Chapter 308: Chapter 61: Only Save the World, Not the Suffering (First Update)
Qingzhou City, Heavenly Origin Divine General Mansion.
Inside the mansion’s council hall, the ladies from various households gathered, all except for Shuihua Courtyard.
These ladies had in their hands the connections their husbands had previously established. If their husbands had joined the military, then the original camps they commanded, though now under Li Tian Gang’s leadership, still maintained their own networks and influence.
Now, a message from Liangzhou had arrived, delivered over thousands of miles through a secret technique.
This was the Eight Directions Order that was only used when a state was deeply embroiled in a blood battle and desperate situation. It could reach its destination across thousands of miles, surpassing the normal speed of military reports and letters, crafted by the Heavenly Observatory and containing a special array.
Whenever the Eight Directions Order appeared, it meant that the lives of many were suffering, and it also meant that the offspring of godly generals would fall!
“Elder sister, did it come from Tiangang? What exactly is the situation in Liangzhou?”
Of the many ladies there, Gao Qingqing was the most anxious at the moment, with tears welling up in her eyes, almost crying out in her urgency.
Twenty years ago, an Eight Directions Order was also issued from Heavenly Gate Pass. That time, it was the Li Family’s third son who had fallen, and the Heavenly Gate Pass was nearly lost, making it no surprise that she was in such a state of anxiety now.
She worried that her own husband would suffer the same fate as those before him.
“Could it be news from Cangzhou?”
Wang Xiangru furrowed her brows. Currently, Li Fenghua was in charge of defending Cangzhou, but ever since Li Junye cleared all demons from outside of Cangzhou over a decade ago, there hadn’t been any major incidents there.
However, with demon attacks, one could never tell. Sometimes they came suddenly, without any prior intelligence.
He Jianlan’s expression was solemn. After reading the message carried by the order flag, she turned to Li Muxiu next to her and said,
“Uncle, Tiangang says that Liangzhou is trapped in a dire situation, with beings from the Great Void Realm intruding into the world. Longmen and the Holy Palace have teamed up and committed to the battle, vowing to engulf Liangzhou.”
Hearing her words, Li Muxiu’s eyelid twitched.
He immediately realized that the emergence into the world of the Great Void Realm, which had been reclusive for a thousand years, was an extremely bad sign.
It seemed like some kind of omen.
Upon hearing this, Wang Xiangru immediately relaxed a little, her expression calming down.
However, Gao Qingqing’s face turned deathly pale in an instant. Li Xuanli was in Liangzhou, serving as the supreme commander of the military, at the forefront of the conflict. If Liangzhou was in danger, he couldn’t run away; even if it meant death, he would die there!
As a son of the Li Family, as a descendant of a divine general, how could he possibly abandon the billions of people in a great state and flee like a deserter?
This was the tribulation etched in the bloodline of the Li Family!
Childhood friends turned lovers never contemplated such things. It was only after marrying into the Li Family that she truly understood the heartache and desolation of the Li Family’s sons.
Gao Qingqing sat on a chair, barely able to keep her balance, trembling violently.
Seeing her like this, the other ladies remained silent.
There were times when they had felt the same way.
At this moment, they all thought of their own fallen husbands, their eyes filled with sorrow.
“Are they not afraid to die, to have the real ones come and trample them down?” Lady Lou Wanqing questioned with doubt.
“I will set off to Liangzhou at once,” Li Muxiu said.
He Jianlan shook her head and immediately replied, “Tiangang’s command came only to inform us of this matter, not to call for reinforcements, especially asking you, uncle, to absolutely stay in Qingzhou and not go.”
“Why is that?” Gao Qingqing exclaimed in shock.
Li Muxiu was startled and suddenly thought of something, his expression changing subtly.
“Tiangang said that he fears the demons dare to attack in such large numbers without guarding against my second uncle, it is very likely that besides Liangzhou, there might be a demon king of the Great Void Realm outside Qingzhou, or even their sect master!”
He Jianlan said gravely, “Once second uncle leaves, they might immediately invade Qingzhou, and their target will be directly our Divine General Mansion.”
Li Muxiu’s face turned somber, as he had already realized this point.
The fifth alone might not be able to hold them back, even though the Divine General Mansion has its arrays, and so does Qingzhou, it would take some time to breach them.
But if he went to Liangzhou, traveling at full speed, it would take two days to get there and back.
