Volume Two: Weapon Directory Chapter 154: A Hero Wields the Precious Saber

Huang Yu was a seasoned veteran who had witnessed countless grand spectacles; the siege of mere puppets hardly caught his attention. Planting his dragon-patterned heaven-breaking spear firmly into the ground, he vaulted from his saddle, using the shaft like a pole to launch himself straight toward Zhuge Zeng.

"Within this sea of blood, I am the master. Old fellow, obediently turn into fertilizer!" Zhuge Zeng smiled. Every battle he encountered allowed his blood puppets to grow stronger. If he could further assist the Great Desolation army in breaching the gates, he would be one step closer to achieving his goal.

At this thought, the sea of blood surged violently, releasing a pungent, bloody stench that caused the soldiers watching from both sides to frown and cover their noses, finding it unbearable to behold. Regardless of whether they hailed from the Southern Desolation or the Great Desolation, both sides found such heretical paths difficult to accept.

The dragon-patterned spear was no magical artifact; it was simply made of superior materials. Though he wielded it so swiftly that it formed a barrier of wind, it was stained by the blood and rapidly corroded, snapping the shaft and turning it to flying ash.

Yet the armor Huang Yu wore remained completely undamaged, growing even brighter instead. Qi Yan watched closely, and after a moment of contemplation, she recognized the origin of the armor: "The Gray Vine Armor, ranked two hundred thirty-eighth on the Weapon Codex. Qi Guan, go up there and use fire to break his spiritual weapon, and incidentally bring the sealing artifact back."

The Qi family possessed no shortage of Spirit Controllers, so they naturally had a sharp perception of spiritual weapons. The Gray Vine Armor was immune to all poisons, and ordinary blades could hardly leave a mark upon it. It feared only fire, because the material used to craft it was a species of gray vine whose fundamental nature could not be altered no matter how it was forged.

Qi Guan drew the fire gourd from his back, cradled it in both hands, opened the stopper, and unleashed rolling billows of flame directly at the sea of blood. This provoked Zhuge Zeng, who was still channeling spells within it, into a furious tirade: "You little brat out there! Are you out of your mind?! My sea of blood is afraid of fire too!"

"The young clan master said his Gray Vine Armor fears fire, so I am here to help you! Hurry up and dismiss the sea of blood!" Qi Guan’s fire gourd contained several rare fire seeds, which could continuously use magical power to generate flames against the enemy.

Zhuge Zeng felt deeply resentful. Just as a dozen powerful blood puppets were about to display their might, a junior had stolen the limelight. Yet he still had to maintain his pride, so he had no choice but to disperse the sea of blood, revealing Huang Yu's figure once more.

They failed to notice that a small detachment had quietly slipped out from within the pass, creeping stealthily toward the flagpole where Xun Sanman was hung.

Seeing the sudden burst of flame, Huang Yu knew a Spirit Controller had intervened, so he leaped backward out of the battle circle, intending to return to his main formation.

"Old thief, don't run! Leave the Gray Vine Armor behind!" Qi Guan was young and knew nothing of advancing or retreating; blinded by the desire for quick success to seal the spiritual weapon and win glory, he failed to anticipate Huang Yu pulling out a treasured bow from his back. Drawing the bow and nocking an arrow in one fluid motion, Huang Yu loosed an arrow that struck Qi Guan squarely in the waist. The young Spirit Controller let out a miserable wail and collapsed to the ground, dead.

Huang Yu drew his side sword, stepped forward to shatter the fire gourd, retrieved the fire seeds from within, and tucked them into his bosom. "Now this is good stuff. Are there any other formidable figures in the Qi family? Come up all at once, and this old man will take you all on!"

"Qi Yan, your family shouldn't meddle here. Honestly guard the prisoners—someone is launching a sneak attack!" Just as Zhuge Zeng turned his head to speak, he caught sight of a short figure appearing beneath the flagpole, using a long halberd to knock Xun Sanman down.

Only then did the surrounding soldiers notice the extra person in their midst. Gao Yingkui's stature was truly inconspicuous, and the men following him were all short of stature as well, having approached without kicking up even a speck of dust.

Xun Sanman lifted his eyelids listlessly, and upon seeing that the Blue Feather Army had come to his rescue, he wept bitterly and said, "Inspector Gao, I have failed the Southern Desolation. Why do you still save me?"

