When the black wars.h.i.+p reached Yan Huang Imperial City, Wu Yu left immediately.
Of course, he would not let the Imperial General escort him over. The Imperial General was an important person who had to take care of the bigger picture. Protecting kin was a private affair, and Wu Yu had to do this himself.
All the generals and chiliarchs of Yan Huang Imperial City had to serve the greater strategy. Wu Yu was a centurion, and therefore could leave privately to head for the East Sea.
The brothers and sisters of the Heaven"s Equal Camp wanted to come with Wu Yu to help, but Wu Yu turned them down. The situation over there was fraught with peril, and Wu Yu could not guarantee their safety.
As they flew into Yan Huang Imperial City, one could see from the air that the entire Yan Huang Imperial City was not as lively as before. In fact, it was quite chaotic. Many people had grouped together, discussing together in a serious manner.
There were many Yan Huang Wars.h.i.+ps headed for the east, guided by chiliarchs!
This matter was extremely serious, and Yan Huang Imperial City was not serving out of any interest in profit.
The Yan Huang City Lord, the Taixu Sage Master, the Seven Immortals of Shushan, as well as the Tianyi Race, the Heavenly Ares Sect, Gusu Fairy Peak, the Imperial Thunderbolt Palace, and other sects had probably come to an agreement. In fact, the sects of the entire divine continent, big and small, had all come together as one.
However, they did not know for now what on earth the ghostly cultivators were up to!
It was said that in these few days, another few sects had perished, and a few mortal kingdoms had been completely decimated! Wu Yu did not dare to find out which sects and which mortal kingdoms. After leaving Yan Huang Imperial City, he had already cast the matter of Shushan far back in his thoughts, heading for the Dong Yue Wu Kingdom at full speed.
For now, neither Wu You nor Feng Xueya had sent him a message talisman. Things should be looking good!
Wu Yu used his Swift Art. Even though the energy toll was huge and made him fatigued, he still had to rush back. The Swift Art could give him five times the speed for the Art of Sword Flight, and this was much faster than before! To think that back in the day, he needed a few months in order to reach the Shushan Immortal Sect!
Under the power of the Swift Art, the golden beam of sword light flew eastward!
Wu You had already prepared a message talisman for Wu You, explaining the details of the matter. At the same time, he had also sent one to the Heavenly Sword Sect, bidding Feng Xueya activate the Million Swords Formation at the Heavenly Sword Sect, as well as for Lan Huayi to go to Capital Wu"s palace to activate the Million Swords Formation there also.
He did not ask them to escort Wu You to the Heavenly Sword Sect. Because to the ghostly cultivators, the sects were their primary target. If they faced powerful ghostly cultivators, then the Heavenly Sword Sect was the more dangerous place.
The palaces of mortals were secondary targets, while the tertiary targets were large cities, where mortals gathered.
The more remote the place for mortals, the safer it was.
The message talisman"s speed was terrific, and Wu Yu could only pray that the ghostly cultivators had yet to find the Dong Yue Wu Kingdom and the Heavenly Sword Sect. Wu Yu had seen devastated sects. They were a bit north of the Dong Yue Wu Kingdom"s position. It seemed like the ghostly cultivators were in the vicinity of the Inner Sea Dao Sect. But given the numbers and speed of their movement, it would not take them long to reach the Dong Yue Wu Kingdom, which was just a little ways south!
He could only pray.
Not long later, he was lucky - he received replies from Feng Xueya and Wu You. They did not know that the situation was so dire, and their reply was: We have done as you said. We await your return.
They knew well that Wu Yu would not rush back with such extreme haste if it was not something major.
Flying with the Swift Art, Wu Yu was extremely fatigued. His face was pale, and he was panting very heavily. But his eyes were fierce, pressing on with no intention of stopping.
"How about a rest?" Ming Long asked.
"No need."
To him, right now, even the shortest delay might result in devastating consequences.
Right now, although the Million Swords Formation had been activated, it was a matter of luck if they would meet a ghostly cultivator who could easily brush it aside!
Wu Yu knew no rest! He pressed on madly!
"Please be alright! Please be alright!"
Recalling memories of Wu You and the Heavenly Sword Sect, this was an agonizing time for Wu Yu! He charged eastwards like a madman, pus.h.i.+ng himself at a punis.h.i.+ng pace. He thought to himself that if he had not gone to Shushan, he might already be at the Dong Yue Wu Kingdom!
When there was still a day"s journey left to Capital Wu, Wu Yu received a core-tail talisman from Wu You. She wrote, "Ghostly cultivators have appeared. A few cities in the east have been destroyed, and corpses litter the fields. I"m crying. Please come back quickly...."
Seeing these words, Wu Yu was so frantic, he felt like his heart would explode. Wu You said that she was crying. She was a pitiful one. After she ascended to the throne, she had worked hard, all for the people to live better, richer, safer, and more enjoyable lives. Right now, to see a few cities" worth of mortals slain while she watched on helplessly - she must"ve been feeling agonized!
Wu Yu was very familiar with the cities in the east. He had once led troops there to hold those cities. The Dong Yue Wu people were very friendly and easygoing. Things had gone well then, but not now.
