Traveling through the Immortal Realm: Starting from Becoming a Top-Level Furnace Cauldron

Lu Yuguan turned around and saw Bai Xiao. He first looked at Li Chonglin, and when he saw that the other party was motionless, he got off the carriage with peace of mind.

"Brother, is there anything wrong?" Lu Yuguan asked.

"Why don't you let me call you even if there's nothing wrong?" Bai Xiao teased unhappily, "Could it be that I'm disturbing you and the Crown Prince?"

Lu Yuguan's face flushed instantly.

"Brother, what nonsense are you talking about?"

"Hahaha, you're anxious again, you're really annoying." Bai Xiao stopped bothering Lu Yuguan and patted him on the shoulder. "How do you feel about being in the army?"

"Not bad." Lu Yuguan said.

Bai Xiao looked at Lu Yuguan meaningfully and said, "We still have four days until we reach the southern border. This is just the beginning, and the most exciting things are yet to come."

Lu Yuguan always felt that Bai Xiao was mysterious and could not help but ask, "What is so powerful..."

Bai Xiao looked at the soldiers all over the mountains around him, and his thoughts flew to the western border.

"Monster beasts blocking the road and sudden natural disasters are minor issues," Bai Xiao said calmly after taking a deep breath. "If we were to encounter robbing demon cultivators along the way, I'm afraid we'd lose 20% of our men before we even reach the southern border."

After hearing this, Lu Yuguang asked in astonishment, "The demon cultivators can't possibly come in the tens of thousands, right? With so many cultivators like us, are we really afraid we can't defeat the demon cultivators?"

Bai Xiao glanced at Lu Yuguan dimly, sighed helplessly, and said, "Because there are so many people, the demonic cultivators have become the biggest problem."

"What do you mean?" Lu Yuguan asked in confusion.

"When you and General Chen Zizai were fighting demons earlier, you also saw demon cultivators. Demon cultivators have endless new methods, and most of them can rely on vicious secret methods to transform other people's lives into combat power. They will only become more courageous as the battle progresses." Bai Xiao said slowly, "It may seem that we have tens of thousands of troops, but in fact, there are only a few hundred people above the Foundation Establishment stage."

Bai Xiao didn't say anything else, but just gave Lu Yuguan a look, letting him understand it himself.

Lu Yuguan swallowed.

He knew very well the cruelty of war. Although he had not personally experienced the two previous world wars, the shocking figures were enough to scare him.

"The scale of this battle is unlike any other in the past. All thirteen nations of Southern Continent have fallen. You can imagine the number of demonic troops there." Bai Xiao continued, "A conservative estimate is that less than half will make it back to Kyoto alive."

Lu Yuguan was silent.

Just as the two were talking, a scout on the front line suddenly came out from the crowd and stood in front of Bai Xiao in a hurry.

"What's the matter?" Bai Xiao frowned.

"General, the reconnaissance team we sent out earlier hasn't returned yet. Should we send a second team to check?" the soldier asked in panic.

Bai Xiao pondered for a moment and immediately asked the other party to go back first.

"Not yet. Go back first and have the rest of the reconnaissance team standby."

"Yes."

The soldier took the order and left.

Bai Xiao's expression immediately turned gloomy, his eyes filled with worry.

"What's wrong?" Lu Yuguan noticed that the atmosphere was wrong and asked quickly.

"A scout team hasn't returned yet. I'm afraid something unexpected has happened," Bai Xiao said in a deep voice. He turned to the deputy general beside him and said, "Go find Commander Li and request that the entire army be on alert and ready to respond to any emergency at any time."

"Yes, sir." Upon hearing this, the deputy general immediately took the order and left.

Lu Yuguan couldn't help but ask nervously, "Could it be the terrain that's affecting it? Should we wait a little longer?"

Bai Xiao took a deep breath and said slowly, "The reconnaissance team are all experts in tracking and tracing. They haven't returned yet. There is only one possibility—"

"It's a demon cultivator."

Lu Yuguan's heart skipped a beat, and he asked anxiously, "Then what should we do now?"

Bai Xiao pondered for a moment, then looked at Lu Yuguan with a complicated expression on his face.

"Be prepared. Since ordinary reconnaissance teams cannot complete the mission, we can only send monks with higher cultivation levels." Bai Xiao said.