"Save you? I am saving the dignity of the Southern Desolation! If the lives of twenty thousand soldiers cannot even buy you back, then our coming here was all for nothing! Let's go!"

Qi Yan could no longer sit still. She urged her mechanism beast to charge toward the spot, threads of magical power dancing across the sky as murderous intent welled up in her heart. "All troops, listen up! Launch a full-scale assault on Han Pass!"

She understood the logic that drums beat hardest on the first roll, grow weaker on the second, and fade on the third. Having let the old general seize the initiative, if they failed to act now, the exhilarating momentum of their recent victory would dissipate. Once the enemy entrenched themselves behind towering city walls to defend to the death, the Great Desolation army would lose its opportunity once again.

War drums thundered and banners fluttered. Hearing the command, Qi Zhonghai and Qi Zhongshan hurriedly reorganized their troops, swinging their golden sabers forward as battle cries erupted from all sides. Scaling ladders and battering rams were pushed forward from the rear guard. The defenders atop the Han Pass ramparts poured ash pots and heavy stones downward, smashing the scaling ladders and causing countless casualties among the assaulting soldiers.

Deprived of his spear, Huang Yu relied solely on his bow and arrow to blast several blood puppets to pieces, causing Zhuge Zeng to bare his teeth and grimace in pain. Every single blood puppet had been meticulously cultivated by him at the cost of vast amounts of materials, only to be blown apart by Huang Yu's arrows.

He had never seen the Weapon Codex; both the treasured bow and the arrows were renowned spiritual weapons listed in the Codex, or else he would not have been so arrogant as to dally with Huang Yu.

The old general had practiced martial arts since childhood, inheriting a total of five spiritual weapons from his family. Ranked one hundred third in the Weapon Codex was the Soul-Annihilating Arrow Quiver, and ranked one hundred fourth was the磐石 Bow (Boulder Bow). Though originally two unrelated spiritual weapons, they were wielded simultaneously by him. When the true power of the spiritual weapons was unleashed, Zhuge Zeng was utterly helpless against them bare-handed.

Watching his blood puppets destroyed one by one, Zhuge Zeng could wait no longer. Transforming his body into a plume of red smoke, he attempted to flee outside the battlefield. He was a petty villain who would turn tail and run the moment things looked unfavorable, caring nothing for the victory or defeat of the war.

Seeing this, Huang Yu drew a distinctly unique arrow from the quiver, pulled the bowstring to its limit, and aimed at the red smoke. A long trail of black vapor streamed from the back of the arrow, carrying an inexpressible stench as it struck the red smoke dead on.

The arrow shattered to form a vortex, actually sucking the entire plume of red smoke within. The remaining blood puppets, still in the midst of channeling their arts, froze in place, utterly devoid of life.

Puppets only grew like this when they lost their master. A young man hiding in an obscure corner tossed a small wooden puppet from his side toward the blood puppets behind Huang Yu.

The wooden puppet stumbled forward, quietly arriving at the feet of the blood puppet. With a single leap, it landed upon the blood puppet's back. In less than three breaths of time, the lifeless blood puppet moved once more, though its direction deviated from Huang Yu as it bolted into the distance.

Huang Yu narrowed his eyes and drew his bow once again. Another arrow flew forth, but it was blocked by ghostly energy surging from the ground, which neutralized the annihilating aura carried by the arrow and failed to destroy the puppet.

Someone else was still here! Huang Yu strode toward the place where the youth was hiding. The ground beneath his feet grew increasingly frigid until, by the time he reached a mountain boulder, his entire surroundings were encased in thick ice.

"That shouldn't be. Your Gray Vine Armor shouldn't be able to defend against ghostly energy," the youth muttered, revealing his figure from behind the boulder. Pressing his palm against the head of the blood puppet, he chanted an incantation and stowed the blood puppet away into his pouch.

If Liu Xiaoyi were here, he would recognize this old acquaintance: Duan Ming, the remnant of Songfu Mountain from the Battle of White Jade Capital, who commanded ghostly soldiers and generals. Ever since he narrowly escaped with his life in the capital, he had quietly pursued the carriage of the traveling Liu Xiaoyi all the way to the Great Desolation.

