"So this thing is immune to weapons? I’ve got a bag of sunflower seeds. You want some?"

"Sure." ’Even though the sandstorm is awful.’

"It must weigh almost as much as an elephant. Hiss... If that thing sat on someone, it would literally squeeze the stuffing out of them! Dad, isn’t that unlucky guy one of Nian Songyu’s men?"

"What stuffing?"

"Nothing. The National Preceptor is casting a spell! He threw two big Fireballs into the enemy’s mouth, and the toad burped... Hmm, doesn’t look like it worked."

About half an hour later, the two Purple Gold Toads were thrown off the boat.

Compared to the imposing figures they cut when they first leaped aboard, they had shrunk to a fifth of their original size, transforming from bloated beasts into creatures of skin and bone.

Hee Lingchuan remembered National Preceptor Sunx cutting them open and stuffing something inside. The two toads had then shriveled at a visible rate. They became dehydrated, lost the ability to jump, and their eyes bulged even further.

And then they croaked.

"Did you get a good look at that?" ’They looked utterly spent, as if sucked dry.’

Hee Chunhua shook his head. ’Being the National Preceptor, he’s bound to have extraordinary methods. I imagine those methods would work just as well on people.’

Over the rest of the journey, the convoy was attacked twice more by Demons undeterred by the foul stench. Yet, only National Preceptor Sunx’s vessel was targeted; the other two boats remained untouched.

The others remarked on the National Preceptor’s ’luck’ and were relieved the monsters hadn’t leaped onto their boats; they knew they could never have dealt with the threat so decisively.

Sunx Fuping and his retinue, however, were secretly frowning.

’Why have all three attacks been aimed squarely at the National Preceptor? What does this mean? That the tallest tree catches the most wind?’

After pushing onward, the convoy finally neared its destination just before nightfall.

A Messenger on Nian Songyu’s boat pointed into the distance, shouting back to their companions on the other two vessels, "Panlong City is just ahead!"

In truth, his reminder was unnecessary. Everyone had already gathered at the bow to behold the most spectacular sight in the Panlong Desert: the Chipa Plateau.

Countless years ago, this plateau had been thrust up from the earth by some irresistible force. The vertical drop from the flatlands where they stood was at least forty zhang (130 meters)!

An unfathomably deep chasm, six zhang wide, separated them from it.

It was like the dividing line between two continents: clear, stark, and absolute.

As the Walnut Boat reached this point, the boatmen grew extremely cautious. They used the dangling cured meat to guide the Earth Dragons westward along the edge of the great chasm. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

To fall would mean certain death.

After traveling for a quarter of an hour, Panlong Ancient City began to grow larger in their field of view, the outline of its gray outer walls becoming more distinct.

The plateau was immense. Its vertical face, rising at a near-ninety-degree angle from the plains, resembled the cross-section of a double-layer cake. The words ’desolate’ and ’majestic’ might as well have been invented to describe it.

The sun began to set, casting dappled shadows across the cliff face at the plateau’s edge. It looked like a colossal, silent beast lying prone in the desert, its body winding into the distance.

This terrain was the epitome of ’easy to defend, difficult to attack.’ No wonder Zhong Shengguang had been able to hold this position year after year. Without such a tactical advantage, sentiment and passion are nothing but empty talk.

Further on, the plateau’s elevation began to gently decrease, forming a long, downward slope.

And there, at the top of the slope, stood Panlong City, staunchly guarding the sole southern passage to the Chipa Plateau!

The boats slowed. Ahead, a bridge arched from north to south, spanning the entire chasm.

It was a natural stone bridge. Its southern end connected to the land they were on, while its northern end reached a small clearing before the Panlong City South Gate.

’This must be the only way to attack Panlong City. You probably couldn’t take it even with ten times the troops.’ Looking at the stone bridge, Hee Lingchuan felt a flash of frustration on behalf of the Xianyou and Baling Alliance Army from over a century ago.

’As history later proved: ten times? Ha!’

The Walnut Boats’ journey came to a temporary end here. The boatmen unhooked the cured meat from the poles and tossed it to the Earth Dragons as payment.

After sprinting for two double-hours, the three Earth Dragons were so exhausted steam was practically coming from their mouths. If they weren’t so single-minded, with brains smaller than marbles, and utterly fixated on the fragrant meat dangling just out of reach, they would have quit long ago.

Now with the meat finally in their jaws, the Earth Dragons paid no mind to the abundance of other prey nearby. With a flick of their bodies, they were gone.

Everyone leaped from the boats. National Preceptor Sunx came over to retrieve his Magical Treasure. He chanted a short Mantra, and the great boats shrank back into small walnuts.

Despite the strong wind and swirling sand, the air here was infinitely fresher than it had been on the boats. Freed from the stench of the cured meat, the soldiers couldn’t help but take great, deep gulps of it.

Hee Lingchuan tapped the ground with the tip of his boot. "Aren’t we worried that Exotic Beasts or Demons might show up if we linger here?" ’Just like along Red Cliff Road,’ he thought.

Nian Songyu laughed. "It’s all rock under here. There’s less than half a foot of sand, barely enough to hide a few centipedes and sand snakes. What, are you scared?"

Hee Lingchuan kicked away a layer of sand, revealing solid rock beneath. ’Of course,’ he realized. ’If the walls of the chasm weren’t solid rock, the Natural Bridge would have collapsed long ago.’

Nian Songyu suddenly asked, "What’s going on?"

Hee Lingchuan turned at the sound and saw several of Zeng Feixiong’s subordinates approaching with two men in custody.

The two men were struggling desperately. Though one was short and the other thin, it took three burly soldiers per man to barely hold them down.

The strangest thing was their attire. They each wore a Talismanic Robe resembling a traditional jacket. In reality, it was just two pieces of Yellow Silk—one covering the chest and the other the back—tied together at the sides, forgoing the hassle of sleeves and a collar. Vermilion runes floated up from the silk, slowly revolving around the captives.

Without a doubt, these had once been Zeng Feixiong’s men. But the look they gave everyone was bizarre—both violent and greedy.

Hee Lingchuan was a hunter, and to him, that look belonged more on a coyote.

"They’ve been possessed by the Three Corpses Insect." Seeing them in this state, Zeng Feixiong felt a knot in his stomach. "The National Preceptor had two of them kept for observation."

The Three Corpses Insects on the other boats had all been driven off, but Sunx Fuping had kept two.

Now, he took the lead, stepping onto the bridge first.

The bridge itself was actually quite wide—about fifteen zhang (over forty meters)—but against the backdrop of the Wilderness, suspended over the chasm and before Panlong City, it looked as thin as a toothpick.

This was likely where the Alliance Army’s mighty forces had met their bitter end, time and time again.

Hee Lingchuan looked down. The surface of the bridge was mottled with stains. They had clearly been laid down many years ago, layer upon layer, and even after a century, their shades still varied in depth and color.

Walking on the bridge, it felt as though everyone could smell the pungent stench of blood.

This had been the front line of the great war. Countless battles had been fought back and forth over this very spot.

The Wandering Souls here were far more numerous than anywhere else.

Sunx Fuping suddenly said, "This bridge is not a natural formation. It was built."

Nian Songyu stamped on the ground. "The material is indeed different from the Wilderness," he agreed. "This must have been built by the Baling and Xianyou Alliance Army."

Zeng Feixiong, who was walking beside Hee Lingchuan, was astonished by this. "But the stone is seamless, as if it’s one solid piece. How could it be man-made? Besides, the sentries in Panlong City aren’t blind. Would they really let the enemy build a bridge right under their noses?"