A journey through the world of martial arts

Chapter 300 Head-to-head confrontation
"Junior brother, what were you doing just now?"

Shen Henian and Ni Qingfeng walked out of the hall side by side. After returning to their residence, Shen Henian looked at Ni Qingfeng with some confusion.

"There's something strange about that place to the east."

Ni Qingfeng only said this one sentence before Shen Henian realized what was going on and asked in a low voice, "Junior brother, did you go up the mountain?"

Ni Qingfeng nodded upon hearing this. "Senior brother, don't be too hasty in this attack on the mountain. Just proceed step by step. In any case, we can't hold onto Bailing Mountain. During this time, we also need to guard against Zhongxin Hall's underhanded tactics. Senior brother, what is the background of the Liubo Sect?"

Upon hearing Ni Qingfeng's words, Shen Henian immediately understood the situation. When he heard about the Liubo Sect, Shen Henian pondered for a while before slowly saying, "The Liubo Sect was originally affiliated with Qiushui Manor. Later, Qiushui Manor was annexed by Zhongxin Hall, and the sect naturally submitted to Zhongxin Hall. The leader of the Liubo Sect, Yin Song, is also a skilled fighter, but he is very low-key and adept at assessing situations."

Next, Shen Henian recounted all the information he knew about the Liubo Sect in detail. After listening, Ni Qingfeng nodded slightly. From Shen Henian's words, it was not difficult to deduce that the Liubo Sect leader was no ordinary person. This time, Shangguan Yun had the sect follow behind the Tianshan Sect, which was merely to play a surveillance role, and perhaps they even harbored the intention of turning against them.

"Senior brother, we must be careful with the Liubo Sect. When fighting against Bailing Mountain, we should conserve some of our strength. I predict that if Zhongxin Hall seizes the opportunity, they might not hesitate to attack some of their disciples."

Upon hearing this, Shen Henian's expression turned serious, and he said in a deep voice, "I will tell Tianjiao and the others to be careful. If it really comes to that, junior brother, we don't need to hold back!"

This alliance was originally intended to destroy Bailing Mountain. If Shangguan Yun dared to target the Tianshan Sect in this way, Shen Henian knew he was not someone to be trifled with. Ni Qingfeng nodded in agreement upon seeing this.

After discussing the matter further in the room, the two sent someone to summon Tianjiao and the others again. After giving them some detailed instructions, they sent them away.

The next day, Shangguan Yun led Zhongxin Hall and nineteen other sects to join Tianshan Sect. Hundreds of people set off for Bailing Mountain. As soon as they set off, the Sand Rat Sect disciples who were monitoring from a distance received the news and hurriedly relayed it back.

Shatieong was resting with his eyes closed in the sand cave, but he felt a strange aura lingering in his mind. Just then, he heard his disciple's voice coming from outside.

"Sect Master, Shangguan Yun and his group are already heading towards Bailing Mountain!"

Upon hearing this, Sha Tiweng was startled, but quickly calmed down and said "I understand" to the outside. He immediately wrote down the message and handed it to his disciple to send back to Bailing Mountain. However, just as the disciple who delivered the message left, the ground shook and then collapsed. A large hole was torn open in the underground sand cave, and several figures fell from it. With swift strokes of their knives, several Sand Rat Sect disciples died on the spot.

"what happen?"

Shatieweng frowned, shouted at the outside, and then heard screams. His expression changed immediately, and he hurriedly got up and looked out through the sand gap. He saw that the Black Tiger Sect had broken into the underground sand cave.

"Sation, if you don't come out soon, the lives of your disciples and their followers are in danger!"

A loud, rough voice rang out in the sand cave. After a few loud laughs, he swung his broadsword, and a flash of white light swept away several heads. Blood instantly stained a patch of yellow sand crimson, and a thick, pungent stench of blood filled the air.

Upon seeing this, Shatien's expression changed drastically. His skills lay entirely in lightness and digging, so he dared not fight Gao Liang head-on. He didn't care about his disciples or grand-disciples and immediately turned around to retreat to the prepared escape route. He reached out and pressed down on a sand wall, exerting a little force. Fine sand and gravel washed down, and the sand wall disappeared, revealing a dark cave about half a person's height.

Hearing the approaching footsteps, Shation disappeared into the cave with a whoosh. Before leaving, he sealed the cave shut. By the time Gao Liang and his men broke in, Shation had vanished without a trace.

