Twenty days later, Phoenix Creek Battalion, Phoenix Creek Valley.
Phoenix Creek Valley was surrounded by mountains on three sides and water on one side. There was a large green stronghold in the valley. The stronghold was greenish-black in color and was built from bamboo that was as thick as a water bucket.
Countless years had passed. Although the giant green bamboo was mottled, it didn't show any signs of breaking. As time passed, the green color had faded away and was now imprinted with endless vicissitudes, becoming even deeper.
At this moment, on a flat piece of land near the water, more than three thousand soldiers were gathered in a formation. There were nine Blood Refinement chiliarchs in front of them, and an old man stood at the very front with his hands behind his back. The dozen or so people all gave off an astonishing blood energy.
Suddenly, the resounding cry of an eagle rang out in the distant sky.
Screech!
The wind whistled as a Green-feathered Eagle appeared in the sky. Its feathers looked as if they were cast from green gold, and its posture was vigorous. Its wingspan was more than thirty meters, and it was surging with blood energy. It was a two-star Green-feathered Eagle King.
A burly man stood on the Green-feathered Eagle's back. His bare upper body was dark and shiny, as if it was made from fine iron. His lower body was wrapped in a scarlet flame tiger skin that flickered with a crystalline luster. The burly man's posture was robust, and his black hair danced in the wind. His entire body gave off a vast blood energy.
This person was the eldest of the Qiu Clan's five brothers, Qiu Hu.
"We welcome the arrival of the Shang Nation's Gu Yuan Battalion's battle envoy!"
When the Green-feathered Eagle was about five kilometers away from the Phoenix Creek Battalion, the old man from before shouted. Immediately, the desolate sound of a bugle horn reverberated throughout the entire valley and spread far into the distance.
Whoosh!
The Green-feathered Eagle came to an abrupt stop when it was about a hundred meters away from the Phoenix Creek Battalion. When it landed, not a single cloud of dust was kicked up. Qiu Hu leapt off the back of the Green-feathered Eagle, his eyes like lightning as he swept his gaze across everyone. A beast-like aura radiated from his body.
Every martial practitioner that his gaze swept over felt as if they were being stared at by a ferocious beast, and their bodies couldn't help but tremble.
At this moment, the Warriors of the Phoenix Creek Army understood that this cultivator dressed like a vagrant was a big shot from a mid-grade Ancient Essence Army of the Shang Nation. His cultivation was astonishing, and he was even stronger than the Phoenix Creek Tribe's Lord Patriarch.
Were mid-grade battalions really so powerful? Just a single battle envoy was enough to make the entire Phoenix Creek Battalion prostrate on the ground!
The Phoenix Creek War Tribe's Grand Elder and Tribe Leader had personally gone to the Gu Yuan Tribe to offer their tributes and leave their tribe's mark on the Ten Thousand Tribe Stele. They had met Qiu Hu once before, so the two of them walked up and bowed to Qiu Hu. Immediately after, the Phoenix Creek War Tribe Leader, Xi Huai, spoke.
"It is the honor of Phoenix Creek Battalion that Elder Qiu has come to our Phoenix Creek Battalion. What orders does the main faction have this time!"
Qiu Hu clearly enjoyed the respect and reverence shown by the many martial practitioners of the Phoenix Creek Battalion. In the past, the five of them were wanderers, and although they had made a name for themselves in the great wilderness, most human battalions didn't care about them.
However, ever since they joined the Gu Yuan Tribe, everything had changed. Not only had their cultivation improved by leaps and bounds, but they also had the blessing of the entire combat division. They believed that it would not take long for them to break through to the First Floor realm. This was something they had never dared to imagine before.
"Lord Tribe Leader has ordered that the Phoenix Creek Battalion's two thousand-man battalions, as well as five Blood Refining Realm chiliarchs, are to gather at the foot of Fallen Dragon Ridge's Celestial Wolf Mountain in ten days without delay!"
At this point, a cold glint flashed across Qiu Hu's eyes, and the temperature around him suddenly plummeted. He swept his gaze across all the soldiers of the Phoenix Creek Battalion, and immediately said, "In ten days, if you don't gather at the foot of Celestial Wolf Mountain, your entire clan will be annihilated!"