When Duan Ming clashed with the Shangguan family, he had hidden not far away, holding his breath as he watched the Shangguan family slaughtered. The soul-summoning banner he had refined was now packed to the brim with the resentful souls of those unfortunate members of the Shangguan family.

His inherited soul-driving arts were likewise a branch of the Divine Mechanism Hall. He had originally planned to use this journey to inquire about news of other fellow disciples, only to encounter the border warfare.

Wherever living beings perished, ghostly energy was inevitable. Duan Ming lay excitedly among the piles of corpses, the smile on his face appearing somewhat frantic. In such an environment, his cultivation speed was astronomical, and the quality of the ghostly soldiers he condensed reached heights far surpassing those in the capital.

Thus, he had dared to fight Huang Yu, unaware that Huang Yu possessed a multitude of spiritual weapons that specialized in subduing ghostly energy and evil spirits.

"Who are you? How dare you pluck chestnuts from the fire? Are you an accomplice of the Great Desolation?" Huang Yu asked, aiming his arrow straight at Duan Ming's head.

With his hands behind his back, Duan Ming retrieved his soul-summoning banner. Rapidly channeling his magical power, he replied unhurriedly, "I am Duan Ming of Songfu Mountain. Though I have some entanglements with the Qi family, I am a genuine man of Central Province."

Hearing that he came from Central Province, Huang Yu relaxed his vigilance slightly, and his taut bowstring loosened by a fraction.

A prime opportunity! Duan Ming had sharp eyes. Seizing the moment the other lowered his guard, he hurriedly waved his soul-summoning banner, and dozens of vengeful ghosts flew out from the white banner, baring their fangs and claws as they assaulted Huang Yu.

It was already too late to draw an arrow; the distance between them was too close. In an instant, the ghosts closed in upon him. Huang Yu discarded the Boulder Bow, golden light erupted from between his brows, and he unleashed yet another spiritual weapon never seen before.

Ranked one hundred fiftieth on the Weapon Codex was the Spirit-Slaying Precious Saber, a combat blade roughly the length of a forearm. Its smith had been on friendly terms with Huang Yu's ancestors, and ever since the blade was forged, it had never been displayed before the eyes of the world.

From this perspective, Huang Yu was the true master of manifold treasures. The members of the Qi family watched clearly from not far away—just how many spiritual weapons did this old general possess?

Unawares, he had already topped the Qi family's assassination hit list. If they could take him down, their progress in collecting the entries of the Weapon Codex would accelerate tremendously.

The Spirit-Slaying Precious Saber circled Huang Yu once, slashing apart all the lunging ghosts in an instant. It seemed somewhat unsatisfied and did not return to Huang Yu's hand, instead cutting straight toward Duan Ming.

Duan Ming sensed the fatal threat and was so terrified that he directly crushed the soul-summoning banner, releasing all the ghosts contained within in an attempt to cover his own escape.

The soul-summoning banner had been refined for too short a time; once freed from restraint, the souls followed their mortal instincts and flew toward Liu Xiaoyi instead of intercepting Huang Yu.

The Spirit-Slaying Precious Saber swept across Duan Ming's neck without meeting any resistance. As it claimed his life, the golden light flashed with crackling sounds, thoroughly purifying all the ghostly soldiers and generals stored within his Qiankun pouch.

First killing Zhuge Zeng, then slaying Duan Ming—both men perished at Huang Yu's hands, boosting the morale of the Han Pass defenders to soaring heights. War drums thundered atop the city walls, and a denser barrage of arrows shot down the Great Desolation soldiers attempting to rush the ramparts, smashing most of the raised scaling ladders to splinters.

The might of the old general was peerless for a time! Panting heavily, Huang Yu led his troops to charge toward Xun Sanman's location, while the Spirit-Slaying Precious Saber flew ahead toward Liu Xiaoyi.

The resentful souls of the Shangguan family had harbored only one obsession before death: to take the life of Liu Xiaoyi. How could they let slip such an opportunity for revenge? The moment they broke free from the restraints of the soul-summoning banner, they converged upon him instantly.

Liu Xiaoyi knew nothing of soul arts and had no idea how to defend against them. Before he could display his skills, these vengeful ghosts invaded his sea of consciousness, and his body froze instantly in place, unable to move a single inch!