Hammer in her left hand, sword in her right, the eldest sister is connected to both worlds.

Chapter 572 Soul Calling

"Senior sister!"

The woman in the dark red dress quickly drank the peach blossom wine in her cup, then grabbed Xue Lan's sleeve and began to beg for mercy, her tone extremely pitiful:

"Senior sister, I was wrong. I promise I won't do it again!"

Xue Lan stared in astonishment at the woman's sharp phoenix eyes, feeling a strange sense of familiarity with the scene.

Lord Wolf searched his memory for a moment, then suddenly remembered:

This is how she always acts whenever she offends Dao Xuanzi: she clings to her master's sleeve and cries.

The woman raised her hand, pressed down on Ji Jinjin's head, and pushed her aside, her tone full of disdain:

"Can't you learn something good?"

Xue Lan was exasperated:

"You're the garrison commander of Duanshui Pass, can't you have some dignity?"

Ji Jinjin, despite Xue Lan's push, looked up at her, a sly glint in her eyes: "Decent?"

"Does our sect even have such a thing as dignity? I've never seen it before."

Xue Lan felt that Ji Jinjin had spent too much time on the battlefield, and along with her strength and temperament, her ability to infuriate others had also grown. The woman frowned deeply and spoke:

"Get up, don't force me to hit you."

"Then will you still scold me if I get up?" Ji Jinjin asked with a smile, bargaining and jumping wildly near Xue Lan's bottom line.

"I'm not going to curse anymore!"

The moment those three words were uttered, Xue Lan felt the weight on her sleeve vanish instantly. The woman smoothly rose, reached past her to grab the wine jug on the sand tray, and spoke with a smug tone:

"Senior sister, your wine is sweet and delicious, I'll have some more... Ah!"

Xue Lan said she wouldn't scold her, but she didn't say she wouldn't hit her. The woman's hand was slapped solidly by Xue Lan, and when she pulled it back, her face was full of grievance.

Ji Jinjin started playing the victim again:

"Didn't my senior sister bring it for us to drink?"

"Don't you think so, senior brother?"

The woman's last syllable was drawn out exceptionally long. Xue Lan followed Ji Jinjin's gaze and saw Zhu He, who had already quietly moved several steps away.

Zhu He heard his teeth chattering, and he saw Ji Jinjin raise an eyebrow at him.

Junior sisters are a very unstable thing; there is often only a fine line between being able to go through life and death together and growing to hate each other.

He really wants to have a friendly competition with Ji Jinjin.

Xue Lan's slow, leisurely voice reached my ears:

"What are you going to do?"

"No... I won't do anything!"

Zhu He obediently lowered his head and returned to his original position, ready to receive his scolding.

But the young man silently recited the proverb "a beating is a sign of affection" and waited for half an hour, but still didn't hear Xue Lan's voice.

He looked up with some curiosity and found Xue Lan holding a wine cup and looking at him, while Ji Jinjin behind her was already drinking from a wine pot, looking very happy, her eyes curving like those of a wicked carnivore.

Zhu He had considered that Xue Lan might be biased, but he hadn't expected her to be this biased.

The senior sister's attitude towards him was completely different from her attitude towards Ji Jinjin. He vowed never to cook for the senior sister again when he returned to the Xuanhuang Sect!

"What are you thinking about?" Xue Lan handed the wine cup in her hand to the young man, listening to his incoherent and vague thoughts, her tone full of helplessness.

"Thank you, Senior Sister." Zhu He did not answer Xue Lan's question, but instead took the wine cup and drank the pink wine in one gulp.

"How is it?" Xue Lan looked at Zhu He with some anticipation: "This is a fine wine that I brought all the way from Yandu, produced by the Flower Tree Envoy!"

The young man opposite him smacked his lips, pondered for a long time, and finally spoke woodenly:

"It's strangely sweet."

Xue Lan's smile froze instantly. After a moment of silence, she ground her teeth.

“Cow chews peonies.”

Ji Jinjin couldn't help but laugh again, increasingly convinced that Xue Lan was absolutely right.

Sometimes Zhu He really is like a silly rabbit, standing there blankly, not knowing what to do.

The woman held a wine glass between her fingers, smiling as she looked at Xue Lan: "Speaking of which, are there really rabbits in the world as robust as Pigsy?"

Upon hearing this, Xue Lan became quite interested, and the woman nodded emphatically to Ji Jinjin:

"Yes, yes, it's in the War Puppet Mansion. Yan Chengxue is being cared for there now! You can go and see her after everything is over."

Ji Jinjin nodded:

"Then I have to go take a look."

The two chatted back and forth, while Zhu He lay down on the ground of the city wall, staring blankly at the starry sky above.

"What are you thinking about?"

The starry sky above was blocked by a hand, and Zhu He heard Xue Lan's cheerful voice.

