Chapter 292: Subdue Chama: the Pure Yang Celestial Device Showed First Power (2/2)
Soldiers?
They looked like soldiers, but not absolute soldiers. According to the clothes, those guys seemed to be soldiers. However, after careful observation, Junior Leopard broke into laughter. He instantly understood that those guys were the lord's private armies, similar to the urban management in his territory.
People like them who had been granted a fief and the rank of nobility, were entitled to possess a private army which couldn't be too great in number. For example, Zhou Bao, who had been awarded the title Wuyang County Governor, was a Viscount, and could own a private army of 800 people. The urban management under Junior Leopard's control took the quota of 800 people from the private army.
Thus, those people's appearance showed that they must be a lord's private army from somewhere nearby. The reason that they took this measure was that they perhaps had been suffered a loss before in the plain swamps. Consequently, this time they adopted this measure to explore the mysterious prairie, like the Japanese scouring for landmines during the Counter-Japanese War.
Besides driving the sinners to proceed, the private army also marked their way using any available means.
”A conscientious Lord!” Junior Leopard said in his heart. At this moment, a cry suddenly came. Turning to look back, he saw several sinners in the first row falling into a sludge pit at almost the same time and calling loudly for help.
”Hurry up, hurry up. It's none of your business!” Several sinners around wanted to save them but were whipped by the following private army.
”Be quick, lame ducks. Quick! I don't have time to consume with you!” The one that seemed to the head of the private army shouted, swishing with a long whip. ”Before the sunset, if you fail to march three miles, your supper will be canceled. If I'm scolded due to you, I promise, you—”
Before he finished his words, he seemed to perceive something and turned around, seeing a Teen, in cyan clothes, standing not far away and watching him calmly as well as a Silver Wolf, sturdy and vigorous, standing beside him.
Inexplicably, seeing the man in cyan, he could not help but tremble with cold fear. He abruptly looked back and dared not to have a look again. He was afraid to ask who he was.
In recent days, a large number of people came to the Blacktail Plain, including martial artists. He was only an insignificant head of the private army. He could only domineer those vulnerable sinners, but he would land himself in serious trouble if he provoked some martial artists.
Junior Leopard was targeting Black Demon Chama this time around and did not want to make any trouble. His hands slightly lifted and a strong power emerged for a second, rescuing the sinners out of the sludge pit.
Seeing Junior Leopard lend a helping hand, those people stopped walking. That head felt his heart sink and showed a nervous look. He thought that maybe he encountered a Jianghu chivalrous man who came here to take revenge. If it was so, he would get into trouble. Even if he did not die, he would be afflicted, equating to his skin being peeled off.
”Are you their head?”
While he was deeply anxious, a cold voice came to him, making him suddenly shudder. He almost collapsed on the ground.
”Yes, yes, I am!”
”Whom do you serve? Why are you driving so many sinners here?”
”I... I work under His Excellency Qi...Qin. His Excellency Qin's fief has a circumference of 100 miles, but half of it was occupied by the Blacktail Plain. So, His Excellency Qi...Qin sent me to lead those sinners to explore the way!”
”Explore the way?” Junior Leopard nodded, not knowing who His Excellency Qin was. However, now that this person was awarded a fief of 100 miles, he must have made a great contribution in the war against the Northern Yuan. ”Are there many people coming to the Blacktail Plain recently?”
”Yes, there are. Their Excellencies of all families have sent people to the fief, and many of Their Excellencies have fiefs all around the Blacktail Plain, and, and...” Mentioning it, the head gave an eccentric smile. ”Several of Their Excellencies aren't lucky, because their fiefs are in the middle of the Blacktail Plain, so many of Their Excellencies have sent people here to explore the Blacktail Plain!”
”Interesting. Some are really unlucky!” Hearing what the head had said, Junior Leopard nearly laughed. Fiefs located in the middle of the Blacktail Plain proved the rumor. The Emperor didn't have so much knowledge about the Northern Yuan when awarding the fiefs and just casually allotted the land. Otherwise, such a situation would not happen. Although few people knew the Blacktail Plain, the imperial court, based on its capability, should have acquired detailed information after a subtle exploration. If it knew the details, it certainly wouldn't give this land to others. However, the possibility that the Emperor had purposely given several unlucky people these fiefs as a joke, couldn't be ruled out.
”Well! Since you're exploring the way, I won't take any more of your time!” Junior Leopard waved hands and pointed at the sinners who had been saved by him. ”The northern prairie is a vast land with a small population. Only a few people live here. If they all die, then there will be no more people!”
”Yes, yes, you're right,” said the head of the private army, nodding repeatedly, his head almost burying to the waist. ”I'll pay attention to it, great attention!” When he looked up again, the man and the wolf had already disappeared.
...
...
Junior Leopard went with Little Du, advancing one more hour. They were already deep in the Blacktail Plain. Even though more and more people appeared on the Blacktail Plain, few of them could come deep into this plain. Now that all the people were at the initial exploration state, they could not startle Black Demon Chama, who was in the depths of the Blacktail Plain.
