Of the nine Human Sovereign Realm warriors of the Serenity Plains, two died and four were captured and defected. Only three Human Sovereign Realm warriors were left to be dealt with. The dice had been cast. Clouds Plains won a landslide victory. Lu Ling would not rest until the Serenity Plains was conquered.
Lu Li and Hu Lang teleported back to the Clouds Plains. But they only saw an army of hundreds of thousands, not many. There were few n.o.ble Lord Realm warriors.
Lu Li inspected the Drifting Cloud Hall but failed to see Lu Ling in there. He and Hu Lang went to the back area and asked a familiar n.o.ble Lord Realm warrior, "Where is the Saintess? She isn"t at the Drifting Cloud City?"
The old man of the n.o.ble Lord Realm warrior saluted them and answered, "Saintess set off with the army. She said that after you come back, you should stay in command at the Drifting Cloud City."
"Commanding?" Lu Li frowned and asked after some thoughts, "Where is the army now?"
The old warrior replied, "According to report sent back this morning, the army has pa.s.sed the Serene Cloud Sea. The emperor has declared to tread down the Serenity Plains."
Lu Li voiced his confusion, "Why do we need to stay in command here at the Drifting Cloud City when our army is on the way to the Serenity Plains?"
He turned to Hu Lang and said, "General, why don"t you stay here. I will go and help our army. "
Hu Lang would not let Lu Li act alone. The former shook his head and said, "State Counselor, the Saintess has given her order. Let us wait here. Also…we are not just staying here. We need to keep an eye on the Frost Plains and the Central Plains. We have quite a heavy responsibility."
The old warrior also tried to persuade Lu Li, "Saintess said that this is an order and that she would punish you by military rules if you failed to obey."
"…"
Lu Li pouted. Lu Ling would deal with him according to military law? But he did understand Lu Ling"s standpoint. The final outcome was determined. Lu Li"s presence in the army would be pointless. It was safer to stay at the rear end.
The number of Human Sovereign Realm warriors on Lu Ling"s side had reached 11 and the Serenity Plains only had three Human Sovereign Realm warriors left. It was impossible for the Central Plains to intervene openly. Therefore, she should be in safety. There indeed was little he could do.
"Never mind!"
Lu Li decided to let go and asked another question, "Have you arranged for someone to collect information of the Great Buddhist Temple?"
This old warrior was also Lu Ling"s slave and Lu Li remembered him to be a chief steward at the Drifting Cloud Hall. Lu Li knew that Lu Ling often let the old warrior handle some things, which was why Lu Li asked.
The old warrior nodded and replied, "Yes, I have. I used a secret means to send words to our men at the Central Plains. We will be hearing about it in less than 10 days."
"Okay!"
Lu Li was more concerned about Bodhi Fruit than slaughtering at the Serenity Plains. He settled at the Drifting Cloud Hall and decided to use this time to cultivate. As for keeping an eye on the Frost Plains and the Central Plains, Lu Li asked Hu Lang to deal with that. Lu Ling didn"t say anything particular about this but she must have sent someone to take care of it. There was no need for Lu Li to worry.
Five days later, a report was sent back from the front. The Clouds Plains" army has entered the Serenity Plains. Another Human Sovereign Realm warrior was captured and the only two left didn"t put up a fight. They left for the south.
Like fire raging over the prairie, the army swarmed at the Serenity Plains. Everywhere the army was at, all the families and forces, big and small, exited their cities to surrender. No city dared to put up a fight. In just five days, the army had occupied more than 100 cities. It was only a matter of time before the entire Serenity Plains was conquered.
Of the nine Human Sovereign Realm warriors of the Serenity Plains, five of them defected and two were killed. The other two would escape the Serenity Plains soon.
Similar to what Lu Li and Hu Lang had experienced when they were raging across many cities, the enemy forces with no powerful warriors collapsed at the first blow. An army"s size was not the only determiner. When one Human Sovereign Realm was leading, 10,000 warriors could best an enemy force of millions.