What!
Annihilate an entire clan? Was this the might of a Shang Nation's combat division?
It seemed like the Shang Nation's main division was already prepared to conquer the great wilderness and unify the entire Fallen Dragon Ridge!
Qiu Hu's words immediately caused Xi Huai's heart to tremble. A mid-ranked combat division had the power to enfeoff combat divisions and summon battalions from vassal tribes. Ever since his Phoenix Creek Battalion submitted to the Gu Yuan Tribe, he knew that such a day would come, but he didn't think that it would come so soon.
The Shang Nation had decreed that if the Phoenix Creek Battalion didn't comply, their entire clan would be annihilated. This wasn't just empty words. Now that the Gu Yuan Tribe's blessing had been bestowed upon them, every action they took was blessed by the human race's blessing. Conquering the great wilderness was the right bestowed upon them by the Shang Nation.
Moreover, this was the first time the Gu Yuan Tribe had issued a Shang Nation edict, and it was time for them to establish their might. The Phoenix Creek Battalion didn't want to be dragged out by the Gu Yuan Tribe and become a chicken that was being served by the Shang Nation.
Xi Huai bowed towards Qiu Hu and revealed a trace of bitterness at the corner of his mouth. He immediately said, "I will obey the Shang Nation's edict. In ten days, this old man will personally lead two thousand-man battalions and five chiliarchs to Celestial Wolf Mountain!"
Seeing Xi Huai bow and accept the order, Qiu Hu's originally cold aura also retracted. He extended his arm slightly, indicating that Xi Huai didn't need to be overly courteous. He immediately said, "Chief Xi, my Gu Yuan Tribe places great importance on military achievements. The children of the tribe are delighted to hear of the battle, and we will not mistreat the many vassal battalions under our control!
"This time, when my Gu Yuan Tribe unifies the Fallen Dragon Ridge, all the tribes that have made military achievements will not only be exempted from paying tribute for several years, but they will also be rewarded with martial arts pills from my Gu Yuan Tribe. Barrier Breaking Pills that can help a Tempered Bone Realm martial artist advance to the Blood Refining Realm, and pills that can help a Blood Refining Realm martial artist advance to the Blood Refining Realm. When the time comes, breaking through to the Blood Refining Realm will no longer be out of reach. One Barrier Breaking Pill will be enough to create a Blood Refining Realm martial artist for the tribe!"
What!
While the people of the Phoenix Creek Battle Tribe were still in shock, Qiu Hu had already turned around and stepped onto the back of the Green Feather Eagle.
"Chief Xi, don't forget that in ten days, we will gather at the foot of Celestial Wolf Mountain!"
The Green Feather Eagle spread its glowing green wings and soared into the sky. Qiu Hu's voice reverberated in the sky, leaving Xi Huai standing in front of the battle troops. The strong wind caused by the Green Feather Eagle's departure made his grey beast skin robe flutter.
The ten or so chiliarchs behind him surrounded him, their eyes filled with deep worry. After a few breaths, a chiliarch said in a low voice, "Chief, the Gu Yuan Tribe wants the vassal battalions to charge and break through the enemy lines as cannon fodder!"
The Phoenix Creek Battle Tribe had a total of four thousand-man battalions. This time, the Gu Yuan Tribe was recruiting two of them to go to the Great Wilderness. This was equivalent to taking away half of the tribe's strength.
Xi Huai waved his hand and did not turn around. After a long time, he said, "Fated Tribe, prepare the resources for the expedition. Celestial Wolf Mountain is a bit far from our Phoenix Creek Battle Tribe. In five days, I will personally lead the battalions to Celestial Wolf Mountain!"
Over the next few days, this scene continued to appear in every tribe within a ten thousand mile radius of the Gu Yuan Tribe that had submitted to the Gu Yuan Battle Tribe.
The Gu Yuan Battle Tribe.
On an ancient mountain a hundred miles away from the mountain city.
A tribulation cloud that was hundreds of meters wide dissipated. Dense Heaven Earth Yuan Qi gathered in the sky, forming a huge vortex of Yuan Qi.
