The Quest for Immortality - Chapter 1151 (Patreon)

Chapter 1151: The March

Over the next few days, with Yang Jiyong at his side, Mo Hua familiarized himself with Dao Soldier combat procedures and several standard arrays used when marching and fighting.

Relying on the Yang clan’s connections, Yang Jiyong even secured for Mo Hua a personal set of Dao Soldier gear and a Dao Soldier Token.

On the back of the token, a line of tiny characters was engraved: Li Province, Great Black Mountain prefectural border, Mo Hua.

This was a Dao Soldier Token made exclusively for Mo Hua.

From this moment on, his name and registered place of origin were formally entered into the Dao Soldiers Bureau. He was now a Dao Soldier under the Dao Court.

It was yet another identity for Mo Hua.

A rogue cultivator of Immortal-Passage City, an auxiliary cultivator sworn to a Dao Court office, the Great Void Sect’s little senior brother, the foremost array expert of the Qianxue prefectural border, a second-grade array master of Tianshu Pavilion, the Great Void Sect’s Crown Prince, Mr. Zhuang’s junior disciple, the Eerie Daoist’s little martial nephew…

He did have rather a lot of identities, but out in the world one lived by working every angle. The more the better.

More identities meant more avenues.

Preparations for suppressing the Great Wilderness rebellion continued in full swing.

Within the camp, Dao Soldiers were frequently redeployed. Beneath the bustle lurked the heavy, electric tension that precedes a storm.

Mo Hua wasn’t nervous about marching to war. What worried him was the big tiger.

He didn’t know how the big fellow was faring in the underground beast-fighting arena during his absence—whether it was being bullied or tormented again.

He wanted to rescue it, but his hands were tied for now. There was no way to make a move.

All he could do was watch for an opening and seize it.

After much consideration and calculation, he estimated that his chance would come when the Dao Court’s army set out— when the Dao Court’s forces marched to the Great Wilderness to put down the rebel barbarians.

As a sect directly subordinate to the Dao Court, the Great Wilderness Sect would also dispatch large numbers of cultivators to accompany the campaign.

That would thin the garrison in Desert City. With fewer experts to lean on, Young Master Tuoba of the beast-fighting arena would be less secure.

If he struck then—smash the arena, free the big tiger—the odds of success would be much higher.

After rescuing the big tiger, he would slip back into the army camp, march south with the Yang clan’s Dao Soldiers to pacify the rebellion, and find opportunities to earn military merits and secure a respectable status.

Most importantly, he would try to borrow the Dao Court’s power to break into the royal court of the Great Wilderness.

From the Dao lineage guarded by that royal court, he would seek clues left by the Great Witch-Priest, thereby comprehending the Twelve Meridian Glutton Spirit Remains Absolute Array, forging it into his lifebound array, and attempting Core Formation.

By Mo Hua’s prior reckoning, the Great Wilderness royal inheritance and the Absolute Array left by the Great Witch-Priest had to be top secrets of the Great Wilderness.

They would be sealed within the Great Wilderness royal court and even the imperial forbidden grounds.

And the rebel forces of the Great Wilderness were extremely strong.

Without the Dao Soldiers Bureau’s aid, Mo Hua alone could never infiltrate the royal court’s forbidden grounds to steal those inheritances.

Only by borrowing the Dao Court’s “blade,” defeating the royal court of the Great Wilderness, could he fish in troubled waters.

Of course, before that, if he could find a chance to eat some evil spirits and nourish his divine sense, that would be best.

For now, this was the most workable plan.

The one problem was that he couldn’t take the big tiger with him. Even if he got it out, he would have to let it go.

The big tiger was a man-eating demonic beast, a ferociously fierce tiger demon, and moreover a symbol of the Great Wilderness royal clan. The Dao Soldiers Bureau would never tolerate it.

They would certainly imprison or even kill the big tiger.

If he marched with such a royal beast from the Great Wilderness in tow, it would draw attention, suspicion, and doubt.

So the big tiger would have to be released.