"Sister..."

The young man did not get up, but spoke to Xue Lan in his current posture, a faint sorrow in his eyes:

"Will my cultivation level change after I go to the desolate region?"

Xue Lan thought to herself that this wouldn't do. When did her junior brother, who had always been single-minded since childhood, become a melancholy young man?

Xue Lan: That won't do!

The eldest sister felt sorry for Zhu He, but she wouldn't romanticize reality, so she spoke the truth:

"Of course it will."

Xue Lan took out another pot of wine from her sleeve and handed it to Ji Jinjin, who was patting her shoulder wildly. She looked at Zhu He with gentle eyes, waiting for him to finish his sentence.

Zhu He couldn't lie still any longer; he felt a tingling sensation on his back.

The young man sat up, looked at Xue Lan, and said timidly:

"Senior sister, can I not improve my cultivation level?"

Xue Lan frowned slightly, then looked into Zhu He's eyes and spoke coldly:

"No."

Zhu He lowered his head, looking like a demon that Xue Tong had just scolded.

The woman's voice was serene and lingering, like a gentle night breeze entering Zhu He's ears:

"Zhu He, are you really going to give up because of the dangers yet to come?"

Zhu He lowered his head. The young man's voice was low and hoarse, filled with inner turmoil:

"The demons at Duanshui Pass are becoming increasingly rampant, and I'm worried that my junior sister and the others won't be able to withstand them."

Ji Jinjin, who was ostensibly drinking but had actually been eavesdropping, stopped what she was doing.

The woman peeked out from behind Xue Lan and spoke:

"Senior brother, I don't quite agree with what you're saying!"

“You are not the only commander guarding Duanshui Pass.”

"Senior Brother Xu, Siyin, Sister Minshang... each of us is a genius no less than you."

"Even without you, we can still defend the water-cutting pass."

“But…” Zhu He wanted to retort, but Ji Jinjin interrupted him:

"Senior brother, you must become stronger, so that I don't leave you behind."

Zhu He paused slightly, then looked at the spirit-splitting ring on his right hand.

Xue Lan is a genius at crafting artifacts. She used the demon core of the Demon Lord Xuan Shuo to forge this magical artifact for him, which can suppress his hidden spiritual root and harmonize the spiritual power in his body. This way, he doesn't have to worry about becoming a demon due to the surge of spiritual energy. He can slaughter the demon race on the battlefield and become the General Zhu, who is revered by the Sheng Yu Army and the disciples of the immortal sect.

This also cut off his chances of advancing to the Nascent Soul stage.

Seeing the confusion on the young man's face, Xue Lan spoke softly:

"Auntie is right."

"Zhu He, are you really willing to accept this?"

"From birth, the innate sword bone has nurtured a sword energy that connects heaven and earth within your spine, which should have been awakened when you were in the early stages of the Nascent Soul stage."

"Zhu He, are you truly content to be a sword that will never be sheathed?"

Zhu He remained silent, and Xue Lan did not press him for answers.

"If you can't figure it out, you can think about it slowly. I'll leave Duanshuiguan in two days."

The woman raised her hand and handed Zhu He another cup of peach blossom wine.

"Let's drink first, then I'll show you a soul-summoning performance."

"spiritualism?"

Zhu He spoke with some doubt, but after a moment, his doubts were resolved.

Several beams of light flew up from behind them; it was Xue Tong and her group.

The girl walked quickly to Xue Lan:

"Several generals of the Shengyu Army said they wanted to perform a ritual to summon the souls on the battlefield in front of Duanshui Pass, so that the living could see it."

Xue Lan turned her head slightly to look at Ji Jinjin: "You are the garrison commander, so you have the final say."

Ji Jinjin put down her wine cup and walked to the back. When she stood by the city wall, she saw a patch of firelight below.

The soldiers of Shengyu Army and many disciples of the immortal sects all stood below.

In the endless darkness, what shone brighter than the torches in their hands were their eyes, burning with anticipation.

"Xu Mingye!" the woman suddenly called out to those below.

"Your subordinate is here!" A middle-aged man in black armor slowly stepped forward from the crowd and saluted.

The soldiers below were all pounding their hearts, fearing that Ji Jinjin would be angry and reject the idea, and they would never see the people who had long since died in battle again.

The two groups remained locked in a standoff for several breaths. Just as some of the generals were about to speak, the woman's decisive and resolute voice rang out above them:

"Deploy personnel to defend the area surrounding the water cutoff point!"

After saying this, Ji Jinjin turned and disappeared from the city wall.

Xue Lan heard a cheerful shout coming from within Duanshui Pass.

"Senior Sister!" Zhu He stood up after finishing the last cup of wine. "Auntie has probably gone to check the surrounding area. I'll go take a look too."

