Kill Me More Times, I’ll Become Invincible

Chapter 218:

Chapter 218:

"Qiao Shui? A young descendant of the Qiao family?"

Madame Bai pondered for a moment and recalled the Qiao Shuangsen who had ventured alone into the desert a month or two ago.

At that time, she didn’t know much about Qiao Shuangsen’s background. However, after sending him into the desert, she made inquiries and learned that the Qiao family members had gained some fame in the Zhong Province, especially in the Zhong Province Imperial Capital.

"Do they call a centenarian like him a young descendant?" Madame Bai’s mind was unsettled as she gazed at the remote ruins of the abandoned city.

"Could it be that the appearance of a member of the Qiao family is related to the appearance of the solitary city in the vast desert?"

The Qiao family member has become a widely spread rumor in Zhong Province recently. It is said that this mysterious and powerful martial arts family has many elders.

For ordinary martial artists, "the young are afraid of fists" is actually common knowledge.

Even the most amazing martial artist will experience a decline in strength and vitality as they age, no longer reaching their peak.

But the Qiao family member is different; they have many elders, and each one is stronger than the last.

For the Qiao family member, it is an objective fact that the older they are, the stronger they become.

The age of the Qiao family member signifies a higher level of martial arts cultivation and reliability.

If the elderly man Qiao Shuangsen, who was a hundred years old when he entered the Hundred-mile Desert, could easily defeat herself when she was at the 3rd rank of the Spiritual Refining Period, then what kind of strength does this man claiming to be Qiao Shui possess?

Regardless, this mysterious person who calls himself Qiao Shui brings a strong sense of danger to Madame Bai. She can’t help but think that perhaps this person will also enter the desert after Anxi Pass.

Since she started guarding Anxi Pass, she only stops those below the third rank. She has no intention to stop Qiao Shuangsen from before, now Qiao Shui, and she has no power to stop them either.

So no matter if Qiao Shui wants to cross Anxi Pass, she will not block him.

While she was thinking, the soldiers on the city wall suddenly became noisy and chaotic.

Everyone looked at the desert in front of Anxi Pass in disbelief, their eyes wide open.

"Madame Bai, someone… a living person has walked out of the desert!" a sergeant shouted.

"A living person? Could it be the Qiao Shuangsen from before?" Madame Bai thought to herself.

She didn’t think too much and instead connected Qiao Shui’s appearance with the astonishingly strong Qiao Shuangsen from before.

"This is truly a remarkable event. A living person has actually emerged from this Hundred-mile Desert… this Qiao family member must be extraordinary. Perhaps we can learn the secret of this forbidden zone from Qiao Shuangsen, and ask Qingyi about it."

However, the reaction of the soldiers at Anxi Pass greatly surprised her.

"Mr. Bai, there are more than just one person…"

Madame Bai held her breath, not even paying attention to Qiao Mu’s presence, and turned her head to look towards the vast desert ahead.

Slowly walking out from behind a sand dune, came a group of people.

This group of people was not just one person, but a whole two to three hundred people, far beyond their expectations.

The Hundred-mile Desert has always been a forbidden zone for living beings. Although there have been people who attempted to cross it in the past forty years and some who got lost unintentionally, even if you add up all of them, it wouldn’t be possible to have two to three hundred people. So where did these people come from?

Madame Bai raised the All-seen Mirror and looked carefully, finally getting a clear view of the appearance of the people who came from behind the sand dune.

They were a group of soldiers.

The armor worn by these soldiers was already worn-out and had a sense of age to it. Despite everyone being heavily armed, their tired expressions were evident, only their eyes still shining with determination.

"How can there be soldiers? Are there troops from Great Yan deep in the desert?"

"Isn’t Anxi Pass the front line guarding the big desert? Hasn’t the Great Yan Imperial Court set up another checkpoint inside the desert?"

The soldiers were talking.

They didn’t connect those soldiers with the sudden appearance of the ruined city deep in the desert.

After all, the ruined city represented the Inhuman War that happened forty years ago, which was already a thing of the past, so how could it be related to the soldiers from before?

Only Madame Bai was shocked, as if a thunderbolt suddenly exploded in her mind.

She had practiced Li Changge’s "Spiritual Technique" and in the first twenty years of the Inhuman War, she could always sense Li Changge’s presence deep in the desert.

"Open the gate!" she suddenly ordered.

The heavy gate of the checkpoint opened suddenly, and Madame Bai, dressed in armor, led the crowd out, stepping into the desert outside, waiting silently.

And finally, the soldiers from deep within the desert arrived at the Anxi Pass checkpoint.

"Stop, who are you soldiers and why have you come out from deep inside the Hundred-mile Desert?" Madame Bai suppressed her racing heart and calmly asked.

