"Very well, let me see just how fierce Lü Bu is." While Wang Xuan was talking with Cao Cao, the generals of Cao Cao's camp had already formed their battle formation and were charging forward, following Cao Cao to the left and right.
Although Cao Cao's forces were not as strong as Yuan Shao's, he still had nearly 500,000 elite troops, each with a cultivation level of more than the fifth level of the Acquired Realm. Martial artists at the Innate Realm could only serve as squad leaders, while experts at the Dao Entry Realm could serve as captains, leading hundreds of men.
With this army of 500,000 gathered together, the overwhelming military aura would cause even experts at the peak of the Celestial Realm to flee on the spot. Only experts at the Divine Power Realm or those with similar military aura support could put up a fight!
They charged forward for about half an incense stick's time, when they saw a storm raging ahead, with powerful energy fluctuations impacting all directions, causing the sky to change color!
This is a battle between top experts. Fortunately, the area is covered with formations, and the army is protected by military aura, so the aftershocks of the attacks cannot have much impact on the soldiers below.
One by one, experts at the Transcendent Realm flew into the air to look ahead, and Wang Xuan was no exception.
With his sharp eyesight, he could see at a glance that two powerful figures were locked in a fierce battle more than a hundred miles away.
One of them wore a three-pronged purple-gold crown, a crimson brocade robe adorned with a hundred flowers from Sichuan, and a chainmail armor with a beast-faced design. He carried a bow and arrows, wielded a halberd, and his aura of malevolence emanated from him, transforming into a roaring crimson dragon!
The warhorse under this man's horse was also extraordinary. The horse was fiery red all over, covered with dragon scales, and its hooves seemed to tread on wind and clouds, moving as fast as lightning!
Who else could be so imposing as Lü Bu?
Wang Xuan also recognized the person who fought against Lü Bu; it was none other than Zhang Fei, the Third Brother.
Although Zhang Fei's cultivation level was a minor realm lower than Lü Bu's, he possessed the military aura of six million allied troops, while Lü Bu only had the military aura of four million Xiliang soldiers. The combined military aura of two million Dao soldiers was enough to bridge the gap between them.
This was a battle rarely seen in the world. Wherever Lü Bu's halberd passed, thousands of meters of halberd light crisscrossed, making even Wang Xuan's scalp tingle. Zhang Fei was no less impressive; his entire body was enveloped in black qi, which transformed into a black tiger, and its roar made the sky tremble.
With the added strength of military aura, these two were even stronger than the Old Immortal Nan Hua whom Wang Xuan had met before. If they were in the Middle Martial World, they would be capable of destroying the world!
Lu Bu and Zhang Fei exchanged hundreds of blows in an instant, but Zhang Fei finally showed signs of defeat, as Lu Bu swept his halberd across the chest. The black tiger that was the manifestation of the dark aura was shattered on the spot, and Zhang Fei was sent flying backward, his blood splattering across the sky.
A master of the Celestial Realm has transcended the realm of mortals, possessing extremely tenacious vitality; this injury is naturally not fatal. Lü Bu spurred his Red Hare forward, ready to deliver another blow.
But a furious roar came from within the allied forces: "You traitorous slave, don't you dare hurt my third brother!"
Suddenly, a guy wearing a green hat rushed into the battlefield, wielding a Green Dragon Crescent Blade, and began to slash.
The military aura that had been channeled into Zhang Fei instantly shifted to Guan Yu. Guan Yu's power became stronger than ever before; with a single slash, his treasured sword transformed into a blue dragon, directly entangling Lü Bu's halberd.
Seeing that Zhang Fei had escaped, Lü Bu had no choice but to give up the pursuit and instead engage Guan Yu in a fierce battle.
The two were locked in fierce combat when suddenly a swirling black wind burst forth from the Xiliang army and swept towards the allied forces of the feudal lords.
This black wind is no ordinary wind; it is a divine power unleashed by a master who cultivates the Path of Primordial Spirit Immortal Martial Arts! Wherever the black wind passes, even ordinary Celestial Realm masters will be blown into mincemeat, their bodies and souls annihilated!
