Longzang

Chapter 174 A Fair Battle

Once the boundary disappeared from sight and it was confirmed that there were no other forces' spies around, Wei Yuan took out a map and said, "Time is of the essence, so we won't go back to rest. The Xu family still has two mines, a medicine shop, and a small town. Under the control of the Wuyu Clan, there are also two caravan camps, a village, and two bandit strongholds. Let's work hard, take down two more points, and then rest."

No one objected, and they headed towards the next goal.

With no one around, everyone took off their masks to get some fresh air. Xu Yi was standing next to Wei Yuan, and she couldn't help but chuckle as she looked at Wei Yuan's horse.

Wei Yuan was initially uncomfortable with her laughter, but after glancing at the horse, he understood. It was drizzling, and the surrounding area was filled with misty rain, making it extremely damp. The warhorse was soaking wet, as if it had just been pulled out of the water.

Wei Yuan's horse was originally bright red, which was too eye-catching, so it was painted gray before the journey. However, after only a few days, the color started to fade, and now, in the rain, it is visibly turning from gray to white, and then from white to red.

Aside from cursing the unscrupulous merchants, Wei Yuan had no other options at the moment. He could only say that next time he encountered those unscrupulous paint sellers, he would make them spit out everything they had taken. However, Wei Yuan also knew in his heart that he would most likely never see those unscrupulous merchants again.

Xu Yi added, "Boss, there's still a flaw in your disguise as a bandit."

"What flaw?" Wei Yuan asked humbly.

"Bandits live a life of constant danger, they're all crude and vulgar. Boss, you're being too polite. What kind of bandit doesn't insult other people's ancestors for eighteen generations?"

Wei Yuan frowned. It was indeed difficult for him to curse with particularly vulgar language; it would be better to just stab him to death.

Xu Yi covered her mouth and chuckled, then said, "There are other ways. Either talk less, the less you talk, the more dignified you appear."

Wei Yuan immediately nodded: "That's fine."

The group hadn't been gone for half an hour when a band of bandits suddenly emerged from the woods ahead and blocked their path. The two leaders appeared to be brothers, one of them carrying a low-grade magic weapon, and they began to challenge them while cursing.

Looking at the bandit group before him, numbering only a little over a hundred, dressed in rags, with several men sharing a single weapon, Wei Yuan felt a pang of pity. However, this kind of trashy group was perfect for practice, to test what Xu Yi had just said.

So Wei Yuan spurred his horse forward, his aura chilling, and shouted: "I am a bandit, pay up!"

Then, unsurprisingly, a fight broke out.

A moment later, looking at the bandits' corpses scattered on the ground, Wei Yuan seriously considered where he had gone wrong.

Half a day later, Wei Yuan looked at the hundreds of bandits blocking his way and said helplessly, "Are there really this many bandits in the Western Regions?"

This bandit group looked much better, numbering five hundred, with fifty elite soldiers all wielding magical weapons. At this moment, several of their leaders stepped forward to challenge them.

Wei Yuan had no interest in listening to what they were saying. He touched his mask thoughtfully, wondering if his men were really that weak. Otherwise, why would these bandits target fellow travelers instead of caravans? This was the second time in a row.

By this time, the other side had finished their challenge, and Wei Yuan asked Wang Yu on his left, "Who are they?"

Wang Yu said, "There are five bandit groups known as the three great bandit groups in the Western Regions. The one opposite us is the Bloodthirsty Cavalry, which is currently ranked seventh in strength among all bandit groups."

"How do you know so much detail?" Xu Yi asked.

Wang Yu said, "I heard it from the people in town when I was resting in town."

Xu Yi looked shocked: "We only had a meal together, and weren't you with us the whole time?"

Wang Yu said expressionlessly, "My Yin Eyes can hear from quite far."

"This..." Xu Yi didn't know what to say. Suddenly remembering something, she said, "You wouldn't use it for something bad, would you?"

"No, if I see something I shouldn't see, there will be a strong backlash. That's why I don't dare to look at or listen to people who are obviously stronger than me."

Xu Yi was initially relieved, but then she started to think that something was wrong. It seemed that there were only two people in the team who were clearly stronger than Wang Yu, and she was not one of them.

At this moment, Wei Yuan stepped forward to respond, and before he could finish speaking, the fight broke out again, as expected.

A moment later, only four of the three major bandit groups in the Western Regions remained. The group that was originally ranked eighth was unaware that it had moved up one place in the rankings.