Before Anxi Pass, Captain Hai and the veteran soldiers finally stopped walking.

Although Taoist Qingzhuo had left, they didn’t let their guard down. After all, inhuman beings were known for their cunning and tricks, and it was not rare for them to return after leaving.

Therefore, the old man of the arsenal released the three hundred veteran soldiers from Stone City again.

Even though they knew they were not a match for Taoist Qingzhuo, they had fought for forty years. Even if the lonely city had collapsed, they would not surrender.

"We are the Western Conquering Army of Great Yan."

Captain Hai walked at the forefront of the veteran soldiers, licking his dry lips and answering in a hoarse voice.

Western Conquering Army?

The soldiers of Anxi Pass were all taken aback by this unfamiliar term.

After losing the Inhuman War forty years ago, Great Yan no longer had any army that could be called "Western Conquering" and conquer territories outside of Great Yan.

Moreover, to the west of the Hundred-mile Desert is where the Great Dao Sect is located.

Since the Inhuman War, which army would dare to have such a name? Who gave them the courage? Emperor Yonghe?

Only Madame Bai’s face showed a great shock, and she couldn’t speak for a moment.

For ordinary people, forty years is actually quite a long time, it’s a whole generation.

The Western Conquering Army is already a thing of the past for the previous generation. Most of the soldiers stationed at Anxi Pass from the current generation of Great Yan have never even heard of it, and even if they have, they don’t remember it.

But Madame Bai, who voluntarily guards Anxi Pass, naturally remembers.

Because she remembers, that’s why she finds it even harder to believe what she is seeing now compared to other soldiers.

"The Great Yan Western Conquering Army from forty years ago was completely destroyed in the Inhuman War, so which Western Conquering Army are you talking about?" Madame Bai asked with a trembling voice.

Captain Hai and the other veterans remained silent.

"No."

"The Western Conquering Army has always been here."

Captain Hai took off his helmet, revealing his snowy white hair.

He joined the Western Conquering Army when he was only twenty years old. Now, he is over sixty, with grey hair on both sides of his temples.

In the Hundred-mile Desert, there is a lack of food and water. Combined with years of battles, Captain Hai appears much older than sixty. He looks like a seventy-eight-year-old veteran.

And he’s not the only one.

The veterans behind him are equally gaunt and aged.

As Captain Hai took off his helmet, the three hundred veterans behind him did the same. Their faces were covered in deep wrinkles. Their once frosty white hair now floated in the wind.

The distant lonely city has already collapsed halfway, like an old giant beast under the setting sun, casting a huge shadow.

The city of Bai Li, only one left, filled with white-headed soldiers.

Resisting the enemy for forty years, the young have turned white-haired.

Captain Hai led three hundred elderly soldiers and bowed respectfully, saying, "The entire Great Yan Western Conquering Army is here. The city has stood for forty years, not losing a single inch of land, living up to Great Yan."

This voice echoed in front of Anxi Pass, leaving the soldiers there unable to speak for a long time, only feeling silently amazed.

Is it possible that there are still survivors from the Inhuman War forty years ago?

And judging from what they said, it seems this isolated army has been resisting since forty years ago, from the time when there were once a hundred thousand soldiers, down to only three hundred elderly soldiers?

The Hundred-mile Desert has long been a forbidden zone for life, isolated from both the inside and outside. In other words, this isolated army has actually held their ground for forty years in this deserted forbidden zone, with no support whatsoever.

Moreover, as the defense force of Anxi Pass, their duty was only to guard and prevent ordinary people from entering the desert. No one would have imagined there were still survivors in the desert.

Not only Anxi Pass, but the whole Zhong Province, even the entire Jiu Province, it is unlikely that anyone could have imagined that the 100,000 troops from back then still had remnants defending until now, 40 years later!

Did this really happen?

The soldiers of Anxi Pass found it hard to imagine.

Even though this fact is now right in front of them, they still find it hard to believe and think it’s not logical.

Only Madame Bai couldn’t help but take a step forward, searching among these old soldiers for a familiar figure, and anxiously asked:

"Is General Li Changge still here?"

No one answered.

A man with only half a face stepped forward from behind the old soldiers. He was Li Changge’s younger brother. At this moment, he came forward, gazing at Madame Bai, the commander of Anxi Pass, and vaguely guessed something. He spoke directly:

"My brother, General Li Changge, sacrificed his life 20 years ago. Before his death, he broke through the enemy lines and single-handedly killed the inhuman creatures, allowing the remaining troops to survive and allowing us to continue defending in the vast desert."

Madame Bai shook slightly.

In fact, she had already anticipated this answer twenty years ago when she lost connection with the Spiritual Technique.

But when the soldiers walked out of the vast desert, she couldn’t help but feel a flicker of hope in her heart again.