"Is this the 'Summoning Wind and Rain' among the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends Divine Powers?" Boss Cao's expression changed, and he sneered, "In this world, only the Old Immortal Nan Hua has broken through to the realm of divine powers. This great divine power of summoning wind and rain must have been unleashed by the combined efforts of the immortal martial arts masters in the Xiliang Army!"
Despite Cao Cao's casual tone, he immediately summoned two Confucian scholars and ordered them to temporarily await orders from Yuan Shao.
Both of them were cultivators of the Immortal Martial Arts path, and their cultivation had reached the Transcendent Realm, where they had condensed their Yang Spirits. They were the chief civil officials under Cao Cao.
Cao Cao has not yet risen to prominence, and Xun Yu, Xi Zhicai, Guo Jia, Cheng Yu, and others have not yet pledged allegiance to him. These two civil officials at the Transcendent Realm are not yet capable of displaying their supernatural powers.
On the contrary, Yuan Shao had many martial arts masters under his command, such as Xu You and Guo Tu, who had already reached the early stage of the Celestial Realm, and there were also many civil officials who had reached the Transcendent Realm.
Even so, Yuan Shao's civil officials were somewhat lacking, so he needed the help of other warlords. If Yuan Shao were to acquire Yi Province, and civil officials such as Shen Pei, Feng Ji, and Ju Shou were to come to him, his skilled martial artists alone would be able to unleash their full power.
Just as the billowing black wind surging from the Xiliang army caused the morale of the allied forces to waver slightly, and thousands of elite soldiers were turned into mincemeat, a black wind also rose from within the allied forces, colliding with and neutralizing the Xiliang army's supernatural powers.
"It's only polite to retaliate, so take this Fire Rain Meteor Shower first!"
Wang Xuan heard someone shout behind him, and then sensed a powerful spiritual force communicating with the heavens above, breaking through the laws of the unseen realm.
The next moment, countless meteors fell from the sky. These meteors, which were about several hundred feet in diameter, turned crimson due to the intense friction with the air, causing the air to ignite.
The great supernatural power of plucking stars and seizing the moon that the Old Immortal of Nanhua pointed out is roughly equivalent in power to this fire rain and meteor shower.
boom!
Even though the martial arts masters in the Xiliang army reacted in time and moved most of the meteors away, a small number still fell into the Xiliang army and crushed nearly 10,000 soldiers to death.
Wang Xuan wiped away a cold sweat. Was it because the combined forces of both sides displayed too fierce supernatural abilities, or was the battle between Lü Bu and Guan Yu more interesting? Such close-quarters combat was the mark of true heroes.
In reality, Wang Xuan was just being a sour grapes. If he had a large group of martial arts masters under his command who could unleash supernatural powers together, he certainly wouldn't have said that.
Wang Xuan turned his attention back to Lü Bu and Guan Yu; the battle was about to be decided.
Although Guan Yu was able to contend with Lü Bu by virtue of his superior military morale, after thousands of battles, Guan Yu ultimately fell into a disadvantageous position.
Before the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out, Lü Bu had already fought fiercely against the Hu people in the borderlands. In terms of combat experience, Guan Yu was definitely no match for him at the time.
In addition, Lu Bu's Red Hare horse was also an indispensable factor. It was only a matter of time before Guan Yu was defeated, probably within two or three hundred moves.
Chapter 154 Three Heroes Battle Lü Bu!
Seeing that Guan Yu was about to be defeated, Zhang Fei roared and charged into the battle once again.
The recovery ability of a master is amazing. With the time that Guan Yu bought for him, he has recovered 70% of his injuries and is ready to fight again!
When Guan Yu and Zhang Fei joined forces, their strength seemed to double, but that wasn't actually the case, because the allied forces only had so much morale.
Lu Bu held his own against two opponents, truly resembling a god of war reborn.
"Generals, follow me into battle! Whoever can cut off Lü Bu's head will become famous throughout the land. After we welcome the Emperor back, I, Yuan Shao, will petition the Emperor to grant him the title of Marquis!" Yuan Shao stood proudly in the void and roared loudly.