Wei Yuan took out the map and looked at it, becoming somewhat irritated. He said, "We run into two groups of bandits just to raid a mine. What kind of place is this? Are they trying to kill ordinary people? We're only fifty miles from the mine. Surely we won't run into another band of bandits there..."

Before the words were finished, the sound of hooves rang out in the distance, the earth trembled, and a cavalry caravan emerged from behind the hill. The two caravans were heading towards each other, and they met on a narrow path.

Xu Yi covered his mouth and laughed, "Boss is amazing, your words are law!"

There was no sound from either side.

Xu Yi chuckled twice, then sensed something was wrong. Looking to the side, he saw Wang Yu with her eyes tightly closed, tears streaming down her face. His face contorted with pain, he exclaimed, "Be careful, there's a foundation for immortality!"

A steady stream of cavalry emerged from behind the hill, forming square formations with exceptionally disciplined military bearing. The two men in the center exuded deep auras, making it impossible for Wei Yuan to discern their true strength.

"Are bandits this advanced now?" Wei Yuan was finally shocked. Even the Snow Eagle Cavalry of the young lord of Northern Liao back then was nothing special.

Wei Yuan cursed inwardly, spurred his horse forward, and shouted, "Take off your clothes or die!"

Then the fight started.

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared before Wei Yuan's eyes, and a pair of short swords were already in front of him in an instant!

The young man moved with lightning speed, thrusting his twin blades one into his throat and the other into his heart—a truly dangerous move. But then, a soft flash of light appeared, the eight-foot blade catching the pair of short swords and pulling the young man aside. Wei Yuan, spear in hand, his eyes fixed only on the short-bearded man, spurred his horse forward!
The short-bearded man first waved his hand forward, giving the order to his cavalry to attack, before calmly drawing his sword to meet Wei Yuan.

As the two horses crossed paths, Wei Yuan roared and thrust his spear forward, smashing it down on the short-bearded man's head!

The short-bearded man hadn't expected Wei Yuan's attack to be so fierce; he had suffered a great loss due to the weapon's sharpness, despite using a longsword. Having no other choice, he parried with his sword, then subtly deflected most of the force. However, the residual force still made his wrist numb, and his warhorse let out a mournful neigh, nearly losing its balance.

Xu Xinhui was shocked by this exchange. The bandit's physical body was incredibly strong, almost inhuman, and his Dao power was like a raging torrent, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

For a moment, Xu Xinhui felt as if he were facing a formidable foe during the palace competition years ago.

In that instant, a flame ignited in his heart, and his long-dormant passion and fervor erupted. It was rare to encounter such an opponent in the Western Regions; of course, he had to have a proper battle!
Xu Xinhui's aura changed suddenly, and a blazing sword aura rose up and shot straight into the sky!
Wang Ziyan was taken aback when he saw it from afar. He hadn't seen his elder brother so full of fighting spirit for many years. Had he met a real opponent?

Just then, a voice rang in his ears: "Still dare to get distracted?"

Wang Ziyan saw the girl wield a knife in both hands, unleashing a horizontal slash that rippled like water. The eight-foot-long blade swept across, its light already extending several feet away!

Having just exchanged blows, Wang Ziyan already knew that this girl's swordsmanship was exceptionally powerful, so he immediately became more cautious, parrying with his twin swords.

As the two swords clashed, Wang Ziyan suddenly felt a terrifying force on his hand, as if he had been struck by the hand of an immortal lord, or as if he had been whipped by the tail of a giant dragon. He was sent flying as if riding on clouds, and was actually swept away by the girl's sword!

Xu Xinhui ran two fingers across the sword, and with the blessing of the immortal sword, the longsword immediately lit up with a blazing light. The rolling sword energy transformed into a storm, sweeping across dozens of feet!

With the immortal sword in hand, Xu Xinhui's aura changed again, becoming fiery and wild. He said, "You can make Shao Hao appear in the world with just one move. You have reason to be proud."

Before he could finish speaking, Xu Xinhui's warhorse suddenly neighed, its hind legs buckled, and it collapsed to the ground. Xu Xinhui was thrown into the air, his face extremely grim. Anyone would be in a bad mood if they were treated like this when they were in the middle of something exciting.

