You, a living person, are telling me I've served in the underworld for ten years?

Ghostly figures began to appear before the knife-wielder's eyes, and shrill screams filled his ears. His knife-wielding became chaotic and frantic, sometimes even hacking at thin air.

The one skilled in hidden weapons and poison techniques was even worse. His usually sharp senses became chaotic under the interference of illusions, and the hidden weapons he threw often missed their targets. He even almost injured his companion once.

The two were trapped in a nightmare, possessing immense power but unable to effectively utilize it. Under the continuous drain of the woman's remnant spirit's mental attacks, their weaknesses increased.

"puff!"

Finally, the woman's remnant spirit seized an opportunity, condensing her soul power into an invisible spike, which pierced deep into the mind of the knife-wielder, whose consciousness was in chaos due to the illusion! The knife-wielder's body stiffened abruptly, black blood slowly flowed from his seven orifices, his eyes became unfocused, and he fell straight down.

With one enemy dealt with, the woman's remaining spirit felt much less pressure and could concentrate her power on the remaining expert in hidden weapons. The illusions became even more real and terrifying, and she began to attempt to directly erode the opponent's soul with her soul power.

The expert in concealed weapons let out a shrill scream, clutched his head, and rolled on the ground in agony before falling silent.

The woman's remnant spirit swayed slightly, clearly indicating that the continuous use of high-level illusions and soul power attacks had greatly depleted her energy, and her soul body was almost transparent.

But without pausing, she immediately drifted towards Chen Yang's battle group.

At this moment, Chen Yang's battle with the burly man wielding the axe and the tall, thin man had reached a fever pitch. Chen Yang suffered several more wounds, and a long gash was cut open on his left arm by the Water-Splitting Thorn, from which blood flowed incessantly.

But his gaze remained firm, and his Xuan Sword, like a dragon, relentlessly suppressed the two.

Seeing his companions die one after another, the tall, thin man panicked and his attack became noticeably hasty and flawed.

"It's now!"

Chen Yang's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and the little mana he had recovered surged into the Xuan Sword, unleashing "Qingwei·Duanliu" once again! However, this time, the sword's momentum was less invincible than at its peak, but it was more decisive and ruthless!
With a flash of sword light, the first to be hit was the tall, thin man who was in a panic! He was terrified and tried to dodge, but it was too late. He used his Water-Splitting Thrust to parry.

"Clang! Crack!"

The water-splitting dagger snapped in two, but the sword's momentum remained undiminished, slicing past his throat!

The tall, thin man clutched his bleeding neck and collapsed with a hoarse sound.

Almost simultaneously, the woman's remaining spirit gathered its last strength and unleashed a piercing shriek at the heavily injured, axe-wielding strong man, striking straight at his soul!

The burly man was already seriously injured and mentally unstable. This sudden mental attack made his vision go black and his movements stop.

Chen Yang would not miss this opportunity. He moved like lightning, and with a backhand strike, he pierced the strong man's heart, which was weakened by the previous fight!

"Uh……"

The burly man wielding the axe swayed, his massive body bearing a mixture of resentment and disbelief, before collapsing heavily to the ground.

All four "Awakened Ones" were wiped out!

The remaining dozens of ordinary soldiers in black were already terrified by the successive acts of horrific slaughter. Someone shouted, dropped their weapons, and turned to flee for their lives toward the gap in the energy barrier that was not yet fully closed.

Neither Chen Yang nor the woman's remnant spirit gave chase. Chen Yang leaned on his sword, breathing heavily, sweat mixed with blood streaming down his forehead. The woman's remnant spirit's figure was so faint it was almost invisible; she desperately needed to return to the Spirit Pearl to recuperate.

"Clean up the battlefield and collect anything useful."

Chen Yang gestured to the female remnant spirit regarding the corpses and scattered weapons on the ground. The female remnant spirit nodded reluctantly, and with a surge of soul power, quickly stored the several relatively intact "Awakened" corpses and the seemingly extraordinary weapons into a corner of her Sumeru space.

After doing all this, Chen Yang summoned the woman's remnant spirit and let her return to the Spirit Orb to rest.

He quickly treated his more serious wounds, took two healing pills from the Qingwei Sect, and then walked to the edge of the canyon.

The energy barrier outside had only one last crack left, through which the flickering searchlights and noisy voices could be vaguely seen—those were the black-clad troops on the outer perimeter, seemingly still hesitating whether to enter.

Chen Yang did not choose to force his way in.

He glanced at the detector; the signal representing the Phoenix Team had completely disappeared a few minutes earlier—not interrupted, but rather as if it had deliberately severed contact after completing some operation, which usually meant the mission was complete and evacuation was beginning.

"time to go."

