267: Gou Dezhu is the pioneer

After Kong Er left, Qianqiu looked around and was about to appoint more.

Gou Dezhu, in the crowd, noticed Qianqiu’s gaze, subtly retreated, and shielded the other Disciples.

“I’m just here to gain some Luck; don’t look for me when it comes to fighting.”

“With my current displayed Cultivation of Early Stage Foundation Establishment, they shouldn’t find me, right?”

But the more he worried about something, the more it came true.

“Gou Dezhu.”

Listening to Qianqiu’s calm voice, Gou Dezhu sighed softly.

“Well, I still couldn’t avoid it.”

Helplessly, he stepped forward.

“You lead twenty Inner Sect Disciples, take five thousand elite soldiers, and you must block the Yan Country army outside Chang River.”

Gou Dezhu heard this, a troubled expression appeared on his face, and he cupped his hands, saying:

“Martial Aunt, my strength is low, only at Early Stage Foundation Establishment, I’m afraid I’m not up to the task.”

Everyone looked at Gou Dezhu, who usually had a very low sense of presence.

“Hmm, Early Stage Foundation Establishment, that’s true.”

Qianqiu looked puzzled: “Early Stage Foundation Establishment? I heard Revered Master say you were…”

Before Qianqiu could finish speaking, Gou Dezhu’s expression changed slightly.

He knew that he could hide from others, but not from Gu Liangyuan.

Seeing Qianqiu about to reveal his true strength, he immediately became a little anxious.

How could one travel the Jianghu without hiding some of their Realm?

If his true strength were exposed, it would make him feel very insecure.

So, while Qianqiu was still speaking, he quickly interrupted loudly:

“Dezhu is willing to go!”

Qianqiu smiled brightly: “Senior Brother (male) won’t be troubled, will he?”

Gou Dezhu shook his head repeatedly: “Not troubled, not troubled at all.”

“Good, then you may go.”

Gou Dezhu cupped his fists again, accepted the order, and left.

Qianqiu continued to deploy troops: “Fifth Junior Brother, you lead ten Disciples and five thousand elite soldiers to defend Liu Country.”

“Fourth Junior Brother, you lead a hundred Core Formation Disciples, fifty thousand elite soldiers, and two warships to guard Sword Gorge Pass.”

“Once Wenren Country makes a move, don’t wait for them to attack; lead your troops east out of Sword Gorge Pass and fight all the way east.”

“If they don’t make a move, hold your position; we’ll deal with Yan and Liu Countries first.”

“Yes!”

Jun Ao Zhi and Oriental Heng received their orders and went to act accordingly.

The elite soldiers Qianqiu spoke of were precisely the soldiers who Cultivated the Mortal Method.

These one hundred thousand soldiers were originally battle-hardened troops who had followed Qianqiu in recapturing the Great Abyss.

And under the countless treasures accumulated by the Mortal Method and Supreme Jade Pool Holy Land, all of them reached the Peak of Qi Refining.

Calling them elite soldiers is not an exaggeration!

Qi Refining Peak fighting Mortals is a complete crush (crushing) existence.

It’s just that Qi Refining Peak seems to be a hurdle; going further up is extremely difficult.

Out of Great Abyss’s five million people, regardless of age or gender, everyone Cultivated the Mortal Method, but in the nearly two years that passed, fewer than a thousand were able to achieve Foundation Establishment through the Five Qi Facing the Origin.

Of course, as time increases, more and more people will Break through.

But it also clearly shows that while the Mortal Method is easy to get started with, achieving success in Cultivation requires a certain level of talent.

As Qianqiu’s commands were issued one after another, the entire Great Abyss was set in motion.

The common people within the Great Abyss saw the coming and going of soldiers and knew that war was about to begin.

But instead of being afraid, they were subtly excited; some even formed groups of three or five and went directly to enlist.

With Song Xianer’s ability to summon wind and rain, coupled with the assistance of other Disciples, Qianqiu’s governance of the Great Abyss for these two years resulted in abundant harvests.

Although most of the Great Abyss common people who practiced the Mortal Method were only at the Early Stage of Qi Refining, not as skilled as the army’s elite soldiers.