Once he rescued it, that would also be the day he parted from it.

By now, there was no other way.

Still, the Great Wilderness was vast and sparsely populated, well suited to demonic beasts. The big tiger should be able to live on its own.

“Let’s hope…”

Mo Hua sighed lightly at the thought.

…

Everything proceeded according to plan.

The Dao Soldiers would depart soon. Before that, there was a banquet.

The Great Wilderness Sect’s Ascension-stage sect master held a marching banquet to honor the Dao Soldiers Bureau’s commanders of all ranks.

This banquet was not for ordinary Dao Soldiers.

Yang Jishan and Yang Jiyong were mid- and lower-ranking commanders and members of the Yang clan; of course they were invited.

Mo Hua wasn’t qualified.

Though a second-grade array master, he had no family or faction at his back and had yet to render a single merit. He would have to fight a battle or two and produce some achievements before being promoted.

Combat results were what mattered.

This also prevented great clans from stuffing the rolls of the Dao Soldiers Bureau with their own people—drawing pay without fighting, rotting away the Directorate’s strength.

An “array master” like Mo Hua would be promoted quickly so long as he showed up on the battlefield.

If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be much different from an ordinary Dao Soldier.

Thus, with no post and no rank, Mo Hua originally had no right to attend the marching banquet.

But his status was special. As a guest of the Yang clan, Yang Jishan specifically had him serve as a “retainer.”

Only then did Mo Hua qualify to tag along to the Great Wilderness Sect’s station in the city and enjoy the banquet.

In the plaza within Desert City, vast in expanse, sheep and oxen were slaughtered. Wine flowed and meat was roasted; the fragrance of meat and the fumes of wine billowed upward.

Ordinary Dao Soldiers received meat and wine as well, though not as fine as their commanders’.

Following behind Yang Jishan and Yang Jiyong, Mo Hua ate to his heart’s content.

As he ate and drank, he glanced around.

This was one of the Great Wilderness Sect’s outposts inside Desert City.

The Great Wilderness Sect was a dao-sect directly subordinate to the Dao Court, charged with administering the Great Wilderness. That meant its structure differed from sects within the Nine Provinces.

The sect’s main mountain gate lay in the very center of the Great Wilderness, within a minor fifth-grade prefectural border.

Besides that, in cities all across the Great Wilderness—large immortal cities or sizable barbarian settlements—the Great Wilderness Sect typically maintained outposts. Its influence was immense and its jurisdiction vast.

One could even say the Great Wilderness Sect was a “miniature Dao Court” installed in the Great Wilderness.

It was simply a “downsized” version with a lower grade.

Among these outposts, fourth-grade Desert City—second only to the main sect mountain gate—was its largest stronghold outside the headquarters, with broad grounds and imposing grandeur.

The banquet’s specifications were likewise extremely grand.

Those present were all of high status.

At the head table sat several Ascension-stage experts.

The one in a half-gold beast-pattern dao-robe was the Great Wilderness Sect’s Ascension-stage sect master.

Beside him sat a plain-faced, unassuming grand elder—also Ascension.

The others seated as equals with them yet faintly more imposing in presence were Ascension-stage grand commanders from the Dao Court assigned to this suppression campaign.

The Yang clan’s Ascension grand commander was among them.

With Return to the Void experts staying out of the world’s affairs, Ascension true persons were the pinnacle combat power that walked among mortals.

These few were not ordinary Ascension cultivators either—some were domineering sect masters and high-ranking grand elders.

Others were grand commanders of the Dao Soldiers Bureau, commanding tens of thousands of Dao Soldiers and suppressing entire regions.

Just sitting together, they exuded a majesty that made it hard for people to look straight at them.

Mo Hua, however, was fine. He was used to “big scenes.”

At the Great Void Sect, the one who taught him arrays was Mr. Xun, a Return to the Void expert; the one who taught him swordplay was none other than Ancestor Dugu, a peak among Return to the Void powerhouses.

