A Mortal’s Immortal Gourd
Chapter 69: Sea of Fire

The visits and attempts at persuasion by various major factions were just minor interludes; the battle against the locusts continued unabated.  

After he had rejected them one by one, no one came to find him anymore.  

However, in the recent days of fighting, subtle changes had quietly taken place.  

Ergouzi suddenly noticed that in the last day or two, the locust swarms seemed to have gone mad, all converging fiercely toward the patch of chili pepper fields he was defending.  

In contrast, the directions defended by other teams remained calm and peaceful, with barely any locusts willing to go there.  

Were these locusts stupid? There were better paths to take, but they stubbornly chose to gnaw on this toughest bone.  

The locust swarm came like an overwhelming black cloud, pressing down from the sky. They fought continuously for a whole day and night, not a moment’s rest.  

When the team members grew hungry, they casually grabbed a few dead locusts and stuffed them into their mouths, chewing heartily.  

The trace amounts of poison in the locusts paradoxically stimulated the team’s spirits, making them even more excited and tireless.  

The team of over two thousand had lost nearly a quarter of its members. The constables, accompanied by the supervisors, fought fiercely, cutting down many enemies, barely managing to stop the trend of retreat.  

Seeing his subordinates dying one after another, Ergouzi wanted several times to lead his men off the battlefield and stop fighting.  

After all, the spiritual field belonged to the county magistrate’s family. If the locusts ate it, so be it. What did it have to do with them common folk?  

The government office only gave them four dou of rice a day, and that was after deductions. They barely had enough to eat. Why should they risk their lives for some official?  

Several times, he deliberately allowed his men to retreat to the side.  

But the historical records officer had brought a group to guard outside, watching vigilantly. When they retreated, a large number of their heads were cut off again.  

“Officer, we have been fighting continuously for a day and night. Can we retreat to rest for a while?”  

Ergouzi had no choice but to grit his teeth and ask the officer.  

“Retreat? There are still several acres of precious spiritual herbs behind you. Can you afford that?”  

The officer glared sideways at Ergouzi and asked coldly.  

“Anyone showing cowardice in battle will be killed without mercy!”  

Ergouzi wanted to say that it was the county magistrate’s spiritual field and herbs, so why was he responsible?  

He didn’t dare say it out loud. The people don’t fight the officials; the officials’ rank is higher and can crush them.  

He had no choice but to continue fighting the locusts with his men.  

The locust corpses on the ground had already piled into a thick layer. Stepping on them made a crunching sound.  

Ergouzi and his two white giant geese fought to the death, but human strength is limited. Their defensive line eventually collapsed.  

A dark mass of locusts surged into the chili pepper fields, frenziedly gnawing. The fishing nets set up were useless; within moments, they were torn to shreds.  

“Everyone, charge into the chili pepper fields and continue exterminating the locusts.”  

From afar, the supervising officer shouted, directing Ergouzi’s team to rush into the chili pepper fields to keep fighting.  

The opportunity Ergouzi had been waiting for finally came. He was the first to charge into the chili pepper fields.  

In the chaotic battle, whenever he got the chance, he stole two small chili pepper plants and quietly stored them in a yellow-skinned gourd.  

At last, the chili pepper plants he had been longing for were finally in his hands.  

Only then did he have the heart to survey the entire battlefield.  

His subordinates were dying one after another. Often, after collapsing to the ground for just a moment, they were already gnawed down to bare bones.  

The two white giant geese’s feathers were disheveled, their pure white plumage stained crimson with blood.  

But the locusts in the sky were still dense, showing no signs of diminishing, and even seemed to be increasing.  

It seemed that all the locusts were attracted to this patch of chili peppers.  

At that moment, he noticed dozens of mutated locusts clustered on a white plant, fiercely competing to gnaw on it.  

This was not a chili pepper tree.  

He swung his sword continuously, slaying more than a dozen mutated locusts.  

But this white plant seemed to have a great allure for them; the mutated locusts were endless, rushing here one after another.  

Ergouzi stood guard in front of the white plant, dancing his sword into a blur of light and shadow. Everything that approached him was sliced to pieces.  

Including that white plant, which he cut into countless segments.  

He rolled on the ground and took the root of the white plant into his arms.  

After the white sapling was cut down, the locusts continued to pounce on the broken branches on the ground.  

Besides this white sapling, there were a few others scattered in the chili pepper field, along with some white branches.  

Without exception, every white tree had many locusts rushing to gnaw it.  

