The attacks from Commander Gu and his men could no longer reach the artifact refining room. The artifacts within the room, however, had not yet unleashed their full power, continuing to force them backward.
Seeing that they had almost retreated out of sight, the artifact refining room ceased its attacks. Commander Gu rallied his troops to advance again, only for the room to unleash another round of fierce bombardment, forcing Commander Gu and his men to retreat once more.
His troops had suffered significant losses, while the artifact refining room remained completely unharmed, let alone the people inside.
Commander Gu gnashed his teeth in fury. "You will all die!" he vowed.
However, figuring out how to make them die was a truly vexing problem.
So far, he had come up with no solution and dared not advance another step.
At this moment, Luo Jian emerged from the artifact refining room with everyone else, looking exceptionally spirited. Unable to see Commander Gu's men, they shouted into the void, "Come on, come and fight me!"
Commander Gu couldn't see anyone either, but he could hear the voices clearly, making him so angry he felt like spitting blood.
Guo Huaili, watching from mid-air, was utterly astonished and his eyes welled up with tears again.
He had envisioned a thousand desolate scenarios for the artifact refining room in his mind, but he could never have imagined the scene unfolding before him.
This was like a pack of hounds scaring a tiger!
Li Chunhou was also greatly shocked. The artifacts scattered around the artifact refining room, coupled with the impenetrable defensive formations, were simply breathtaking. He had never imagined such a defensive setup could be achieved.
If this system could be deployed on the battlefield against the demon race, they could rest assured.
What luck had he stumbled upon today?
He hadn't intended to come at all. Firstly, he was in no mood after suffering defeat, and secondly, he was utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally, wanting nothing more than a good sleep. However, Guo Huaili had berated him soundly, and for some inexplicable reason, he had followed him here sheepishly.
He never expected that following them would yield such an unexpected reward!
This was an even greater gain than winning a battle today!
Li Chunhou suppressed his surging joy and said to Guo Huaili, "Brother Guo, you're not being fair. You have such powerful artifacts in your artifact refining room and you didn't share them with me. You don't consider me a brother! You just called me someone who forgets righteousness for profit, but I think you're the one who's typically greedy and hoarding wealth."
Guo Huaili looked genuinely wronged. "I, I don't know what's going on either. If I had such powerful artifacts, why would I have been so anxious and lost my temper with you?"
Li Chunhou remained unconvinced. Guo Huaili said, "Why don't we go down and ask, and then we'll know?" With that, he prepared to descend.
Li Chunhou grabbed him. "Don't be hasty, let's deal with the enemy first."
Guo Huaili nodded in understanding.
The two then turned their bodies and headed in the direction of Commander Gu.
Commander Gu, unable to break through the defenses, felt increasingly anxious. He dispatched a soldier to report to his superior, General Si Wu.
Si Wu had already heard the thunderous noises from the area and found it strange, thinking it was an invasion by foreign enemies. He sent people to investigate and discovered that Commander Gu had failed to apprehend the people from the artifact refining room.
"What a bunch of idiots," Si Wu cursed, and headed over with two attendants.
Upon seeing the situation, he was also utterly astonished. When had the artifact refining room forged such powerful artifacts? And they hadn't submitted them voluntarily. Were they planning a rebellion?
He himself attempted to approach the artifact refining room using his movement techniques and divine abilities, but was forced back by a barrage of attacks. In the end, he could only stand several miles away, stamping his feet in anger.
"Rebellion, rebellion! These people have truly rebelled. I will return to gather a large army and raze the artifact refining room to the ground," Si Wu declared, preparing to leave.
At this moment, a voice pierced through the air, "General Si, please wait!"
Simultaneously, Li Chunhou and Guo Huaili appeared before Si Wu.
Si Wu glanced at Guo Huaili and angrily said, "You still have the nerve to show your face? Do you think finding a backer will save you from death?"
Li Chunhou smiled. "General Si still has that fiery temper. May I ask if you have understood the entire sequence of events?" He then looked at Commander Gu meaningfully and said, "Don't be kept in the dark by certain people."
Commander Gu's eyes flickered for a moment, and he mumbled, "I have already reported the entire matter to General Si. It's just that these people refined the wrong artifacts, causing heavy losses to our army, and they refuse to admit guilt."
