There were 200,000 soldiers and horses in Luoyang, but Changsheng only took 50,000 with him during this expedition, including 20,000 cavalry, 20,000 infantry, and 10,000 baggage rear troops.
Changsheng only took 50,000 people with him because of multiple considerations. First, there were too many soldiers and horses on the expedition, which put too much pressure on the rear to provide food and grass. Second, although Zhu Quanzhong and Sun Ru joined forces to defend and resist, he was in command, accompanied by Yu Yi and Shi Xuanming. When necessary, he could use his protective talismans to march straight in, draw fire from the bottom of the cauldron, and directly kill the enemy commander. The last consideration was that if he took away all the troops, the emperor would still be frightened. After all, it was better to hold the military power in his own hands than in anyone else's hands. He left all the remaining troops and horses to the court. Let the emperor feel completely at ease.
If it were anyone else, he would definitely be dissatisfied because the emperor was not completely at ease with him, but Changsheng did not have such thoughts. The emperor was also a human being, and he would also have selfish thoughts. It was already very difficult to do this. You can't be arrogant and arrogant just because the court needs you right now, and find fault with the emperor.
Due to the large number of people, the marching speed was very slow. The infantry could only travel 80 to 100 miles a day, and the cavalry could only travel more than 300 miles. The forwards left the city at all times, and the army did not leave Luoyang until after sunset.
When the sun set, Changsheng suddenly entered the Purple Qi Cave Abyss. In fact, it was not sudden. The Hunyuan Divine Art can gather and temper the spiritual energy on its own. It has been more than 300 days since he entered the Light Purple Residence Mountain, so he should also enter the Purple Qi Cave. Deep.
The promotion from Jushan to Dongyuan is undoubtedly a step forward. If it were anyone else, he would be very happy, but Changsheng's heart is not at all troubled. Return is imminent, and the improvement of spiritual energy cultivation is meaningless.
Zhengzhou is located due east of Luoyang, and the distance between the two places is only more than 600 miles. That night, the army was still within its own sphere of influence. It continued to move forward the next day, and entered enemy-occupied areas in the evening. There were many counties and towns below Zhengzhou, and counties in enemy-occupied areas Zhenye, like Fengxiang, had all the enemy troops withdrawn, leaving only the civilians.
This situation was also expected by Changsheng. At present, his own side is the most powerful and his morale is very high. It is unwise to confront his own side at this time. Temporarily avoiding the edge is undoubtedly the best choice, and he is commanding the troops this time. He did not intend to completely annihilate the enemy army when he went out. In fact, it was not that he did not want to, but that he knew that he could not, because the enemy would retreat all the way. All he could do was to recover the cities occupied by the enemy as much as possible and drive Zhu Quanzhong back further. .
After setting up camp that night, Yu Yi and Shi Xuanming came to the commander's camp. The two of them rushed to Zhengzhou overnight to find and assassinate Zhu Quanzhong.
Changsheng thought deeply and then rejected the two people's ideas. The reason was also very simple. He was not sure where Long Haotian and Gongsun Chengwei were now. If they happened to be in Zhengzhou, Yu Yi and Shi Xuanming would have fallen into a trap.
A large part of the reason why he faced his departure calmly without deliberately delaying it was to protect the people around him. Naturally, Yu Yi and Shi Xuanming were not allowed to put themselves in danger.
Changsheng disagreed, and the two had no choice but to return to the camp separately. They were both generals, and the tent they lived in was very large, just around Changsheng's handsome tent.
After lying down, Chang Sheng sensed the location of the other talismans as usual. What he didn't expect was that a silver talisman actually appeared on the boundary of Tianzhu to the west of Jiannan Road. The other silver talismans were all in their respective locations, including the ones that had been stranded at the seaside. Yun Zhenzi also returned to Hebei Road, and the extra silver talisman undoubtedly belonged to Gongsun Chengwei. Gongsun Chengwei originally only had a bronze talisman, but after killing Murong Feng and Miao Nu, it was combined into a silver talisman.