Gao Liang, carrying a blood-stained broadsword, scanned the sand cave with his eyes. Finally, he saw the half-collapsed cave and plunged the broadsword into it. With a twist, the sand that had buried the cave immediately poured down.

"That old guy is pretty fast."

Gao Liang snorted coldly. The situation in this cave was unclear, so he shouldn't rush in. Anyway, the hall master was up there, and he had already completed most of his business in a short time.

"go!"

With a shout, the Black Tiger Sect disciples immediately withdrew from the sand cave, leaving behind more than twenty corpses buried by the rolling yellow sand.

"Master, I have failed in my duty and allowed that Shatiweng to escape. Please punish me."

"Master Gao did a good job. Sha Tiweng is insignificant. He can't cause any trouble on his own. The saying 'To destroy Bailing Mountain, first eliminate the Sand Rat Clan' is indeed true. Master Ni, it's all thanks to your timely reminder. Otherwise, before we even reached the foot of Bailing Mountain, White-Headed Eagle and his group would have already made preparations."

Shangguan Yun cupped his hands in greeting to Ni Qingfeng, who returned the greeting and said calmly, "Hall Master Shangguan is too kind. Even without my reminder, Hall Master Shangguan should have realized that this little Sand Rat Sect is not worth the attention of Zhongxin Hall."

"I still have to thank Master Ni for the reminder. Although the Sand Rat Clan is weak, their ability to burrow through mountains is unparalleled. If we deal with them first, what secrets will we have left along the way?"

Shangguan Yun is now increasingly wary of Ni Qingfeng. When they passed through the yellow sand dunes earlier, he had already sensed something was wrong, but he did not expect Ni Qingfeng's senses to be even more astonishing. He directly pointed out the location of the Sand Rat Sect, which is why Shangguan Yun sent the Black Tiger Sect to deal with it.

Ni Qingfeng didn't respond to this. Shangguan Yun waved his hand, and the group continued on their way. Although the Sand Rat Sect didn't bother them, the quicksand traps they had set up earlier still caused Shangguan Yun and his group some trouble. Several unlucky Funiu Sect disciples got stuck in the quicksand and disappeared in the blink of an eye. Several Jingyan Sect disciples, relying on their lightness skills, were scouting ahead when they were unexpectedly pierced in the belly by sharp spikes protruding from the sand. Caught off guard, they were crushed by the horse carcass and then pierced through the chest by the spikes.

Shangguan Yun's face was very ugly. They had only gone less than halfway and six people had already died. This was undoubtedly a blow to his morale. Shangguan Yun nodded to the Sun and Moon Duo, and the two of them immediately led the Zhongxin Hall men to clear the way. With the Sun and Moon Duo in front, the traps and hidden weapons they had set up were no longer effective. After a few blows, they were all reduced to dust. After a while, the group finally left the yellow sand and stepped onto the grassland.

"Master, we will reach Bailing Mountain in half an hour. However, with such a large-scale advance, it will be difficult for Bai Tou and his group not to be discovered. Why not send out an elite team to lead the way, so as to buy time for the rest of us?"

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Yun's mind stirred. Gao Liang's suggestion was quite good, but how should he select the people to send? Thinking of this, Shangguan Yun turned his gaze to the Tianshan Sect.

Upon seeing this, Shen Henian's expression changed slightly. Gao Liang hadn't spoken in a low voice, so he had naturally heard the suggestion. Seeing Shangguan Yun's gaze, Shen Henian took a breath, suppressed his thoughts, and pretended to be deaf and dumb.

"Master Shangguan, why don't we each select one person? That would be fairer."

Wang Mengyu, the leader of Jingyan Sect, interjected, and Gao Liang immediately agreed. The other sect leaders pondered for a moment before echoing their support. Shangguan Yun nodded in agreement.

"Master Shen, Master Ni, what are your thoughts?"

"Master Shangguan, if I may say something, we came here with our strength and intend to overwhelm others with force. Isn't what Sect Leader Gao did just to disperse our strength? If Sect Leader Gao hadn't shown no mercy in killing the Sand Rat Sect members just now, I would have suspected that Sect Leader Gao was a spy sent by White-Headed Eagle."

Ni Qingfeng's calm words caused Gao Liang's expression to change slightly. He wanted to retort, but Shangguan Yun stopped him with a look. He glanced at Ni Qingfeng with resentment and snorted coldly.

“Master Ni is absolutely right. It was my oversight. We already have the advantage in strength, so why bother with those evil tricks? In the face of absolute power, all schemes and tricks are utterly useless!”
"Let's stick to the original plan, everyone. Let's speed up and make sure we arrive at Bailing Mountain within half an hour."

