Divine Tang Era

Chapter 128 Ghostly Siege

With the demonic beasts and birds gone, both the city guards and the people inside breathed a sigh of relief.

As soon as he relaxed, Xu Dan felt waves of soreness in his arms, as if a thousand needles were pricking his flesh.

Turning to look to the side, I saw the other archers also with their arms hanging limply, unable to even lift a finger. It made sense; they had been drawing their bows and shooting arrows non-stop since morning, how could their arms not ache?

Looking up at the sky, the night was deep, almost midnight, the time of year when yin energy was at its peak.

He then looked at the damp, misty area outside the city, which seemed to be quiet, and decided to eat two meatballs to fill his stomach.

The people around him shared similar thoughts.

Xue Diao and Xue Bao'er had already plopped down on the ground, completely disregarding their decorum, and began wolfing down their food. They had been dealing with attacks from demonic beasts and birds since morning and hadn't had time to eat. Now that the fighting had subsided, they were sore, tired, and hungry, and just wanted to take advantage of the peace and quiet to eat something and rest.

Just when everyone thought they could finally take a breather, the damp, misty fog outside the city suddenly stirred.

Vast swathes of dark mist surged forth like a raging torrent, from which ghostly figures, previously hidden, suddenly burst forth, baring their fangs and claws, howling and screaming as they pounced upon Jingning City. The ghosts were densely packed, an endless, boundless mass.

How can we block it?

Upon witnessing this scene, this thought suddenly popped into everyone's mind.

At that moment, the Confucian scholars, monks, and Taoists who were at the back of the line stepped forward and walked to the first line of defense.

Glancing at the approaching ghost, the monk closed his eyes, clasped his hands together, and chanted a mantra: "Sarva Sattva Namo Bhava Sattva Namo Bhaga, Maha Te Tu Tadyatha Om Avalokiteshvara Tikka Loti Yihiri Maha Bodhisattva, Sarva Sarva Mara Mara, Mahe Mahe Ridha Yun Kuru Kuru Kamen Duru Duru Fajaya Ti Maha Fajaya Ti Tuora Tuora..."

Words of scripture and mantras flowed from the monks' mouths, like dazzling stars, converging into a vast golden ocean in the sky.

This ocean, radiating a soft yet powerful light, floated outside the city walls. The plunging ghost collided with it, instantly enveloped in the light, vanishing without a sound.

The golden ocean, having converted the demons, grew ever more vast, giving rise to countless fierce and majestic guardian deities.

Before long, guardian deities emerged from the golden ocean, using their supreme power to subdue the boundless demons.

Xu Dan's double pupils flickered slightly as he noticed a tiny wisp of white light emanating from the converted ghost and merging into the chanting monk's body.

What is this?

Could it be the legendary merit of salvation?

Unfortunately, these things were beyond his comprehension, and he could only watch all of this with a heart full of doubt.

At the same time, Confucian scholars stepped forward. Standing tall and solemn, they recited aloud: "Duke Xiao of Qin, relying on the strategic passes of Xiaohan and possessing the land of Yongzhou, with his ministers steadfastly guarding the borders and eyeing the Zhou dynasty, harbored ambitions to sweep across the world, encompass the universe, and swallow the four seas, with a heart set on conquering the eight directions..."

When it came to the First Emperor, he built upon the accumulated achievements of six generations, wielded his long-term strategies to govern the world, annexed the two Zhou dynasties and destroyed the feudal lords, ascended to the supreme position and controlled the six directions, wielding the whip and scourge to the world, his power shaking the four seas.

...Therefore, they abolished the ways of the former kings, burned the books of the hundred schools of thought, and used them to keep the common people ignorant;

He destroyed famous cities, killed heroes; he collected all the weapons in the land, gathered them in Xianyang, melted down the blades and arrowheads, and cast them into twelve bronze statues to weaken the people of the land.

Then he built a city wall, using the river as a moat, relying on the towering city walls and overlooking the unfathomable abyss for defense. Good generals and strong crossbowmen guarded the key points, and trusted ministers and elite soldiers arrayed their sharp weapons to confront anyone. With the empire now pacified, the First Emperor believed that the Guanzhong Plain was impregnable, a thousand-mile-long fortress, and that his descendants would rule as emperors for ten thousand generations…”

These Confucian scholars recited Jia Yi's "On the Faults of Qin" from the Han Dynasty with a unique rhythm, each word and phrase resounding powerfully.

Their voices were loud and passionate, each word like a heavy hammer blow striking the hearts of the crowd. As the chanting began, an invisible force seemed to gather in the air, gradually transforming into a boundless, vast ocean. This ocean surged and roared, radiating an awe-inspiring aura of righteousness, flowing towards the dark, misty tides.

Once the ghosts touch this vast sea, they are like ice and snow meeting the scorching sun, instantly melted away, and disappear forever between heaven and earth.

