The next day, as dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight scattered the morning mist,
before the Heavenly Patrol Hall, a Commander’s Platform rose, with a Bronze Cauldron shimmering in the golden light.
In front of the Cauldron, two Chamberlains from the Court, dressed in blue robes patterned with clouds and embroidered with a crane on their backs, were holding three golden incense sticks that gave off an exotic fragrance at their brow level, while muttering strange syllables and singing in a low voice, conducting a sacrificial ceremony!
Behind them, at the base of the Commander’s Platform, Pei Yanhu led the officials and soldiers with solemn expressions.
Further back, ten aristocratic offspring from the Court were scattered around the corners of the square, quietly watching.
At this moment, atop the Commander’s Platform, the two Chamberlains inserted the incense into the Cauldron and then both of them simultaneously produced two faint red standards, eight to nine feet long.
Stomping on the ground, Cloud Peak shook abruptly.
Whoosh.
A fierce wind howled, and above Cloud Peak, a cyclone spanning a li in diameter rapidly formed, swirling and extending downward, splitting into two and surging into the Chamberlains.
Enshrouded in clouds, the two slowly ascended, while far away war chariots rumbled towards them amidst colorful cloud ribbons, and then, the Chamberlains turned around, first glancing at Pei Yanhu.
The shorter and older-looking Chamberlain leaned on his standard and nodded at Pei Yanhu,
"Pei Demon Suppression Envoy, let’s go!"
Pei Yanhu led the soldiers, bowing with heads lowered.
"Greetings to the Lord!"
"Greetings to the Lord....."
At this time, the Chamberlain looked back again,
"Which one of you lads is willing to join us old folks at the front line, to face the Devil Race of Ten Thousand Mountains?"
"I am!"
A female voice rang out.
A woman dressed in colorful clothes leaped into the air, followed by a roar from the void overhead. The little beast with green fluffy fur on her shoulder leaped towards the void, swelling with the wind to transform into a Demon the size of a lion’s body with a wolf’s head, seven to eight zhang in size, with two white jade-like fangs protruding from its mouth, roaring to the sky. The woman flew onto its back, her colorful clothing fluttering in the wind, dazzling and eye-catching.
"Well done, a fine lass from the Qin Family."
At that moment, another male figure leaped into the air.
Dressed in a black robe, towering like an iron pillar, with a face like a bear, his body densely hairy, his head shrouded in a black robe, unclear, as a fierce aura burst forth from him.
"A descendant of the Gongyang family, I wonder how much of their talent you’ve inherited."
Seeing this person appear, the wrinkled Chamberlain narrowed his eyes slightly and nodded.
"Anyone else?"
No one responded from below.
The remaining eight glanced around with their own thoughts, avoiding the Chamberlain’s gaze.
"Ah"
The old man shook his head, not saying anything further.
"Let’s set off."
With that, a surge of clouds burst forth, and the two formed a whirlwind, darting toward the battle chariot above.
The Qin Family’s colorful-clothed woman and the descendant of the Gongyang family followed.
"Woooo.....Woooo"
On the square, the desolate sound of horns began to echo.
Quickly, the sky trembled, and the battle chariot amidst the clouds turned into a streak of white light, shooting towards the distant south.
At this moment, inside Jingguan City, the civilians hearing the sound of the horns looked up in surprise to see the battle chariot from the day before heading south, sparking fresh discussion.
On Cloud Peak, in front of the Heavenly Patrol Hall, Pei Yanhu turned around, his eyes following the distant chariot with a distant gaze.
Hoping to hear good news!
Then, he lowered his gaze and scanned the few figures in the square, and as his eyes passed over a figure in black cloud-patterned embroidery, a spark of light flickered in his eyes before he subtly shifted them away, casually touching his hand to his face and speaking indifferently:
"My Lords, what are your plans?"
"You are all pillars of the Court, and naturally, I welcome you. If you’d like, you can stay for an extended time."
"No need to trouble the Commander, I take my leave." A voice responded immediately.
Then, one of the figures flew away.
Others, from a distance, paid a flying salute, while some left Cloud Peak without even a nod of acknowledgment.
Pei Yanhu watched them depart, especially noting the Li Family’s Housekeeper with a flash of silver light in his eyes, and raised his hand to beckon from behind.
"General!"
His Record Officer came over.
Pei Yanhu’s eyes deep with thought,
"Go and prepare the men and battle formations, bring my Big Seal, and retrieve weapons from the arsenal."
Speaking, he extended his hand, and a foot-long white jade Big Seal appeared. Following that, Pei Yanhu continued with his orders:
"After I go up, you lead people to listen for any disturbances."
"This person must die!"
As he spoke, a hint of ruthlessness flashed in the eyes of the Deputy Commander.
"Yes!" the Record Officer respectfully took the Big Seal with both hands, then quickly departed.
