On a stormy night, the Red Barbarian cannon was inconvenient to move, so the best strategy was to rest in place.
Chen Shi walked through the wind that howled like cattle, thundering in his ears. It was pitch-black in the wind, making it hard to tell directions, and from time to time huge boulders, driven by the wind, flew towards him, weighing more than ten thousand pounds.
He leaned on the Hua Gai as he moved, occasionally bursting forth a stream of light, shattering the giant boulders that came crashing down.
A small temple floated behind his head, illuminating the surroundings, with his own Qi-Blood condensing a Wind Stabilizing Talisman above his head. Wherever he passed, the hurricane ceased, allowing space enough to accommodate a fathom for him to take shelter.
The sky was dark, with no moon visible, making it impossible to determine direction, but there was sunlight behind him that allowed him to deduce his bearings according to the sun and moon of the Huaxia Divine Continent. After all, as he turned, the sun and moon of Huaxia Divine Continent did not spin with him.
There were also some powerful evil spirits in the wind, coveting Chen Shi, always close to consuming someone, but suddenly everything in front of them would blur, and they’d find themselves inside a small temple, sitting upright on the altar.
The evil essence on the evil spirits was mostly refined away, and they would be thrown back into the wind, waiting for the next evil spirit to visit.
The light emitted from the small temple behind Chen Shi only illuminated three or four steps ahead, any further and all was engulfed in blackness.
The wind was too fierce, as if the air grew black hair, making the field of vision somewhat unstable.
Chen Shi walked for a long time, relying on memory to arrive at the location of an ancient temple, which had originally been collapsed by cannon fire, and now in the hurricane, even bricks and stones were lifted into the air, leaving only the foundation.
He determined his bearings based on the foundation and walked into the thick darkness.
The wind grew increasingly fierce.
Chen Shi’s Wind Stabilizing Talisman was repeatedly torn apart by the strong winds, making his advance difficult, but he still braved the winds and moved forward.
He did not know whether the people who bombarded him were from the Divine Mechanism Camp or the cause of their enmity.
He only knew that he had more than forty scholars, the pillars of the state, with him, who had been bombarded on their way to the capital for the imperial examinations! frёewebηovel.cѳm
No matter who the other party was or how powerful they were, they must pay the price!
Walking into the late night, the wind still roared, deafening. Chen Shi shook the dust off his body and applied a Dust Cleaning Talisman to himself.
Then, ten steps ahead, a light appeared. Chen Shi’s heart stirred, he retracted the small temple, and hid the Dust Cleaning Talisman and Wind Stabilizing Talisman behind him to avoid startling the people ahead with their glow.
He moved his feet slowly, quietly approaching.
The light was the glow emanating from a Nascent Soul.
The light emitted by the Nascent Soul was called divine light, with a strong penetrating ability.
Two Nascent Souls floated in the air, spinning ceaselessly.
The Nascent Soul had a better field of vision than the physical body and could even see things like ghosts and gods; if enemies approached, they would be detected from afar.
It was just that on such a windy day, even the Nascent Souls could not see far.
Chen Shi stood in the wind, using the light of the Nascent Souls to observe the area.
He saw two men in black tight-fitting gowns sitting next to a Red Barbarian cannon, with a banner planted beside them, taller than a man. The banner was made of golden fabric, embroidered with a Wind Stabilizing Talisman, likely a talismanic weapon, to stabilize the malicious winds of this place.
All along the way, the Wind Stabilizing Talisman transformed from Chen Shi’s Qi-Blood had been broken more than ten times, but the power of this Wind Stabilizing Banner was still evident, clearly having undergone sacrificial refinement.
The two black-clothed men sat under the banner, starting a charcoal fire, roasting flatbreads. They tore the flatbreads in half, skewering them with twigs and toasting them over the fire until they were crispy and golden on both sides, emanating the fragrance of wheat.
One of them was skinning a four-legged stone bird; this bird was large, but mostly inedible stone, except for a clump of flesh near the heart, which tasted superb.
The other was a red-haired, blue-eyed European, likely responsible for keeping watch, and so they did not sleep.
There was another carriage next to them, without a cannon on it, and five big men slept on it.
They were likely responsible for the Red Barbarian cannon; the adjacent carriage served as a spare, in case one broke down, they would still have another.
Maintaining a Red Barbarian cannon required seven men. One for cleaning the cannon barrel, one for loading bullets, one for adjusting, one a pharmacist, responsible for treating injuries and preparing gunpowder, one a Talisman Master, one a driver, and one a Wind Observation Master, for judging wind direction and enemy location.
At the same time, these seven people had to be good at both close combat and long-range attacks; if enemies came close, they could still use spells and weapons to fight.
Cannons often had to be spread out, with a distance of a hundred paces between two cannons, seldom gathered together, lest they be wiped out in one fell swoop.
The cannon that attacked Chen Shi and his companions encountered a sudden strong wind and was unable to gather and make camp, so they had to set up camp separately for the night.
"Can you two beasts not eat at night?"
One of the men lying on the carriage sat up, speaking disapprovingly, "You’ve made the flatbreads so fragrant, how can I sleep?"
The European laughed, "At night, how can we keep watch if we don’t eat our fill? If you’re hungry, come down and have some."
The man came down from the carriage, smiling, "Well then, I’ll have a little."
Just then, the black shaggy dog crawling beside the carriage suddenly pricked its ears, raising its head to look outside, barking loudly.
The three men were startled, each prompting their altars, preparing their Nascent Souls and spells.
The European even grabbed two bullets, ready to throw at any moment.
The four on the carriage also woke up, sitting up alertly.
Looking into the wind, they could vaguely make out a figure - thin and tall.
The European breathed a sigh of relief, laughing, "An evil spirit. You gave me a scare. In the middle of the night, I thought who else could walk out of the wind to attack us. Rest assured, the evil spirit can’t come in."
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