In the blood-sacrifice grand array, the ones he crossed paths with were all heavyweights: Mr. Tu, Shangguan Wang, and Ascension-stage old devils from Yin Corpse Valley and Demon Sword Gate.

So despite the grandeur before him, Mo Hua didn’t lose his composure. He ate and drank as he pleased, calm and unruffled.

Watching from the side, Yang Jishan nodded to himself.

For small matters, the youth neither boasted nor panicked; facing great scenes, he was neither servile nor arrogant.

Such breadth of mind was indeed uncommon—a talent worth cultivating.

“Yet… one so young and outstanding—if I’d truly met him before, shared any dealings, I should remember. There’s no way I’d forget…”

Yang Jishan furrowed his brows, sinking back into thought.

Mo Hua ignored all that, taking bite after bite, focused only on filling his stomach.

Even as he ate, he worried for the big tiger.

Was it getting enough to eat in that arena? Was it going hungry?

As he was brooding, a sudden stir of voices rose. Mo Hua looked over and saw a group approaching from the other side.

At their head was a youth in a gold, beast-patterned battle cuirass—tall, martial in bearing, noble aura pressing.

Mo Hua’s gaze sank.

“Young Master Tuoba…”

It was the same Young Master Tuoba from the beast-fighting arena.

Escorted by a crowd, he ascended the platform and bowed with respect to the Great Wilderness Sect’s sect master, the grand elder, and the Dao Court’s grand commanders.

The sect master nodded, then said something to the commanders.

They were far away and a soundproofing technique was in place. Mo Hua couldn’t hear clearly, but he guessed the sect master was introducing his son—this Young Master Tuoba—to the grand commanders from the Dao Soldiers Bureau.

Young Master Tuoba, deferential and tall and imposing, was indeed handsome and impressive.

The Ascension grand commanders praised him.

Afterward, the sect master gave his son a few instructions.

Young Master Tuoba replied, “Yes,” retreated from the dais, and began toasting the mid- and lower-level Dao Soldier commanders one by one—warm in tone, impeccable in manners, gentle and refined, nothing like the arrogant bully who treated human life like grass in the beast-fighting arena.

After a circuit of toasts, he naturally arrived where Mo Hua stood.

With a smile, Young Master Tuoba said the usual formalities—“Thank you, commanders, for your hard work,” “Let us join hands to quell the Great Wilderness rebellion,” “United in purpose, the realm will know peace”—then raised his cup and drank with the gathered officers.

Seeing that the sect master’s son was not only gifted and presentable but also so affable, Yang Jishan and Yang Jiyong looked on with some appreciation and downed their cups.

Blending in with the crowd, Mo Hua also emptied his cup in silence.

He was but a minor “retainer,” and naturally kept a very low profile.

Young Master Tuoba, for his part, treated him “equally”—or rather, didn’t register him at all.

His gaze merely swept past Mo Hua and moved on, ready to toast the next table.

But then he suddenly paused, turned back despite himself, and stared at Mo Hua again. The longer he looked, the more his brows drew together.

Yang Jishan noticed and found it odd. “Young Master Tuoba?”

The youth started, came back to himself, and cupped his hands. “Commander Yang.”

“Is there something else you wished to say?” Yang Jishan asked.

Young Master Tuoba’s eyes flickered. He looked at Mo Hua. “This little brother looks unfamiliar. He is…?”

Mo Hua answered only with a mild, courteous smile and said nothing.

Yang Jishan cherished talent and was happy to introduce Mo Hua before Young Master Tuoba. He said,

“This young brother’s surname is Mo, given name Hua. He’s a remarkably gifted array master…”

“An array master?” Young Master Tuoba froze. Had he mistaken him? He asked again, “Surname Mo… He’s not of the Yang clan?”

“He isn’t,” Yang Jishan said. “But he is a friend of our clan and has close ties with our juniors.”

A friend of the Yang clan…

Young Master Tuoba’s gaze cooled slightly. He smiled and asked, “When did this Brother Mo arrive in Desert City?”