The ghostly cultivators invaded like locusts! Many mortal families were torn asunder. Many young children and loved ones floated in blood!
After seeing this, Wu Yu continued to press forth with the Swift Art. Time had become his greatest problem!
After about another half a day had pa.s.sed, he received another message talisman. This time, it was from Feng Xueya. He said, "Ghostly cultivators have appeared. They were slain by the Million Swords Formation. The royal palace is fine for now, but it"s said that ghostly cultivators have been spotted near the imperial city. The ghostly cultivators have come ash.o.r.e in great numbers. Seems like something big has happened. I hear that the Nan Shan Zhao Kingdom has been completely wiped out...."
Nan Shan Zhao Kingdom!
In his memory, it was a beautiful place. Of course, Wu Yu had fought battles against the Nan Shan Zhao Kingdom before. But he had to admit that it had breathtaking scenery, and even its people were comely.
Would the Dong Yue Wu Kingdom also be ground into dust?
Time should not be used to brood. To Wu Yu, the most practical course was to hurry back as quickly as he could. Top speed!
Closer and closer! Afterwards, he heard no more news from Wu You or Feng Xueya. Perhaps they knew that he was near, and did not dare to hurry him any more.
But Wu Yu had a feeling that when the ghostly cultivators entered the Dong Yue Wu Kingdom, he had to be near. Perhaps the East Sea coast of the Dong Yue Wu Kingdom would also become a place for the ghostly cultivators to land.
Finally, when he was almost fainting from the fatigue, he arrived at the border of the Dong Yue Wu Kingdom at top speed! After maintaining the Swift Art for so long, he was currently bone-weary! Fortunately, he still had clones. Given his current mastery of his clones, they could roam freely within the Dong Yue Wu Kingdom! Therefore, Wu Yu collapsed in a valley. But in the next instant, 1,000 Wu Yus separated and took to the skies!
Although their speed was not as quick as Wu Yu"s Swift Art, it was enough. After all, Wu Yu"s true body could no longer move. He urgently needed to recover!
Of them, 500 clones filled the sky, heading for Capital Wu!
The remaining 500 clones headed for the Heavenly Sword Sect!
And his main body sat cross-legged, devouring Inner Sea Essence Pills to replenish his parched body. For now, Wu Yu felt like his clones could deal with a majority of the ghostly cultivators. If it was a situation that required his main body, then it had to be an important person amongst the ghostly cultivators!
The eyes of the thousand clones were also his eyes. That was why he currently knew every bit of knowledge about the Dong Yue Wu Kingdom"s situation. He flew past the cities in the west, which were still standing, although the populace was panicking and fleeing. Many people had heard that the cities had fallen, and were now running in a panic to the wilderness. It was truly like doomsday!
Howls, cries, panic. People were crying, fleeing everywhere. In the chaos, parents were separated from children, and they could only kneel helplessly on the floor, crying.
As he neared Capital Wu, he could feel the intense aura. Ghostly qi filled the air! The cities near Capital Wu were virtually empty. Most had fled into Capital Wu, and one city seemed to not have evacuated in time. b.l.o.o.d.y corpses littered the place. One of Wu Yu"s clones landed there and quivered in anger!
All of the dead were innocent mortals! The ghostly cultivators were so cruel! Was there not a single good person amongst them!?
Time did not allow him the luxury of anger. His 500 clones charged dementedly towards Capital Wu. These were all Heaven sword rank clones. Just one would be able to hunt down ordinary ghostly cultivators, let alone 500!
As expected, the Million Swords Formation was already activated!
He could see that, outside of the Million Swords Formation, about 10 ghostly cultivators were currently laughing uproariously. They were using all kinds of blood-bonded immortal treasures to attack the Million Swords Formation from outside. They did not go in.
"Do you see that? The leader"s a woman. Looks real fresh-tastin" as well. After we break this spirit design, that wench is ours!"
"Keke, lookit that figure. Plump and pert. After tasting that, her eyes and tongue can become material for blood-bonding my baby. The eyes and tongue of a martial cultivator should be better than that of 1,000 mortals, eh? At least 10,000!"
"Brothers, put yer back into it. That chick"s not gonna hold out much longer!"
The ghostly cultivators roared with laughter, reckless and at ease. The Million Swords Formation continued to shudder. Evidently, it would not hold out for much longer. It was just Lan Huayi, who was at the Jindan Dao Realm. She was fatigued, her face pale and filled with terror.
The ministers of Capital Wu and Wu You were behind her. There were so many ghostly cultivators, and the mortals had lost their courage.
Wu You bit her lip before saying in a loud, firm voice, "Everyone, calm down. My little brother will definitely be here soon." She was a dragon robe and still commanded some a.s.surance right now.
Lan Huayi could only hold on bitterly.
Her vision was swimming a little. Suddenly, she recalled the first time she laid eyes on Wu Yu. She had been at loggerheads with Wu Yu because of her disciple, Situ Minglang.
Who would have thought the day would come when he would become a dragon amongst men, and she would be willingly protecting his home.
But the ghostly cultivators were too savage. She could not imagine how horrible her fate would be after they lost.
Suddenly, she saw many Wu Yus appearing above. Her vision was going crazy.
She gave a bitter laugh. "My vision is swimming. To see so many of him...."