Chen Yang muttered something under his breath, taking one last look at the canyon he had turned upside down, now littered with corpses. With a flash, he didn't rush towards the gap in the barrier, but instead merged directly into the shadows of the nearby rock wall—

It wasn't a true passing through the wall, but rather the activation of the strongest stealth mode of the "Shadow Stalker" node, combined with his own method of concealing his aura, making him appear to disappear completely.

A moment later, when the black-clad troops outside finally made up their minds and sent someone to carefully pass through the gaps in the barrier into the canyon, apart from the corpses and remains of their own side scattered all over the ground and the heavy smell of blood, there was not a trace of Chen Yang.

……

More than half an hour later, Chen Yang piloted a small, still intact aircraft salvaged from the wreckage of the men in black, and landed it on the landing pad of the Special Administration Bureau's Northwest Base. The hatch opened, and he stepped out, looking slightly tired but with steady steps.

Liu Yu, who had been waiting for a long time, was the first to greet them, her beautiful eyes full of concern.

"Sect Master! Are you alright?"

She frowned when she saw the bloodstains and damaged armor on Chen Yang's body.

"It's just a superficial wound, nothing serious."

Chen Yang waved his hand, his gaze sweeping over Jiang He, Qiu Niu, Huang Zhenren, Luan Feng, Luan Huang, Xing San, and the others who were walking over. Although they were all covered in dust and fatigue from the battle, their eyes were bright and their spirits were good, indicating that they had all completed their tasks relatively smoothly.

Luanfeng looked Chen Yang up and down a few times, and asked with a hint of amazement.

"Sect Leader Chen, I heard that you drew away their main force and took down several tough opponents? Just how strong are they?"

Chen Yang stretched his slightly sore shoulders and said seriously.

"Very strong. Especially those so-called 'Awakeners' who have used advanced gene serums, their individual combat strength has generally reached the mid-to-late stage of Foundation Establishment. Combined with battle armor and special weapons, their actual combat capabilities are very strong."

"Without similar specialized equipment and medical support, our current regular forces would struggle greatly in direct combat, resulting in heavy casualties."

Xing San, who was standing to the side, pushed up his glasses and chimed in.

"This is the gap between us and them in terms of individual combat capabilities. However, the data that Luanhuang brought back this time is very valuable, involving the core formula ideas of some of their gene potions, the synthesis process of new materials, and even some energy circuit design diagrams of their 'psychic weapons'."

As long as we digest and absorb the knowledge, we can achieve breakthroughs in many critical bottleneck projects! Then, we'll be able to create more powerful individual soldier equipment and auxiliary medicines, and we'll definitely be able to catch up, or even surpass, that gap!

Jiang He walked over and patted Chen Yang's uninjured shoulder hard, his face full of smiles and emotions.

"Commander Chen! This time, we owe it all to you! You were a brilliant bait, and you fought an even more brilliant battle! You not only created an excellent opportunity for us, but also severely damaged their manpower! This battle was a resounding victory for us! It was a truly triumphant start!"

Chen Yang smiled.

"Minister Jiang, you flatter me. It's all thanks to everyone's good cooperation. The key is with Miss Luanhuang."

Luanhuang also came over at this moment. She had changed out of her combat uniform and was wearing a neat civilian outfit. Her face showed relief and a hint of excitement after completing a difficult mission.

"Sect Leader Chen, thanks to you drawing most of the firepower, we were able to sneak in undetected and successfully download the crucial data. This data is extremely important to us; once we get back and analyze it, it will quickly become part of our strength!"

Chen Yang nodded, looked at Jiang He, and said half-jokingly and half-seriously, "Minister Jiang, you've come up with something great, but don't forget about the Qingwei faction. We fought side by side this time, and we also offended those men in black. If they retaliate, the Qingwei faction will be under considerable pressure."

Jiang He immediately became serious and said.

"Commander Chen, you're being too polite! The Qingwei Faction is our Special Administration Bureau's most steadfast and important ally! You contributed the most this time, and you also faced the highest risks! In the future, with any new equipment or drugs, as long as they can be mass-produced, the first batch will definitely be supplied to your Qingwei Faction! We are one, and we share the same fate!"

"That's right! Don't worry, Sect Leader Chen! You'll definitely get your share of the good stuff!"

Qiuniu also patted his chest and guaranteed it.

Master Huang stroked his beard and smiled at Qiuniu and Xing Sandao.

"When you have time in the future, come visit our Qingwei Sect more often. We may not have much else, but we have plenty of spiritual wine and fruits!"

Upon hearing this, everyone laughed, and the atmosphere became even more harmonious and warm.

At this moment, Chen Yang remembered something and asked Liu Yu.

"Elder Liu, have you found any specific clues about which domestic forces they are colluding with at the stronghold? Any lists or accounts, etc."

Liu Yu shook her head regretfully.

"No.