“He…” Yang Jishan faltered, weighed his words, then smiled. “Not long ago. He came at my invitation.”

Young Master Tuoba nodded, gave Mo Hua a long look, and praised, “No wonder Commander Yang favors this youth. He is indeed handsome and extraordinary in bearing.”

Mo Hua cupped his hands. “Young Master Tuoba flatters me.”

The youth inclined his head, raised his cup, and said with an even, cool expression, “Brother Mo, shall we share a drink?”

Mo Hua’s eyes gleamed. He nodded. “An honor.”

The two drank.

Young Master Tuoba said no more. His polite, composed smile returned as he moved on to toast the other commanders.

Savoring the taste of the wine, Mo Hua wondered, “Did that mop-headed gongzi recognize me?”

“Or is he just as confused inside and unsure who I am?”

Whether he had or not, it didn’t matter to Mo Hua.

He was merely a pampered scion at the peak of Foundation Establishment.

In pure talent and strength, this Young Master Tuoba fell far short of Shen Linshu’s four top bloodline prodigies in Qianxue.

Even compared to the first tier of the Four Great Sects—Shen Zangfeng, Ao Zhan, Xiao Ruohan—he was lacking.

Mo Hua refrained from acting only for the Great Wilderness Sect’s sake.

Were it not for the sect at his back—and the fact he was the sect master’s son—Mo Hua had a hundred ways to toy with him.

“The Great Wilderness Sect…”

Mo Hua lifted his eyes to the dais, gaze deepening.

Both the sect master and grand elder were Ascension-stage.

Within the Qianxue prefectural border, that was the configuration of a fifth-grade grand sect.

This meant that, constrained by the limits of the prefectural border and with no Return to the Void experts intervening, the Great Wilderness Sect’s hard power had already reached a fifth-grade level.

It was simply that the sect was located out in the Great Wilderness, a remote place with a sensitive mandate—easily touching the Dao Court’s taboos—so they kept a low profile.

Mo Hua’s eyes shifted to the grand elder beside the sect master. Suddenly, his heart gave a faint tremor. A strange sense of familiarity rose within him.

This grand elder was low-key and taciturn. He had hardly spoken a word.

Yet Mo Hua couldn’t shake the feeling that something about the man’s aura was a little familiar.

He was certain this was his first time seeing the grand elder of the Great Wilderness Sect.

A complete stranger.

“Then why… do I feel even a trace of familiarity?”

Mo Hua frowned slightly.

Just then, as if sensing a gaze, the grand elder on the dais turned and looked in Mo Hua’s direction.

Startled, Mo Hua immediately ducked his head and gnawed on a pork knuckle, feigning rapt attention on his food.

The grand elder’s eyes swept the crowd. Sensing nothing amiss, he withdrew his gaze and resumed his deep, silent demeanor.

Chewing on the knuckle, Mo Hua felt a subtle breath of relief leave him.

…

After the banquet, Mo Hua returned to the camp to continue packing and to study the Dao Soldiers’ marching regulations and tactics.

The plan to pacify the rebellion steadily took shape.

Five days later, all preparations were complete.

The war to suppress the Great Wilderness rebellion officially began.

The Dao Court’s main force set out from Desert City and marched into the heart of the Great Wilderness.

They would wipe out all resistance along the way, storm the Great Wilderness royal court, behead the rebel lords, pacify the southern wilderness, and restore the Dao Court’s prestige.

Mo Hua was now an ordinary Dao Soldier among them.

Wearing the Dao Soldiers’ light robe, he left Desert City with the Yang clan’s troops and advanced into the Great Wilderness.

On the first day, they marched roughly three hundred li.

Because it was the initial departure, coordination between units slowed the pace; the first day’s march wasn’t fast.

And because Yang Jishan’s battalion had already clashed with the barbarians and many were still wounded, they brought up the rear.

At night they temporarily made camp.

Estimating time and distance, Mo Hua felt the moment had come. He sought out Yang Jiyong and said, “Brother Yang, bad news—I forgot something.”

