There were four key points to vanquish the Tang Empire: two were clear and two were hidden. The hidden two were the Haotian Taoism’s secrets while the clear two were in the north and south on the map.
The West-Hill Divine Palace had badly failed to attack the Academy. The Abbey Dean of the Zhishou Abbey and the Eldest Brother were fighting all over the world, but they would be back at any time.
Since the Golden Palace and the Tang Empire were fiercely fighting in the northern wilderness, the pivotal battle that could break the deadlock and determine the war would be in the south.
The West-Hill Divine Palace coalition army was the real main force in the war. Since the Tang Navy had been annihilated, eight thousand Papal Cavalrymen of the Divine Hall who had trained for many years, as well as the hundred thousand troops of the South Jin Army, traveling across the Great Lake, entering Qinghe County.
After that, they accepted many cultivators and personal forces, as well as the armies from remote countries and hidden sects in the mountains.
The West-Hill Divine Palace coalition army became so strong that when they passed the field, all the paddies were crushed and the wet field was stepped dry. More and more carriages joined them, but the quietest one was the most noticeable.
This army was probably the most powerful one after the Tang attacked the Desolate. Compared with it, the coalition that fought against the Desolate in the Wilderness last spring was much weaker.
At that time, the West-Hill Divine Palace coalition army was controled by the Hierarch Lord. While at present, as long as anyone that could figure out who was in the carriage now, would believe that he was more reliable than the Hierarch Lord.
One day in late autumn, the mighty West-Hill Divine Palace Coalition Army, crossing Qinghe County, arrived at the front of a series of mountains.
They sent more than ten riders to probe the Verdant Canyon. A few moments later, sharp flute sounds came out, indicating it was safe, but the coalition kept still in terrifying silence.
As the sounds went from the depths of the Verdant Canyon and could hardly be heard, the coalition finally confirmed that there was no ambush of the Tangs in the gorge. The main commander, the Great General of the South Jin Kingdom, Bai Haixin wryly waved his hand, and messenger soldiers beside him quickly waved the flags in their hands, handing down the order to move forward.
According to the information from the Tang, the Divine Hall coalition had confirmed that today’s Tang could not transfer any troops to defend the south. Even though the Southern Army, who was guarding outside the huge forest, could stop the invasion of the Golden Palace, they had to run around Xiao Mountain to get here.
Unless the Southern Army could fly, they were unable to show up in the Verdant Canyon at this moment.
Even so, Bai Haixin and the leaders of the Divine Hall were still alert and careful. Since the crushing trend of the coalition had been formed, as long as they could safely reach the north of Tang, they could flatten it without any risks.
The cavalry of the South Jin took the lead entering the gorge, keeping a perfect distance from every camp and followed by the mixed infantry. They spent a very long time entering the gorge because they were strictly controlled.
They lengthened the formation to avoid being cut off by the Tang Army, which would be good for the cavalry’s reaction. If there was Tang Army in the gorge, they would need at least a hundred thousand soldiers to kill them all in the gorge.
The coalition was sure that the Tang could not have such an army.
Facing the mighty coalition, neither the only Tang soldiers in the gorge nor the garrison troops from the north or the military who used to be the headache of the grassland cavalry in the east were unable to do a thing.
Even the speed entering the gorge was so slow that some people had become worried and cultivators were pissed off, someone still thought it was too fast.
“They move too fast. Tell them to slow down,” said Ye Hongyu.
Today was a sunny day without any clouds in the sky. Differing from autumn, the blazing sun shone through the heavy veils of the carriage and fell on her face, making her look more beautiful.
A deacon in black standing beside the carriage received her order and ran to the front. A few moment later, he came back and said in a low vioce, “Bai Haixin said the martial cultivators were going inside. According to their investigations, it should be safe.”
Ye Hongyu slightly frowned.
She knew Bai Haixin was right and his plan was impeccable. Even if they could gather all the Divine Talisman Masters in the world, they could not turn the Verdant Canyon into the coalition’s grave. Only Haotian could accomplish this.
However, she kept having the feeling that something was wrong.
Everything went too smoothly and peacefully. She had lived in Chang’an for a long time with many Tangs. She knew that the Tang Empire would never surrender. This kind of peace seemed so eerie.