Under the vortex, a blood-red figure sat cross-legged. Two blood-green ancient characters appeared between his eyebrows. Wisps of purple mist continuously flowed out of them. The meaning of the two ancient characters was the word 'Xue Yi'. It was the Xue Sha's inherited battle name, Blood-Clothed Marquis!
At this moment, he had just passed the Heaven Tribulation of the Tower Building and was preparing to reach the Martial Path Level. With the double blessing, it was very easy for him to pass the Heaven Tribulation.
A huge torrent of Primordial Qi flowed towards the blood-red figure. In front of the figure, there were countless sparkling and translucent Primordial Stones. There were even some mid-grade Primordial Stones mixed in here and there. This was to prevent Xue Sha from running out of Primordial Qi when he reached the second floor of the Martial Path.
The blessing of the Human World had great benefits for a cultivator on the path of martial arts. The stronger the blessing of the Human Race, the more obvious the benefits would be. A few days ago, Mu Qing and Shi Ya had both passed the Heavenly Tribulation of the Heavenly Tower Realm, condensed the Heavenly Tower of martial arts, and became Great Warriors of the Heavenly Tower Realm.
Including Xue Sha, who had recently broken through, the number of Tower Building Realm warriors in the Gu Yuan Tribe had suddenly soared to as many as four people. Finally, they were no longer at the bottom of the many middle-rank combat divisions in the Wasteland.
Moreover, the Martial Path Level that Mu Qing and Shi Ya had reached the upper level. Among them, Shi Ya's Martial Path Level was the upper eighth level, which was enough for him to cultivate all the way to the eighth level of the Tower Building Realm. At that time, if he had the opportunity to find a spirit item of the world and make up for the missing last level, he could even reach the limit of the Tower Building Realm, a half-step King.
And what surprised Xiao Chen the most was Mu Qing. The quality of her Martial Path was the same as his, reaching the ninth level. Xiao Chen had personally checked and found that the Martial Path Level that Mu Qing had reached was entirely cyan, like a glazed jade.
According to Mu Qing's memory, when she was condensing the Martial Path Level, a huge energy suddenly rushed out from the depths of her bloodline, forcibly raising the grade of her Martial Path Level to the ninth level.
This made the two of them involuntarily remember that when Mu Qing broke through to the Blood Refining Realm, the energy that erupted from the depths of her bloodline. However, even now, they still could not figure out how powerful the bloodline in Mu Qing's body was.
This made Xiao Chen involuntarily smile bitterly. She could actually easily push a person into the Tower Building Realm, condensing the ninth level of Martial Path Level that countless human warriors dreamed of.
On an ancient mountain in the distance, Xiao Chen stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Xue Sha, who was constantly absorbing the Yuan Qi and condensing the Martial Path Level. At this moment, he could not help but reveal a touch of anticipation. Xue Sha, who was also blessed with double luck, could not help but wonder what level of Martial Path Level he would be able to condense.
In just half a month, the two large 10,000-man combat masters of the Gu Yuan Tribe slaughtered their way into the Falling Dragon Mountain Range in the west, sweeping through 5,000 miles of barren mountain forests and clearing out the remnants of the Demon Race.
They also obtained countless medicinal herbs, spirit fruits, and the precious blood of fierce beasts for the tribe, greatly alleviating the tribe's consumption and accumulating a large amount of resources for the upcoming war.
The two large 10,000-man combat masters that were originally formed in a hurry were also effectively worn in, and the hidden dangers were eliminated. Every chiliarch also firmly controlled the soldiers under their command.
The tribe increased the mining of mineral veins in the surrounding mountains and forests. Recently, more than ten new mineral veins were added to the mining, and there was even a middle-grade Primordial Stone mineral vein among them. Middle-grade Primordial Stones were an important resource for low-level Tower Realm warriors to cultivate.
Every day, the Gu Yuan Tribe mined 50,000 low-grade Primordial Stones, and the output of middle-grade Primordial Stones reached 6,000, which satisfied the daily consumption of the Gu Yuan Tribe. There was even a surplus.