Some things had to be said openly; one couldn’t skulk about forever.

“What is it?” Yang Jiyong asked, puzzled.

“My parents gave me a protective jade pendant before I left home,” Mo Hua said. “I left it back in Desert City. May I go fetch it?”

Yang Jiyong eyed him. “You’re… not planning to desert, are you?”

Mo Hua blinked, a little speechless.

He had expected the seasoned Yang Jiyong to be suspicious at the mention of a sudden trip back to Desert City.

He simply hadn’t expected him to suspect desertion.

“The battle hasn’t even started,” Mo Hua said flatly. “We haven’t seen a single barbarian shadow. What would I be deserting for…”

Yang Jiyong thought for a moment and nodded. True enough.

If someone were going to run, it would be when battle was joined—when the enemy’s ferocity put one’s life on the line—that a man thought of deserting.

When the army has just set out, ranks neat and momentum high—why would anyone desert?

Back in Immortal-Passage City, faced with a grand demon, this ten-something array master hadn’t chosen to run either.

Now he was marching with the Dao Court’s army to quell a rebellion—why would he?

“You really did leave something in Desert City?” Yang Jiyong asked.

Mo Hua nodded.

He had indeed “left” his big tiger in Desert City.

Seeing Mo Hua’s clear eyes, Yang Jiyong believed him. Still, after thinking it over, he hesitated. “This is… not quite by the rules.”

“I’ll be back quickly,” Mo Hua said. “Two, three hours at most. If I leave now, I’ll be back before dawn.”

“The army is camped here. It won’t move. If I push my movement technique, I’ll catch up for sure.”

Yang Jiyong weighed it another moment. It didn’t seem like a big problem.

It wasn’t by the book, true.

But rules were made for ordinary folk.

Mo Hua was a scarce array master; as long as he didn’t run and continued to serve the Directorate, most things could be accommodated.

Besides, the army had just started out and hadn’t gone far. It wouldn’t slow the campaign. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a major matter.

“Couldn’t you wait until the war’s over and fetch it then?” Yang Jiyong asked gently.

Mo Hua’s eyes dimmed. “Blades have no eyes. I’m afraid the war won’t be over before I’m gone. At least the thing my parents gave me—I want it with me…”

Yang Jiyong’s heart gave a jolt. He had no rebuttal.

He’d served in the Dao Soldiers Bureau long enough to know the cruelty of war better than anyone.

No matter how lofty your status or how dazzling your talent, a single axe stroke could end you.

Many times, losing your head happened in an instant. There wasn’t even time to react.

The Dao Soldiers’ battlefield was a meat grinder tempered by iron and fire.

Merit and glory were real.

So were life and death in a heartbeat.

“All right. Go early, come back early,” Yang Jiyong said. “If anything comes up, I’ll cover for you.”

“Thanks, Brother Yang,” Mo Hua smiled.

Without further delay, he left camp openly, then slipped into concealment and vanished into the night.

The temporary warning arrays around the camp couldn’t stop him.

Some of them, in fact, were ones he himself had set.

Once outside, Mo Hua shed his Dao Soldier garb for a black robe, then unleashed Flowing Water Step at full speed, fleeing toward Desert City.

He had to reach the city as quickly as possible.

Then, while the Great Wilderness Sect’s main force was in the field and Desert City’s garrison was thin—while Young Master Tuoba lacked backing—he would destroy the beast-fighting arena, free the big tiger, and find a safe place to release it.

After that, he would return to camp and act as though nothing had happened.

That way, even if the Great Wilderness Sect tracked things back to him afterward, he would have an alibi.

And the sect would not dare lay hands on a formal Dao Soldier and array master sheltered by the Yang clan and the Dao Soldiers Bureau.

The premise was that he acted in secret—and fast.

He had to finish everything before dawn.

Mo Hua’s gaze hardened as he sped toward Desert City. In the darkness, only ripples of waterlight merged with the night were left behind him…

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