Li Chunhou snorted coldly. "Did you also mention that the formula you provided to the artifact refining room was flawed from the start?"
Commander Gu feigned composure. "This formula was issued by Sky City. How could it be flawed? I certainly wouldn't dare to doubt it."
Si Wu also cast a sidelong glance at Li Chunhou. "How could the formula be flawed?"
Li Chunhou looked at Guo Huaili. "Perhaps you should explain it to General Si yourself."
Guo Huaili cupped his fist towards Si Wu and then produced the formula. "General Si, in this formula, all the spiritual herbs and stones are either fire-attribute or neutral. However, after the spiritual herb Wuxu Root was soaked in the neutral catalyst, Slate Water, it turned into a water-attribute spiritual herb. Water and fire are incompatible. Naturally, the artifacts refined in the end would have no spiritual power, or rather, the final product would be a piece of scrap stone."
Si Wu took the formula and examined it carefully, his brow furrowing.
On the path of cultivation, no one solely focused on improving their magic power. To find shortcuts, everyone would study alchemy and artifact refining, with varying degrees of depth. Some would merely dabble, while others pursued it alongside their cultivation.
Si Wu belonged to the latter. His attainments in alchemy and artifact refining were no less than Guo Huaili's, but he simply hadn't engaged in the work. Otherwise, his achievements in artifact refining might even surpass Guo Huaili's.
"This formula indeed has a problem," Si Wu said after a long examination, handing the formula back to Guo Huaili. He then glared at Commander Gu. "Supervisor Guo explained this matter to you, so why didn't you report it to me? What exactly are you trying to do? The deaths and injuries of these brothers today are all your fault. What crime do you deserve?"
Commander Gu immediately knelt on the ground, but still stubbornly argued, "General, if they raised doubts, they should have raised them with Sky City. We were only responsible for apprehending them. Moreover, as experts in artifact refining, they should have pointed out the flaws in the formula immediately. Why did they only bring it up afterward? Is this malicious intent?"
Unreasonable!
Li Chunhou and Guo Huaili were both furious, their beards bristling, but they refrained from acting out due to Si Wu's presence.
Si Wu, enraged, kicked him, sending him sprawling. "Still quibbling! You were the one who handed the formula to them. I even reminded you to check its feasibility at the time. Did you just treat my words as if they were blown away by the wind? Furthermore, you were also responsible for inspecting the artifacts after they were completed. If you don't investigate yourself, but immediately think of blaming others, is there any logic to this in the world?"
Commander Gu got up, remaining silent, but his defiant posture suggested he still hadn't recognized his mistake.
Or perhaps, he was unwilling to admit he was wrong.
Si Wu sighed heavily. "Little Gu, you've followed me for so many years, and I never expected it to end this way today. I would rather you had died on the battlefield."
By the end, his eyes had turned red.
Commander Gu finally realized the gravity of the situation, his legs immediately weakening. He knelt on the ground again, crying out, "General, spare my life! I was just momentarily confused and forgot to report to you. My crime does not warrant death."
Si Wu glanced at the soldiers lying on the ground. They were covered in wounds and on the verge of death. Although they still had a breath left, they were certainly beyond saving. Death was only a matter of time.
His tears welled up in his eyes. "So many brothers have died because of you. If you don't die, how can I account for it to all the brothers? Moreover, concealing the truth is like concealing military intelligence; it is a capital offense. Your death would not be unjust."
Commander Gu kowtowed so vigorously that he was rendered speechless, his voice choked with fear.
Guo Huaili found the scene very pleasing to the eye and nodded repeatedly.
Li Chunhou, however, saw the ultimate direction of the affair.
This was because, in this matter, Commander Gu was not the only one at fault.
Commander Gu had concealed information, while the artifact refining room had also made a mistake by refusing to cooperate with the investigation.
If you have a grievance, you should appeal to the authorities later. Why resist?
If this matter were to be handled impartially, Commander Gu deserved to die, and the people of the artifact refining room would not fare well either. They would likely face imprisonment, or even exile.
Si Wu wanted to kill Commander Gu; he was paving the way for the punishment of the artifact refining room.
Poor Guo Huaili, completely unaware, was still feeling smug.