Chapter 244: The Blacktail Plain
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Infused with the Heavenly Peach Wood and purified by the Ninth Heaven Thunder Energy, the Blue Sword was just a Flying Sword of the Earthly Rank, a Mysterious Level celestial device. Junior Leopard forged it himself, so he knew the hardships and dangers and its power.
The Dragonslayer was also a Mysterious Level celestial device. In principle, it should not be weaker than the Blue Sword, but apart from its powerful attacking force, Junior Leopard really did not find anything special about it.
The Dragonslayer was shaped like a crescent moon, full of a chill green. Through the chill, Junior Leopard could feel the horrible power that was hidden within it. However, he did not know how to bring this power out. At best, he could only exert its power to the level of breaking the Demon Devil Formation.
But Junior Leopard was unsatisfied with the power.
He knew clearly how powerful the Blue Sword was, so he had high expectations for the Dragonslayer, which was at the same level as the Blue Sword. Unfortunately, after he fumbled around for nearly two months, he still did not find a way to bring out its full power.
“Golden Rooster said that the Dragonslayer imprisoned a flood dragon’s Original Spirit. Unfortunately, now I can feel the flood dragon’s Original Spirit, but can’t arouse it, let alone use it!” Junior Leopard sighed slightly and put the Dragonslayer back into the partitioned space.
For Junior Leopard, the Space Division Skill not only brought him convenience, but its way of using space also helped him make great progress in the Three Realms Division.
The Space Division Skill and the Three Realms Division cross-referenced and confirmed with each other. Junior Leopard benefited a lot. Of course, there was one other thing worth mentioning about the Hollow Travel—the Hollow Flying Carpet that came with the Dragonslayer.
In terms of quality, this Hollow Flying Carpet was only a Psychic Level celestial device. But because of its function, its value was absolutely no less than a Mysterious Level celestial device.
To Junior Leopard, who was a lucky bastard, there were not too many secrets in the Hollow Travel. But to others, it was quite mysterious.
Because of this, Junior Leopard sold the Hollow Magic Carpet after he had thoroughly studied it.
Yes, he sold it. And it was not a general sale. He gave the Hollow Magic Carpet to the Four Seas Commercial House, the largest chamber of commerce in the Jin, and the Four Seas Commercial House put it up for auction. Junior Leopard made a lot of money, not less than the riches he had collected from the Cool Breeze Gang’s secret chamber.
He sold the Hollow Magic Carpet for two reasons. Firstly, he had thoroughly studied it. It worked in a similar way to the Three Realms Division, containing the Flickering Light Evil Qi. It was just that compared to the Three Realms Division, the special technique of the carpet was inferior. Therefore, it caused so much spatial fluctuation that Junior Leopard easily detected it. The only advantage was that it was more convenient and easier to use than the Three Realms Division. Most importantly, to attach the special technique of the Hollow Travel onto the Magic Carpet was within the scope of refining celestial devices, and that was unknown to Junior Leopard. For Junior Leopard, who already knew the Space Division Skill and the Three Realms Division, the Hollow Magic Carpet was of little use. Secondly, he sold it to avoid trouble. It was not attractive to him, but it was a great treasure for the powerful families, millennium families, and even the imperial court. Owning it, a person was able to travel hollow, which would make all the people in the martial arts world feel jealous. Carrying this thing was undoubtedly more eye-catching than carrying the Dragonslayer. After all, no one knew the origin of the Dragonslayer. Even the people who watched Junior Leopard fight with the Cool Breeze Gang in the dark were probably aware that this was a very aggressive celestial device. They might have thought that it was probably precious, but it had no fatal attraction. But the Hollow Magic Carpet was different. Its ability to travel hollow had been seen by those watching. Even Junior Leopard might have had trouble keeping it, so it was better to maximize its value and sell it.
Junior Leopard could not help laughing at the thought of the benefits that he had gained from the Cool Breeze Gang.
Just as the ancients said—No man could become rich without a windfall; no horse could become fat without feeding on grass at night. This was a classic example.
Pondering that, he thought of his territory.
He gently unfolded a map. It was a scaled-down version of the Jin’s enfeoffing map, but was the size of a table after it was opened. It was densely filled with the names of more than 2,000 fiefs and their owners. There was a rumor that, except for a few well-known families and barons, the rest of the fiefs were chosen randomly by the Jin Emperor—While wearing a blindfold, he pointed with a brush after the eunuch beside him called the name of the meritorious ministers. The land he pointed to was the fief given to that minister. The quality of the land depended entirely on luck.
