I Don't Agree to the Terms
Chapter 535 - 293: The Situation, Formation of the Eight Diagrams_2

Chapter 535: Chapter 293: The Situation, Formation of the Eight Diagrams_2

He did possess a taunting aura, but it wasn’t on him. Instead, it resided within his mana aura. Normally, when activated, it wouldn’t focus on him as the main target, but rather on the enemy.

That is, a taunting aura would appear around the enemy.

Gu Shanhai wasn’t a tank; there was no point in casting a taunting aura on himself.

The birth of the taunting aura was actually based on the Heart Demon’s substitute, mainly to guide emotional changes.

"There are numerous military dispositions in military strategies, and they overlap with my mana aura to some extent, moreover, they are only applicable to Daoist Soldiers."

"Therefore, instead of creating them one by one, which is too costly, it’s better to standardize them directly like the mana aura."

"The best way is to let the White Tiger, this accompanying spirit creature and military soul, use it; not only can it save costs, but it can also be upgraded and optimized at the same time."

Normally, military dispositions reside on the commander. Gu Shanhai cleverly redirected them to the White Tiger. Since the White Tiger was a part of him, there were no significant issues.

"It’s just that, by doing so, feedback to me becomes more troublesome."

This wouldn’t reduce the amplification Gu Shanhai received; on the contrary, it would strengthen it since the White Tiger itself focused on amplification. Back and forth, Gu Shanhai even pondered whether he could maintain his human form in the future.

This was crucial. If he couldn’t maintain it, he’d have to prepare in advance.

The Thirty-six Transformations and Seventy-two Transformations could not turn one into a human, only into animals or plants because human beings were the basic template in the original design.

"If appropriate, it’s better to suppress it and wait until the Heavenly Observation Stage Divine Power is perfected."

Gu Shanhai needed to calculate sufficient data to ensure his own interests.

He wasn’t averse to becoming non-human, but becoming so at this critical juncture could lead to loss of interests. Mainly because these two transformations were methods of evading disaster and avoiding tribulation, not methods of change. Even though they were primarily about transformation, the directions were different, so the effects differed.

"Too many Heart Demon Dao Soldiers?" Following the results of his calculations, Gu Shanhai quickly determined how to temporarily suppress his transformation to ensure he didn’t fully become non-human while perfecting the military disposition.

Of course, he had no illusion of suppressing them all; it was enough to suppress most of them.

"As long as there are not more than two hundred thousand Heart Demon Dao Soldiers, I will not fully become non-human. The fewer Heart Demon Dao Soldiers, the lower the degree of non-human transformation."

"Currently I have one hundred thousand Heart Demon Dao Soldiers. It looks like a million will have to wait."

"After the military disposition is perfected, there will probably be about ten percent non-human transformation, which I can suppress."

Gu Shanhai swiftly concluded that having two hundred thousand Heart Demon Dao Soldiers didn’t mean the transformation wouldn’t occur with one hundred thousand—it was an exponential change. Plus, with Gu Shanhai’s own adjustments, suppressing the non-human aspect to ten percent was quite normal.

"Thinking about it, the sixth layer of the Green Emperor Longevity Scripture should be settled." Gu Shanhai thought about stuffing it into the first five layers, but there wasn’t much compatibility.

Even though he possessed Daoist Soldiers to quickly amplify his own strength rather than genuinely adopting the legion style, the lack of compatibility meant opening a new layer wasn’t a big deal. As long as it integrated into the "Green Emperor Longevity Scripture," it was all part of one system.

As for the true non-human transformation, Gu Shanhai needed to use the breakthrough divine power of the Heavenly Scenery Stage as a guide and match. Otherwise, who knew what he would turn into.

He didn’t really want to undergo non-human transformation, but human potential is limited, especially since the world his body inhabited wasn’t particularly high-energy. It was just an ordinary human world, with no ancestors of god demons or beneficiaries of great powers. Even for the players, without the semi-digitalization of the "First Epoch," their growth limits weren’t high.

Gu Shanhai’s progress to this step relied entirely on self-modification rather than innate talent.

If he were of a human race born from god demon bloodlines or great merits, naturally, he wouldn’t have to worry so much.

