Longzang

Chapter 574 The Thrill of Slashing
Neither Xu Lanshan nor Wei Boyang expected that the bandits would actually dare to fire the cannon, and that the cannon had an extremely long range, reaching as far as twenty miles!

Chaos erupted on Hanyang Pass. The city commander had no idea where this sudden disaster had come from. The defending troops were also in disarray, frantically pushing out their ballistae, but where were the enemies in sight?
Those with good eyesight saw figures moving on the distant hilltop, but they didn't believe the attack came from there. Unless it was the True Lord Yujing, no one could shoot magic or arrows that far.

The Xu family elders watched helplessly as the bandits adjusted their firing angles along the way, and several bandits even took out instruments they had never seen before and began measuring something. The bandits who planted flags at Hanyang Pass weren't going there empty-handed either; they were measuring distances as they went.

The elders initially thought it was a bluff, but to everyone's surprise, the bandits actually loaded the cannonballs and hit the target with one shot!
The elders were completely blank-minded, unsure of what to do. But they were all determined not to be the first to step forward. After all, Xu Lanshan was in charge here, and she would take responsibility if anything went wrong.

Only Xu Lanshan and Wei Boyang could see that the trajectory of the cannonball was somewhat erratic in the final stage, clearly guided by the cultivator's divine sense, which was why it was so accurate, killing all the soldiers at the city gate without damaging the gate itself.

At this point, Xu Lanshan could no longer remain silent and shouted in a deep voice, "Do you want to start a war?"

The bandit leader below grinned, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth, and said, "Otherwise what? If we don't fight you a few times, do you really think we're afraid of you? If you want to fight, I'll give you two options, you can choose whichever you prefer."

Facing this minor bandit leader, Xu Lanshan was unusually serious and solemn, asking, "Which two options?"

The bandit leader said, "Firstly, since you've come to our territory alone, our chief can have a one-on-one fight with you."

"Why not on our territory?" Xu Lanshan retorted.

"Do I need to explain the reputation of your Xu family? Let me put it this way: I don't care who you are, as long as your surname is Xu, I won't believe a single word you say. If you want to fight, come to our territory! If you're not satisfied, go out and ask around; which bandit group in the Western Regions doesn't have a better reputation than your Xu family?"

At this point, the Xu family elder, who had been standing very close to Wei Yuan, gradually changed his expression and began to slowly wriggle away in the air to create distance, fearing that he might attract Wei Yuan's attention.

Before Wei Yuan could finish speaking, a flash of light appeared in the sky, and a bolt of celestial lightning silently struck down, hitting him directly on the head!
The divine lightning arrived without warning, reaching Wei Yuan's head almost instantly!
Seven-colored light instantly rose from Wei Yuan's body, and the hazy radiance was actually the aura of immortal spirits. It weakened the immortal lightning by half. Then the remaining lightning struck Wei Yuan, instantly turning his clothes and utensils into ashes. His physical body was also charred and turned black.

With a clanging sound, Wei Yuan's storage magic treasures were all destroyed, and his belongings were scattered all over the ground.

In the blink of an eye, before my thoughts could even process, a woman in red seemed to appear, walking gracefully towards me. She picked up a few storybooks from the clutter on the ground and then disappeared.

Even the Dharma Elders only felt a blur before their eyes, as if they saw people, yet also as if they didn't.

Xu Lanshan felt a chill run down her spine; one of the two hidden assassins had finally revealed herself! She was indeed Yu Jing, and no ordinary Yu Jing. The moment the woman in red appeared, Xu Lanshan realized she had underestimated her.

This speed is terrifying. If there were no prior warning, the woman in red would have been able to approach, strike a vital point, and then retreat calmly before Xu Lanshan could even draw her sword.

To deal with assassins of this caliber, one is still a level below in cultivation level, so the only option is to rely on the protective magic treasures bestowed by the Immortal Ancestor to save one's life. The problem is that the number of magic treasures is limited, and they will eventually run out. Meanwhile, the Yujing assassins are very patient, guarding their targets day and night, and they can always wait until the target becomes lax.

What's even more critical is that Xu Lanshan sensed two assassins, with the other one's aura constantly locked onto her, yet she couldn't detect where the assassin was hiding.

Only now did Xu Lanshan realize that Qingming's strength was truly unfathomable. No wonder the True Lord had sent two of them several times before, and even mobilized a million troops, only to suffer a crushing defeat each time, never winning a single battle.

Previously, Xu Lanshan had always thought that the Xu family's private army was rotten to the core, with poor combat strength. Now she realized that perhaps it wasn't that the Xu family's private army was weak, but rather that Qingming was too strong.

Although Wei Yuan's clothes were completely shattered by the celestial lightning, his mask remained intact. This mask was made of refined Nether Iron, which was extremely resistant to Taoist magic and immortal techniques. Even after being weakened by numerous attacks, the celestial lightning could not harm the mask.

Wei Yuan's body shuddered, and dense cracks suddenly appeared on the charred surface, revealing the tender pink skin underneath. Then, the charred skin continued to peel off, revealing large patches of new flesh as pink as jade.

Wei Yuan's physical body is extremely powerful. His flesh and blood have solidified to the point of being like precious jade. When his blood flows in his veins, it is like a kind of jade that can flow at will. Once it leaves his body, it will immediately solidify into jade beads.