The spiritual talismans of Long Haotian and Gongsun Chengwei had always been invisible, which meant that they had a way to hide the spiritual talismans. But this time Gongsun Chengwei's spiritual talismans suddenly appeared. What happened? Did Gongsun Chengwei do it intentionally, or was there some reason why he could no longer hide the magic talisman?
If it's the former, what is Gongsun Chengwei's purpose of deliberately exposing his whereabouts? Tune the tiger away from the mountain? Unreasonable, Yu Yi's Zhengyan Dazang can teleport to others. Even if he, Datou and others are lured there, once something happens in Middle-earth, everyone on his side can return immediately.
Furthermore, Long Haotian and Gongsun Chengwei had been invisible before. No matter what the two wanted to do, no one on our side could detect it in advance. It seemed that Gongsun Chengwei had no need to go to Tianzhu to deliberately expose his whereabouts.
However, there is another possibility, that is, the method used by Long Haotian and Gongsun Chengwei to hide the talismans will become ineffective if they leave the Tang Dynasty or are too far away. Gongsun Chengwei does not know this and only pretends that he is still invisible. , this time he rushed to Tianzhu to assassinate the Tianzhu monk who also had a silver talisman.
According to the moving direction of the silver talisman, it can be determined that Gongsun Chengwei was indeed heading for the Tianzhu monk, but Long Haotian's golden talisman did not appear together. However, it is not possible to determine whether Long Haotian did not accompany him or not. His method of hiding the golden talisman has not yet failed.
Changsheng was not sleepy at all. After noticing the abnormality, he concentrated on sensing and paying attention at all times. At dawn, Gongsun Chengwei successfully rushed to the area where the Tianzhu monk was. After a short stay, the two silver talismans began to go west together.
Naturally, the Tianzhu fan monk will not go with Gongsun Chengwei. The two silver talismans moved together, indicating that Gongsun Chengwei has killed the Tianzhu fan monk and obtained his silver talisman, and his next movement direction is also very clear. It's Baba Dam, thousands of miles away.
Seeing that he could wait no longer, Changsheng called Yu Yi and Shi Xuanming, briefly explained the situation, and then ordered the deputy general to lead the team forward, while the three of his own party teleported to Fengxiang to meet up with Yang Kai and Datou.
Yang Kai had also sensed the changes in the silver talisman last night. When the Chang Sheng trio arrived, Yang Kai was discussing the matter with Da Tou.
When Chang Sheng sat down, Da Tou spoke first, "Your Majesty, Big Donkey Face now has two silver talismans. If this guy kills that barbarian again, he will collect three silver talismans and turn them into gold talismans. By then, he will Both Long Haotian and Long Haotian have golden talismans, so we are very passive."
After finishing speaking, Yang Kai said, "And they also have a way to hide the magic talismans so that we don't know where they are."
"Gongsun Chengwei's spiritual talisman appeared suddenly. Is there any fraud involved?" Shi Xuanming said.
Yang Kai said, "Big Tou and I have also thought about this possibility, but they don't seem to have the need to deceive us. To say the least, even if there is a scam, we must go and stop it, and we must not let them get two gold talismans."
Yu nodded and said, "I agree with Yang Kai. If they are allowed to gather another golden talisman, our existing advantage will be completely lost, and the situation will no longer be under our control."
"That makes sense." Shi Xuanming nodded.
Although the four people expressed their opinions, it was still up to Chang Sheng to decide how to respond. Chang Sheng said after pondering, "Gongsun Chengwei is still thousands of miles away from Babadamu at this time. It should be too late. Don't worry. Think about it carefully."
After Chang Sheng finished speaking, he said again without waiting for everyone to answer, "Long Haotian has never shown up, and his spiritual talisman cannot be sensed. Therefore, it is impossible to determine whether this person is traveling with Gongsun Chengwei."
Yang Kai said, "Long Haotian should be with Gongsun Chengwei. Without his help, it would not be easy for Gongsun Chengwei to defeat Fan Seng."
"We cannot rule out the possibility that Gongsun Chengwei has other helpers around him," Changsheng said.
"It is indeed possible," Yang Kai nodded, "But even if Long Haotian is not traveling with Gongsun Chengwei, we must go and stop Gongsun Chengwei."
