Chapter One Hundred and Two: A Five-Year Agreement

At night, a full moon hung in the sky, illuminating the entire forest. Yuzi Xi was playing with a group of young White Jade Tiger Wolf Beasts. The Divine Bull knelt there, looking embarrassed. The Savage Stone Bear couldn't help but chuckle. The Divine Bull snapped, "Savage, what are you laughing at?"

"I'm not laughing. What's there to laugh about?" Seeing the Divine Bull's pitiful state, the Savage Stone Bear burst into hearty laughter.

"Alright, that's enough," Bloodbath Qilin said, and the Savage Stone Bear stopped laughing.

Six beast kings surrounded Yunchuxue, who stood in the center and asked, "Bloodbath Qilin, are these all the beast kings left under your command? How many other beast clans are there?"

"The combined numbers of these four beast kings' clans total in the hundreds of thousands, and including other smaller clans, it's under three hundred thousand."

"And how many are at the Divine Realm level or higher?"

"Besides the five of us, there are a dozen or so more."

As Yunchuxue spoke, she began to draw in the dirt. "The Demon Sect's army numbers over six million. Among the spirit masters, there are a million at the Spirit King level and above, and over a hundred at the Divine Realm level. When the time comes, I'll handle those at the Divine Realm and above. Your task is to assist the Spirit Master Palace in defeating the seven hundred thousand soldiers and spirit masters. They are stationed on the plains between Qingyun Pass and Sacred Star City. Let's call it the Qing Sacred Plain. To the west of the Qing Sacred Plain is a mountain range. On the left side of the range is the Western Cloud Empire, and on the right side is the Southern Yue Empire. Bloodbath Qilin, take the Savage Stone Bear clan, the Emperor Blood Devouring Spider clan, and some smaller clans, totaling two hundred thousand spirit beasts, and depart from the right side of the mountain range. You must travel along the range and stop at the northernmost part, waiting for orders. Meanwhile, the White Jade Tiger Wolf Beasts, Divine Bull, and Scorched Armor Scorpion, along with some smaller clans, will depart from the left side and stop at the southernmost part of Qingyun Pass, awaiting orders. Our signal will be the Moon Chant Dance I used earlier, the white beam of light. Upon seeing this signal, Bloodbath Qilin, you will attack the rear of their army and kill as many as you can. When you attack from the rear, they'll either flee west or north. If they flee west, the White Jade Tiger Wolf Beasts will attack and wipe them out."

"The south is taken care of, but what about the north?"

"The north will be handled by the Pixiu, leading all the northern forest clans. We'll form a pincer movement, then I'll lead the troops in a victorious pursuit."

"Alright, we'll do as you say. But preparing for this will take a long time. Can you give us more time?"

"How much time do you need?"

"Five years."

"Five years?" Yunchuxue calculated the time. "Alright, I'll try to delay them."

"Good."

Meanwhile, at the imperial army camp on the Qing Sacred Plain, two elderly men stood in the command tent. Below them were the former kings, generals, holy elders, chancellors, and sect masters and elders from various sects of the empire. There were also elders from the Demon Sect, all of whom were Divine Realm experts, numbering over a hundred.

The strength of the two elderly men was unfathomable; they were Water Elder and Fire Elder. Fire Elder addressed the crowd, "Our army now numbers six million, with a million spirit masters. Can anyone tell me when we should attack?"

The crowd remained silent; no one dared to speak.

Ru Kong stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Elder, Yunchuxue from the Spirit Master Palace is particularly difficult to deal with. Why don't we deal with her first and then launch our attack?"

"Yunchuxue?" Fire Elder looked puzzled, lost in thought. Water Elder said, "I've heard that young Yun Ziqi mentioned her. She is very strong and advised us to be careful."

Fire Elder whispered to Water Elder, "Have you heard this poem? 'Graceful steps within the Bureau of Yuxiang, first seen beneath the emerald gauze window. Snow bones and icy sinews fill the jade mat, smiling and singing despite the Southland crown.'"

"Isn't that from the top poet of the continent several thousand years ago?"

"I suspect Yunchuxue might be their reincarnation."

"Impossible. Even if they were reincarnated, they wouldn't wait thousands of years to reappear."

"How about we delay the attack for now and investigate further? If she really is that person's reincarnation, we might not be her match."

"This is a task given to us by the Young Lord. We should investigate first and then report back to him."

"Agreed."

After the two had finished discussing, Fire Elder instructed the assembly, "Delay the advance. Concentrate all our forces around Sacred Star City. Without our command, no one is to attack."

"Understood," everyone responded in unison.

Meanwhile, Yunchuxue had finished dealing with the spirit beasts and was on her way back. On the journey, Yuzi Xi curiously asked, "Mother, aren't you afraid those spirit beasts will turn against us? What if they side with the Demon Sect?"

"I'm well aware of that, but I've dealt with them for decades. I trust them," Yunchuxue replied.

A month later, Yunchuxue returned to the Spirit Master Palace. As soon as the mother and daughter stepped into Snow Garden, they heard Yu Xun calling them.

"Auntie, the Chief wants you to wait for him in Snow Garden when you return. He'll be here shortly."

"Alright."

Entering the garden, Yunchuxue noticed that the Spirit Master Corps, which used to be stationed there, was gone. Yuzi Xi, feeling tired, went to rest, while Yunchuxue waited inside.

After a while, Yu Shi walked in, looking displeased.

"Yu Shi, you're here," Yunchuxue greeted him with a smile.

Yu Shi sat down, his face stern, and questioned angrily, "Xue'er, why did you take Xi Xi with you? Weren't you afraid she might get hurt?"

"I can protect her."

"Have you forgotten how formidable Yun Ziqi is? If he shows up, Xi Xi will be in danger, and you might not escape either."

Yu Shi's tone was anxious, full of concern for both mother and daughter.

"Don't worry, Yun Ziqi won't appear."

"How can you be so sure?"

"… I just feel he won't."

Yunchuxue was clearly feeling guilty.

Yu Shi noticed this. "Xue'er, are you hiding something from me?"

"… No."

"Then tell me, what did you do this time?"

"I went to find the Spirit God Bloodbath Qilin and asked it to join forces with the spirit beasts to resist the Demon Sect."

Yunchuxue told the truth.

"Why didn't you discuss this with me? Do you see me as so incompetent?"

Yu Shi felt hurt and unwilling to accept this.

"… No, I just thought I could handle it alone," Yunchuxue hurriedly explained.

Yu Shi chuckled softly and shook his head. "I'm really disappointed."

He stood up and walked out, his voice tinged with sadness as he softly asked, "Why didn't you discuss this with me?"

Yunchuxue wanted to make amends but found herself at a loss for words.

After Yu Shi left, Yunchuxue slowly sat down, her heart filled with a complex mix of emotions.