Chapter 686: Chapter 685: Action
Everyone dispersed to carry out their respective tasks.
Shi Xiaole and the others were assigned to defend the highest point of a hill on the northwest side of Chongyang Mountain. From here, they could easily observe the surrounding area and ensure no escaping soldiers could avoid their sight.
"We’ll each command fifty men, spread out a hundred meters apart, and set up an extended ambush. You go to the left."
Fu Ying crossed his arms and ordered Qian Wei.
"Alright."
Qian Wei nodded, followed by fifty members of the Left Sect. They proceeded to the left.
"You go to the right."
Fu Ying’s gaze was forward, commanding in tone. His words were cryptic, but everyone knew who he was addressing.
"Why don’t you go there?"
Shi Xiaole asked.
"This is a critical moment, Zong Yue. If your delay causes even the slightest mishap in the mission, believe me, you will regret it!"
Fu Ying turned around, his eyes icy.
The loss of the Ghost Guards’ top position had already upset him. If Shi Xiaole continued to disregard this, Fu Ying wouldn’t hesitate to teach him a harsh lesson.
Even if someone were to expose this later, Fu Ying was fully confident he could defend his actions.
"Kid, fight back now."
Qian Wei stood in the distance, secretly delighted. He wished Shi Xiaole would retort.
After giving Fu Ying a deep look, Shi Xiaole led his fifty men to the right. He wanted to teach Fu Ying a lesson but, with so many people around, it would only lead to unwanted trouble.
Upon seeing this, Fu Ying sneered dismissively.
"What a coward!"
Qian Wei laughed heartily. Although he couldn’t witness Shi Xiaole being crushed, seeing his helpless demeanor was rewarding enough.
Everyone shrunk back into the hills, laying low for two days.
On the third day, the sound of a tremendous explosion echoed from a distant mountaintop, trailed by vibrant bursts of Vigorous Air. The colorful flows soared skyward, resembling a glowing giant porcupine.
Then came the noises of war - the clashing of weapons and collisions of Vigorous Air, which echoed over tens of miles. Clearly, the fighting had begun.
Among all battles, the most striking was taking place two thousand meters above Chongyang Mountain.
A burly man, wielding a thick-back heavy sword as wide as a human palm, caused terrifying bursts of sword energy with each strike, thousands of feet long. Like a scythe he swept across the mountain, causing landslides and raising dust. The sight was reminiscent of an apocalyptic scenario.
Against the burly man, there were two elders—one held a blade while the other used bare palms. Their combined strike unleashed tremendous energy, making a gaping hole in the sky.
The sight made Fu Ying and the others shudder.
In the face of such power, they felt like insignificant ants. It was fortunate they were dozens of miles away; otherwise, even residual energy could cause severe injuries or even death.
"Is this the power of a peak Earth Immortal? One day, I’ll reach it too."
Fu Ying clenched his fists. After the initial tension faded, what remained was boundless fighting spirit.
Lying on a hill, Shi Xiaole noticed the many groups scattering, especially some formidable ones charging towards their location.
"Quick, scatter!"
Yelling this, Shi Xiaole was the first to dash away.
The others were quick to react, but the invading groups moved even faster. Within moments, the strong Vigorous Air had already swept through, causing ground upheavals and stone falls, each capable of killing a Spiritual-Passage Realm master.
Puff puff puff...
In the spreading mist of blood, many Left Sect masters died on the spot.
After the chaos passed, only a few out of the original hundred and fifty remained.
The good news was that there weren’t many powerful enemies to worry about. Soon, sounds of fighting covered the hills as the disciples of Chongyang Gate emerged to fight.
Strangely, their opponents weren’t the disciples of the Left Sect, but some unidentified individuals.
Within the mess of amputated limbs and blood, more and more people were seriously injured or killed. The battleground resembled a meat grinder. Some began to retreat and appeared within Shi Xiaole’s view.
"The opportunity is here, kill them!"
Fu Ying roared with laughter. His eyes shot out tangible beams of light, killing anyone caught in their path. Not even Lord Level masters stood a chance.
"Tyrant Devil Finger!"
A thick finger beam punctured the sky, clearing a large vacant area. Everything in its path disintegrated. Watching his powers at play, Qian Wei’s eyes glowed with excitement.
Shi Xiaole didn’t make a move.
In this battle, there was no right or wrong, just differing standpoints. He belonged to neither faction and wasn’t interested in killing unnecessarily.
The battle lasted from noon till dusk. The aerial fight concluded with the defeat of the burly man named Yuchi Chong who barely escaped after executing a secret technique.
With this significant blow, the morale of Chongyang Gate plummeted and, given the strength disparity, they inevitably began to falter. Soon, the number of survivors retreating in Shi Xiaole’s direction began to dwindle.
"Zong Yue, why didn’t you act earlier? Don’t you take the young lady’s orders seriously?"
After the fight, Qian Wei, covered in blood, strode over to Shi Xiaole and pointed at him. "You dare to disobey orders. What should be your punishment?"
"Those groups hardly posed a threat, and are unworthy of my action," Shi Xiaole replied.
"Unworthy? In my eyes, you are no different from them."
Fu Ying sat on a far-off rock, his gaze coldly fixed on Shi Xiaole, as if yearning for bloodshed.
The remaining Left Sect experts said nothing, but they couldn’t help forming judgments about Shi Xiaole in their hearts.
"Act quickly and take down the Young Master of the Right Sect!"
An urgent voice rang out, and a Left Sect Elder landed in front of the crowd.