Xu Xinhui was also puzzled. His warhorse was a top-notch steed, one in a thousand, so why was it so incompetent and collapsed on the battlefield?
Xu Xinhui looked down and noticed a huge wound on the warhorse's hindquarters, a large chunk of flesh missing, bleeding profusely; no wonder it couldn't stand. He then glanced towards Wei Yuan and saw the variegated horse chewing something, blood still dripping from its mouth.

Xu Xinhui scanned the area with his divine sense and discovered that the dripping blood was from his own warhorse. He then realized that when the two horses passed each other, it wasn't just the riders fighting; the other horse had also bitten his own warhorse hard!
Now that he had noticed, all the horse's disguises were insignificant in the face of the swordsman. Xu Xinhui's eyes flashed with sword energy; he had already seen through the horse's true nature—it was a rare demonic horse!

The demonic horse was fierce and extremely difficult to tame. Seeing that the person opposite him could ride such a horse, Xu Xinhui's opinion of him rose even higher.

At this moment, Xu Xinhui's thousand knights split into two teams, bypassed the two men facing off, and attacked dozens of masked knights from the left and right.

Wei Yuan snorted, and the vast landscape materialized, blessing himself and his knights. At the same time, dozens of cyan energies disappeared from his sea of ​​consciousness, having already blessed everyone, including Feng Tingyu.

Seeing that they were about to be surrounded by enemies many times their number, the fifty warriors of Zhantian suddenly took to the air, their bodies bursting with light, and countless magical artifacts and spells rained down on the surroundings like a storm!
Xu Xinhui and Wang Ziyan were both greatly surprised. This band of bandits were all Dao Foundation Establishment cultivators, and each of them was quite powerful! These were bandits? Could it be that the captain of the Great Tang Ninth Army had assembled a team?
The battle quickly became intense.

With the blessing of good fortune, Feng Tingyu's blade light instantly swept across dozens of feet, engulfing Wang Ziyan and smashing him to the ground. Yes, smashing him.

Wang Ziyan felt that his opponent was not holding a knife at all, but a knife-shaped hammer. He was swinging it wildly without any regard for the consequences, making it impossible for him to breathe. Even his mind was shaken.

Xu Xinhui, however, had the upper hand. The Immortal Sword Shao Hao was incredibly powerful, and after a few strikes, it cleaved Wei Yuan's spear in two. However, when the spear was severed, a long burst of flame simultaneously erupted from its shaft, startling Xu Xinhui.

However, the gun only spewed ordinary fire, and Xu Xinhui was only slightly startled.

"Wait!" Wei Yuan called out.

Xu Xinhui sheathed his sword and stood in the air, saying, "Do you have anything else to say?"

Wei Yuan said righteously and sternly, "You are a beautiful woman, why did you become a thief!"

Xu Xinhui was both amused and exasperated, and said, "Aren't you a bandit too?"

Wei Yuan was taken aback, forgetting his new identity.

However, there are countless examples in history books of people vehemently criticizing their opponents. Wei Yuan is not one to lose a verbal battle. He then said, "You are a sword cultivator, after all. What's the point of winning if you only rely on the advantage of your magic weapon?"

Xu Xinhui was so angry he laughed, saying, "This is the foundation of my own cultivation, can't I even use it?"

Wei Yuan snorted and said, "Fine, I won't waste my breath on you. I'll go borrow a top-grade magic weapon right now, and we'll have a fair fight tomorrow. Do you dare to accept the challenge?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Xinhui's blood boiled, and he said coldly, "What is there to be afraid of?"

Wei Yuan said, "Alright! Tomorrow at noon, there is a three-hundred-zhang-high peak five hundred li to the northwest. I will be waiting for you on the top of that peak!"

Xu Xinhui quickly recalled the map in his mind. The place Wei Yuan mentioned was a full seven hundred miles away from the border, so he said, "Alright! I will definitely keep the appointment on time!"

"Let's go!" Wei Yuan immediately called to his riders, and they sped away like the wind, without any hesitation.

Wang Ziyan walked over and said, "Could this be a conspiracy by the other side?"

"There's no need to worry. That place is a full seven hundred miles from the center of the realm, so the power of the realm can't be used there at all. As long as it's a fair battle, what do I have to fear?"

Wang Ziyan thought about it and realized that made sense, so he stopped talking.

What the two were unaware of was that the Azure Netherworld was indeed only 120 miles wide at this moment, but the area where the Witch Clan altered the heavens and earth and sealed the immortal sword was 1,000 miles wide.

(End of this chapter)