Journey to the West: Treasure Vase of the Great Dao

"The Divine Spirit has told me that a formidable enemy is approaching," the old man's eyes were barely open as he spoke, yet his words brought great joy to the Barbarian leader, who was currently fretting over how to deal with Ran Min and his Army of the Living Dead. The old man's arrival was undoubtedly terrific news.

In regards to the Divine Spirit that the tribe had long worshipped, the leader had always held a sense of awe. In contrast to the orderly Central Plains that were sealed off by the power of Kyushu, the living area of the Barbarian Tribes appeared chaotic and disordered, providing fertile ground for these so-called Divine Spirits. Behind every member of the Barbarian Tribes stood a Divine Spirit.

Now that there was news of Divine Spirit intervention, for the Barbarians who were close to despair, it was a highly exhilarating matter; hence, the chieftain did not conceal it but proclaimed it widely. Soon, the Barbarians, whose morale had been low from being hunted down, were reinvigorated with courage, knowing that this time, their own Divine Spirits stood behind them.

Ran Min, leading the Army of the Living Dead, was already closing in on the Barbarian camp. He was acutely aware that his current state could only last for ten days. In these ten days, he had to kill as many Barbarians as possible; otherwise, once time was up and exhaustion set in, he would miss the golden opportunity.

However, when he encountered the Barbarians ahead, the situation was beyond his expectations. He had thought that these terrified Barbarians had already lost the courage to fight him, but within this short amount of time, the Barbarians had regrouped, and though still somewhat disorderly, their morale had evidently been restored.

Ran Min frowned, sensing that something was amiss, but at this point, he had no choice but to fight. The Army of the Living Dead had reached this point by relying on a tenacious spirit. If that spirit faltered, they were finished.

Grinding his teeth, Ran Min waved his hand to issue the command to attack. The tireless Army of the Living Dead began to roar, "Army of the Living Dead, slaughter the Barbarians!"

This fierce cry of killing intent momentarily threw the Barbarian camp into disarray. It awakened the fear that the Barbarians had buried deep in their hearts, the same people who, on that very night, chanting the same slogan, had slaughtered their comrades.

"Since when have our boys become so cowardly?" the High Priest, watching the slightly tumultuous army with furrowed brows, said.

A trace of embarrassment appeared on the leader's face. The recent pursuit had filled them with fear. Had it not been for the High Priest arriving with the Divine Spirit's command, they would have already fled like stray dogs.

These People of Han were like demons who had climbed out of the Abyss, seemingly never knowing fatigue, always wielding cold blades, looking at every Barbarian with a cold gaze meant for the dead, excitedly cutting them down as if slaughtering cattle and sheep.

Such a scene had already been deeply etched into their minds, turning into a Poison Snake that occasionally tore at their souls, bringing fear with it.

Suppressing the fear rising in his heart, the leader ordered, "Boys, to battle, the Divine Spirit is with us."

Under this command, the Barbarians reluctantly went to meet what they feared most, but as the soldiers of the Army of the Living Dead raised their swords, the fear that had been buried deep in their hearts exploded. Many instinctively dodged, and the hard-won morale dissipated entirely.

To their surprise, the Army of the Living Dead discovered that the Barbarians, who had seemed quite fierce moments earlier, had suddenly become cowardly again. They would not let such an opportunity slip by and seized the chance to expand their own tally of victories.

Ran Min, at the forefront of his soldiers, ceaselessly slaughtered the Barbarian soldiers before him. Yet a sliver of doubt lingered in his heart, unable to be dispelled; he was eager to know what sort of trump card these Barbarians still had up their sleeve.

The High Priest's face turned ashen as he watched the battlefield in front of him; his white eyebrows nearly knitted together. He looked at the equally ashen leader and said coldly, "Useless, how have you led the tribe's warriors to this sorry state, like mighty tigers that have their claws and teeth pulled out."

"High Priest, you are unaware that these beggar soldiers are like madmen, relentless, unafraid of life or death. They have been chasing us for many days now, and the lads truly have no strength left!" the leader argued.

The High Priest gave him a cold glance, said nothing more, and instead picked up a human-skin drum and walked forward. As he walked, he performed a strange dance, while chanting an odd spell. The leader knew this was a ritual dance, and the High Priest was communicating with the Divine Spirit they worshiped.

With a "boom," the High Priest struck the human-skin drum, and a sinister aura emerged from it. The resentment and death energy of the surrounding dead soldiers gathered at an incredibly fast pace, and soon a huge Ghostly Entity appeared before everyone's eyes.

The Ghostly Entity towered a hundred feet tall, shrouded in black mist, its face obscured, revealing only its red eyes and the strange horns atop its head.

The moment the Ghostly Entity appeared, a chilly breath spread over both the beggar soldiers and the leaders, infiltrating their bodies and making them shudder involuntarily.

The Barbarian leader looked fervently at the enormous Ghostly Entity before him, a guardian of the Divine Spirit mentioned in the records, an invincible being of legend. Now that it had taken action, the people of Han facing them were bound to die here.

With this thought came a surge of elation. Since they had invaded the Central Plains, they had always been the ones slaughtering the people of Han; never before had they been driven to such a desperate state, which was a blow to their pride and had planted a seed of fear in their hearts. Only with the death of these people could they completely eradicate the fear buried deep within.

The very second the Ghostly Entity appeared, Ran Min sensed trouble. This Ghostly Entity was likely the reason these Barbarians still dared to fight, and it looked incredibly difficult to deal with.

He furrowed his brow, instinctively wanting to lead his troops in retreat, but the words wouldn't come out because he knew that once he ordered a retreat, the advantageous situation they had worked so hard to achieve would be given away, and the hard-won resolve of the Han Tribe would collapse once more.

"We cannot retreat!" he resolved silently within his heart.

Ran Min charged ahead on his horse, raised his Treasured Sword towards the Ghostly Entity, and bellowed, "Beggar Army! Kill the Barbarians!"

With a determination to die, Ran Min led the charge towards the Barbarian camp, where the Ghostly Entity stood.

The beggar soldiers, initially daunted by the enormous Ghostly Entity, were instantly ignited. A raging fire burned in the hearts of everyone, fear was swept away, leaving only one thought in their minds: charge.

As Ran Min charged forward, embracing a resolve to die, his whole body trembled with excitement. As he neared within ten meters of the Ghostly Entity, provoked by the aura emanating from it, a multitude of Ghost Deities behind Ran Min were exposed for the first time before everyone's eyes.

At the instantaneous appearance of the countless Ghost Deities, the entire battlefield fell silent.