Junior Leopard did not know if that was true, but now he had no illusions about his territory anymore.
“I hope that Blackstone Valley is not a lifeless place!”
Northern Yuan had a vast territory. Although nomadic people had strong mobility and settled down near places with adequate grass and water, they had a certain extent. For example, the Seven Troops of Southern Yard only lived in the southern part of Northern Yuan, which was about the size of two or three states of Northern Yuan. In the north was the territory of the Blackwolf tribe. Farther north was the area of the Small Stone River, which belonged to the Hengshan tribe. The Hengshan tribe was one of the nine largest tribes in Northern Yuan. However, their sphere of influence was only on both sides of the Dragon-pressing River. Junior Leopard’s fief was over 1,000 kilometers northwest of the Dragon-pressing River. Originally belonging to a remote tribe of Northern Yuan, it could not be called a good place.
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…
Junior Leopard’s horse team went on for several more days, much faster than before. Their guide deserved all the credit. During these days, they finally realized the benefits of having a guide.
The guide’s name was Wendu, a former nobleman of a small tribe. Hence, he knew more than the average Northern Yuan man. Although the farthest place he had visited before was the Small Stone River, he knew something about the place to the north of the Dragon-pressing River.
In particular, he could point out one by one some special areas that might hinder their journey. This saved them a lot of trouble. And that was why they did not treat Wendu poorly.
As time went on and the farther north they went, the lower the temperature and the stronger the wind became. The weather was changing unpredictably as well. Although they were well prepared before coming there, they were very unaccustomed to such weather and temperature changes. Two veterans got ill, which delayed their journey again.
Fortunately, these veterans had learned martial arts. Although their cultivation was only at Level Two or Three, their resistance was strong. In addition, they met with other groups of people who had also come to accept their fiefs, and they had doctors. Thus, there was not a big problem.
When they arrived there, these teams were not so easily dispersed, because their fiefs were all in the same area. There was a fief even close to Junior Leopard’s. It belonged to a gallant man in the martial arts world, Tie Kongyi. The so-called gallant man in the martial arts world was not a man from a wealthy family, but a man of exceptional ability. Maybe he had a high degree of martial arts, and maybe he traveled widely. He might have been rich, but the foundation was shallow. Although he might have made friends all over the world, no one would help him when he was in trouble. However, such a person had a strong influence locally and was the typical representative of the local bully. This time, Tie Kongyi also took the credit for the battle of the destruction of Northern Yuan, so he obtained a fief with a 50 km radius.
Obviously, he was a man with a strong adventurous spirit. Perhaps he found that having the identity of a gallant man in the martial arts world was not firm and he had no foundation, so he, like Junior Leopard, came to his fief to find real opportunities for development. Thus, he met Junior Leopard.
The so-called gallant man in the martial arts world actually was just a local bully. His martial skills were limited.
Tie Kongyi’s cultivation was just at Level Four. He had set off a month earlier than Junior Leopard with a group of men, but by the time they arrived here, half of his men had been lost and the team was worn out.
Since their fiefs were next to each other, their men naturally joined together. Although Junior Leopard had fewer people with him than Tie Kongyi, Junior Leopard occupied the dominant position.
In this regard, Tie Kongyi had no opinion. Junior Leopard’s strength had been universally acknowledged. Besides, he came from the Wu Sect and had a very good relationship with Tian Long Taoism. Although there were few people under his command, their strength was extremely powerful, especially Zhu Ba, whose cultivation had reached Level Four as well. And the little wolf, which had always been in Junior Leopard’s carriage, was like a pet dog, but its gentle roar would make him, a Level Four expert, tremble in his heart and make the horses run around in fright.
Moreover, Junior Leopard’s fief was much larger than his. In a sense, his relationship with Junior Leopard was like that of the barbarian neighbors to the south and the Jin. He could not afford to offend such a man.
However, it was one thing to be a team, and it was another thing to manage. Junior Leopard did not even want to take care of his own team, let alone anyone else’s.
But the benefits of being a team were obvious. Although Tie Kongyi had lost a lot of people, he was well prepared before they set off. His guide was a herdsman from the Hengshan tribe, even more familiar with the terrain than Wendu. Under his guidance, the team went very well at first.