The reason that Junior Leopard brought Little Du with him to the Blacktail Plain was that he himself had no confidence to find out Black Demon Chama's whereabouts.
The Black Demon Chama was an evil beast. He didn't fear it, but it was its home, its domain. If it really wanted to hide, he couldn't find it. However, Little Du had a keen sense of smell and he had a fight against with Chama once, so it was a good choice to search for it together.
As expected, in the boundless plain with grass and swamps everywhere, Little Du found a clue soon. With the nose being close to the ground, it smelt briefly and ran swiftly.
An hour later again, it stopped and firmly howled, facing a grassland.
”Got it!” Junior Leopard smiled and pacified the restless Little Du. He walked to this grassland, calmed down and released his spiritual mind. Even the mere rustle of leaves in the wind ten miles was under his observation.
”Here it is. Let's check the legendary Pure Yang Celestial Device's power!”
Junior Leopard was already too impatient to wait. It had been a period since he had finished his practice of the Golden Flame Mirror, a Pure Yang Celestial Device, but he always had no opportunities to try its power. Today, he, fortunately, got this chance. He would like to have a try regarding the difference between the Pure Yang Celestial Device, which could suppress a millennium family's fate, and the celestial device of Mysterious Level.
A golden light emerged from behind the back of his head and then turned into a pale gold mirror. Soft clouding flickered on the mirror's face and chimed in with the sunshine in the sky. All of a sudden, with a violent flash, a straight golden light shot directly from the mirror.
”Shit!”
He had prepared well in advance, but the golden light was so dazzling that it shone upon him.
”Hu-la!” At the very moment when the golden light reflected the grassland, the wet grassland swayed, white smoke vapors rising, the watery grassland became so dry that it cracked.
”Great effect!” Junior Leopard was taken aback and began to manipulate the mirror unconsciously. The golden light swept the grassland backward and forwards. Only after several times, this grassland, within a radius of 1,000 feet, looked like it was experiencing a drought, pallid and cracked. The waterweeds withered, and the cracks could even harbor a fist. Junior Leopard felt surprised. Achieving such a result would take a long time, even if he exerted the Nine Dragons Heavenly Fire. However, using this mirror light caused such a situation. It could be seen how strong the power of the Golden Flame Mirror was.
Marveling at the situation, he felt a subtle vibration under his feet.
”It's Chama. It's moving!” Junior Leopard thought. However, Chama didn't rush out. Thanks to congenital vigilance, it could easily feel the unique power of the Pure Yang Celestial Device above. Consequently, it knew that going to ground was useless, and it wanted to escape now, fleeing away underground, secretly.
Nevertheless, one thing was incomprehensible to it. It would not be a problem for it to run away underground previously. But now that the grassland, plump with water plants before, became a dry land under the function of the Golden Flame Mirror, the ground shook as it was moving. Moreover, Little Du, besides Junior Leopard, also felt Chama's spirit and quietly snarled.
Junior Leopard gave a gentle smile and raised the Golden Flame Mirror highly. The straight golden light began to move along the grassland, and everywhere it went, the grass was scorched.
The golden light's track, which was exactly that of Black Demon Chama's escape route, was very clear.
White mist rose in gusts, and thick smoke emerged in streams. Suddenly, the light stopped moving, as if Black Demon Chama stopped. But it just halted, not exposing its head.
”What a sly thing!”
Chama had a feeling that something was wrong, and it was troublesome to take flight. Therefore, it dug deeper underground. It was an evil beast which was born in the soil, so it was naturally good at burrowing and moving freely underground without impediment.
The ground here referred to the special swamps in the Blacktail Plain. It was rich in water, making it very convenient for Chama to move. However, the ground was dry now, which prevented Chama from moving smoothly.
Thus, it chose to penetrate the underground.
In terms of his capability, the best depth for movement was 150 feet underground. But a much deeper depth did not work, because it would be rock layer. After all, he was an evil beast, not a drill. Hence, in the beginning, he didn't bore down until he reached soft position. At almost the same time, the Golden Flame Mirror's power was shown again.
Flames flashed from the golden light one after another and began to vapor the moisture of that ground. At first, the mirror's golden light could totally dry the moisture at the depth of 50 feet underground. However, the Golden Flame Mirror now began to display its power properly, more and more moisture being vaporised. The grassland at that position, from the ground surface to 1,000 feet underground, was absolutely pulverized.
”Ka, ka!”
The ground cracked due to the excessively dry fissures becoming bigger and bigger, causing the surrounding dust to turn into flying ashes.
The Golden Flame Mirror had already stopped vaporising and hung behind Junior Leopard's head, looking like a small sun with its golden light reflecting the ground and firmly nailing Black Demon Chama to the position of 1,000 feet underground.
Even though Black Demon Chama drilled down 1,000 feet, it ended with it being fixed by the Golden Flame Mirror's golden light and couldn't move a step.