Before long, Venerable Elder Yuanliang gave an impassioned speech.
The blood of the Wu tribesmen boiled with excitement; they wished they could charge out of the mountain right now and head straight for Highsun City.
Stimulated by Venerable Elder Yuanliang, the Wu tribesmen began working like exploding talismans. At this rate, they would be ready in just a single day.
Seeing the disbelief in Bi Shihu's eyes, Venerable Elder Yuanliang invited Bi Shihu to the side, a proud expression on his face.
"Marshal Bi, back in the Shadowfell Prefecture, you and I were enemies. Did you ever think I would possess such methods?"
Bi Shihu frowned slightly.
During the great war in the Western Border back then, the four armies under his command engaged in bitter battles with the Wu tribe for many years, so he naturally recognized this Venerable Elder Yuanliang.
Although Venerable Elder Yuanliang hailed from the desolate wilds, he was a worthy adversary.
He only heard Venerable Elder Yuanliang say,
"I fought my way into the Central Plains, deceiving not only you but even General Li Tianyue.
It's quite ironic. My troop movements were bizarre; I wasn't afraid of you, yet I happened to be afraid of General Li.
She was courageous; no matter what methods I used, she always dared to give it a try.
Even during that battle at the Shadowfell Prefecture border pass back then, when I received the news, I was exceptionally shocked.
Facing the Sage Elder of our Wu tribe, she actually dared to stand in his way!"
"On that day, the Nirvana Sage Elder was merely testing the waters, probing the bottom line of the human race.
If Abbess Dairou of the Lotus Ferry Nunnery had stopped the Nirvana Sage Elder, and Marshal Bi's three armies had marched out together, combined with the various reinforcements from Shadowfell Prefecture, our Wu tribe would have been in peril.
How could the current situation in Deston Prefecture have come to be?"
"What a pity to lose such a divine general."
Hearing this, Bi Shihu's face turned gloomy. "Venerable Elder Yuanliang, are you humiliating me?"
Decades had passed, and no one dared to mention the matter of the Shadowfell Prefecture border pass in front of him anymore; it had become a thorn in his heart.
"Marshal Bi is overreacting; I am merely discussing the matter objectively."
Venerable Elder Yuanliang smiled faintly.
"However, in my opinion, while it is somewhat regrettable for General Li, General Bi's choice was not wrong either.
General Li was gambling; she bet correctly on the battle, but she lost her bet on her allied forces.
Marshal Bi, preserving his strength, can be considered the best strategy.
Based on my understanding of Marshal Bi, you must have seen through the human heart and didn't dare to gamble."
"The Marshal has gambled correctly this time as well."
Venerable Elder Yuanliang's smile gradually grew heavy.
"Does the Marshal think I've had it easy? You and I are nothing more than chess pieces in someone else's game.
In truth, everyone in the world has a chessboard in their eyes. Moving a single step casually could result in stepping into someone else's game, or placing someone else into one's own game."
Bi Shihu frowned. "What does the Venerable Elder mean?"
"Sigh." Venerable Elder Yuanliang's face looked weathered.
"Over these past few decades, we were thrown into the dynasty like rats crossing the street.
The tribesmen in this mountain cave are all disposable ants—pathfinders for the mighty figures seeking opportunities. If they die, they die. Including me, it's all the same."
"Just like the Marshal, in order for them to survive, I hollowed out this mountain and guarded it for decades, all to wait for an opportunity—an opportunity to turn the tables!"
Bi Shihu's expression grew solemn.
Yuanliang continued,
"Are your human race and our Wu tribe truly locked in a fight to the death?
It's just that the mighty figures, in order to seek opportunities for breakthrough, established various racial prejudices in the human world.
Hatred accumulated bit by bit, finally becoming deeply rooted, leading to drawn weapons.
In the end, we are all just ants and chess pieces in the eyes of the mighty figures."
"You and I should cast aside our prejudices."
Venerable Elder Yuanliang said sincerely,
"Only by becoming a Body Integration expert can one control a larger chessboard and avoid being played with like ants by those who are stronger.
By taking down Highsun City, you and I can receive rewards and move one step closer to achieving Body Integration!"
Bi Shihu remained silent for a long time, only feeling as if he had entered the grand game of the common people.
When did he ever not want to be the Marshal everyone looked up to, just like back in the Shadowfell Prefecture? Generations of his ancestors had taught him to be so.
But in the end, the Shadowfell Prefecture was just a chessboard for the mighty figures, and he was merely one of the chess pieces.
"I have benefited greatly from Venerable Elder Yuanliang's words."
Bi Shihu took a deep breath.
"I will return and prepare right away. The five great Void Refinement experts and my remaining ten thousand tiger-wolf troops are all veterans of a hundred battles.
If we attack from both sides... There are only four Void Refinement experts in Highsun City, along with the two newly advanced Void Refinement cultivators of the Azure Cloud Li Clan.
The Li Clan's Golden Toad Divine Palace houses many experts, and this clan excels at hiding their clumsiness; I am truly afraid of them."
"You and I must depart quietly and catch Highsun City completely off guard."
Bi Shihu paused for a moment and said, "I want to capture the people of the Azure Cloud Li Clan alive."
"Capture them alive?"
Venerable Elder Yuanliang looked puzzled, but seeing the wariness in Bi Shihu's eyes, he instantly understood.
Over these past few decades, Bi Shihu had truly been terrified by the Li Clan.
He was even afraid that after defecting to the Wu tribe, the Li Clan members would still endlessly entangle him, so he was leaving himself a way out and a bargaining chip.
Venerable Elder Yuanliang didn't expose him. "I will pass down the order; please rest assured, Marshal."
"That is excellent."
Bi Shihu left.
Inside the cave, many Wu tribe Void Refinement cultivators gathered behind Venerable Elder Yuanliang, all watching Bi Shihu's departing figure.
Venerable Elder Yuanliang's expression gained a bit of mutual appreciation, while the compassion and pity in his eyes vanished.
"Pass down the order to the tribesmen above the Divinity Transformation realm: once Highsun City is breached, Bi Shihu's three armies and the people of the Azure Cloud Li Clan are all to be killed."
"Yes!"
Mocking expressions appeared on the faces of the numerous Wu tribesmen.
Having waited for decades, how could they have any thought of letting the human race survive?
Venerable Elder Yuanliang took another look at the tribesmen preparing for battle in the cave. He slowly floated into the air.
The gourd in his hand transformed into two longswords, both radiating blood Qi. Black armor and a blood-red cape already adorned his body.
Although he was a little old man, his appearance was incredibly similar to Li Tianyue.
The old man sensed his own blood Qi, his weathered face filled with fond remembrance.
"General Li, oh General Li. You were the Wu Slaughterer. By killing our Wu tribesmen, you formed your Golden Core, your Nascent Soul, and then reached Divinity Transformation.
Back then, you were already at the edge of Void Refinement. If you were allowed to kill more of our Wu tribesmen, you would have definitely broken through to the Void Refinement realm, or even Body Integration."
"This Dao path is feasible, truly feasible. Since you were the Wu Slaughterer, then I shall be the Human Slaughterer!"
"I will slaughter Highsun City.
Using Highsun City as a foundation, with the lives of a million people and the many Void Refinement lives within it, I can glimpse the Dao of the 'Human Slaughterer.'
Bi Shihu's life will serve as a sacrificial offering I send to you in the Netherworld."
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