This outpost is heavily guarded. We mainly infiltrated the outer research area and part of the storage area. Time was of the essence, and we didn't find any core communication documents. Those documents are likely stored in a more classified area, or perhaps in a separate database. It seems we'll have to plan carefully to find the moles.

Chen Yang nodded slightly; this was within his expectations. Such a crucial piece of leverage would certainly be well-hidden by the other party.

"This time we've severed one of their important arms, obtained key technologies, and gained tremendous benefits! Finding the mole is the next step."

Jiang He concluded, then waved his hand dismissively.

"Everyone has worked hard today! It's time to relax and celebrate! Luanhuang, make the arrangements for an extra meal tonight! Let's properly celebrate the complete success of this joint operation!"

"okay!"

Luanhuang smiled and agreed.

Qiuniu rubbed his hands together excitedly.

"Haha, that's what I've been waiting to hear! After winning the battle, it's time to feast on meat and drink wine to our hearts' content!"

Soon, Xing San led everyone to the officers' mess at the base.

The place had been prepared, with a long table laden with a sumptuous feast. While it couldn't compare to the exquisite banquets of the Qingwei Sect, it was the best supplies the base could offer, with a dazzling array of meats, vegetables, and fruits, and even a few bottles of specially supplied fine wine.

Everyone sat together, letting go of the tension and fatigue of the battle, clinking glasses and laughing and chatting.

This operation marks a milestone in the deep cooperation between the Special Administrative Region Authority and the Qingwei faction. The trust and tacit understanding between them have been greatly deepened through the test of blood and fire.

The sisters, Luanhuang and Luanfeng, toasted Chen Yang together, sincerely thanking him for his crucial role. Master Huang, also holding a wine cup, drank merrily with Qiuniu, Xing San, and others, recounting the customs and traditions of the Qingwei School. Jiang He, as the commander-in-chief, was deeply moved and frequently raised his glass.

The celebration continued late into the night. Afterwards, Chen Yang was taken to a clean and tidy private rest cabin.

He had just sat down to meditate for a moment when the communicator on his wrist vibrated. He looked at it and saw it was Ali's number.

A gentle smile unconsciously appeared on his face as he answered the phone.

"Hey, Ali."

"Chen Yang! Is your operation over? Are you alright? Is everyone safe?"

Ali's clear and urgent voice immediately rang out, like a mountain spring, washing away some of the murderous intent in Chen Yang's heart.

Chen Yang relaxed and leaned back in his chair, joking with a smile.

"Still awake so late? Are you waiting for my call? Do you miss me?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the communication line, followed by Ali's somewhat embarrassed but still frank voice.

"...Yes, a little. I'm mainly worried about you. Are you all safe?"

"Don't worry, everything went smoothly. The mission was completed, and we're all back safely. We'll prepare to leave tomorrow."

Chen Yang reported that he was safe in a relaxed tone, and then asked.

"How are things on your end? Has anything else happened at the mountain god temple?"

"A couple of nights ago, another small group of men in black tried to sneak over, but Uncle Li and Senior Gu Jinghui spotted them beforehand and dealt with them without much trouble. However..."

Ali's voice became somewhat worried.

“They seem to already know that this is a base of operations. I’m worried that they will come back in the future, and they might come with something even more powerful.”

Chen Yang's eyes narrowed slightly as he offered words of comfort.

"Don't worry too much. I've seen a lot of the Special Administration Bureau's new equipment and medicines this time, and they're quite powerful. When I get back, I'll try to get some for you too, and I'll also transfer some of my best men over to strengthen the defenses."

"We must not only protect this mountain god temple, but also develop it! Perhaps in the future, it can become a pure land for cultivation, just like our Qingwei Sect. At that time, you, Gu Jinghui, Uncle Li, and the others will be the founding ancestors."

"Ugh, what's this about a founding ancestor? It sounds like such a hassle!"

Ali said coquettishly from the other side.

"I don't want to be one. Let Gu Jinghui and Uncle Li worry about these things! I just want everyone to be safe and sound, and for the Mountain God Temple to be safe and sound."

Chen Yang was amused by her reaction. After chatting for a few more minutes, he hung up the phone after Ali repeatedly told him to "be careful and come back soon."

Before the smile on his face had completely faded, the air around him rippled slightly, and the somewhat illusory figure of the woman's remnant spirit quietly appeared.

She looked at Chen Yang, a faint smile playing on her lips.

"Was that your girlfriend at the mountain temple you were talking to just now?"

Chen Yang nodded, without denying it.

"Yes, it's her. Besides her, there's another one in the mountain god's temple, um... a friend in a similar state to you, also a spirit, named Nie Xiaoqian. You might have something in common."

A hint of curiosity flashed in the woman's remnant spirit eyes.

"Really? We're both spirits, and both dwell in secluded places in this world... It's quite a coincidence. You said you'd send me there?" (End of Chapter)