Chapter 86: The Battle of Kao Mountain Town

This was bound to be a chaotic night.

Fang Cao held her four-year-old son in her arms. Although endless fear still filled her heart, she no longer trembled. This little person seemed to give her infinite strength.

Now, the whole family hid in the cellar. The men had all been gathered to first receive Divine Arts at the Temple, then go to the city walls to prepare for battle.

They did not know who the enemy was, and they did not know if they would survive. But nobody wanted to return to the days of the past.

Hurried footsteps sounded, and then a head holding an oil lamp poked into the cellar. Fang Cao breathed a sigh of relief; it was her husband, Zhang Gong.

But she immediately cried out anxiously:

“Why are you back? Father made you acting leader. So many people need leading. What if you mess up the big plan!”

“I… I was worried about you. Stay hidden, don’t come out. If… I mean if… try not to fight back.” Zhang Gong’s voice was low. The light of the oil lamp shone on his face, making him look like a scared little chick.

In the distance, people were clamoring. Someone was shouting Zhang San’s name. Many people in this area had originally gathered around Zhang San. Now, with the Divine Decree issued and war coming, how could it be that Zhang San was missing?

“Go back to your post! Calm the people down! Go get the Divine Arts first, then take them to the walls! Three people make a team, three teams make a squad! How did Father teach you? Go now!”

Fang Cao was frantic. But Zhang Gong trembled, wanting to cry, his body limp as mud. He was afraid. He was afraid that this current Kaoshan Patriarch couldn’t protect them. He was actually quite clever; he had guessed what was happening. The previous deity had returned.

What should they do?

The Zhang family had become the chief villains, right? The chief villains would be punished, right? If, if—

Terrifying thoughts filled his mind. He didn’t hear what Fang Cao was saying. Even if he heard, he couldn’t do anything. He was too scared.

“Second Aunt, watch Little Bug.”

The noise outside grew louder, but then shouts of command were heard. Those were the Temple Warriors. Fang Cao knew there was no more time to waste. She handed the child in her arms to Second Aunt, shot out like an arrow, but then turned back immediately. She snatched the pouch from Zhang Gong, who had slumped to the ground, and grabbing the oil lamp, she rushed out.

Behind her came Little Bug’s heart-wrenching cries, and Zhang Gong’s distorted voice. He had totally lost it.

“Where is Zhang San? Where are the people of the Lanshan Sect?”

Outside the Temple on East Street, Xu Sen, a manager of the Kaoshan Alliance, roared. The battle situation was urgent, the crisis severe. Now, the Temple Priest Group, the Temple Warrior Group, and the Kaoshan Alliance guards had all reacted quickly, organizing personnel. Everything was orderly, but the Lanshan Sect side was in complete chaos!

This angered him. The Kaoshan Patriarch usually valued that country bumpkin Zhang San the most, which they were never happy about. But Zhang San did have some skills. The Dispelling Talisman, Mind Stabilizing Talisman, and Truth-Seeking Talisman he made were very useful. But that was absolutely no reason to be a coward or a deserter at a critical moment.

“My father-in-law is in seclusion tonight for a breakthrough. For now, I am acting leader!”

Fang Cao burst into the crowd like a gust of wind, simultaneously holding the pouch high. This was the symbol of the Lanshan Sect leader. Because Zhang San carried it with him daily, one could continuously take out talismans from it.

The crowd quieted for a moment. Many pairs of eyes looked over, then fell upon that familiar pouch. Although some had doubts, in front of Xu Sen, the Temple official, almost no one dared to speak.

And Xu Sen didn’t care anyway. He was only responsible for distributing supplies and supervising matters.

“Since you are the leader of Lanshan Sect, don’t waste time. Organize your people immediately! First receive Divine Arts, then get weapons! Three people form a team, three teams form a squad! Hurry to the walls for defense!”

Xu Sen bellowed, left two large carts of weapons and shields, and turned to leave hurriedly with several Kaoshan Alliance guards. There was a lot to do tonight.

Many eyes turned back, landing on Fang Cao. The dim light of torches and oil lamps shone, making their faces look distorted, like monsters ready to devour her at any moment.

Fang Cao bit her lip, quickly took out a Mind Stabilizing Talisman and slapped it onto herself. Instantly, a cool sensation spread over her whole body, and the fear in her heart faded.

“Line up! Line up! Everyone line up! One Mind Stabilizing Talisman per person!”

Fang Cao didn’t really know what she was shouting, but she knew this couldn’t continue. These people trusted the Zhang family, but if the Zhang family couldn’t step up at this critical moment, the Zhang family would be torn apart.

The chaotic crowd clamored and muttered, like a bloated, oversized, multi-minded, multi-thought patchwork monster. But in the end, this monster crookedly formed a line.

Fang Cao held the pouch, pulling out Mind Stabilizing Talismans one by one. She wasn’t qualified to learn the Lanshan Sect’s techniques, but when Zhang San secretly woke Zhang Gong in the past to explain things, she would eavesdrop. And over the last month or so, even just by watching and listening, she had learned how things worked.

The Mind Stabilizing Talisman could make people calm, not be confused by evil spirits.

The Dispelling Talisman could keep people healthy, unaffected by illness.

The Truth-Seeking Talisman could make people brave and reveal evil spirits.

Smack!