After all, he would need to conserve some strength to join the battle upon reaching Liangzhou. He couldn’t possibly travel at his utmost limit speed for instant relocation.
“How did this…”
Gao Qingqing’s face was devoid of color; she had thought it was a plea for assistance, but instead, it turned out that Li Tiangang was asking her second uncle not to send reinforcements.
“What about Liangzhou then? Are we just going to watch it perish, wait for death?” she couldn’t help but say.
He Jianlan knew her feelings and that consolations were useless at this moment. He simply said calmly:
“Qingqing, don’t panic just yet. Tiangang has passed the order to the other Divine General Mansions, and that real person from Gan Tao Palace must have received it too, as would Mount Wuliang most likely. Under the command of the Eight Directions Order, even if there were some differences in the past, they ought to send reinforcements!”
“If they can spare one or two of the older generation to take action, Liangzhou might still hold steady.”
Upon hearing these words, Gao Qingqing’s trembling and constricted heart stabilized slightly, but her body still felt ice cold.
“I will send a message to my second sister and fourth sister to see if they have a chance to go and reinforce.”
Li Muxiu said after a moment of silence.
Those two were married women, halfway out of the Divine General Mansion, with their own husbands and powers.
As direct descendants of the Divine General Mansion, they had no weak lineage; although not in the Four Stands Realm, they were both at the peak of the Three Immortals.
In such a dire situation, it was somewhat embarrassing to trouble them to risk their lives, but given the dangerous circumstances, he had no choice.
“Can we write to that Fifth Grandmother?” asked Gao Qingqing suddenly, coming up with the idea.
That Fifth Grandmother was from the older generation, whom even Li Muxiu had to call aunt.
She had long since retired to live the life of a commoner.
In her earlier years, she was a famous female general who had slain countless demons, much like the current Li Hongzhuang.
Li Muxiu fell silent for a moment before saying, “I’ll try.”
Having said that, he stood up and left.
He Jianlan sighed softly without saying a word.
“I will write to my father,” said Lady Ninth Jiang Xian’er.
She was only betrothed to Li Junye, and after his death in battle, she voluntarily married into the Divine General Mansion holding his armor. Over the years, she had devoted herself to handling all sorts of affairs within the mansion.
He Jianlan looked at her gently and said, “We are too far from Dayu State, and sending a letter now would be too late. If that real person has received the Eight Directions Order, let’s see what he decides.”
“We must still try. Though reinforcement is late, if they can arrive, they might make a difference,” Jiang Xian’er said earnestly.
Hearing this, He Jianlan did not try to stop her anymore.
…
…
Mount Wuliang, Brahma Pure Land World.
Deep within the mountain peaks of the Spirit Mountain, Lin Wujing arrived at this pure land carrying a Zijin-colored Eight Directions Order flag.
The Zijin light tore through the sky and illuminated the Brahma Pure Land, seen by countless people.
“Infinite Buddha Lord, it is an Eight Directions Order flag from Liangzhou, urgently requesting aid!”
Lin Wujing first paid his respects to the Buddha Lord before speaking in an unhurried manner.
Sitting on a lotus platform, the Infinite Buddha Lord had a gentle and compassionate demeanor. He gently moved his fingers, and golden mysterious patterns seemed to flicker in his eyes. After a moment, he said:
“I am aware of Liangzhou’s catastrophe; it also signifies that the karmic fire, suppressed by our Dayu Divine Dynasty for three thousand years, is finally about to burst forth.”
“Infinite Buddha Lord, what do you mean?”
“Slaughter, murder, indulgence, lust… greed, anger, delusion, all are turbid in this golden era. As time turns, karma cycles, this catastrophe cannot be avoided.”
The Infinite Buddha Lord said slowly: “Behind the demon scourge of Liangzhou, there stands a great calamity; one must not act rashly.”
Lin Wujing’s expression changed slightly, realizing something.
The Infinite Buddha Lord turned to another Bodhisattva seated next to the lotus platform and said softly, “Miao Shan, take the order flag and go pacify the demons in Liangzhou.”
“Yes, Infinite Buddha Lord,” the Bodhisattva responded, her demeanor calm and tranquil as she bowed her head.
“Remember, a Bodhisattva is compassionate, rescuing the world, not the suffering.”
“The sea of suffering is boundless, all due to one’s own sins; only the true Buddha can ferry one across.”
The Infinite Buddha Lord said softly.
The Bodhisattva instantly understood his intention and nodded.