Among these locusts, he even found a one-foot-long Locust King.  

He struck it down with a sword slash and picked up its corpse.  

There were already two Locust King corpses stored in the gourd. One corpse could allow two white giant geese to evolve into spirit beasts.  

That would increase the number of spirit beast-level giant geese by four.  

By now, he could guess with his feet that the locusts were all attracted by these white saplings.  

Moreover, these trees had only been transplanted here in the last day or two.  

Countless locusts still descended from the sky.  

His extermination team members occasionally screamed in agony before quickly being gnawed down to skeletal remains.  

Ergouzi’s eyes scanned around and discovered a few government officials burying something around the edge of the chili pepper fields.  

A bad premonition rose in his heart. He called over the two white geese to follow him as he slowly moved toward the edge of the chili pepper field amid the battle.  

………………  

Meanwhile, on a tall building, the county magistrate and several trusted aides watched the battle.  

“County chief, should we activate it now? The extermination team below is nearly exhausted.”  

An aide asked.  

“No need, wait a little longer!”  

The county magistrate’s tone was steady, carrying an immovable momentum.  

“One more large Locust King has yet to arrive.”  

“As long as the Locust King lives, all efforts will be wasted.”  

“Drive a few thousand more people into the chili pepper fields to temporarily hold the locusts and prevent them from leaving.”  

“Yes, sir!”  

The aide withdrew and soon saw a squad of soldiers driving over a thousand extermination team members into the chili pepper fields.  

In fact, the chili pepper trees inside had almost been completely eaten by locusts, no longer offering any protection.  

Many locust swarms, unable to find food, had already begun to fly away.  

At that moment, a thousand-strong extermination team was driven into the chili pepper fields. The locusts found fresh food and were forced to stay to fight the extermination team.  

However, this thousand-man squad was much weaker than Ergouzi’s team and did not last long before almost all perished.  

“County chief, shall we wait any longer?”  

The magistrate stroked his beard leisurely and said, “Wait a little longer.”  

Thus, the constables drove another thousand people into the chili pepper fields.  

Some were too fearful to advance; the soldiers showed no mercy, cutting off heads one by one.  

Several squads were continuously sent in. At that moment, a Locust King over two feet long flew in from the sky and entered the chili pepper fields.  

“County chief, may we activate it now?”  

“All right, commence!”  

This time the county magistrate’s tone was resolute, and his speed quickened slightly.  

“Should we withdraw all the extermination teams?”  

The aide asked once more before leaving.  

“Nonsense!”  

“If we withdraw the people, won’t the locust swarm escape too?”  

“To accomplish great things, sacrifices must be made. Sacrificing this small group to exterminate this massive locust swarm is worth it!”  

“Yes, sir!”  

The aide took his orders and hurried down to execute them.  

…………  

Inside the chili pepper fields, Ergouzi and his two geese had already fought to the battlefield’s edge.  

He saw the government constables burying bright red stones in the soil, though he didn’t know their purpose.  

He planned to steal one or two when the time was right to investigate.  

At this moment, several waves of people poured into the chili pepper fields, turning the battlefield into chaos, with everyone ignoring each other.  

Ergouzi seized an opportunity, hooked his foot into the mud, and dug out a red stone.  

He glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention, then quietly stored the red stone in his gourd.  

Then, acting as if nothing happened, he continued fighting the locusts.  

During the battle, he kept searching for the Locust King.  

A Locust King corpse could evolve two white giant geese into spirit beasts, which was very tempting for Ergouzi.  

He had just slain a one-foot-long Locust King, but the swarm remained undispersed; there should be a stronger Locust King controlling the swarm.  

Sure enough, a Locust King flew in from the sky.  

This Locust King was larger than the one he had slain in Shexi Village, over two feet long, and would likely be hard to deal with.  

Ergouzi did not rush to strike but slowly approached, seeking a perfect killing opportunity.  

Perhaps because there were many strong people on site, the Locust King did not focus on Ergouzi.  

Finally, the distance between them was only about ten meters.  

He locked onto it with his spiritual consciousness...  

At that moment, sudden flames rose around the chili pepper fields.  

These flames soared into the sky, connecting into a vast sheet that enveloped the entire area.  

Instantly, everyone and all the locusts inside the chili pepper fields were trapped in a sea of fire.  

“Ah! Ah! Ah...”  

Heart-wrenching screams echoed from within the sea of fire.  