Changsheng frowned in thought, and after a moment turned to look at Yu Yi, "It's not yet the time we agreed with Yuqing Sect. You go to Qingyang and ask my third brother to rush to Liangyi Mountain as soon as possible and tell everyone in Yuqing that we To act in advance, ask them to come to see me before noon."
Yu nodded in agreement, cast a spell and left.
After Yu Yi left, Changsheng said, "The Jade Qing Sect has a way to determine the location of Long Haotian. With them traveling together, it will be safe."
"Is there enough time?" Datou worried, "We have only been to the Immortal Palace as far as possible. Yu Yi can only take us there. If we go further west, we have to rely on our mounts and body skills."
Changsheng said, "Baba Dam is not a fool. When he notices the two silver talismans heading towards him, he will immediately understand that the other party is going to kill him. He will not sit still and wait for death. He will definitely run for his life. Gongsun Chengwei thought It’s not easy to catch up with him.”
After the three people nodded, Chang Sheng stood up and left his seat, walked to Yang Kai's bed and lay down, "I didn't sleep well last night. I'll take a nap before they arrive."
At the beginning of noon, Xing Xuezi and others hurriedly arrived under the leadership of Chen Liqiu. The reason why Changsheng asked Chen Liqiu to go over and inform everyone in Yuqing was because Chen Liqiu did not have a magic talisman and would not be waited for by Long Haotian no matter where he went. Human perception perceives.
The people from Yuqing came in batches, and by 3:00 noon, more than thirty masters of purple energy had arrived from all over. Changsheng was not in a hurry to explain the cause and effect to everyone in Yuqing, but first asked fellow Taoist Yuqing to make sure. Long Haotian's current location.
Hearing Changsheng's words, five Yuqing masters joined forces from the back hall to practice. They found an artifact used by Long Haotian from nowhere, so they used it to cast a dragnet and search with remote sensing.
After half an hour, the leader, Taoist Yuqing, finally determined the location of Long Haotian, "Found it, on Hebei Road."
"Hebei Road?" Changsheng and others suddenly frowned and looked at each other.
Seeing that everyone had doubts, the old Taoist nodded confidently again, "You can't be wrong. This person is now in Beidou Mountain in the northeast of Hebei Province."
"Beidou Mountain? Isn't that the location of Taiqing Sect's Beidou Palace?" Changsheng asked.
"Yes." The old man nodded.
"Why did Long Haotian go to Yun Zhenzi's house?" Datou scratched his head in confusion.
"Without his help, how could Gongsun Chengwei take down the Tianzhu monk?" Yang Kai was also confused.
Chen Liqiu was also nearby at this time. Hearing everyone's words, he immediately volunteered, "Let me go and investigate for myself."
Chang Sheng thought for a moment and nodded in agreement, "That's fine."
After Chang Sheng finished speaking, he turned to look at Yu Yi, "It's a long way to Beidou Palace. You send my third senior brother to Hebei Road."
After Yu Yi retreated to prepare, Chang Sheng said to Chen Liqiu, "Third Senior Brother, time is tight. We don't have time to wait for you to come back. It's not convenient for Yu Yi to go pick you up. You bring a pen and paper and write down what you see and hear."
Changsheng said this and looked at Yu Yi again, "How far is the place where my third senior brother appears from Beidou Palace?"
"It's only two hundred miles." Yu Yi replied.
Changsheng looked at Chen Liqiu again, "How long does it take to go back and forth two hundred miles?"
"I have wings of wind and thunder. I can come and go quickly. It just takes time to spy on the situation." Chen Liqiu thought for a while, "Half an hour should be enough."
Changsheng nodded and said, "Okay, after you go there, remember the specific location where you appeared, observe it, return to the original place, and write down the situation in Beidou Palace on paper, so we can see it from here."
Chen Liqiu nodded in agreement, and then appeared in Hebei Road through the Void Xuanmen that Yu Yi had broken open.
Everyone in Yuqing was very confident in their sect's magic. After Chen Liqiu left, everyone in Yuqing began to make plans and prepare for a fight.