The experts in the allied forces were all very excited. Whoever could kill Lü Bu would not only become famous throughout the world, but also be granted the title of Marquis, which would be a double gain of fame and fortune!
In an instant, dozens of generals rushed forward. Most of them were martial arts masters at the Transcendent Realm, and there were no Celestial Realm masters among them.
Whether it was Yan Liang and Wen Chou under Yuan Shao, or Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan under Cao Cao, or Gongsun Zan and Sun Jian, they all turned around and charged into the Xiliang army.
Lu Bu's cultivation has reached the perfect realm of the Celestial Being, and with the added boost of military aura, any ordinary early-stage Celestial Being expert rushing over would be committing suicide!
Yuan Shao offered huge rewards only to incite those generals who were unaware of the situation to charge into battle, thus both tying down Lü Bu's attention and taking the opportunity to weaken the forces of other warlords.
As expected, when Lü Bu saw this large group of experts rushing forward, he didn't even frown. After doing his best to repel Guan Yu's attack, he spared some of his energy to sweep his halberd forward.
"Sizzle!"
The sound, like tearing silk, rang out, and four or five Transcendent Realm warriors were instantly torn to shreds by the halberd's edge, chilling the hearts of those experts who were about to attack.
However, Lü Bu was ultimately distracted by this, allowing Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to seize the opportunity and join forces to defeat Lü Bu, gradually gaining the upper hand on the battlefield.
However, this situation could not last long. Those dozens of Transcendent Realm experts seemed like a lot, but how could they withstand Lu Bu's slaughter? Once all the experts who were controlling Lu Bu's energy were dead, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei would eventually be needed to fight him to the death.
Wang Xuan stopped paying attention to the battle between Lü Bu and Guan Yu, because he had already joined Cao Cao and others in fighting his way into the Xiliang army.
He didn't use his full strength; he simply used the Azure Nether Sword to protect himself. Whenever someone dared to attack him, he would casually slash them down with his sword.
There were indeed many skilled warriors in the allied forces of the feudal lords, but Dong Zhuo also had quite a few skilled warriors under his command. This battle was extremely fierce, with countless soldiers dying on the spot every second.
"Taishi Ci, don't use your full strength either. We're just here to observe. Save your strength in case of any unexpected events." Wang Xuan not only refrained from using his full strength himself, but also secretly transmitted his voice to Taishi Ci.
Taishi Ci, who was wielding his halberd and getting into the heat of battle, suddenly lost his temper when he heard Wang Xuan's telepathic message. After killing his opponent with a single blow, he stopped attacking.
With Taishi Ci protecting him, Wang Xuan felt more at ease and focused his attention on using his Eternal Divine Eye to look towards Hulao Pass.
A purple aura shot into the sky above Hulao Pass. The purple aura was deep in color and much thicker than Ning Caichen's natal aura. More importantly, after soaring into the sky, the natal aura descended and transformed into a canopy of aura, resembling a giant carriage canopy.
"To actually condense a canopy of fortune, this fortune is far, far stronger than Ning Caichen's. Looking at the world today, only Dong Zhuo and Emperor Liu Xie of Han have such powerful fortune!"
Liu Xie is now a puppet ruler, so it's impossible for him to be at Hulao Pass. Therefore, it goes without saying who is inside Hulao Pass – it must be Dong Zhuo himself!
"If the allied forces of the warlords could break through Hulao Pass immediately and capture Dong Zhuo alive, history would be changed," Wang Xuan muttered to himself, but he had no intention of risking his life to capture Dong Zhuo.
To break through Hulao Pass, they first need to eliminate Lü Bu. Otherwise, with such a formidable general as Lü Bu, even if they spend several more years, they might not be able to breach the pass.
Thinking of this, Wang Xuan looked up at the battlefield in the sky again.
Lu Bu fought a fierce battle against Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Of the dozens of Transcendent Realm experts who had come to besiege Lu Bu earlier, half of them had already been killed by Lu Bu, and the rest had scattered and fled, unwilling to go and die.
Under the watchful eye of the Eternal God, all three of them had given their all, and it was a matter of who could hold out until the very end.
