more clearly a generous and benevolent heart. If anyone is qualified to pacify the chaos in the Court and stabilize Qiankun, it is none other than King Jing!"

"Indeed, indeed, this good intention alone is precious."

"..."

Knowing that Xie Tianke harbored no ambitions for power, everyone readily agreed, their opinion of Zhou Jinghuan growing more favorable.

Military men are generally straightforward and decisive, distinct from the roundabout ways of civil servants.

The diligent promotion of Zhou Jinghuan by Huang Wu at that moment was already bearing fruit.

As for "Little Entourage" Old Master Wang, who knew well the virtue of keeping a low profile to grow rich, he didn’t care at all about these insignias of fame.

After all, the path he chose didn’t require him to deliberately win over hearts. He was happy to let his Big Cousin, who needed to compete in the mortal world, take the spotlight.

After all, your sister is my sister, your mother is my mother, your aunt is my aunt, and your realm in the future... will also be mine... Hahaha.

Following the information relayed by Xie Yanji, the crowd finally lifted their spirits completely.

"On my way back, I received another letter from Princess Yunhe.

The letter said that they have learned that ’Heaven Righteous Dharma Dao’ plans to create a rat plague. The ritual began last night and will continue for a full seven days.

More importantly, they have found a way and are currently working on disrupting the ritual, so we need not worry too much.

They also instructed me that on the final day, they will create an opportunity to deal a heavy blow to ’Earth Mother Black Sky’.

How well we reap the rewards then will all depend on you, Father Marshal."

At this, the tent erupted into excitement.

A group of generals spoke at once:

"General Xie, is it true? Does ’Earth Mother Black Sky’ have seven days during the ritual where they cannot move?

What realm of Daoist Skill is Princess Yunhe, to have such capability to disrupt the abilities of a ’Dharma Image’ realm?"

"If this endeavor succeeds, King Jing and Princess Yunhe will become the great benefactors who saved millions of lives in the North Border!

I, Old Gao, will be the first to pledge allegiance to King Jing!"

However, Xie Tianke, with eyes suddenly brightening, quickly realized with his century-old cunning what others had overlooked.

"A way to heavily damage ’Earth Mother Black Sky’? The Elder Princess? No, it must be the entourage of the Princess!"

Taking the letter handed by his daughter, Xie Tianke’s eyes instantly fixed on a symbol in the lower-right corner.

His pupils shrank immediately.

Nine Soldiers! Star Lord Taibai!

As one of Great Yan’s top few individuals, how could he not recognize ’Nine Soldiers’?

"Star Lord Taibai governing heaven, signifies the world’s transformation, the people changing the king!

This is no ordinary divine position, the entire Dou Department would struggle to mention a few on par.

The incarnation of ’Star Lord Taibai’ comes to the mortal world, yet he remains unassuming, serving merely as an attendant to the princess.

This clearly is a high-spirited individual detached from fame and dedicated solely to the people. Fortunate are the Border Army, fortunate are the citizens, and I, Xie Tianke, am fortunate indeed!"

With these thoughts, he bowed distantly in the direction of the North Sea.

"I shall not fail the trust of the Star Lord!"