Unfortunately, Gu Shanhai possessed none of these advantages. If strength were truly limited to physical beauty or ugliness, Gu Shanhai’s path to power would never have been so smooth. His journey would have ended at the step where he needed to plant a Spirit Plant within his body. Without the aid of the Spirit Plant, Gu Shanhai definitely wouldn’t have been as powerful as he was. Moreover, it was questionable whether he would still be alive at all.

In his previous life, he succeeded because he had the "First Epoch" as a safety net. Now that it was gone, how could he succeed without paying a price?

Did he really think that everyone could be those ethereal, white-robed protagonists, not only extraordinarily handsome but also handsome all the way to the heavens?

If he were obsessed with physical beauty, he would end up as cannon fodder just like them.

"I hope we can finish this before the fighting breaks out," Gu Shanhai didn’t know how long the current situation could last.

At least after the emergence of brand new special military equipment like airplanes and tanks, Luo Chuan’s Xi Country had already fallen into a disadvantageous position. Currently, there were still three vassal forces that hadn’t been dealt with, and with the rise of Zhou Country, it was literally like a dogfight with brains nearly spilling out.

"Marquis, an urgent message from His Majesty," a Jinyi Guard rushed in, not even bothering to report properly.

Gu Shanhai narrowed his eyes and hurriedly took the message, guessing it must be urgent. Otherwise, Xu En would usually deliver it, not a Jinyi Guard.

On opening the secret report, it revealed that Zhang He had retreated. Xu Bu led a surprise attack with one hundred thousand Dragon Tooth Daoist Soldiers, and now he was diverting to Prince Ke, implying that he had chosen to squeeze a softer persimmon after failing to crush a tough nut.

It probably meant while Zhou Country had a tough nut to crack, it was not going to expand any further.

The situation with the troops sent by Luo Chuan was the same, only more unstable on Luo Chuan’s end.

’This is preparing to turn the original nine powers into four,’ Gu Shanhai contemplated this matter in his heart.

Besides this, there was another secret message: Luo Chuan intended to form an alliance with Jiang Lu. The report wasn’t explicit about counteracting Zhou Ding, but it mentioned suppressing a rebellion under that guise, naturally referring to Xu Bu, mainly using the "Dragon Tooth Military Technique" as a pretext, as it was the root of Dalong’s initial rebellion.

However, that was indeed merely a pretext. After eradicating Zhou Country, the two of them could join forces to deal with Zhou Ding.

Defeating Yan Country first before conducting a decisive battle for legitimate rule between the two wouldn’t be too late.

Jiang Lu had not immediately replied. He, too, was pondering this matter.

The sudden eruption of Yan Country had left him somewhat unable to cope, and even with Gu Shanhai’s early preparations and assistance, he was powerless against the modernized armies that combined the advantages of two civilizations.

Yan Country’s possession of tanks and airplanes signified more than just these: trains, railways, warships, cannons, and the likes kept emerging like dumplings being dropped into boiling water, threatening not just Luo Chuan but also the finances of Long Country’s Xuanzhou, forcing Jiang Lu to consider the idea of an alliance.

The problem was that forming an alliance would be tantamount to acknowledging Luo Chuan’s legitimacy, which would consequently put him, the Emperor Long, in a position where he inherently ranked lower.

Thus, he had sent a letter inquiring what Gu Shanhai thought he should do.

After considering for a while, Gu Shanhai concluded that forming an alliance surely wasn’t the right move.

Zhou Country’s Xu Bu was a legitimate rebel, and an alliance with Xi Country’s Luo Chuan would amount to admitting its legitimacy and losing the moral high ground, while an alliance with Yan Country would be akin to courting death.

"The way to break the situation isn’t absent," Gu Shanhai quickly ran through a solution in his mind.

Of course, he had a method for breaking the deadlock: using gene potions for Body Cultivation to enhance the power of Daoist Soldiers as a supplement. What he needed were also Spiritual Origin based potions, but the cost was prohibitively high. However, if they were to win, they could not only recover the losses but also reap a huge profit.

"I’ll write a reply to His Majesty. Just wait a moment," Gu Shanhai took out paper, brush, ink, and inkstone to begin writing.

This world had yet to develop corresponding communication technology. The only means of communication was military tactics, and as for Zhou Ding’s Yan Country, Gu Shanhai wasn’t too clear about it. In any case, if he wanted to reform, he would encounter numerous environmental obstacles, and the secrecy was not high, far from being as practical as military tactics.