The Locust King, sensing danger, tried to fly away.  

But as soon as it ascended, it was forced back by a wall of fire.  

The flames on the wall were scorching; even a slight approach burned off one of its wings.  

Everyone and every locust frantically tried to escape.  

Ergouzi had prepared everything and, holding to the principle of risking life over wealth, his heavy sword gleamed with a dazzling light.  

With a flash, the Locust King was cut in half by his sword.  

Leaping up, he caught the Locust King’s corpse, then scanned around for an escape route.  

The entire battlefield was engulfed in flames; many trapped people screamed and ran wildly.  

The two white giant geese had their feathers ignited by the fire, crying out in distress as they burned.  

However, he quickly discovered a small gap in the sea of fire.  

It was exactly where he had stolen the red stone.  

Immediately, he called the two geese down, took out the gourd, and poured some water over himself and the geese.  

Then he led the geese charging toward the fire gap.  

In such a desperate situation, the trio pushed their speed to the limit and escaped the fire in just a few breaths.  

Ergouzi collapsed on the ground as soon as he escaped the fire.  

There were still many people inside the sea of fire screaming and desperately searching for a way out.  

“This way... cough cough cough... escape this way... cough cough cough...”  

Ergouzi wanted to shout loudly to guide others.  

“Cough cough cough...”  

His body was not badly burned, but his throat burned fiercely, as if aflame inside, making it impossible to speak.  

He kept swallowing water but only felt slightly better.  

“This way... cough cough cough...”  

Ergouzi covered his throat, his voice hoarse, and looked toward the chili pepper fields.  

That patch of chili pepper fields had become a sea of fire, with everyone and all the locusts inside consumed by the flames.  

The more than two thousand people who had fought alongside him were all burned to death.  

Only a few wounded, elderly, weak, and women survived, now crying their hearts out outside the fire.  

His subordinates Scholar Zhao, Scholar Qian, and the constable—three skilled fighters—also failed to escape.  

Fortunately, by sheer luck, he had stolen a red stone, creating a small gap in the sea of fire, allowing him to escape.  

Otherwise, surrounded by walls of flame, breaking through would have been impossible.  

Besides him, another twenty or so people escaped through the gap he had pointed out.  

Officer Dian Shi and his group silently guarded the fire’s perimeter, their faces cold and ruthless.  

This fire was clearly started by them.  

Only now did Ergouzi realize, albeit belatedly, why several factions had tried to court him in the past two days.  

Those officials had already decided the fate of Ergouzi’s team, sending them as cannon fodder to die.  

If he had accepted any faction’s invitation back then, his two thousand men would not have died.  

Instead, other teams would have been sent as cannon fodder here.  

Ergouzi recalled what the Dao Xuan Sect’s envoy had once told him.  

People without factional backing like him—even if they passed the scholar, xiucai, or jinshi exams—were just tools to work and take the blame in the eyes of officials.  

Forget it. When this is over, he would return to Shekou Mountain to farm.  

Even if he passed the xiucai exam in the future, he wouldn’t want to meddle with these officials.  

He was just a farming peasant; he couldn’t compete with these people. It was better to quietly farm and cultivate on Shekou Mountain.  

At this moment, he somewhat understood Sima Yi’s reluctance to learn martial arts and get involved with government affairs despite his great talent.  

Ergouzi sat on the ground, lost in thought.  

The flames in the chili pepper fields gradually died down, and all the people and locusts inside had turned to ashes.  

Suddenly, a loud explosion rang out, shaking the ground and causing violent fluctuations in the spiritual energy in the air.  

“Not good!”  

Even the previously unflappable Officer Dian Shi’s expression changed drastically.  

“Everyone, follow me!”  

Dian Shi’s figure flickered as he dashed toward the center of the spiritual field.  

Others on site didn’t know what happened but followed him.  

After a while, Ergouzi lazily stood up, trailing far behind the crowd.  

He noticed that although he also used the Wind Riding Technique, Dian Shi’s execution was several times faster than his.  

The place where the explosion came from was also a spiritual field.  

This spiritual field was the most densely infused with spiritual energy, surrounded by other spiritual fields, and had not suffered any damage during the locust disaster.  

When Ergouzi arrived, he saw Dian Shi and the county magistrate fighting together against a bird-man with two pairs of wings on its back.  

This bird-man was only about one meter tall, with a face full of wrinkles, but his eyes were large and round.  

However, the pair of wings on his back were each more than three meters long.