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“Your Excellency, Your Excellency!”
Hearing the small voice, the gaze of Junior Leopard moved slightly, just as he was closing his eyes. He knew that the voice came from Wendu.
Since the merger of the two teams, the guide work had been done by Tie Kongyi’s guide. Wendu seemed to have nothing to do, so his effectiveness was greatly reduced. Thanks to his hard work over the previous days, several team leaders thought that he was useful. Otherwise, he might have been kicked out of the team to wander in the vast wilderness.
Now he did some chores in Junior Leopard’s team, especially the dirtiest and most tiring work. He was a wise man who could see the situation clearly and had no complaints. Thus, Junior Leopard did not pay much attention to him at all. Unexpectedly, he came to knock on his door at midnight. What the hell was he up to?
The team prepared enough tents and would rest in them every night like herdsmen on the prairie. However, Junior Leopard was accustomed to resting in the carriage, and no one dared to oppose him. And in the evening, no one dared to disturb him if it was not necessary. Since the two teams merged into one, Tie Kongyi had been very enthusiastic. Each evening, people from the two teams came together to drink, eat, play finger-guessing games, and chat. They really had a good time and their relationship also became very harmonious.
At this time, the moon had just risen into the sky, so it should be the time for drinking. Wen’s status was not high, but he had been drinking with them around the fire. The only difference was that he sat far away from them.
“You don’t wait on them there. What are you doing here?” As Junior Leopard lifted his hand, an invisible airflow lifted the curtain in the carriage, revealing Wendu’s frightened face.
“Your, Your Excellency… there, there seems to be something wrong!”
“Something wrong? What is it?”
“There seems to be something wrong with our route!” Wendu answered.
Junior Leopard’s heart moved. “Something wrong with our route? What’s wrong with it?”
“I, I don’t know. But, but I’ve been feeling that something isn’t quite right!” Wendu shook his head.
“Do you think that their guide knows more than you and took your place, forcing you into only doing some rough work? So now you’re upset and trying to frame him?” Junior Leopard laughed.
“No, no, no, absolutely not. I dare not do such a thing, even if you give me great courage!”
“Didn’t you say that you had never come past the Dragon-pressing River? How do you know that our route through the wilderness is wrong?”
“I, I’m not sure!” Wendu said with embarrassment. “There’s nothing wrong with the general direction, but just now I saw a blacktail pinetree while I was having dinner!”
“A blacktail pinetree?” Junior Leopard was puzzled, “Wendu, make it clear. What’s wrong with a blacktail pinetree?”
“This, I, I heard a rumor from my friend in the Hengshan tribe!” Wendu said, “My friend told me that there’s a place to the north of the Dragon-pressing River called the Blacktail Plain. It looks no different from the rest of the places, but it’s covered with swamp and mire. And there’s no difference between the floating grass on the swamp and mire and the surrounding area. But if someone accidentally steps in it, the entire person will sink into it and the others will have no time to save him. In addition to the swamp and mire, there’s a lot of danger on the Blacktail Plain. Therefore, it’s a forbidden place for the Hengshan tribe and even some tribes to the north of the Hengshan tribe!”
“There’s such a thing?” Junior Leopard’s eyes narrowed and he looked at Wendu. Then he called him into the carriage and spread out the map. “Are you sure this is where the Blacktail Plain is?”
Wendu spent a few moments looking at the map, laughing bitterly. “Your Excellency, the Blacktail Plain isn’t marked on the map. If I remember correctly, my friend said the Blacktail Plain is in this area!” He drew a circle with his hand as he spoke. Junior Leopard’s expression became somber because the Blacktail Plain was between the Dragon-pressing River and his territory. It was not directly between but a little bit by the east. They had been going northwest for several days, but it would not have been discovered if the guide had deliberately deviated from the beginning. As the saying goes: A minimal deviation results in a wide divergence. For such a long time, he might have been taken them into the Blacktail Plain.
Suddenly Junior Leopard sneered and turned his eyes to the wall of the carriage. Though the wall was in the way, he could still clearly feel Tie Kongyi’s guide spying on them in the dark. But his spying was just hiding in the tall grass and looking at his carriage.
Junior Leopard now basically believed what Wendu had said. “Wendu, how did you find out that it’s wrong?”