At the Great Land, powerful warriors stood at the top of hierarchy. One powerful warrior could easily occupy a piece of territory and many warriors would follow him, which could lead to a force. When the forefather powerful warrior pa.s.sed away, the force would collapse soon.
Lu Li wasn"t too excited by the report because this was not a surprise. It all came down to whether the two Human Sovereign Realm warriors would run from the Serenity Plains or put up a desperate fight or be captured by Lu Ling.
Lu Li didn"t take much delight in the fact that Lu Ling had captured more Human Sovereign Realm warriors. The number of Human Sovereign Realm warriors wouldn"t make much of a difference.
Lu Li and Lu Ling feared no forces other than those at the Central Plains. When the 12 Royal Families of the Central Plains invaded, the Cloud Prowess Empire would face the same fate even if they had 100 Human Sovereign Realm warriors. The Samsara Place could beat them all with two Earth Immortal Realm warriors.
Of course, certain benefits would come with more Human Sovereign Realm warriors. At the very least, there was a greater chance to see the birth of Earth Immortal Realm warriors.
The only thing on Lu Li"s mind was the Bodhi Fruit and concern of Bai Qiuxue. He could die without much regret as long as she could be saved…
Time moved on. Four days later, news was sent back from the Central Plains. The Chief Steward of the Drifting Cloud Hall reported to Lu Li instantly.
"There is a batch of fruit to be sold, for sure?"
It was confirmed that in over a month"s time, the Great Buddhist Temple would sell some fruits at the City of Buddha. The fruits were all of the top level and every piece of them was valuable and they all had incredible effects. The news had spread across the Central Plains and it would become a grand celebration at the Central Plains. Many families, big or small, had left for the City of Buddha already.
However, the scouts at the Central Plains didn"t find out whether Bodhi Fruit was on sale because the information of fruits were kept confidential prior to the auction. It was likely that only disciples of major families could know.
After the chief steward said his piece, Lu Li took out a map to look at once. He breathed in relief after browsing. The Great Buddhist Temple was located at the west Central Plains, not far from the Clouds Plains and the Serenity Plains.
Lu Li asked Hu Lang, "Can we teleport to the City of Buddha?"
"Yes, we can…"
Hu Lang answered with hesitation, "But we will only be fine outside of the Central Plains. As soon as we set foot at the Central Plains, the 12 Royal Families will be able to kill us easily. The 12 Royal Families cannot invade the other plains. However, the favor is not reciprocal. They can charge us for sinister intention and sentence us to death… "
The chief steward added in agreement, "Generally speaking, we will not go to the Central Plains. When we want to buy Mystical Materials, we will only commission someone there to do it for us. If general goes to the Central Plains, he will not live past three days. State Councilor, don"t worry about this. I will send someone go to there with many Xuan Crystals. Saintess had said that we must have the Bodhi Fruit at all costs."
"You are in fear of the 12 Royal Families but I am not!"
Lu Li shook his head and said, "I will go to the Central Plains openly and I will see who has the guts to hurt me. Even if I went to the Samsara Palace, they wouldn"t dare to hurt me. They might even send protection for fear that something might happen to me at the Samsara City."
"Bodhi Fruit is too important to me to allow for any errors." Lu Li continued after some thoughts, "Send a word to my sister and tell her that I am going to the City of Buddha. If she is not okay with that, I will go on my own…"
"Um…"
Both Hu Lang and chief steward felt pressured. But the chief steward had to go and send the message. Lu Li settled at the back area to wait for reply. If Lu Ling forbade him from going, he would have to go on his own. He must acquire the Bodhi Fruit even if he had to s.n.a.t.c.h for it.
Bai Qiuxue had been frozen for two years. She was frozen but she could think. There was nothing but darkness in her world. She was surrounded by cold ice. Anyone would lose mind living like this.
"I must go to the City of Buddha!"
Lu Li was determined. Whether the Great Buddhist Temple had the Bodhi Fruit or not, he would have to go to the City of Buddha.