The night, dark as ink.
Walking nine hundred miles in the northwest direction of Fulong Ridge, Aiku Mountain looms, shrouded in miasma and teeming with countless snakes, insects, rodents, and ants.
In a mountain hollow, several bonfires rise, flickering on the weary faces of the company, with a strong hundred men in number.
The crackling of firecrackers echoes, extinguishing the chill of the mountains.
These are the reinforcements from Guang’an Prefecture supporting the Ninth Mountain, currently in the midst of retreat.
Following the command of the Ninth Mountain, over two thousand troops disperse and escape, trailing toward the Prefecture, seeking refuge.
Treading on pins and needles for several days, having journeyed over two thousand miles without encountering the anticipated demons, everyone’s mood has relaxed considerably.
During the meal, some make light of their hardship, softly singing the military tune, with others humming along; some pass the wine, each sip warming and delightful, happiness so simply found.
Others speak in hushed tones, discussing matters.
"We don’t know the current state of the Ninth Mountain. They charged ahead to buy us time, but we weren’t able to offer much help. And now we don’t even know where they’ve retreated to."
"The Military Officer Captain should have answers. The order he issued scattered the main forces, probably to avoid the demons’ pursuit. But strangely, it’s been too quiet along the way," another man says, glancing over at a Green Armored Soldier, who is cleaning his dual swords atop a stone.
But as he finishes his sentence,
A sudden boom resounds.
From outside!
"Situations!"
"On guard!"
Instantly, the formerly resting hundred or so men tense up, stand with a whoosh and grip their long blades, flashing toward the outside.
At the mouth of the hollow, to the southeast, they see a dazzling firework bloom in the pitch-black night sky, extremely eye-catching.
"It’s our brothers!"
It is the Guang’an Prefecture’s firework for summoning and warning, Heavenly Thunder Bomb.
A small squad has encountered trouble!
Demons?
Everyone tightens up, just as the Green Armored Soldier who was wiping his swords now inserts them into his belt and raises his hand, face stern.
"I’ll scout ahead. Wait for my signal, and do not act rashly!"
With those words, the Colonel taps several paper talismans upon himself and leaps with his feet, light as a swallow, flying off in the direction of the blossoming fireworks.
In no time, the Prefecture’s Colonel approaches a cliff seventeen or eighteen miles away, silently slipping into the nearby forest.
But in the next second, a sudden cold laugh explodes in his ear.
"Finally found one that’s somewhat decent."
The Colonel immediately feels targeted, his hairs stand on end, and he bursts into full retreat.
However, as he begins to escape several dozen meters, his figure suddenly halts, as if stuck in a quagmire—the void around him ensnared.
Then, a figure comes forth from the void ahead, dressed in a white robe, a scrawny hand extending from the wide sleeve, manifesting a green light and shooting it toward the Colonel, swift as lightning, transforming into ropes, binding him.
Moments later, at the cliffside, there’s a "bang" as the Colonel, with almost no ability to retaliate, is swiftly restrained and tossed here.
The Colonel looks up to see a young man in a white robe with a Qilin inscribed on his chest, approaching nonchalantly with a foot-long, rod-like object in hand, its bottom fitted with a mechanism for twisting.
"So this is how this thing is used."
Crouching, the young man looks intently at the Colonel, withdraws the sword from the Colonel’s waist to inspect the standard inscriptions, then snaps it back in place, "You’re wearing Green Armor, sword inscribed Guang’an, it seems you are a Colonel from Guang’an Prefecture. Too bad, you’re not from the Ninth Mountain."
"Who are you? Where did you get that Heavenly Thunder Bomb from?" The Colonel, his True Qi sealed and feeling the strength of the young man before him seemingly immense, hears that the latter appears to be looking for the Ninth Mountain. He is chilled yet tries to maintain composure, asking.
"Of course, I got it from killing someone. No need to guess. I want to know where the Ninth Mountain is. Just tell this young master, and I can pretend nothing happened. How about that?" Li Rulong says casually, his eyes ultimately fixating on the Colonel.
Hearing this man got the Heavenly Thunder Bomb by killing his soldiers and showed such disregard, the Colonel’s heart trembles, then he glares furiously,
"Don’t even think about it!"
"Good, you seem to truly know something." Li Rulong’s eyes narrow, and then abruptly changes the subject,
"It seems there are quite a few of your men nearby, another one has arrived!"
"Elder Ai!"
Soon after, another figure is thrown down.
"Wang Zongqi!"
Before they can exchange words, Li Rulong grabs the neck of the General’s Flag, speaking menacingly, "You have three counts. Speak, and I’ll spare both your lives."
"If you don’t, he’ll be thrown off like this."
"One."
"Two."
"Stop, who on earth are you." The Colonel’s face twists with fury, roaring.
"Three," Li Rulong counts without pause, and then smiles sinisterly at the panicked General’s Flag, "It seems your Colonel doesn’t care much for your death."
With that, Li Rulong loosens his grasp,
And the restrained General’s Flag screams in terror as he falls. Without True Qi, the fall would shatter him to bits.
The Colonel watches, eyes bulging, then his face turns crimson, struggling against his bond, glaring at the cruel young man with a fierce roar, "You deserve death! I will kill you!"
"Heh, the valorous fool, sacrificing your men for those unrelated. In my view, it is as foolish as a pig. By the end, you can only boast empty courage." Li Rulong lets out a cold laugh, preparing to step on the writhing Colonel.