"The Treatise on the Faults of Qin!"

Xu Dan couldn't help but sigh.

Although he had never read the article in its entirety, only glimpsing its charm from fragments, he was always awestruck by its magnificent and awe-inspiring spirit every time he saw its words.

At this moment, upon hearing the recitation of the group of Confucian scholars, Xu Dan suddenly felt an irresistible urge and involuntarily began to recite along:

"Chen Sheng's position was not more honorable than the rulers of Qi, Chu, Yan, Zhao, Han, Wei, Song, Wei, and Zhongshan; his hoes and thorny bushes were not sharper than hooks, halberds, and long spears; his exiled troops were not as formidable as the armies of nine states; and his strategic thinking and military tactics were not as advanced as those of the scholars of his time..."

Hearing the sound, Xue An and Xue Diao and Xue Bao'er, who were resting on the ground, turned around to look.

Xue Diao and Xue Bao'er suddenly felt that Xu Dan seemed to have acquired a unique temperament, a scholarly air that only Confucian scholars possessed. They couldn't believe their eyes and couldn't help but rub them, wondering if they were seeing things.

Xue An was so shocked that his eyes almost popped out.

He never expected that his apprentice would possess literary talent; it was unbelievable!

When did those martial artists get this kind of thing?

Not far away, the withered scholar also sensed the faint yet unique aura emanating from Xu Dan. He glanced at him and thought to himself, "Another seed of literary talent. If I nurture him well, he will surely become a pillar of our Divine Tang Dynasty in the future." But at this moment, resisting the ghosts was the most urgent task. He silently made a mental note of it and did not make any move, continuing to devote himself wholeheartedly to the chanting.

"...However, Qin, with its small territory, achieved the power of a ten-thousand-chariot state, ruling over eight provinces and having its peers pay homage for over a hundred years; then it took the whole world as its home and the Xiaohan Pass as its palace; yet, with a single rebellion, its seven ancestral temples were destroyed, and it died at the hands of others, becoming a laughingstock to the world. Why? Because it failed to practice benevolence and righteousness, and the strategies for attack and defense differed."

The essay "On the Faults of Qin" ends here, but the boundless ocean of history begins to change once again.

Twelve golden figures, each wielding a long weapon, charged out from the crowd, followed by a group of pre-Qin generals riding tall horses, their unparalleled bravery driving them into the endless stream of ghosts.

The Taoist priests also sprang into action.

They strode to the city wall, took out the talismans they had prepared, tossed them into the air, and pointed their fingers at the air.

The talismans exploded, transforming into various powerful forces. Some talismans transformed into thunder, with thick bolts of lightning descending from the sky and shattering the ghosts into dust; some talismans transformed into raging flames, burning the ghosts to ashes; and some talismans transformed into a rain of swords, with sharp sword energy crisscrossing and obliterating ghosts wherever it went.

Some Taoist priests simply take out talismans and chant incantations.

One after another, powerful Yaksha generals, ghost-eating spirits, white tiger gods, and celestial dog demons descended from the sky, charging into the ghosts without hesitation, leaving nothing but emptiness in their wake.

Although Taoist priests, Confucian scholars, literati, and monks all took action, the ghosts surged in like a tide, wave after wave, endless and impossible to kill completely.

Upon seeing this, the defending general shouted, "City crossbowmen and archers, switch to talismanic arrows and fire!"

Xu Dan then noticed that the long arrow beside him had been replaced with a talisman arrow covered in runes. He quickly grabbed the talisman arrow, put it in his quiver, nocked the arrow, and shot it at the flying ghost.

"Bang!"

The talisman arrow struck the ghost and immediately exploded.

The powerful force blasted the surrounding ghosts to pieces, creating a brief void in the ghostly horde.

Xu Dan then realized that the talisman arrows were different from ordinary long arrows. Ordinary long arrows could mostly only hit one target, while talisman arrows could cause area damage, hitting a large number of people at once.

The powerful attacks of Confucian scholars, Taoist priests, and Buddhist monks, coupled with the support of archers' talismanic arrows, finally managed to withstand the frenzied onslaught of the ghosts.

The ghosts seemed to sense that their attack was being thwarted, and the eerie mist surged violently.

Suddenly, a tattered flag rose from the mist, and a group of ghostly soldiers emerged from it.

These ghostly soldiers came in various forms: some were decapitated, their necks dripping with blood; some had missing legs, limping along; some were blind, their empty eye sockets emitting an eerie light; some had missing hands, their empty sleeves fluttering in the wind. Even before they approached, boundless malevolent energy surged forth like a tidal wave, suffocating those on the city walls.

Upon seeing these ghostly soldiers, the city's defenders frowned and felt a growing unease.

These ghostly soldiers, whose deaths have been unknown for who knows how long, are clearly more troublesome than the previous ghosts. A more difficult battle seems to have just begun.