At Shangguan Yun's command, everyone spurred their horses and whipped them on. Amidst the rising dust, their figures quickly disappeared from sight.

Meanwhile, on Bailing Mountain, White-headed Eagle and the others also received a message from the Sand Rat Sect. White-headed Eagle's expression turned slightly serious. Zhongxin Hall was moving faster than he had expected, but fortunately, the necessary preparations had already been made.

"Brother Green Robe, you shall guard the east side. Sect Leader Zhong and Living Yama shall guard the south side, and I shall guard the north side. Everyone, our life and death depend on this battle. We have no way out but to fight to the death. If we can survive this calamity, we will have a place in the martial world when it is divided into three!"

The bald eagle's impassioned words truly moved some people, but while those at the head of the table outwardly agreed, no one knew what they were really thinking.

"There is no time to lose. Let us divide the work and work together to get through this crisis. I'm counting on you all."

The white-headed eagle first bowed respectfully to the green-robed immortal and the others, then turned around and bowed deeply to the group of demons below.

Green-robed Immortal and the others stepped aside, not accepting the full courtesy. Green-robed Immortal said, "Let's not waste time. I'll take my leave first."

As he spoke, the Green-Robed Immortal casually pointed to a few people and led a group of them toward the eastern passage. Soon after, the Living Yama and the others also left one after another, leaving only the disciples of White Ridge Mountain waiting for the mountain lord to give orders.

"Duan Cheng, you take your disciples and guard the mountain path to the north. I will be there shortly." The white-headed eagle instructed Duan Cheng, who acknowledged the order and left with his disciples. After Duan Cheng and the others left, the white-headed eagle turned and went to Tang Entangde's residence.

"The mountain lord has arrived at this time. Is there anything you need from my brother and me?"

When Tang En saw the white-headed eagle suddenly appear, he was startled. Shouldn't it be guarding the mountain path at this time? How come it has time to come here? Tang En asked as he thought this.

"I don't come here unless I have a reason, Brother Tang. I've heard you still have some Thousand-Bore Deadly Powder. I wonder how much you have left?"

"We still have some of this item left. If you wish, Mountain Lord, you may take it. However, this item is extremely poisonous, so you must be careful when using it."

Upon hearing that the white-headed eagle was going to use the "Thousand-Bore Deadly Powder," Tang En felt relieved. He then went to the stone table, opened a wooden box on it, and took out three dark, two-inch porcelain bottles, which were sealed with stoppers and wax pellets.

Tang En handed the porcelain bottle to the white-headed eagle, who carefully accepted it and thanked the two of them, saying, "If any of my disciples are injured in the battle later, I will be grateful if you two can lend a hand."

"That's only right. Even if the Mountain Lord didn't say anything, we would do our best to help the Mountain Lord get through this calamity. Mountain Lord, please rest assured."

The bald eagle nodded upon hearing this, then said a few more words before quickly leaving.

“Brother, judging from the tone of the white-headed eagle’s words, it seems that his spirits are not so high anymore. It seems that he also knows that he will lose this battle.”

"Ignore him. We need to preserve our usefulness. Zhong Yue hasn't responded yet, so let's wait and see."

After leaving the cave where Tang En and his companion were, the white-headed eagle traveled swiftly to the mountain path to the north. Upon seeing him arrive, the disciples of the sect all bowed respectfully. The white-headed eagle waved his hand, instructing them to take their places. After walking a few more steps, they would reach the wide mountain path ahead.

The mountain path was winding and twisting, with trees on both sides that made it difficult to spot unless you were standing on high ground looking down.

"Master, all the mechanisms are ready, we're just waiting for Shangguan Yun and the others."

"Very good. Make sure the disciples are on high alert. As for the others, they are fine, but Shangguan Yun and Ni Qingfeng are extremely difficult to deal with. Even if we send others up the mountain, we must stop these two at the foot of the mountain."

"Yes, the disciple obeys."

In less than half an hour, the white-headed eagle looked into the distance, its eyes slightly narrowed, and watched the large group of people rushing towards it from the foot of the mountain. It couldn't help but feel a chill in its heart.

"This Shangguan Yun is incredibly capable. At first glance, he seems intent on destroying my Bailing Mountain."

As far as he could see, there were almost people everywhere. A rough count showed that there were about five hundred people, more than double the number of the people on the mountain.

"Master, they have split into three groups."