“Because of the blacktail pinetree. The reason that it’s called the Blacktail Plain is because there are a lot of blacktail pinetrees. Just now I saw one while I was having dinner. And I also saw one today on the way. But I didn’t realize it at the time!”
“Well done!” Junior Leopard nodded and gave a look of admiration. Then, just like a Japanese invader would act toward a traitor-translator, he patted him lovingly on the shoulder and said, “You did a good job. Keep it up. I won’t treat you badly!”
“Yes, yes!” After listening to Junior Leopard, Wendu got excited.
Unlike Tie Kongyi’s guide, who was a herdsman, Wendu was a small nobleman. Though his tribe was small, he knew much more than Tie Kongyi’s guide and cherished life more than he did. Ever since Junior Leopard took him to fly into the sky, he knew that Junior Leopard was an expert whose cultivation reached Level Seven at least. Because only an expert who reached that level could fly into the sky.
What did “Level Seven expert” mean?
In the past, there were no more than 20 experts whose cultivation was at Level Seven and above in the entire Northern Yuan. Those people had the strongest combat capability on the prairie, were the most elite force, and were the highest ranking men. Since his tribe was small, the strongest warrior in the tribe was only a Level Four expert. As for a Level Seven expert, he had only heard of them, but had never seen one. However, the Level Four warrior in their tribe had told him and the other tribespeople countless times that Level Seven experts were invincible.
Therefore, he had no resistance to Junior Leopard at all, but just wanted to please him in order to be appreciated, or even valued, by Junior Leopard.
But he knew that he did not have the capacity to gain such recognition. Then he tried to keep a low profile, and was meticulous about what Junior Leopard’s team asked him to do, hoping to gain the favor of Junior Leopard.
Unexpectedly, he stumbled upon a chance to make a contribution. How could he be unhappy now that Junior Leopard seemed to believe him?
“You go back and pretend that nothing happened. That guide is spying on my carriage, and he might do something. For your own safety, don’t interact with him too much. I will investigate what you told me!”
“Yes!” Wendu paused for a moment, and hurriedly replied, bowing his head. Then he left Junior Leopard’s carriage and hurried off.
“Little Du, go and see if this guy is telling the truth!” Little Du, who was lying next to him, whined and rushed out of the carriage in a flash.
Seeing Wendu leave Junior Leopard’s carriage, the hidden guide looked a little anxious. He came out of the grass and followed Wendu.
Wendu was a smart guy. After being reminded by Junior Leopard, he did not return to his tent. He shared a tent with that guide, but they seemed to have no common language. In such circumstances, he certainly would not go back to his tent, so instead, he went straight back to the bonfire where the crowd was drinking and eating meat, and sat down not far from the crowd.
A silver light streaked across the night sky and into the depths of the prairie. No one noticed. A quarter of an hour later, deep in the prairie, a wolf howled. Although it was far away, the crowd could still feel the power of the howling.
“Hey, that’s Excellency’s Silver Wolf. How could it have left His Excellency’s carriage?” Although he had drunk a lot of wine, Zhu Ba, due to his good cultivation, immediately noticed that it was wrong.
Little Du spent most of its day in the carriage with Junior Leopard and rarely left. Why did it run deep into the prairie at midnight and howl?
Wang Cheng and Jiang Xiao and other people also responded. They rose to their feet and looked at the place where the wolf howled with puzzled expressions on their faces.
Just then, there was a sudden noise not far away. Looking up, they found that that guide had gotten to the horses, untied one of them, and leaped up.
“Oh, no! He’s trying to escape!”
Seeing this, even a fool would know what was going on. However, Zhu Ba, Wang Cheng, and Jiang Xiao did not act. The guide was Tie Kongyi’s man and they certainly would not exceed their authority.
And to their surprise, that guide had just gotten on the horse and hurried it to bolt, but before he had even fled 100 feet away, he was taken by a powerful force. He flew up from the horse and fell heavily in the middle of the crowd, who did not even have time to respond.
“What a group of idiots! You were all fooled by this guy!” Junior Leopard’s voice rang in the ears of these people. “He took us to an impasse. You can ask Wendu the details. As for…”
“Howl—!” A voice like thunder in the sky resounded from deep within the prairie, interrupting Junior Leopard. Then, a shrill howl shook the fields.
“Shit, damn it!” Junior Leopard cursed with a low voice. Then he shot out of the carriage into the depths of the prairie.