Daqin Zhentiansi

Chapter 583 Marquis Qingyang, I have a perfect suggestion.

Zhang Yuan raised his left hand, the Crimson Dragon Rope wrapping around his fist, faint blood-gold light appearing in cloud patterns, he clenched his fist and threw a punch.

"boom--"

Ahead, the clouds trembled, as if struck by a giant shield, and parted to create a road leading straight to the canyon.

The wooden frame continued its journey.

Behind them, the eerie light reflected from the black armor of the three hundred riders twisted into serpentine shadows on the rock wall of Broken Soul Gorge, as if countless eyes were peering through the cracks in the earth's veins.

"Crack."

The wheels rolled over the raised, dark red crystal clusters, and the crackling sound made the dragon-scaled horse pulling the cart uneasily exhale white breath.

Jin Yuelin raised his hand, signaling the army to slow down.

The dragging sound of the black iron chains startled the red-eyed ravens that were roosting in the rock crevices, and the flapping of their wings echoed in the canyon like the cries of a baby.

"My lord, the blood jade marrow here has a mind-altering effect." Yin Jiuyou's black iron mask was covered with a layer of frost, but his voice remained steady.
"According to the records of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion fifty years ago, a great cultivator in the Dao Realm once experienced a demonic illusion here and shattered the spirit of his own disciple with a single palm strike."

As if to confirm his words, the black-clad rider who was scouting ahead suddenly reined in his horse.

The soldier's eyes, hidden beneath his helmet, were bloodshot, and he swung his longsword at his comrade—

"Bang!"

Jin Yuelin swung his soul-hooking rope, which entangled the blade and pulled the man off his horse.

The soldier, who had fallen into the blood-red gravel, gasped for breath, his pupils gradually regaining their clarity: "Your subordinate... Your subordinate just saw Yuwen Jue's figure..."

Yin Jiuyou flicked the crystal on the edge of his boot with his finger, and the dark red ore struck the rock wall, sparking and instantly igniting into a cold, dark blue flame.

Under the firelight, the entire canyon revealed its true appearance.

The jagged rock pillars resemble the interlocking fangs of a giant, with fluorescent underground rivers flowing through each fissure.

“It’s not an illusion,” Yin Jiuyou said, as the soul fire floating in his palm suddenly split into seven. “It’s these ten-thousand-year-old blood jade marrow resonating, making the most fearful memories in everyone’s heart tangible.”

As if to verify this claim, a sudden cry of alarm came from the convoy behind. The packhorse driver of one of the grain carts reared up, scrambling and pointing at the rock face, screaming, "Child corpses! So many bloated child corpses are crawling out of the rocks!"

However, to others, it was nothing more than ripples refracted by the fluorescent dark river on the crystal cluster.

Inside the carriage, Zhang Yuan waved his hand calmly.

Two secret medicine masters dressed in green robes strode to the front of the army and took out several jade bottles.

"Chew it up."

Jin Yuelin immediately distributed the emerald-green pills from the bottle to everyone.

As the bitter medicinal aroma exploded on the tip of the tongue, a faint phantom of a blue dragon rose above the army formation, directly suppressing the distorted light and shadow.

Ten miles away in a mountain valley, a warrior wearing a bronze Nuo mask lowered his Sky-Gazing Mirror, a hint of envy on his face: "It is said that the Heavenly Suppression Bureau has a Guardian Pill that can clear one's mind and prevent external evils from invading..."

Only a place like the Heavenly Suppression Bureau could easily produce so many pills that protect the soul, and distribute such precious pills so casually.

Other sects would keep a few pills at the bottom of their chests, unwilling to take them out to use.

"After all, he's someone who has slain a Grandmaster." In the mountains, the old man in hemp robes squinted at the dust rising from the canyon. "This Marquis of Qingyang really has guts."

On an ancient banyan tree further away, the young man in brocade robes stroked the Wei Kingdom's wolf-head jade pendant with his fingertips: "As long as Marquis Qingyang dies in Broken Soul Gorge, my Zhen Dong Army can press on with full force..."

As the three hundred soldiers stepped into the canyon, all the spying outside came to an abrupt end.

This is the Broken Soul Gorge.

A place where souls are severed. In the Broken Soul Gorge, on a precipitous cliff, a group of bandits dressed in disheveled clothes are looking down at the caravan slowly moving forward in the gorge.

