Chapter 1683: The Great Commander

"Lord Mou Wu, you should indeed know, but I do not..."

Seeing that he had been recognized, Zhang Xuan abandoned the pretense and laughed heartily.

"He is not Lord Mou Wu, attack..."

The three alien clansmen's pupils contracted. Just as they were about to strike, a massive figure descended swiftly from the air.

Splat!

The one presiding over the formation was instantly crushed into a meat patty.

Then a bone dragon flew out, biting off another's head, while a demon blade cleaved the last one cleanly in two.

Three Invulnerability-level alien clansmen—since they had been recognized, killing them was the simplest solution.

After disposing of the bodies, Zhang Xuan channeled his true qi into the teleportation array before him. With a flash of light, he vanished from the spot.

As a grandmaster of formations and unmatched in spatial comprehension, activating the array was trivial for him.

With a flicker, he appeared on another teleportation array. Looking up, he saw a vast valley, surrounded by uneven mountain ranges that sealed the area completely.

"Greetings, Commander!"

No sooner had he steadied himself than a voice sounded from the side.

It was a few soldiers guarding the array, of low rank, likely recognizing him only by the grade of his armor rather than his identity.

"Mm."

Without replying, Zhang Xuan strode forward.

The valley was vast, with a blood-red moon slanting over the distant mountains, resembling an ink-wash painting from afar.

Countless soldiers formed square formations scattered across the valley. From a distance, they were uniform and silent, their discipline marking them as a well-trained, formidable army.

Because the troops were a fusion of several burrows, Mou Wu, though unfamiliar, aroused no suspicion. As he walked slowly, Zhang Xuan grew increasingly alarmed.

These soldiers, like those from the Dragon Tiger Mountain burrow, were at least at the Saint Realm Third Layer.

If a hundred thousand such experts struck simultaneously, even an Ancient Sage would have to temporarily avoid their edge!

"I must stop them, or... we'll surely be trapped in a bitter fight!"

He frowned.

After all these years, the Master Teacher Pavilion could muster a hundred thousand Saint Realm Third Layer cultivators in total, but they were scattered across various regions and the 108 burrows under simultaneous attack.

If this army broke out, caught off guard, the casualties would be incalculable.

But how to stop them?

Even an Ancient Sage dared not face them head-on, let alone him now.

If he charged in, he would likely be surrounded and killed before taking down more than a few.

Using Heaven's Path true qi to poison them... would drain all his qi and still not be enough. Borrowing lightning again, as before, was useless without the Heavenly Mechanist's artifact.

Besides, the soldiers had to obey orders.

"First, find their supreme commander... see if I can kill him."

After a moment's thought, unable to devise a better plan, his eyes flickered.

Shoot the rider first; capture the chief to subdue the bandits.

Since he couldn't wipe out all these alien clansmen at once, he would first find the supreme commander. If he could eliminate that person, the rest should be easier to handle.

Activating his Eye of Insight, he scanned the area.

Soon, a large tent surrounded by soldiers came into view.

He approached slowly, found a hiding spot, and with a flick of his finger, the space before him twisted, and he vanished.

Concealed, he flew toward the tent and soon arrived.

Rustle!

After waiting outside briefly, a commander in black armor like his own lifted the curtain and entered. Zhang Xuan slipped in right behind him.

Inside, a fire blazed, the temperature mild. Seated before him were seventeen or eighteen people, all in black armor, clearly of equal rank to Mou Wu—commander level.

"All are Immortality Realm experts?"

His brows jumped.

These men were all at the Great Saint Fourth Layer Immortality Realm, no weaker than Mou Wu. The one in the center, a middle-aged man seated with a golden blade, exuded an aura not inferior to Yang Shi's!

His body stiffened, and Zhang Xuan dared not move.

Fortunately, he had not acted rashly but followed a black-armored man inside; otherwise, even with the space around him sealed, he might have been detected.

He had improved greatly, but facing so many experts, escape was impossible.

"Reporting to the Great Commander, Bo Xin has rejected our request..."

The black-armored man who had just entered clasped his fists.

"Rejected?"

The middle-aged man with the golden blade remained expressionless.

"He said their supplies are limited and they cannot give us a larger share. Each serves his own master, so we should not haggle over this matter," said the black-armored man.

"Not haggle? He's got a good plan—let us take the lead, refuse even to lend us armor, clearly sending us to die while he reaps the benefits!"

"Indeed, Lord Chenxing has always stayed neutral. I never expected Bo Xin to be so cunning. We're allied, yet he wants to slack off. How can that be!"

...

At the black-armored man's words, the room erupted.

The middle-aged man raised his hand to silence them: "Tell him, if they won't contribute, our two forces advance side by side, neither retreating. Otherwise, hand over the Star Armor forged by Lord Chenxing—no need for many, just a hundred sets. If not... we settle it with a fight. I'll duel him. If I win, we do it his way; if I lose, he calls the shots!"

"Yes!"

The black-armored man nodded and withdrew again.

Zhang Xuan paused, then flickered and followed him out of the tent.

Trailing the black-armored man, he soon saw another large tent in the distance.

"From their conversation, though there are a hundred thousand men here, they are split into two factions—one under Lord Chenxing, the other under Lord Chenling."

Zhang Xuan mused.

Though he didn't know the exact difference between these two sovereigns, the talk, combined with prior knowledge, suggested the two forces were not as harmonious as they seemed.

"A rift is best. If I can provoke them into fighting each other... the burrow crisis will be resolved."

His eyes lit up.

A hundred thousand men united would be impossible to handle; he could only warn the human race to prepare. But since they were split and seemed at odds... there was an opening!

With a flicker, Zhang Xuan changed his appearance, then removed the spatial seal around him, revealing himself.

"Ahem!"

He deliberately coughed.

"Who goes there!"

The black-armored man heading toward the opposite tent spun around at the sound. Startled by the sight, he quickly bowed deeply: "Great Commander, you... why are you here?"

Zhang Xuan had disguised himself as the Great Commander with the golden blade from the room.