However, this hope turned out to be in vain.

"Inside the Hundred-mile Desert, there is a mysterious formation set up by the Immortal Gate, which isolates the inside from the outside. The so-called Forbidden Zone is actually intentionally created by the Immortal Gate…"

"inhuman refers to this area as the ‘Hundred-mile Desert,’ which is one of the Secret Realms of the Great Dao Sect. After we die in battle, our souls will also fall into the hands of inhuman…" The old man of the arsenal rambled on about the past years.

He had already learned the bloody truth from Lu Yanbei, and now he was revealing it to the outside world.

As he spoke, a small stone city in his hands suddenly grew larger, and the residents of the city walked out from the floating stone city.

These residents were only women, children, and the elderly, there were no young adults.

The elderly are old soldiers who retired from the battlefield because they were too weak to fight anymore.

The women and children are the remaining residents of the city from the old days.

There are no young and strong men, because almost all of the young men in the city have joined the army. Either they have turned gray and weak, or they have died in the war and their names are engraved in the graveyard below the lonely city.

Forty years of blood and tears, can only be understood by the vast desert.

Now that they have finally left the desert, the old soldiers have many things to say to the women and children in the city.

Besides talking about the past of the lonely city, they also have a strange thought lingering in their hearts.

Why are the guards at Anxi Pass so surprised?

Didn’t the captain of the Immortal Slaying Army, Qiao Shuangsen, say that Great Yan has never forgotten this lonely city, and even specially formed an Immortal Slaying Army?

Now that they have come out alive, why are these guards so surprised, as if they have never heard of this group of soldiers from the lonely city?

Where is the so-called Immortal Slaying Army that the Qiao family member talks about?

"Sir Bai, Sir Bai…" a sergeant reminded the dazed and stunned guard, Madame Bai.

"Sir Bai, please accept our condolences, but the matter today is of great importance and must be reported immediately!"

At first, the sergeant didn’t believe that a lone army could hold out for forty years in the desolate desert. However, when he saw the appearance of the old soldiers and the ragged women and children emerging from the stone city, he had no choice but to believe.

"Yes, it should be reported to the court… I will write a letter immediately," Madame Bai regained her composure and nodded hesitantly.

"No, Sir Bai… it’s not to report to the court," the sergeant reminded.

"Have you forgotten?"

"In this area around Anxi Pass, it has already been designated as King Qin’s territory by the court, and King Qin has just taken control recently. So what we should report to is King Qin."

"King Qin? That’s right," Madame Bai nodded.

And at this moment.

Captain Hai, who walked up to Madame Bai eagerly, said:

"Madam."

"May I ask what is the current situation in Jiu Province? Have you heard of… the Immortal Slaying Army?"

"The Immortal Slaying Army? What is the Immortal Slaying Army?" Madame Bai instinctively asked.

Her mind was a bit cloudy, and she directly asked this question.

Captain Hai’s body stiffened, and his expression gradually became bitter.

He should have known…

It wasn’t just Madame Bai who harbored a glimmer of hope, but also himself.

The conversation between these two people quickly spread among the soldiers and the people behind them, leaving them all stunned.

The Qiao family members from several generations ago who entered the isolated city brought them hope.

Even though the Qiao family members have died in battle, their memory remains deeply etched in the hearts of the people.

At this moment, an old man silently walked out from the crowd.

Qiao Mu had been silently observing from the side, without saying a word. He seemed very quiet.

However, now he had to step forward and speak up.

"You’ve all worked hard," he said in a deep voice.

"I am Qiao Shui, a member of the younger generation of the Qiao family. Qiao Shuangsen, Qiao Ruosen, Qiao Zhuosen, and the others are also part of our family, and I have come here for them."

"The younger generation of my family is hot-blooded and impulsive, that’s why they lied to all of you."

Qiao Mu said in a low voice:

"I’m sorry everyone, but the Immortal Slaying Army has actually never existed."

Fake… it was all fake?

Captain Hai and the rest of the old soldiers were shaken.

Initially, the Immortal Slaying Army was just a lie created by Captain Hai and Qiao Shuangsen together.

At that time, the people of the lonely city were desperate, and even if Qiao family member acted a little fake, some people believed it.

Just like the little match girl seeing illusions before freezing to death, no matter how unreal, they were willing to believe.

But Qiao family member acted too convincingly.

With the powerful "Xumi Mountain King Sutra" and repeatedly breaking through the Immortal Gate formation in the name of the Immortal Slaying Army, these were real accomplishments that went beyond what Captain Hai and the others imagined.

So they really believed it.

Generation after generation, members of the Qiao family sacrificed themselves in battle to protect their escape from the desert. But now, in front of them, Qiao Shui tells them the Immortal Slaying Army is fake?