Everyone came from afar and didn't have lunch. While waiting for Chen Liqiu's news, Changsheng arranged lunch for everyone. However, everyone was excited and had no appetite, so they all just tasted it.
When half an hour came, Yu Yi immediately opened the Xuanmen again. Chen Liqiu on the other side of the Xuanmen was already waiting there with a piece of paper in his hand. The paper clearly said, "Long Haotian and Gongsun Chengwei are both in Beidou Palace, but Not a single purple energy master in the palace was seen. '
Seeing what Chen Liqiu wrote, everyone in Yuqing was very excited and turned to look at Changsheng.
Changsheng made a decision immediately, "Everyone, go ahead and surround Long Haotian. We will go there in a quarter of an hour."
Hearing Changsheng's words, everyone in Yuqing immediately rushed into Xuanmen. Due to the large number of people, they were worried that Yu Yi's spiritual energy would not be sustained, so Yang Kai used the Zhoutian Divine Art to replenish his spiritual energy.
After everyone in Yuqing rushed into the Xuanmen, Yu Yi gathered his strength and lowered his hands, closing the Void Xuanmen.
"Your Majesty, what is going on here?" Da Tou looked stunned. "Why did Long Haotian and Da Donkey Face end up at Yun Zhenzi's house?"
Without waiting for Changsheng to answer, Datou said again, "Looking at this posture, it should be Yun Zhenzi who went to the Western Region to kill the monks. The purple energy masters from Beidou Palace may also have followed."
Not only Da Tou was puzzled, but Yang Kai and others were also confused. Chang Sheng couldn't figure it out at first. After thinking for a long time, he suddenly realized, "I know, Yun Zhenzi was tricked by Long Haotian."
"What do you say?" Datou asked eagerly.
Changsheng said, "It must have been Gongsun Chengwei who killed Murong Feng and Miao Nu, but after Gongsun Chengwei got the silver talisman, he did not go to kill Tianzhu monks, but went to Beidou Palace. Long Haotian tried to hide it for Yun Zhenzi He obtained the spiritual talisman and encouraged him to hunt down Fan Seng and Baba Dam, while Gongsun Chengwei revealed the spiritual talisman and tried to give us the illusion that Yun Zhenzi had been staying in Beidou Palace."
"That's not right," Datou hadn't reacted yet, "Not long ago, Long Haotian killed the owner of a rice shop and blamed Yun Zhenzi. How come he suddenly treated him so well and even helped him get the golden talisman."
"If Long Haotian was really good to Yun Zhenzi, Yun Zhenzi's magic talisman would not be exposed suddenly," Changsheng said. "Long Haotian did not tell Yun Zhenzi all the methods of hiding the magic talisman for a long time, but he reserved it. The purpose is to let Yun Zhenzi reveal his spiritual talisman and lead us to kill him. Yun Zhenzi should still be in the dark at this time and does not know that his spiritual talisman has been exposed."
"Long Haotian's move is really damaging," Datou said, "but if Yun Zhenzi is tricked, he doesn't seem to get much benefit."
"Why can't we get it?" Changsheng said, "Long Haotian doesn't know that we have the Canopy Sword. In his opinion, if Yun Zhenzi successfully synthesizes the golden talisman, I must kill him myself. Now I already have If you get two golden talismans, if you get another one, you will immediately ascend."
Seeing Da Tou still scratching his head, Yang Kai said, "Long Haotian knows very well that he is no match for the prince, but if the prince leaves, he will be almost invincible even without the golden talisman."
"There are no tigers in the mountains, so monkeys dominate?" Datou finally woke up.
Yang Kai nodded, "For him, as long as he sends the prince away, he will win."
"This guy is really bad," Datou sighed. "With one move, he killed Yun Zhenzi who wanted to assist Zhu Quanzhong, and also sent away the prince who had been suppressing him."
Shi Xuanming nodded and said, "Yes, fortunately the prince can keep his composure, otherwise we would have been chasing Yun Zhenzi in the Western Region by now."
"Let's go too and kill this monkey quickly." Datou said impatiently.
Changsheng shook his head, "Don't worry, if we show up too early, he will notice it. With so many Yuqing masters encircling and suppressing them together, Long Haotian can't escape..."