Upon hearing Duan Cheng's voice, the white-headed eagle looked closely and saw a group of people carrying black tiger and flying swallow banners heading towards the eastern mountain path. Zhongxin Hall and more than ten other sects went to the southern mountain path, while Tianshan Sect and Liubo Sect were heading in their direction.

"I never expected that it was the Tianshan Sect that attacked."

White-headed Eagle didn't know whether to say he was lucky or unlucky. He was lucky to have encountered the Tianshan Sect, and Ni Qingfeng alone made him very wary. He was unlucky because this group had the fewest people among the three groups, and his side had the advantage in both terrain and numbers.

"The Tianshan Sect is coming to attack the mountain. Tell your disciples to prepare so that when they reach the open area halfway up the mountain, we can first unleash a volley of arrows to dampen their spirits."

Duan Cheng replied "Yes" and waved the flag in his hand, signaling his disciples to wait for the order.

At the foot of the mountain, Ni Qingfeng and Shen Henian looked up at the summit and saw lush, verdant vegetation that blocked their view. Although the mountain path to the north where they were was wide, it was only wide enough for the three of them to walk side by side.

"Senior brother, let's each take care of our own affairs. I'll lead the way, and you'll bring up the rear. Also, be careful of Yin Songyue from the Liubo Sect, and don't let him cause any trouble."

Shen Henian nodded upon hearing this, "Don't worry, junior brother, I will be careful."

Ni Qingfeng gave an order to Fu Tianjiao and the others, then one of them led the way, followed by three or four people, with Shen Henian bringing up the rear.

"Sect Leader Yin, please warn your disciples to be careful. This Bailing Mountain is full of traps and mechanisms; one wrong move and you could harm yourself or others."

Yin Songyue was a middle-aged man in his forties with a long beard, dressed in a moon-white robe, with a fair complexion, gentle eyes, and a jade-hilted longsword hanging at his waist.

"Rest assured, Master Shen, I will have my disciples be careful."

Seeing this, Shen Henian nodded and quickly followed. Yin Songyue gave a soft call, and the disciples of the Liubo Sect quietly went up the mountain.

With Ni Qingfeng leading the way, the Tianshan Sect group progressed smoothly. The hidden weapons and mechanisms were cut to pieces by Ni Qingfeng's sword before they could be activated, rendering them useless. This greatly shocked the White-Headed Eagle, who was in charge of the overall situation on the mountain.

"Master, they are almost halfway up the mountain."

Duan Cheng looked at the gloomy-faced white-headed eagle and said softly.

"Then what are we waiting for? Fire arrows immediately, focusing on those Tianshan disciples."

"Yes."

Duan Cheng responded and waved the flag in his hand. More than a hundred arrows flew densely towards the mountainside. Ni Qingfeng had just arrived at the mountainside when he heard the sound of arrows piercing the air from afar.

"careful!"

Ni Qingfeng let out a deep shout, and with a clang, he gripped his long sword tightly, using Tai Chi sword techniques to weave large and small sword circles, continuously engulfing the incoming flying arrows within them.

When their martial uncle reminded them, Fu Tianjiao and the others quickly formed a sword formation. Fortunately, the terrain here was open enough to allow the sword formation to be deployed. Seven long swords were constantly slashing, and the sound of cracking was incessant. One after another, the flying arrows were either knocked away or cut in half and fell to the ground. After a short while, the flying arrows gradually thinned out.

Seeing that Fu Tianjiao and the others were unharmed, Ni Qingfeng was immediately relieved. After sending a few words to Fu Tianjiao, he leaped into the woods and disappeared. Fu Tianjiao then took on the responsibility of clearing the way and led the disciples forward.

When the white-headed eagle saw Ni Qingfeng disappear, it was first taken aback, then its expression changed, and it hurriedly said to Duan Cheng, "Quickly tell those archery disciples to come back!"

Upon hearing this, Duan Cheng waved his flag repeatedly, but received no response. He turned to look at his master and saw that his face was ashen. Just then, screams came from below. The white-headed eagle gritted his teeth and then leaped towards the source of the screams.

Duan Cheng watched the white-headed eagle depart, his eyes flickering slightly. After much deliberation, he decided to remain still, lest he jeopardize Master Ni's important plans.

The white-headed eagle arrived in the woods and saw a dozen disciples lying neatly on the ground, with unfinished arrows beside them. Not far away, a handsome Taoist priest slowly turned around and looked at the white-headed eagle with a slightly cold gaze.

(End of this chapter)