To rescue the world is to spread goodness; to rescue the suffering is to step into the sea of suffering oneself, pushing and assisting the boat.
The words of the Buddha, one must reflect and understand.
…
…
Zijin light streaked across the sky above Liangzhou, too fast for even those in the Four Stands Realm to intercept.
This was the light of the Eight Directions Order flag; by the time you saw the Zijin light flash overhead, the actual flag had long passed thousands of miles away.
At this moment, in the eastern part of Liangzhou.
With the combined force of Mrs. Yin and many Demon Kings, that concentrated power erupted, and the impregnable array finally shattered!
The moment the array broke, the fifty-thousand soldiers of Yuan Camp were struck down unconscious. Some of the soldiers with lower Cultivation Levels perished on the spot, their heads buzzing as their Divine Souls floated out from their bodies.
Li Tian Gang’s pupils constricted as he watched the shattered golden light of the array, the collapse of countless divine patterns, and at that moment, the entire eastern defense of the region was truly lost!
The countless demons of the demon tide saw the shattered golden light and let out bloodthirsty, excited roars, rushing forward in a frenzy.
The pressure on the defensive line surged drastically. Countless arrows and attacks sank into the demon horde like stones into the ocean, instantly engulfed.
As the entire defense line bore tremendous pressure, in front of Li Tian Gang, including Mrs. Yin and other Great Void Realm Demon Kings, as well as the vine demon elder and those two Dragon Gate Demon Kings, a total of ten Demon Kings had their gazes uniformly fixed on Li Tian Gang.
“Li Tian Gang!!”
Mrs. Yin’s eyes were fierce and chilling, her face cracked open, revealing a trace of her true form. Near the edge of her cheekbones, a greenish eyeball opened.
“Die!!”
She suddenly raised her hand, and a gust of claw-shaped wind whistled past, swelling in the wind to become hundreds of feet large, as if to tear the entire city wall apart!
Li Tian Gang’s complexion changed dramatically. The medicinal pill he had taken earlier had already released much of its power. He swung his sword in fury, but the blade’s light was covered by the claw. With a bang, he was violently thrown backward, slamming into the ground and creating a deep crater.
The violent impact, even fortified by his armor and his Indestructible Treasure Body, still caused him to spit out a large mouthful of blood.
“Marshal!”
Yu Xuan and Li Fu, along with other deputy generals, saw this and cried out anxiously, rushing over.
“Don’t rush; you’re all going to die!”
At this time, the vine demon elder and other Demon Kings also floated into the fray, stepping into the airspace of Liangzhou in the eastern region!
Yu Xuan looked up; ten Demon Kings hovered in the air like ten fierce suns shaking the world. At this moment, no one could help feeling despair.
But he had followed Li Tian Gang into battle for many years, and although only in the Heavenly Human Realm, he too was a battle-hardened soldier.
“Marshal, we probably can’t hold this position!”
Yu Xuan stood up and roared, “Marshal, you must retreat first, let us buy you some time.”
As he spoke, he suddenly erupted with violent Qi Force, going so far as to rupture all the major meridians in his body, wildly releasing his Qi Force.
At the same time, his Divine Soul ignited, and his whole being, as if torn by divine light, burst forth with a heaven-piercing aura.
Li Tian Gang, who had always been steady and calm, finally showed a change of expression at this moment.
“Marshal, get out of here!”
Nearby, many members of the Fazi Camp’s trusted aides rushed over, forming an array in front of Li Tian Gang.
Meanwhile, Yu Xuan had already burst forth with all his strength, like a proud sun charging towards the ten Demon Kings, intending to block them!
“Mere ants!”
The vine demon elder merely glanced at him and sneered. With a flick of his hand, he lashed out a vine whip hundreds of feet thick. With a loud sound, the proud sun that roared and charged was extinguished on the spot.
It was like swatting a firefly with no effort.
How can a mere firefly compete with the bright moon?
“Yu Xuan!!”
Li Tian Gang watched, his eyes almost bursting, and his divine sword burst into blazing divine flames.
“Marshal!”
Li Fu also stood in front of him, urgently saying, “We cannot hold here any longer; it’s alright for us to die, but you cannot!”
“Stay calm, Marshal!”
The other two deputy generals also urged quickly.
In the midst of their words, they too stepped forward, knowing their Cultivation Levels were weak and they could hardly block the onslaught, but as soldiers, how could they retreat?