As just then, a furious shout explosively reverberated through the sky.
"I think you, Li Rulong, are the true fool, like a pig, and a petty scoundrel dares to mock the loyal and courageous. Truly befitting the Eldest Young Master of Li Family,"
The thunderous shouting, like thunder, and in the next second, a silver light suddenly arose from beneath the cliff, dazzlingly heading straight towards Li Rulong with a bang.
Li Rulong thrust out his palm.
"Boom"
With a thunderous blast, the void vibrated, and the trees within tens of meters around crumbled into pieces.
As the shockwave dispersed, the silver figure stood unmoved, while that Eldest Young Master of Li Family had been forced to retreat a dozen meters before stopping.
Li Rulong’s lifted corners of his mouth turned gloomy, and his indifferent eyes became sharp upon sighting the figure in the silver light,
"Second Son of Zhao Family? You’re not staying on Enlightenment Mountain and ran here instead."
"Daring to make a move against me!"
But in front of him, as the silver light converged, the burly figure of Zhao Quanzhen, the disciple from Enlightenment Mountain of Jingguan City, appeared.
At this moment, Zhao Quanzhen was holding the General’s Flag of Guang’an Prefecture, having just picked it up, then helped the Colonel onto his feet, slapping away the green Prohibition on his body.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please step aside and watch. Let me, Zhao, handle this Eldest Young Master of Li Family."
Saying this, Zhao Quanzhen unleashed a Spirit Light Shield, protecting the two others, fearing the bystanders would be affected by the battle’s repercussion.
Then he looked towards Li Rulong again, his expression stern and uncompromising. Previously, he did not wish to follow his father’s suggestion to interfere in the strife between the two families, but now, seeing the demeanor of this Eldest Young Master of Li Family, killing intent arose in him.
"Drop the airs of your Li family’s young master. Let’s fight, including your house servant!"
After speaking, Zhao Quanzhen’s feet exploded with force, and simultaneously his right hand lifted, dazzling silver light shone as a Long Spear condensed in his hand, furiously smashing towards Li Rulong.
"Young Master, be careful!" The white-robed old servant ghostly appeared in the void, swinging a large red scissor.
"Zhao Quanzhen, such nerve you have, coming here to seek death, I’ll accommodate you!" Li Rulong said with a sinister voice, his hands shaking, producing a green long sword.
The three, wielding their Taoist Soldier, instantly erupted into battle.
A powerful presence instantly ravaged the mountainside.
All three were in the Fourth Heavenly Barrier Dao Fruit Realm, each having reached the Second Layer. However, Zhao Quanzhen’s foundation was even more profound. Despite battling against both Li Rulong and his servant, he did not fall into a disadvantage, his fighting spirit growing stronger amidst his furious shouts, angering Li Rulong and his servant into continuous roars.
Soon, above the sky, three rounds of Tao Fruit phenomena stirred the heavens, spreading the battlefield across ten miles of the woodland, causing mountains to collapse with thunderous rumbles.
And the tremendous noise of the battle reverberated for tens of miles around.
In the night, people shouted in alarm, and dark corners revealed mysterious figures rushing over.
Just as Zhao Quanzhen was using a Divine Skill akin to a Buddhist Vajra, punching and sending the Eldest Young Master of Li Family flying,
From the sky, a thunderous roar of fury came, "Zhao family’s brat, seeking death!"
In the dark night, a withered yellow palm like an ancient tree slapped down, hundred feet giant, terrifying aura accompanied by flames, thunderously descending from the heavens.
But in the very next second, a grunt of annoyance was heard, "Who would have thought that the old relic from Li family would come too, meddling when the juniors are fighting, daring to bully my disciple without asking me first!"
As the words fell, an equally large jade hand suddenly condensed in the night and furiously slapped towards the yellow palm.
The two collided with an ear-shattering crash, shaking the heavens and the earth, Spirit Light shining in all directions.
Neither side conceded.
Then suddenly, a loud laugh.
"How lively, how lively! You two fight first, I just want one person."
Just then, on the cliffside, a shadow made for the Colonel, who still stood within the Light Shield left by Zhao Quanzhen.
The shadow, arriving amidst the fireworks, witnessed the entire scene, possessing a Soul-searching method, it seemed he could obtain the information he wanted.
Yet with this single move, it set off a tempest.
"Stop!"
Zhao Quanzhen’s face roared, with a grand silver radiance, ready to rush over.
"Zhao Quanzhen, leave it to me."
Li Rulong charged up, face cold and ridiculing, "Pretending to be what? Aren’t you all after that Luck Spirit Root as well."
"Nonsense!" Zhao Quanzhen tried to break free but was obstructed.
While the white jade palm shattered the earthy yellow hand, reaching out towards the shadow.
But from within the yellow hand, a column of light shot out, entangling the white jade hand.
The shadow was about to succeed, and the Colonel from the Government Army was nervously hopping around in the overwhelming powerful aura.
They all want the message of the Ninth Mountain!
At this moment,
The sound of a horse’s neigh came through, along with the clip-clopping of hooves.
A large Horse came striding through the air like a shooting star, followed by an urgent shout.
"In the name of our General, I’m here to capture and execute all of you!"
With that, a strange chant followed.
Then, a golden phantom shook the heavens as it ascended, a pair of golden eyes dazzling with Divine Light.
The phantom reached out towards the shadow.
The shadow let out a muffled groan.
Immediately afterward, a piercing spear cry echoed between heaven and earth.

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