"Young Master of the Right Sect?"
The crowd looked at each other in disbelief.
"This is a blessing from heaven to our Sect! When we attacked Chongyang Gate, the Young Master of Right Sect just happened to be here, and in the midst of the battle. After being discovered by Xiao Yujian, he escaped deep into Chongyang Mountain. Everyone, gather there."
The excited Left Sect Elder’s words caused his beard to tremble, and the crowd around him was equally unsettled.
Rumor had it that the Young Master of the Right Sect was a rare prodigy, encountered only once in a thousand years. His exact capabilities were unknown, but it was known that the Right Sect had once claimed that given thirty more years, this Young Master would be able to unify the Ghost Lethal Sect!
The Young Master of the Right Sect had long been a thorn in the side of the Left Sect. Upon hearing that he could potentially be eradicated, who could possibly remain calm?
Everyone immediately set off for the depths of Chongyang Mountain. The elder was in a hurry, presumably to inform others who were in hiding.
Shi Xiaole furrowed his brows slightly, feeling that something was amiss.
...
In the depths of Chongyang Mountain, Xiao Yujian lay on the ground, covered in blood. "That man is seriously injured, but his strength is too great. I was no match for him! If you find him, immediately inform others using a flare. Do not go and get yourself killed," he warned the several Ghost Guards who had just arrived.
"Guard Xiao, rest assured."
The atmosphere was tense as no one had expected that the Young Master of the Right Sect, even after being injured by a peak Earth Immortal, had nearly killed Xiao Yujian. His skills were truly frightening.
After Xiao Yujian found a place to heal his injuries, several people swiftly disappeared into the forest.
This news quickly spread among the Left Sect experts searching the mountain. For a time, they felt not just caution but also excitement. Killing such a formidable person would surely strike a heavy blow to the Right Sect!
Shi Xiaole moved nimbly through the forest alone, and suddenly spotted a young figure in the distance.
The person was seriously injured, but there was a strong aura about him. He was looking for a place to hide in a panic.
On instinct, Shi Xiaole lashed out with his palm.
Boom!
An exchange of force in their palms caused Shi Xiaole to stagger backwards. The man quickly scurried into the dense forest.
"Could it be..."
Watching the direction in which the man had disappeared, Shi Xiaole’s face showed peculiar shock.
A day later, the Young Master of the Right Sect was nowhere to be found, and two of the ten Ghost Guards had been killed.
"Stop looking. There was never a Young Master of the Right Sect to begin with. Instead, there are plenty of Left Sect traitors!"
The same elder who had delivered the initial report said coldly.
In an instant, a chill ran down the spines of the Ghost Guards. Looking at the injured Xiao Yujian, the latter laughed, "I’m sorry. I was just following Miss’s orders."
Turned out, this was all a strategy of the Left Sect from the beginning.
On one hand, they launched an attack on Chongyang Gate. On the other, they used the so-called Young Master of the Right Sect as bait to find the undercover agents of the Right Sect hidden within the Left Sect.
The top echelon of the Left Sect knew a single notification wouldn’t convince the moles, so they had the elders and Xiao Yujian put on a show.
As for the impersonator of the Young Master of the Right Sect, it was likely a disguise by a certain expert.
Both the elders’ superb acting skills and Xiao Yujian truly sustaining fatal injuries, combined with the urgency of the situation and the intentional appearances of the ’Young Master of the Right Sect’, led many to reveal themselves.
This group even included two Ghost Guards!
Shi Xiaole shook his head secretly. From the very start, he had felt that something was amiss.
After all, since when would an elder personally deliver such a message? And too many people had seen the Young Master of the Right Sect. His hiding skills were woefully lacking.
From another perspective, the elder’s involvement simply added credence to the information, and the frequent appearances of the Young Master of the Right Sect were also purposefully orchestrated.
Of course, Shi Xiaole managed to remain so calm mainly because he was an outsider and had no concern for the fate of the Young Master of the Right Sect. Otherwise, he might not have avoided the trap.
Once the truth was revealed, everyone continued the search, this time focused on eliminating the small fish of Chongyang Gate.
Shi Xiaole led a team, identified many places, and was preparing to return a few days later. As they passed through a ravine, he suddenly felt a chill running down his spine, his hair standing on end.
It was that fleeting yet intense feeling of being preyed upon by a predator.
Just then, a Left Sect disciple lifted his foot, preparing to kick away a stone on the edge of the ravine.
Shi Xiaole reached out and forcibly shoved the disciple away.
"Watch your step and keep moving!"
Shi Xiaole said indifferently.
The crowd looked at the ravine, not daring to disobey, and remained silent.
"Zong Yue, why do you act stealthily to obstruct others? Do you harbor a hidden agenda or are you a spy for the Right Sect?"
Through the sound of gusting wind, two figures landed steadily in front of Shi Xiaole. It was none other than Fu Ying and Qian Wei.
Qian Wei glared at Shi Xiaole with a sullen expression.
He had been dreaming of avenging the arrow wound from that day. As the mission had been completed, he dragged Fu Ying along with him, chasing after Shi Xiaole and planning to teach him a lesson with Fu Ying’s help.
Although they were both Ghost Guards, private skirmishes were tolerated, as long as no life was lost. The Left Sect wouldn’t pay them any mind. As for their means, who cared about that in the Devil Path.
Qian Wei didn’t plan to kill Shi Xiaole as it would not be feasible. But if he could trample over Shi Xiaole, it would greatly appease his simmering rage.