Fang Cao slapped a Mind Stabilizing Talisman onto each person. She absolutely wouldn’t give these people a chance to use them themselves. Because Fang Cao knew, some of these people would hoard them, then take the talisman and sneak back home in the dark to give it to their family members. This had happened before.

Her father-in-law turned a blind eye to it. But in Fang Cao’s view, this was suicidal!

So she definitely wouldn’t let these people exploit any loopholes.

Some spoke nicely to her. Some were her relatives. There was even her own uncle. But Fang Cao kept a cold face, absolutely not daring to relent. The group clamored, cursed, but in the end didn’t dare to start a riot. Especially after the Mind Stabilizing Talisman was slapped on them, that cool feeling covering their bodies automatically dispelled fear and drove away bad thoughts.

Over three hundred people in total, every one got one. Fang Cao was very grateful that her father-in-law Zhang San had stored so many Mind Stabilizing Talismans.

“Form lines! Remember the person in front of you and behind you! Enter the Temple, kneel three times before the Kaoshan Patriarch statue, silently chant ‘Demon Slaying Thorn’ three times, and you will automatically receive three Divine Arts! Then come out and get your weapons!”

Fang Cao shouted, then pulled her two younger brothers-in-law out from the crowd. One was only fourteen, the other only ten. They seemed dumbstruck, but at least they weren’t as pathetic as their eldest brother, scared out of his wits.

As for the three disciples her father-in-law had taken in over the past month, in this pitch blackness, not a single one was seen. Maybe they were in the line. She just hoped they hadn’t deserted. The Lanshan Sect was already performing poorly enough this time.

Fang Cao kept shouting, even jumping onto the weapon carts to shout. Sometimes she also scolded. She didn’t know what she was shouting or scolding about. She only knew she couldn’t stop. This wriggling mass of people was like a herd of animals. If she didn’t keep shouting, who knew when they might break down.

So she didn’t know that a Heart-Clearing Domain and a Disaster-Averting Domain had been cast upon her. It was really because this woman’s voice was too loud. Li Si had to guard against her attracting some unknown evil spirit, following Zhuwazi’s fate, although the chance of that happening was small.

After all, his nine Soul-Searching Domains were currently firmly blocking the area for a hundred leagues around. Forget something like Seven Emotions Mushrooms, even those Mist Demons stayed far away.

The Golden Core Realm was truly marvelous. It seemed like the dividing line for Cultivators. The whole world felt different.

But the enemy was also closer, and stronger.

There were fifteen ships in total, north and south. Li Si faintly sensed that within these two fleets, there was one Evil God Idol each. There were also the auras of four Bloodline Divine Emissaries. The ships even had catapults and large ballistae. This time they weren’t acting recklessly; they were clearly prepared.

No wonder that Thousand-Eyed Evil Spirit was confident he would obediently comply. Because this was simply unbeatable.

“In this battle, casualties are unavoidable. You must save yourselves.”

Li Si murmured to himself. Even though he had now reached the Golden Core Realm, could freely control the Hundred-League Law Seal, and had the Dusty Flying Sword, the Divine Heaven Thunder Control Technique, the Soul-Searching Curse, and other great Divine Abilities, he still wasn’t very confident.

He had to admit that the Evil God’s advantage in this world was too great. After this battle, Kao Mountain Town would have to merge into the Floating Cloud Sect.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Kao Mountain Town’s Formation Arrays activated.

The Three Talents Demon-Purging Array, the Five Directions Confusion Array, the Three Origins Evil-Sealing Array, the Five Tribulations Lightning Array, the Six Harmonies Mountain Shield Array. Useful or not.

In an instant, lightning flashed. The city walls stood like mountains. The entire Kao Mountain Town was enveloped by twenty-meter-high walls.

On the walls, catapults and ballistae were readied. Stones were pasted with Blaze Talismans, bolts with Armor-Piercing Talismans. Everyone who ascended the walls, regardless of identity, got a low-grade Mountain Shield Talisman slapped on them. All these were traded recently from the Floating Cloud Sect.

Back then, to get these Talisman Papers from Ji Chang, Li Si gave him four Divine Grace Baptisms in one go.

It was a pity the enemy came too fast. Otherwise, given more time, Kao Mountain Town would have been better prepared.

Just as Li Si sat in his Quiet Room, like a big spider managing everything and judging the situation, Xu Shen and Ji Chang also stood on the hill southwest of the village, watching the dark night cover the land. Only a fiery dragon sped up from below the river.

“They’re heading for Kao Mountain Town. The second wave.”

Xu Shen spoke calmly, not surprised at all. He even felt the Evil God Cult’s second attack was too slow. Back when the Evil God Cult besieged their Floating Cloud Sect, they gathered hundreds of thousands of troops in just a few days. The killing was truly mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

“There will be a third wave. Kao Mountain Town cannot be saved. When I went there a few days ago, I hinted to that Wang Wu and Zhang San. But in matters like this, it depends on that mysterious Ancestor Kaoshan. Maybe he has some great Divine Ability to turn the situation around.” Ji Chang said lightly.

Then, the two fell silent. Actually, they had long foreseen this scene. That’s why they previously hurriedly tried all sorts of ways to trade, to get as many supplies as possible.

Originally, whether Kao Mountain Town lived or died was none of their business. It was a fair trade. But… that Kaoshan Patriarch was just too generous. They felt guilty inside.