Compared to the common people of other countries, however, they were all strong and robust.

Without the pressure of survival, and with their physical strength nowhere to be expended, there were often fights and troubles every few days.

Now, hearing about war, their strong physiques gave them unprecedented confidence, and with the thought of venting on the battlefield and gaining military merits, they joined the army.

Qianqiu accepted them all without refusal.

In previous Fu Long Courts, everyone had an unwritten rule: soldier against soldier, general against general.

After all, those Sect Disciples were there for Luck, not for killing Karma.

It was fine for Cultivators to kill a few Mortals, but if they killed too many, Karma would entangle them, which was detrimental to Cultivation.

Of course, a powerful Sect could use its Sect Luck to offset this Karma.

Or, for those with immense Luck, Karma would find it difficult to approach them.

However, using Luck to offset Karma was an extremely unprofitable deal, and few people were willing to do so.

Therefore, strong military power was essential, whether for the Fu Long Court or for preparing for a future Dynasty.

…

By the Chang River.

Gou Dezhu, with ten Core Formation Cultivators and five thousand elite soldiers, was stationed upstream of the Chang River.

Not far diagonally opposite them, the Yan Country soldiers were setting up camp.

Looking at the dozen or so Luo Xue Sect Disciples across the river, some Disciples felt a little eager to fight:

“A tiny Luo Xue Sect, where the highest Cultivation in the Sect is only Soul Transformation, dares to defy our Forget-Love Peak? They’ve really gone too far!”

As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately gained the approval of the other Disciples.

These twenty people were all Inner Sect Disciples of Forget-Love Peak.

Before joining Forget-Love Peak, most of them were the spoiled children of various families.

It’s hard to change one’s nature.

Although their Heart-Nature had improved a lot during these few years at Forget-Love Peak, the inherent profligate air in their bones had not been eradicated.

Another person flipped his hand and took out a gleaming golden brick.

On the golden brick, a character for ‘De’ (Virtue) was faintly engraved.

This Virtue character brick was made by the Disciples in imitation of Gu Liangyuan’s Virtue character brick.

“The Peak Lord said that we should subdue our enemies with Virtue.”

“Damn it, Senior Brother (male) Gou, let the soldiers guard here, let’s go and fight them!”

Gou Dezhu looked at the eager few, his face darkening.

They seemed to be asking for his opinion, but it was more like they were issuing a command.

If he hadn’t been specifically assigned by Qianqiu and would be held responsible if something went wrong, he really wouldn’t want to bother with these profligates.

Seeing them getting more and more out of line, even wanting to cross the river directly, Gou Dezhu knew that he wouldn’t be able to do anything without showing some real skill.

So he snorted coldly: “Enough!”

As these two words were uttered, an invisible sound wave instantly spread out from Gou Dezhu as its center.

These Inner Sect Disciples, hit by the sound wave, felt their Divine Souls tremble and their heads ache intensely.

However, this feeling came and went quickly.

Only then did those Disciples turn their heads and begin to seriously look at this Senior Brother (male) who had no presence at Forget-Love Peak.

“He’s at Early Stage Foundation Establishment, right?”

Gou Dezhu was already annoyed at being forcibly sent to the front lines, and these Disciples’ lack of cooperation made him even more frustrated.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Gou Dezhu flipped his hand and took out an embroidered pouch.

The pouch was semi-transparent, and a faint black mist could be seen swirling within it.

Moreover, an ‘Ai’ (Love) character was faintly embroidered on the pouch:

“The Peak Lord also said that our Forget-Love Peak Disciples should not only subdue people with Virtue but also enlighten them with Love.”

“My Soul Devouring Water specializes in dissolving Divine Souls. How about, I, your Senior Brother (male), enlighten you all?”

Looking at the embroidered pouch in Gou Dezhu’s hand, everyone couldn’t help but recall the days at Forget-Love Peak when Jun Ao Zhi subdued people with Virtue.

They all collectively shrank their heads and immediately fell silent.

Seeing everyone quiet down, Gou Dezhu put away the embroidered pouch and slowly began to speak: