Chapter 214: Preparation

Li Qi rode his old horse, rushing quickly to the previous battlefield.

At the center of the previous battlefield, the remaining, uninjured soldiers were cleaning up the battlefield.

Actually, there wasn't much to clean up.

In a war of that intensity, it was difficult for corpses to remain, and even Spirit Souls could hardly exist.

Li Qi was here now, helping to soothe the remaining Spirit Souls, and incidentally brought many medicines and… memorial tablets for these soldiers.

They were all blank, just waiting for names to be carved onto them.

Seeing Li Qi arrive with these items, the White Rhinoceros Army soldiers were somewhat torn between laughter and tears.

They didn't know whether to praise him for being considerate or scold him for being thoughtless.

However, no matter what… at this moment, these were indeed greatly needed.

It was just a bad omen, but in reality, there really weren't enough memorial tablets.

Soon, a quartermaster came forward to receive these items and expressed gratitude to Li Qi.

After bidding farewell to the quartermaster, another advanced military officer soon came to visit.

It was clearly the current commander of the White Rhinoceros Army, Lie Kedi, whom Li Qi had previously rescued from prison.

This General, who clearly looked heavily injured, walked up to Li Qi, knelt on one knee, cupped his hands, and said to Li Qi:

"Lie Kedi greets Young Master… Is this our first meeting? Young Master's divine foresight not only saved my life but also saved the people of an entire province. Lie Kedi is deeply grateful, but I wonder why Young Master has come?"

Li Qi quickly helped him up: "General Lie, please do not speak like that. What you and I do is for the common people; there is no distinction of high or low, nor any relationship of subordination or gratitude. Rather, it is the General's loyalty and righteousness that I, a junior, admire greatly. Please, General, do not demean yourself; just treat me as an equal."

Seeing that Lie Kedi still hadn't risen, Li Qi continued: "I, a junior, believe I have only done the same as the General. According to military regulations, those who work together should be rewarded together and punished together. If the General demeans himself, does he think what we did was not good enough?"

Since Li Qi had spoken to this extent, Lie Kedi could no longer insist and could only bow again: "Young Master is highly righteous. If not for Young Master this time, Guangyang would truly have been devastated. Please accept this bow, Young Master. Although it is meaningless, it expresses my heartfelt gratitude."

Li Qi had no choice but to accept the bow, then helped Lie Kedi up.

Then, he invited Lie Kedi to sit in the military tent and said to him: "Alright, General, please sit. The General previously asked why I came. In addition to delivering supplies this time, I also have a request."

"Young Master, please speak. Is it another battle?" Lie Kedi asked.

Other than battle, he really couldn't think of anything else these soldiers of his could do to help the other party.

"Not so. The White Rhinoceros Army has already suffered heavy casualties; how could I let you go to the battlefield again?" Li Qi denied this statement, then said: "General, have you seen the current situation in Guangyang?"

"Situation?" Lie Kedi pondered upon hearing this: "Is Young Master referring to the Qi of the land?"

"I also noticed this. After the Mountain and River Grand Formation is used, there will definitely be a period of reduced production. However, if the various Families and large households in Guangyang are mobilized to open their granaries and release grain, then it should still be possible to endure."

Lie Kedi explained the situation to Li Qi: "Young Master is new here and probably doesn't understand the situation in Guangyang. Guangyang has an organization called the Grain Alliance, which controls the grain business. Many large households and nobles have shares in it. They generally hoard enough grain for two or three years or more. If managed properly, there shouldn't be a grain shortage."

"I am currently considering the matter of moving troops back to the city. At necessary times, military control might need to be implemented. If Young Master also has this intention, that would be perfect. In this way, as long as this matter is handled swiftly, no one in Guangyang should starve to death within two years."

Lie Kedi was naturally not foolish; he also had some understanding of the Mountain and River Grand Formation and knew that there would definitely be a reduction in grain production afterward, so he was already planning what to do next.

However, his thoughts were still shallow, after all, he didn't know that the Mountain and River Grand Formation wasn't merely the overdraft of land fertility after normal use…

Instead, the mountains and water veins were shattered together by that black-skinned Monk.

The entire Guangyang, within ten years, would see trees wither, crops fail, beasts infertile, and rivers dry up.

Relying solely on stored grain would absolutely not be enough.

To wait for natural recovery, it was feared that all the people in Guangyang would have to flee.

Tens of millions of refugees, fleeing to other provinces of the Bailin Kingdom.

When people leave their homes, they are as cheap as dogs. If a collective exodus truly began, then five or six out of ten dying would probably be an understatement.

Even if they fled to other provinces, most would only be able to sell themselves as servants.

Otherwise, without food or land, how would they live?

Perhaps only those wealthy families, abandoning their Family businesses, would become rich households in other provinces.

Li Qi naturally understood that Lie Kedi actually didn't know about this, so he smiled bitterly: "Things are probably not as simple as the General thinks."

"Actually, the Qi of the land in Guangyang is not just a simple reduction in production. General, please follow me." Li Qi stood up, whistled, and the old horse responded and came over.

Lie Kedi also summoned his mount, which was also a tall horse; although not a Dragon Steed, it was a rare thousand-li horse.

Dragon Steeds were still very rare, and Dragon Steeds like the old horse were even rarer.

When the old horse truly stepped into the ninth rank, it would no longer be called a Dragon Steed; it would then transform.

Of course, not into human form.

But into a Dragon form.

Generally, demons transform into races with innate spiritual intelligence, so they can also gain some spiritual intelligence and become smarter.

Usually, demons choose human form because transforming into a human is the simplest, and humans are the most common.

But there are also other races with innate spiritual intelligence, such as the Great Golden-Winged Peng, Dragon, Phoenix, and even the Jade Rabbit, Golden Crow, these naturally extraordinary species.

They are not as common as humans, but they are also choices for transformation.

As a Dragon Steed, the old horse, after reaching the ninth rank and transforming, would definitely head in the direction of a Dragon.

In fact, there was already a trend; the green scales appearing on its body, and the auspicious clouds and lightning after flying in the sky, were all characteristics of a Dragon.

Walking with Lie Kedi, the old horse did not fly but honestly galloped on the ground.

Riding their horses, Li Qi led the way, swiftly crossing this plain.

It was originally a mountain road, but after the battle, the mountains here were basically flattened, the ground also had a lot of broken glass, and many large rocks appeared.

Those were rocks that had just appeared after the lava cooled.

About half an hour later, the two horses galloped more than a hundred miles away, and other unaffected mountains appeared.

Arriving here, Li Qi dismounted and landed on the ground.

Lie Kedi also dismounted, bewildered, not understanding why Li Qi came here.

"General, please look." Li Qi walked here, and with a slight push of his foot, a large pit about one meter deep exploded in the ground.

Lie Kedi walked over to look, his pupils constricted, and his expression immediately stiffened.

Normally, below one meter of the ground, the soil should be very moist and dense.

Underground, water vapor naturally permeated, and plants could only absorb water vapor by rooting downwards to support their growth.

And when water vapor and Qi of the land combined, they would form that kind of moist, dense black soil or black earth. This soil was rich in nutrients, with abundant Qi of various kinds, allowing plants to grow very well.

However, if water vapor was lost and only the Qi of the land existed, it would appear a withered yellow color, which was the color of pure Qi of the land.

Withered yellow soil indicated that there were no water veins beneath or around this land, and water vapor and Qi of the land could not mix to form fertile soil, making it unsuitable for cultivation.

Lie Kedi often saw barren land with only Qi of the land but no water vapor, which was all very normal.

However, it was the first time he had seen… whitened soil.

The soil here was like… saline-alkali land?

It was clearly one meter deep into the ground, and should have been very moist soil, but now it appeared dead white.

Not only was there no water vapor, but even the Qi of the land had dried up.

Lie Kedi bent down, reached into the ground, pulled out a piece of soil, and gently rubbed it with his fingers; the soil immediately crumbled.

Rather than soil, it was more like sand.

"This… this, this?" Lie Kedi stammered, suddenly looking up at Li Qi.

Li Qi sighed: "Chan Zhi Monk's Master, that black-skinned Demon Monk, shattered the Mountain and River Grand Formation. The mountain and water veins are all broken. Now, in Guangyang, the Qi of the land and water Qi are completely depleted. According to our estimation, within ten years, there will be no harvest, and a great drought and famine."

Rain, too, was formed from mountain Qi, so there would inevitably be a great drought afterward, not a single drop of rain would fall.

"Moreover, look again." Li Qi finished speaking, then directed the old horse to go up the mountain.

The old horse nodded, then soared into the air, rushing towards the mountain.

Before long, the old horse flew down, carrying a mountain eagle as large as a person in its mouth.

Then, it tossed the mountain eagle's body in front of Li Qi, and then retreated a few steps.

Li Qi picked up the mountain eagle's corpse and stretched it out. Its wingspan was over five meters, far exceeding the size of a normal mountain eagle, clearly indicating it had become a demon, but its Demon Qi was very weak, and there was also a wisp of incense Qi entwined around it.

This was abandoning the Demon Dao and taking the Divine Path.

However, nothing mattered anymore, because this mountain eagle had already become a corpse.

There were no wounds on the corpse, nor any traces of battle, but it had just suddenly died.

"This… Is this the Mountain God of this place? How did it die here? Is it also because of the Mountain and River Grand Formation?" Lie Kedi looked at the mountain eagle, his fingers and lips trembling slightly, in disbelief.

"The backlash after the Mountain and River Grand Formation collapsed is immense. Even Bo Yue, who presided over the ritual, almost died. It was a fifth-rank expert who healed his injuries. As for the other Mountain and Water Deities and Water Gods, although the backlash they suffered was not as severe as Bo Yue's, seven or eight out of ten were dead or injured. All Gods are in despair. Now, relying solely on the Mountain and Water Deities , it will probably be very difficult to repair."

Lie Kedi fell silent.

He now knew that, given this situation, all his original plans and contingencies were useless.

If he followed his methods, Guangyang would inevitably be devastated, and a large-scale exodus would be unavoidable.

The scene remained silent for several minutes before he finally looked up at Li Qi, as if grasping at a lifeline: "Young Master came to me, there must be a solution, right!? Is there anything I can help with?"

Li Qi nodded: "I thought of a way to solve this matter."

"Currently, Guangyang's mountains and rivers are withered, and the spirits are greatly injured, but only the people have been preserved relatively well. I wish to initiate a Grand Ritual to gather the strength of the populace to heal the wounds of the earth, so I need the General's help."

"Preparing such a sacrifice is not something I can do alone, so I need to ask the General for assistance." Li Qi said solemnly.

"It's my duty!" Lie Kedi immediately clasped his hands and agreed.

Li Qi nodded: "I will arrange the specific matters later. General, please go and handle the aftermath in the army first. The Grand Ritual cannot be prepared in a day or two; I still need to notify others."

"Young Master's summons, I will surely come." Lie Kedi made his promise, then watched Li Qi depart.

Li Qi continued to find people one by one.

Next, it was Zhang Lan.

Originally, with this matter resolved, Zhang Lan had already quietly left. He was preparing to leave Guangyang and head towards the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest.

The Demon Monk had been executed, but how could there be only one or two demons in the world? He was to embark on a new journey.

He even slipped away quietly without saying goodbye to anyone else.

This was exactly the ending Zhang Lan desired most.

When the deed is done, he brushes his clothes and leaves, his name and fame deeply hidden.

The actions of a swordsman, nothing more!

Extremely cool!

Zhang Lan's personality had always been like this; from the moment he met Li Qi and they engaged in mutual flattery, it could be seen that he actually quite enjoyed this feeling.

He didn't like to show off in front of others, only to quietly leave behind legends and then secretly revel in it.

However, although he seemed a bit unreliable, he was genuinely righteous and willing to draw his sword to help when he encountered injustice, a true swordsman.

However, this time, he was only halfway there when he suddenly saw auspicious clouds and blue lightning in the sky, rushing towards him.

"That's… Li Qi's Dragon Steed? Why is it coming this way?" Zhang Lan reined in his horse and stopped in place.

He was both a little happy and a little unhappy.

He was happy that Li Qi had come specifically to see him off, which made him feel quite good.

What made him unhappy was that his perfect departure had been stained with a slight blemish.

Originally, it was a grand matter completed, then he would brush his sleeves and leave, untainted by dust, without Karma, taking away not a single cloud, only leaving behind the name and legend of a swordsman.

But if there was this farewell scene, it would seem drawn out and not as cool.

However, since they had already come, he couldn't just send them away, so he reined in his horse and stopped, waiting for Li Qi to land.

Li Qi quickly arrived and landed on the ground: "Brother Zhang!"

"Brother Li, why did you suddenly come to find me? Is it to say goodbye? When did you become such a wishy-washy, nagging person?" Zhang Lan preempted him, putting on an impatient expression.

Li Qi smiled; he naturally knew Zhang Lan's temperament, so he didn't quibble with him on this matter but went straight to his purpose.

He wanted Zhang Lan to help coordinate the Jianghu people.

An eighth-rank Jianghu expert would certainly have influence in all aspects of the Jianghu and the greenwood. He was also familiar with the rules of the Jianghu, so Li Qi felt more at ease entrusting this to him.

"I see, then leave it to me!" Zhang Lan said, patting his chest and agreeing.

Li Qi thanked him, then got on his horse and turned back.

It was time to find Wang Baiyan and Guangyang Sicheng.

(Physically and mentally exhausted, taking a day off tomorrow.)

(A new volume is starting soon, everyone please help me promote the book.)