First Immortal of Destiny

Chapter 163: General Zhang Taian, the Ghost General

It took a month.

Shen Mo had almost traveled through most of the secret areas of the Ghost Gate Pass.

Tianshun Country was the name of this secular dynasty, with an area slightly smaller than Qingzhou where the Linjiang Sect was located.

However, Tianshun Country was not prosperous!

Ghostly energy pervaded the land, crops failed, and all living creatures suffered as if they had entered a furnace of poison, enduring great torment.

There were mortals who died from eating tree bark and soil, others who despaired and hanged themselves or threw themselves into the river, and many who were killed and turned into livestock.

Under the ghostly energy and resentment, they transformed into hungry ghosts, hanging ghosts, and green-skinned ghosts of various sizes, causing trouble and harm to the living.

What surprised Shen Mo was that about seventy to eighty percent of the mountains and rivers in Tianshun Country matched the remains of the Ghost Country!

He even found the dilapidated ghost village where he and Chen Mengze had rested, and there were still villagers alive. However, they had all become cannibals, their bodies reeking of blood and ghostly energy.

When they saw Shen Mo, instead of retreating, they rushed forward with various weapons they had made, shouting that they wanted to taste the flesh and drink the blood of an immortal to see if it was more delicious than that of ordinary people!

Shen Mo didn't hold back and sent them to their liberation with a sword qi.

"It seems that Tianshun Country is the predecessor of the Ghost Country!"

"But why is there no trace of cultivators? Not to mention disciples of immortal sects, I haven't even seen a single wandering cultivator."

"The common people are not unfamiliar with cultivators. They even know to address me as 'immortal master'!"

"Moreover, even in such difficult times, there are still people who can survive. Why did they completely become a ghost country in the future?"

In the ancient records of the Linjiang Sect, there was never any mention of Tianshun Country.

It was unclear whether it was too far from the Chiyan Country geographically or if it existed in an extremely ancient era.

When passing through the capital of Tianshun Country, Shen Mo initially didn't want to go down.

Unexpectedly, on the city wall, he saw a familiar figure.

"General of the Ghosts?"

Shen Mo landed his flying sword.

The figure first saluted in a military manner, then took off the mask, revealing a bright and clear face. "Greetings, Immortal Master! Immortal Master may have mistaken me for someone else. My surname is Zhang, not a general."

This General Zhang wore armor, although not as decayed and tattered as the Ghost General, it was indeed the same set of armor.

Even the shape of the cracked armor piece on the left abdomen was exactly the same.

And Shen Mo had fought against the Ghost General before, remembering its appearance and soul, so he wouldn't mistake the person.

However, the eyes of the Ghost General were filled with anger and madness, while this Zhang General had a bright and gentle expression.

Although his eyes were filled with weariness, one could still see the determination and compassion hidden beneath the fatigue.

"Oh, General Zhang resembles someone I know. I did indeed make a mistake, please forgive me, General."

Shen Mo nodded and returned the courtesy, saying, "I have traveled here with many doubts in my heart. If the General has the time, why not sit down and chat with me?"

Saying that, he took out spirit wine and meat from his storage bag and placed them on the ground of the city wall.

General Zhang did not immediately accept, but instead called over a soldier on duty and whispered a few words before bowing to Shen Mo and sitting cross-legged.

Shen Mo heard it clearly.

He was instructing the soldier to pay attention to any movement inside and outside the city gate. If any ghosts appeared, they should immediately inform him.

"Gulp! Hiss~~~ Good wine!"

General Zhang drank the spirit wine in his cup, exhaling the aroma of alcohol and praising, "Immortal Master, you may not know, but in recent years, the world has become increasingly difficult. The court has banned the use of food to make wine!"

"By the way, is Immortal Master planning to enter the capital to pay respects?"

"Allow me to inform them for you! It has been over a year since an Immortal Master visited the capital. When the king sees you, he will surely be delighted."