Noticing Bai Xiao's sharp gaze, Lu Yuguan's scalp suddenly went numb.

"The only thing that makes the soldiers unable to resist is the ambush of the demon army above the foundation-building stage." Bai Xiao read out word by word.

"You don't want me to go—"

Lu Yuguan swallowed nervously.

Bai Xiao stared into Lu Yuguan's eyes and said seriously, "Once you're on the battlefield, you're a soldier. Even the Crown Prince must obey military orders."

A feeling of uneasiness began to spread from the bottom of his heart, and Lu Yuguan felt his limbs were cold.

squeak--

Li Chonglin lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked at the two of them in confusion.

"His Royal Highness."

When Bai Xiao saw that it was Li Chonglin, he quickly bowed and saluted.

Li Chonglin frowned and said, "In the military, there's no need to worry about red tape. What are you talking about?"

"Your Highness, there is a situation ahead. The reconnaissance team has lost contact, and it seems that there are demonic cultivators around." Bai Xiao said.

"Demon cultivator?"

Li Chonglin's frown deepened.

"This place is only forty or fifty miles from Kyoto, how could there be traces of demonic cultivators?"

Lu Yuguan secretly pondered the current distance from Kyoto. It was indeed as Li Chonglin said, the area within a hundred miles was still under the jurisdiction of Kyoto, so there should not be any demon cultivators.

But if they weren't demon cultivators, why would the reconnaissance team not return for so long?

"This is also what I don't understand," Bai Xiao replied in a deep voice, "I still need to ask the coach's opinion first."

The Southern Expedition Army’s formation, the commander-in-chief’s tent.

Lu Yuguan followed everyone to the main tent. In addition to several generals, there were also two princes sitting on the side.

The children of the prominent families were all standing behind the prince. Lu Yuguan turned his head slightly and happened to see Chen Xian greeting him, and he immediately returned a polite smile.

Opposite the two princes, Zhao Zimo was sitting upright, and behind him stood a cultivator from the Northern Territory.

"Tong, look at the person opposite you. He is indeed a cultivator from the northern border. He is really tall." Lu Yuguan looked at the height of the person opposite him, and a bit of envy appeared in his eyes.

[There's no point in being envious, you're already past puberty]

The system said lightly.

"But I am much taller than that female monk, hehe." Lu Yuguan said secretly with joy.

[If she wears a high ponytail, she'll probably look similar to you]

Lu Yuguan: ...It hurts Tongzi.

The female cultivator from Bingpo Sect met Lu Yuguan's eyes and her cheeks turned red.

Mu You, who was beside her, noticed her change and sneered in disdain.

Zang Qing couldn't help but sneer softly, and quietly leaned closer and said, "Brother Mu, you know the methods of the Bingpo Sect. Miss Lan Yi's fiancé is not someone you can mess with."

When Mu You heard this, his expression suddenly changed.

He glared at Zang Qing fiercely, but had to swallow his curse.

In terms of sect strength, Bingpo Sect's status in the northern border is second only to Jiluan Sect, and Miss Lan Yi's fiancé is the Saint Son of the sect.

Although Mu You is arrogant, he also knows his own worth.

A smug smile appeared on Zang Qing's lips. Since he came to Longhua Country, he had never seen Mu You so humiliated.

"Hmph, Brother Zang, you're worrying too much. I was just observing the cultivator from Longhua Country. He actually dared to stare at the female cultivator from our northern border. He's a bit ignorant." Mu You said stubbornly.

"Don't say anything. Don't embarrass the Northern Territory in public." Zhou Zhou reminded with an unhappy look on his face.

Zhao Zimo was sitting in front of them and obviously heard their conversation clearly.

Look at female cultivators openly?

Zhao Zimo smiled and his eyes naturally moved towards Lu Yuguan. Their eyes only met slightly, and the young man was stunned for a moment.

"Damn it, Tong-chan, Zhao Zimo actually dared to laugh at me," Lu Yuguan couldn't help but complain, "Damn it, what's wrong with being a little short? Sooner or later, I'm going to shave his head off!"

[Even if I shaved my head, I'd still be taller than you...]

The system suddenly delivered another blow.

Lu Yuguan: ...