Xue Lan nodded gently in agreement: "Okay, be careful."

Ji Jinjin intended to inspect the surroundings, but the woman did not go directly out of Duanshui Pass. Instead, she returned to the place where Shengyu Army held its meeting and retrieved the "Hundred Battles Map of Luoxia Mountain".

The time when the souls are summoned is when the wandering spirits are most lucid, but they are far from lucid enough to recognize people.

The faces of her former comrades-in-arms were clear, yet she could not recognize them. Her dazed and confused journey straight to the ley lines left Ji Jinjin with a deep sense of unease.

The woman's fingertips gently traced across the embroidered pattern.

Let them remember the black battle flag in this painting!

On the other side, Xu Mingye, clad in black armor, was surrounded by several colleagues, their laughter and banter filling the air.

"I thought you were going to be beheaded by the commander-in-chief. I was even about to go up and say, 'Commander-in-chief, look at me. I'm soft and easy to chop.'"

"What do you mean the bones are soft? I think it's just that the meat is fatty and easy to cut!"

"Alright, alright!" the middle-aged man said with a smile, stopping those around him.

"What do you take our commander for? She's not some ruthless demon."

"But I heard those immortal masters say that the commander cultivates something called... the Path of Slaughter, he was born to kill..."

The speaker was a newly promoted young general, but before he could finish his sentence, he was overwhelmed by the crowd's imposing presence.

The general who had just been teased for being too fat to cut looked at him coldly: "What's wrong with the path of slaughter? It would be better to kill all the demons in this desolate region and all the despicable villains in the Yuanming Realm."

"Alright!" Xu Mingye spoke up to quell the minor conflict, then looked into the young general's eyes and said:

"Zuo Xian, the head coach is a very good person."

"She is the best fairy I have ever seen."

The crowd gradually dispersed, but the general named Zuo Xian remained standing there, stunned.

Until a cold voice woke him up:

"Don't let your mind wander while wearing armor."

Zuo Xian was startled, then quickly bowed to the newcomer:

"Coach!"

Ji Jinjin nodded slightly to the young man, then handed him a folded piece of cloth:

"Later, when you summon the soul, unfold this thing in front of the Broken Water Pass."

"We can't send them home, that would be considered home."

Zuo Xian had seen "The Hundred Battles of Luoxia Mountain" several times, so he recognized it just by looking at the corner that was visible.

The young man was suddenly filled with shame, lowered his head, and slowly spoke:

"Commander-in-chief, did you just hear my presumptuous words?"

Ji Jinjin, who was about to leave, turned her head slightly to look at him:

"It's alright. It's normal to get some criticism for practicing the path of killing."

"All I need to know is who I'm pointing my gun at."

Many, many years later, when the Yuan and Ming dynasties were at peace, and Zuo Xian was old and surrounded by his children and grandchildren, he still could not forget these words.

In the dim light, the woman turned her head slightly, her expression resolute, like a spear piercing the darkness.

She said, "All I need to know is who I'm pointing my gun at."

Whether the gun carried the heart, or the heart followed the gun, Zuo Xian could never figure it out in his entire life.

The Shengyu army moved swiftly, deploying defenses within a ten-mile radius in less than an hour. Xue Tong stood atop the city wall, watching the cavalry, carrying small defensive formations, form a large semicircle in front of Duanshui Pass. He couldn't help but sigh and say:

"I can only sleep well under the protection of such an army."

Xue Lan, unusually, didn't mock her, but instead smiled and looked at the Soul Guide to the side:

"Little Soul, this is the desolate region. If evil spirits try to devour wandering souls after the soul-summoning begins, don't panic."

"You don't need to worry about that."

A gentle and composed voice came from behind her. Xue Lan turned around and saw Xu Qizhou dressed in white.

The young man pointed to the illuminated magic arrays in the distance: "The ones guarding the outside are the Shengyu Army's Shengzi Battalion. Inside are soldiers who have killed over a hundred demons; their baleful aura is enough to repel some evil spirits."

Xue Lan breathed a sigh of relief: "Auntie is always reliable."

"I……"

A-Wu, who had been following behind Xue Tong and carrying the small boat, suddenly transmitted her voice: "I have a small boat, which can devour those wandering demonic souls!"

"Alright!" Xue Lan nodded with a smile, then looked at the many soldiers and disciples of the immortal sect who followed Xu Qizhou up the city wall.

Their eyes burned with fervent hope and longing.

"Little Soul, you can begin!"

A young girl in a deep blue brocade dress transformed into a golden streak of light and plunged into the battlefield in front of Duanshui Pass. Her spirit hovered about three feet above the ground, and her hands slowly formed an ancient and natural hand seal. The reincarnation mark between her brows slowly lit up.

"Soul, return!"