Pei Yanhu’s eyes suddenly shone bright silver. Then, silver electric light surged around his body, and with a crackling sound, he disappeared from the spot, leaving behind only the vacant air and a few thin, quickly dispersing silver electric arcs.
At noon, sixty miles south of Jingguan City, in a mountain forest, an angry and shocked voice erupted.
"Li Wuchang, you’re just a dog for the Li family, how dare you ambush us, you deserve death! If my Zhao Family finds out..."
In the midst of a collapsed valley, there was a huge pit over a hundred meters wide.
In the pit, the man with surname Zhao clutched his chest, his hair disheveled, and his body was covered in cracked wounds, with fresh blood continuously oozing from the ghastly fissures. Two meters from him, a broken green Big Sword was slantingly embedded into the valley wall, its Spirit Light dim, with a neat and smooth break as if it was cleanly sliced by some sharp tool.
Beside the pit lay a shattered corpse, its features indistinguishable.
At that moment, a whistling sound descended from the sky.
A foot viciously landed on the chest of the man with surname Zhao, abruptly interrupting the sounds of his shock and anger; then a terrifying, chilling cracking sound ensued as his chest instantly caved in, the savage ribs piercing through the skin.
"Ah!"
A piercing, pathetic scream resounded.
The man with surname Zhao suddenly jolted up, his face painfully twisted and fierce, letting out an inhumanly agonizing cry.
Next, blood frantically rushed into his throat, making a "gurgle" sound, then spilled from the corners of his mouth.
His enraged eyes, bulging almost from their sockets, were filled with fear of death and a trace of shock and rage.
He didn’t understand - he had obviously not provoked this person!
Looking into that grinning face, he felt as if he was facing a fierce ghost.
"I haven’t provoked you, at... at most I just spoke a few words to you, why!" In his final moments, he let out an unwilling roar.
But the Li Family’s House Servant responded with a laugh, conveying a hint of chill,
"What a joke, even if you did nothing, I would still kill you. This is Lord Sima’s order, because your Zhao Family is disobedient."
Speaking, he shook his head, squatted down, patted the man’s face,
"The Zhao Family shouldn’t have sent a piece of trash like you here."
"Your second brother, who is cultivating at Enlightenment Mountain, is much stronger than you, who rely on resources to build up. Just because he’s born of a concubine, ha, people like you, always care about social status, not knowing how hard it is for us to climb up."
"You people, with your lack of ability, shouldn’t flaunt in my face. You probably got too accustomed to your comfortable lives."
Having said that, the Li Family’s House Servant’s eyes suddenly turned cold, and the patting hand transformed into a claw, reaching for the head of the man with surname Zhao.
In an instant, the head burst open like a watermelon, and a mess of red and white splattered out, with the Divine Soul inside completely shattered, not even a scream was heard.
After killing the man, the Li Family’s House Servant searched the Zhao Family man and took out several Prohibition talisman-lit bottles from his sleeve, putting them away. Then, with a hand gesture, a flame rose and struck the body of the man at his feet.
Instantly, fierce flames engulfed the body, and within a few breaths’ time, only a dark charcoal mark remained on the ground.
Following that, the man ran to the other corpse, repeating the same action.
It seemed that the corpse was of another man with the surname Zhou.
Two of them, one in the Taoist Soldier Realm and the other in the Tao Seed Realm, yet they fell within a few moves at the hands of the Li Family’s House Servant.
Just as the Li Family’s House Servant was finishing cleaning up the traces, preparing to leave, a voice rang out over the valley.
"Indeed, a sharp blade of the Li family. I wonder what reaction it would bring from the elders of the two families if they knew?"
Upon hearing this voice, Li Wuchang’s expression suddenly turned fierce, and his gaze shot towards the north side of the valley.
There, on a low peak to the north, the void crackled, silver electric arcs leaped, and Pei Yanhu’s burly silhouette appeared, instantly an overpowering aura surging in the valley.
"So it’s Lord Pei!"
Li Wuchang’s eyes narrowed slightly, flashing with a dark light.
"You’ve been tracking me all along?"
"If a Li Family’s House Servant came knocking on my door and plotted against Ninth Mountain’s Colonel, and if I didn’t react in time after all these years, then my position has been a waste," Pei Yanhu said expressionlessly.
Li Wuchang quickly considered where he might have slipped up and realized a possibility, but now it didn’t matter.
It didn’t matter.
"Do you want to kill me?" He laughed.
"A House Servant rampages in my territory, scheming against Ninth Mountain’s Colonel, just for that, I, as Demon Suppression Envoy, must kill you!" Pei Yanhu’s eyes flashed with electric light, his voice filled with intent to kill.
"Li will kill whoever he wants, no one can stop him, and you can’t keep me here," the Li Family’s House Servant shook his head.
"Of course, it’s not just me!"
As these words fell, a rumbling sound of horse hooves approached from afar, treading across the sky!

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