At this time, something happened in the gorge which verified her presentiment. A vast aura of the Heaven and Earth gathered on the top of the mountain from all directions.
Ye Hongyu suddenly straightened her face.
The Great Divine Priest of Revelation deeply frowned.
A soft “Ay” sounded in the carriage.
The three most powerful people in the West-Hill Divine Palace coalition army first felt the danger, but it was too late for them to do anything or change anything.
The air over the gorge fluctuated so violently that had gone beyond all the cultivators’ imaginings. It was on par with the mighty sword the Headmaster swung toward Heaven in the Wilderness!
The aura became so abundant that the streams in Qinghe County became turbid, the black tiles on the houses started condensing drops of water, and a cloud suddenly formed in the sky above the mountain.
The cloud violently twisted and accumulated until it suddenly turned into countless beams of light, dissipating in the sky. A power beyond humanity crushed down to the ground.
“Boom!”
The earth badly shook and the horses began to panic and howl.
The whole Verdant Canyon collapsed.
The West-Hill Divine Palace Coalition Army had been guarding against the Tang Army or the Tang cultivators in the Verdant Canyon. However, they never expected that the one who strarted to attack was not a man.
The one who attacked them was the Verdant Canyon itself.
The green and beautiful gorge turned into the most terrible place in the world.
Smoke caused by the collapse rose to the sky from the gorge. Judging from the height, the situation inside must be terrible.
Countless heavy rocks rolled down over the cavalry of the South Jin Kingdom, creating thundering sounds and rolling forward with bloody bodies.
The dull thuds constantly sounded and lasted for a long time. As the smoke became thicker and thicker, it turned into a vast dust cloud and covered the whole gorge.
The soldiers’ screams came out of the gorge and were covered by the dull thuds until they could no longer be heard. The people outside barely heard anything until it became deadly silent inside.
By this time, it had been a long while since the Verdant Canyon collapsed. The huge rocks which were bigger than carriages finally stopped rolling and the shaking wilderness calmed down as well.
The West-Hill Divine Palace Coalition Army in the Qinghe County was in silence.
Everyone was shocked and scared.
Bai Haixin’s face was extremely pale and his hand holding the reins kept shaking.
The collapse had killed over 20,000 people by now.
Even though this loss could not change the overall strategic situation and fundamentally weakened the strength of the coalition, he still felt extremely sad and unacceptable.
As the commander-in-chief of the West-Hill Divine Palace Coalition Army as well as the military leader of the South Jin, he could not stand to witness his 20,000 soldiers just being killed like this before they met their enemies.
Inside a carriage, Ye Hongyu was trembling, looking very serious. She was a little scared, but she tried to calm dowm, smoothing her robe which was wrinkled when she was nervous.
She was firm and fearless, so this kind of emotion was foreign to her, even if her opponent was formidable.
However, as she expected, to destroy the Verdant Canyon was countless times more difficult than Jun Mo chopping the Buddha statue in the Lanke Temple. Only Haotian could do this.
How did the Tangs collapse the gorge?
Who was in that verdant gorge?
What on earth happened in that gorge?
Compared with the famous Min Mountain, the verdant mountains across the southern wilderness in Tang were not too high and dangerous. However, since the surface of the mountains was covered with hard and heavy granite while the interior was limestone, which would be easily soluble in rain; landslides and rock reductions usually ocurred.
Given that, the mountains looked bizarre: the cliffs were steep in odd shapes and difficult to climb even for a martial cultivator.
Fortunately, there was a gorge crossing the mountains, connecting the central hinterland of Tang and Qinghe County. Otherwise, it would be a long trip to go around the mountains.
Hundreds of years ago, the Tang used a lot of labor and resources to widen the gorge, reinforcing both sides of the valley by Talisman Masters and Array Tactical Masters, and planted numerous trees with prosperous root systems to strengthen the control of Qinghe County. Eventually, the natural road in the valley was turned into a smooth road.
Since that day, the road from the north to the south became unobstructed. This great road of great strategic significance made the Tang and Qinghe one family, never to be separated.
However, nowadays, the warlords in Qinghe County rebelled and surrendered to the West-Hill Divine Palace, joining the coalition on its way to attack Chang’an. The Tang Empire had been divided.
Then, what’s the point of this verdant gorge?
Let it collapse.
Let it bury the past.