"Isn't it supposed to be the Three Heroes fighting Lü Bu? Why didn't Liu Bei rush forward?" In fact, Wang Xuan was both puzzled and curious. Liu Bei was only at the early stage of the Transcendent Realm. If he rashly participated in the battle to besiege Lü Bu, he would probably be killed by the aftershocks of the battle.
If that's the case, how did Liu Bei help Guan Yu and Zhang Fei defeat Lü Bu?
Seemingly sensing Wang Xuan's doubts, a roar suddenly came from the crowd: "Second brother, third brother, I, Liu Xuande, have come to lend you a hand!"
Liu Bei arrived wielding a pair of twin swords, one male and one female. He brought his hands together, and the two swords merged into one, transforming into a single, incomparably powerful divine sword.
"This is... the Crimson Sky Sword, the national treasure of the Han Dynasty!" Not only Wang Xuan, but every single expert present was astonished.
Spiritual treasures are supreme artifacts that only seventh-tier god-demon level experts can forge. Even in the main world, there are at most a dozen or so, and most of them are missing.
In this decisive battle, having an extra magical treasure would be enough to turn the tide of the war!
When Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and other warlords looked at Liu Bei, their eyes were filled with extreme apprehension. But now that the battle was raging, in order to win, they had no choice but to lend Liu Bei a hand.
The overwhelming military aura was channeled into Liu Bei, weakening the power of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, but increasing Liu Bei's power countless times over!
"Hmph! The Crimson Cloud Sword is the national treasure of the Han Dynasty. It has been missing for two thousand years since Wang Mang usurped the throne. How could it suddenly appear in the hands of a minor lord like you?" A fierce general from the Xiliang army rushed out, thrusting his silver spear straight at Liu Bei: "This must be a trap. Let me, Zhang Liao, test your strength!"
This man was Zhang Liao, a fierce general from Bing Province. After Ding Yuan, the governor of Bing Province, was killed by Lü Bu, he had no choice but to surrender to Dong Zhuo. His martial arts cultivation had also broken through to the early stage of the Celestial Realm. Although he was far inferior to the likes of Lü Bu and Guan Yu, he was still far stronger than Liu Bei.
As Zhang Liao charged toward Liu Bei, a portion of the Xiliang army's military aura instantly lent itself to Zhang Liao, greatly increasing his strength enough to offset the military aura boost from Liu Bei.
"Bang!"
The two clashed instantly, and a crimson sword light flashed past. Zhang Liao fell directly from mid-air, severely injured and on the verge of death!
"Such power! Could this truly be the Chixiao Sword, the national treasure of the Han Dynasty?!" Lu Bu was shocked. After deflecting the attacks of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, he rushed over and rescued Zhang Liao. He then shouted angrily at Liu Bei, "Who are you? State your name!"
"I am Liu Bei, Liu Xuande, a descendant of Liu Bei, the Prince of Zhongshan of the Great Han Dynasty!" Liu Bei said this with great conviction.
Chapter 155 Breaking the Tiger's Lair
Liu Bei's revelation of his origins immediately made Lü Bu even more suspicious and uncertain.
It's not impossible that the Crimson Cloud Sword, a national treasure of the Liu family of the Han Dynasty, would appear in the hands of a member of the Han imperial family.
Even with Lu Bu's unparalleled fighting prowess, he had already exerted all his strength to deal with two fierce generals, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, at the same time. If he had the Chixiao Sword, he would probably be in mortal danger today.
Just as Lü Bu was filled with doubt and uncertainty, unable to determine Liu Bei's true strength or weakness, a clear, metallic clang suddenly rang out from Hulao Pass.
Since ancient times, military strategists have had a custom: advance with drums and retreat with gongs!
This was because Dong Zhuo, who was in Hulao Pass, was worried that Lü Bu was in danger, so he directly ordered the retreat!
Lu Bu breathed a sigh of relief, picked up his halberd in one hand and grabbed Zhang Liao with the other, turned around and left, retreating directly towards Hulao Pass.
After all, although he was brave, he was unwilling to risk his life to test whether the Chixiao Sword in Liu Bei's hands was genuine. In the end, he had no intention of dying for Dong Zhuo's ambitions.