Right now, his flesh and blood aren't undergoing a clear growth process; they just wriggle and new skin forms. However, during this process of flesh and blood growth throughout his body, Wei Yuan's vitality surges violently, instantly bringing a strange yet incredibly powerful pleasure that makes him tremble involuntarily.

Wei Yuan immediately cursed inwardly. So many eyes were watching! How could he have such a shameful reaction?! He immediately reached out and grabbed an outer robe, calmly putting it on to cover up his physical body, which was one of the best among his Dharma forms.

However, Wei Yuan intentionally showed the elders who had just spoken to him, as well as the elders of the Xu family, his assets, making these old guys feel ashamed and lest they talk about Sanqiang to others later. At this moment, the Xu family elders all looked ashen-faced.

The celestial lightning was naturally unleashed by their own celestial ancestor, Xu Wangu, and its power was enough to kill a Dharma Avatar and severely injure a beginner-level Nascent Soul cultivator. The celestial ancestor attacked from afar, and the power of this celestial lightning was such that he did not hold back at all.

But this bandit leader seemed to have withstood it without a care, and even appeared to enjoy the shock. Moreover, the lightning strike from the Immortal Ancestor only charred a layer of his skin. Looking at his incredibly powerful physical body, how could they not know who this bandit leader was?

However, the assets that Wei Yuan deliberately displayed were subconsciously overlooked by them.

Wei Yuan put on his outer garment, took several storage magic items from the person next to him, and with a wave of his hand, collected all the items that had fallen to the ground. Then he stretched his body, flashed Xu Lanshan a set of white teeth, and said:
"Alright, now that you've weathered your ancestor's lightning strike, let's move on to the second option. I've heard you've been training musketeers, so I'll give you a chance for a decisive battle. Ten thousand men versus thirty thousand, it's fine. Let's choose a battlefield, set a time, and fight to the death."

Two choices: a one-on-one duel or a military formation. The choice is yours!

Xu Lanshan coldly replied, "What if I don't want to choose either of them?"

Wei Yuan flashed his gleaming white teeth again and said, "Trust me, you'll want to choose. Otherwise, it'll be all-out war. Let me see if the garrison in Hanyang Pass can even get out of the city gates first."

Meanwhile, the trucks behind had already driven up to the top of the hill and were pushed into pre-leveled open spaces. Then the truck beds were disassembled, revealing rows of city defense cannons already mounted! The truck supports were placed on the ground, instantly transforming into ready-made cannon mounts.

In the blink of an eye, dozens of cannons were densely packed on the small hill. Coupled with two long-range heavy cannons, the firepower was truly outrageous.

Moreover, the five hundred heavily armored knights lined up behind the hill, while the three thousand riflemen set up several defensive lines in front of the hillside.

Anyone with even a basic understanding of military affairs could tell that although the defending force numbered only four thousand, capturing this small hill would likely require at least tens of thousands of casualties.

Xu Lanshan stared at Wei Yuan and suddenly said, "You are a hero of your generation, and you achieved fame at a young age, displaying great talent and vigor. Why do you prefer to engage in such clandestine behavior?"

Wei Yuan cupped his hands in a gesture of respect towards Tang Yu and said, "This is my way of showing the court the bare minimum of respect."

Xu Lanshan was silent for a moment, then said, "I need to think about it and will give you an answer in a few days."

With that, she turned and left. Watching her departing figure, Wei Yuan wanted to say something, but he shook his head and let her go.

In the sky, Wei Boyang gave Wei Yuan a thumbs-up, then returned to his flying boat and headed towards the Tang Domain. The flying boat sped away in the blink of an eye, leaving only his bold and desolate song echoing in the air.

Xu Lanshan never realized that the second assassin was actually standing behind her the whole time. However, Wei Boyang's appearance, demeanor, and identity were completely unlike those of an assassin, causing her to subconsciously overlook him.

At this time, the follow-up 5,000 troops and transport convoys arrived and began constructing the positions according to the pre-designed blueprints. Qingming was now constructing positions using wooden planks nailed with steel plates, making the work extremely fast. Meanwhile, some reckless soldiers inside Hanyang Pass ran outside the city gates, attracting two more artillery shells and killing seven or eight men.

At this point, the garrison at Hanyang Pass finally understood that the bandits on the opposite mountain had no concept of restraint or modesty. They had drawn a red line, and if anyone dared to cross it, they would really fire their cannons.

The bandits dared to fire their cannons, but the garrison at Hanyang Pass, without orders from above, dared not retaliate.

A junior officer clamored to retaliate with ballistae, but was instead berated by the city gate guard. After the scolding, the general ordered the junior officer to remain in the city tower, while he himself quietly went down the city wall and secretly observed from a section of the city wall a hundred paces away.

The defending general was no fool. The enemy could fire a cannonball several feet in front of the city gate, and with just a slight tilt of the cannon, they could bombard the city tower. If he were still inside the city tower, he would die without even knowing how.

After setting up the defenses, Wei Yuan changed into ordinary bandit clothes and disappeared into the bandit group. This time, all fifty bandits of the Extinction Heaven were wearing identical masks and clothes. The masks were made of Nether Iron, which could isolate aura and Dao power, so they could not be distinguished from one another except for their aura.

At this moment, lightning crackled across a patch of sea amidst the human world, forming a vast sea of ​​lightning spanning tens of feet in diameter. This lightning was extremely mystical, condensing and undulating like real water.

(End of this chapter)