The one-eyed giant at the front carried a ghost-headed saber as wide as a door panel, his face covered in centipede-like scars that writhed with a sinister grin: "Lord Qingyang, you have quite the nerve! You dare to venture into my Soul-Severing Gorge with only three hundred men!"

If anyone saw this man, they would surely recognize him as Lei Wanjiao, the bandit leader of Black Wind Stronghold.

According to the Black Ice Guard, he was ostensibly a bandit from the State of Qi, but in reality, he was a military officer in the Eastern Garrison of the State of Wei.

"Hmph, he really doesn't take Boss Lei and the other 38 brothers from the village seriously." The thin-faced old man beside Lei Wanjiao grinned, rubbing his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Outside the Broken Soul Gorge, in front of a distant village, a group of people in coarse clothes knelt at the foot of the mountain.

The white-haired old woman pressed the throbbing, warm amulet to her brow, and bowed in a trembling voice towards the canyon: "River God, please open your eyes and protect Lord Qingyang..."

Behind her were several pale-faced men, all of whom had recently returned from the Xuanwei Temple.

In the Broken Soul Gorge.

The blood jade marrow bathed the entire valley floor in a dark red light, and the black armor of the three hundred black riders reflected a cold luster in the fluorescent light.

As the wooden carriage slowly came to a stop in the open space, the dragon-patterned bells hanging on the carriage shafts rang out automatically without wind, producing a clear and melodious sound.

"call out--"

A whistling arrow tore through the stagnant fog, and thousands of torches suddenly lit up the rock walls on both sides.

The bandits slid down the vines in dense numbers, their rusty swords scraping against the rock face with a piercing shriek.

Their bare chests were tattooed with various animal patterns, and their rough laughter echoed through the canyon like a beast's lair.

"What a grand display from Marquis Qingyang!" Lei Wanjiao, carrying a massive, door-sized ghost-headed saber, crushed the boulder blocking his path. Centipede-like scars on his face writhed with a sinister grin. "Three hundred men dare to trespass on the territory of my Thirty-Eight Villages? Do they really think we're those useless Taoist priests from Xuanwei Temple?"

Behind him came a chorus of whistles, and tens of thousands of bandits poured out of the crack like ants.

Some people swung necklaces made of skulls, making a loud clattering sound, while others used the backs of their knives to strike shields studded with bone spikes—those spikes still covered with dried flesh.

The chaotic bandits, like black ants, scurried through the blood-red mist and surrounded the well-organized army of three hundred.

Jin Yuelin raised his hand, and the three hundred Xuanjia soldiers simultaneously gripped their swords, but were stopped by the crisp sound of Zhang Yuan lightly tapping the scabbards from inside the carriage.

Lei Wanjiao's ghost-headed saber struck the bloodstone, creating a roar like a dragon and a tiger.

All the laughter froze instantly, and even the glowing blood jade seeping from the rock crevices seemed to be frozen by the intent of the blade.

Dongxuan Realm.

This bandit leader, who ran rampant in Donghan County, was actually a Dongxuan Grandmaster.

No wonder he could suppress countless mountain strongholds, and even the powerful families and sects in Donghan County were extremely wary of him.

Lei Wanjiao's ghost-headed saber dragged across the ground, leaving behind blinding sparks, and the blood jade fragments attached to the blade condensed into a three-inch crimson light.

The vines hanging from the cliffs of the canyon moved swiftly without wind, and the three hundred black riders simultaneously drew their long swords half a foot from their sheaths. The clanging of the blades against each other echoed through the Broken Soul Gorge like the howling of wolves against the moon.

Lei Wanjiao's ghost-headed saber slammed heavily into the rock layer, and fragments of blood jade marrow condensed into ferocious snake patterns on the blade: "Lord Qingyang, I have a suggestion that satisfies both sides."

Looking at the wooden frame, Lei Wanjiao grinned and said, "If you recruit my thirty-eight brothers into the Black Ice Guard, I'll give you the honorary title of Colonel of the Eastern Wei Zhen Dong Army."

Lei Wanjiao's voice suddenly rose as his single eye swept over the chilling array of black-armored cavalry.

"I guarantee you'll leave this Broken Soul Gorge safely, and I'll add a great victory to your record of bandit suppression. My brothers will also be able to get official positions and live off the government!"

(End of this chapter)