Shen Mo shook his head.

With a flick of his finger, the spirit wine in the pot gathered into a stream and filled General Zhang's cup. He calmly replied, "I have no plans to enter the city. After having a small drink with the General here, I will leave."

The situation in the capital of Tianshun Country was not better than other small towns and cities.

It can be said that there is nothing that surpasses it!

With a sweep of his divine consciousness, Shen Mo discovered a large number of horrifying and inhumane incidents.

Among the common people, there were instances of cannibalism, human flesh stalls, murder and dismemberment... Many scenes of horror and depravity were not lacking in this "land of philanthropy".

Even the high-ranking officials and nobles treated the common people in the city as cattle and sheep, to be slaughtered and eaten.

Based on this, they continued to live lives of poverty, extravagance, and unrestrained indulgence.

On the other hand, General Zhang, who was currently drinking with him, did not have the slightest trace of the stench of human flesh on him, clearly making an effort to maintain his own integrity in the mire.

However, Shen Mo clearly noticed.

General Zhang cultivated military martial arts, and although he had the peak strength of the Body Tempering realm, his qi and blood were severely depleted and deteriorating.

He was even worse off than Gu Ming and Gu Chao, who had overdrawn their origins while practicing evil techniques.

Clearly, in the absence of food, in order to maintain his peak strength, he was constantly overdrawing his own qi, blood, and essence.

This pot of spirit wine from Shen Mo could only provide a slight supplement!

It could barely extend his life by half a month.

Hearing that Shen Mo had no intention of entering the city, General Zhang's face showed a hint of disappointment, but he quickly recovered.

After a few cups of spirit wine, his enthusiasm grew even stronger.

From his words, Shen Mo learned that his full name was Zhang Taian.

It carried the meaning of "national peace and people's safety"!

Unfortunately, since he joined the army, the state of affairs had become increasingly unbearable.

The crops in the fields had reduced their harvests every year, while all kinds of ghosts and monsters were increasing.

Zhang Taian and the other soldiers had the main responsibility of fighting against these monsters.

However, the monsters were always being killed without end!

As for the rebellions and other matters that troubled other secular dynasties, they rarely occurred in the Tian Shun Kingdom.

After all, the people didn't even have the strength to rebel.

And even if they did rebel and enter the city, there was no surplus food to plunder.

In the past few years, there were still many immortals in the Tian Shun Kingdom who killed the monsters.

But now, they had all left the Tian Shun Kingdom one after another, and no one knew where they had gone.

Shen Mo was the only immortal who had appeared in the capital city in over a year.

"General, there are monsters causing trouble in the Gengwu Lane near the city gate!" A soldier ran over quickly to report.

"Shen Xianshi, please wait for me a moment, I'll be right back." Zhang Taian grabbed the halberd on the weapon rack and leaped down from the city wall.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

The ghostly figures howled as the halberd swung.

A large number of houses collapsed and exploded.

At this moment, the monsters that appeared in the city were not the common starving ghosts or hanging ghosts, but a powerful green-skinned fierce ghost.

Its strength was at the early stage of the Second Order, but it couldn't compare to the green-skinned ghost that Shen Mo and the others had surrounded and killed.

Even though Zhang Taian had the peak strength of the Body Tempering realm, he was destined to be no match for it.

"Crack!"

The halberd was shattered.

Zhang Taian was covered in blood and was repeatedly forced back.

Even so, he did not ask for help from Shen Mo, who was watching the battle from the city wall.

As for the other soldiers, they couldn't help much either, they could only shoot arrows from a distance, but they couldn't even pierce the outer skin of the green-skinned fierce ghost.

"Qingqing Swordsmanship, slash for me!"

With a wave of his sleeve, Shen Mo's Longque Sword trembled incessantly, and a brilliant sword aura slashed towards the fierce ghost.

"Thud!"

The huge head of the green-skinned ghost rolled to the ground.

(End of this chapter)