A Martial Saint in Chaotic Times: Starting with Grinding Proficiency

Chapter 94 Marrow Cleansing Encirclement, a Deadly Situation

As Zhou Yuan and Xue Min led dozens of patrol soldiers and sped out of the city, several shadows slowly appeared at the corner of the long street.

The hunched figure at the head of the group was the elder among the five members of the Dark Abyss.

"It's truly a stroke of luck," the burly man, ranked fifth, chuckled. "This Zhou Yuan not only stepped out of the patrol office's shell on his own, but also took the initiative to run out of the city."

"The centurion of the patrol battalion next to him is Xue Min, one of the Three Heroes of Luochuan," the thin man reminded him. "His cultivation has reached the peak of the Yi Jin Realm, and it is said that he has a secret technique that allows him to contend with experts in the Xi Sui Realm."

"She's just a woman, what can she possibly do?" The fifth brother said dismissively.

"We must not be careless," the elder in the lead said hoarsely. "The two of them working together are quite troublesome. We must act according to circumstances on this trip."

Upon hearing this, the others abandoned their contempt and followed silently.

Luochuan County has a strategic location, bordered by the Caohe River to the south and the Heifeng Mountain to the north.

To the east and west lie vast hills and plains, dotted with hundreds of villages and fortresses.

Yanling Fortress is one of the most inconspicuous ones.

On the official road, the sound of horses' hooves echoed.

Zhou Yuan pulled on the reins, his gaze sweeping over the desolate hills around him.

This place is remote and sparsely populated, making it an ideal location for murder, robbery, ambush, and annihilation.

He turned his head to look at the dashing woman beside him.

"Commander Xue".

"What is it?" Xue Min looked straight ahead without turning around.

"I've heard that Commander Xue, one of the Three Heroes of Luochuan, possesses the strength to challenge even a Marrow Cleansing Realm expert. What do you mean by that?"

Xue Min finally turned her head and glanced at him, seemingly puzzled as to why he had asked such a question.

But she still answered frankly, "Within a hundred moves, I can guarantee no defeat against an ordinary Marrow Cleansing Realm cultivator. After a hundred moves, my qi and blood will be exhausted, and I will no longer be a match for them."

She realized what she had just said.

"Inspector Zhou suspects that there is a master of the Marrow Cleansing Realm among this group of bandits?"

Zhou Yuan did not answer directly.

"Prepare for the enemy with leniency."

Upon hearing this, Xue Min's beautiful brows furrowed slightly, but quickly relaxed, revealing the confidence of a daughter of a military family.

"Within Luochuan, there are only about twenty people who can be considered experts at the Marrow Cleansing Realm, even if you include all the bandits. If you encounter them, I will hold them off, and you can quickly go and report back."

Zhou Yuan simply smiled faintly, neither confirming nor denying.

After traveling for about an hour, a fortified village built halfway up the mountain finally came into view.

The fortress is surrounded by low, rugged, and sturdy walls built of mountain stones.

There is only one winding mountain road leading in and out of the fortified village.

However, Yanling Fortress was unusually quiet at this moment.

There was no firelight inside the fortress, nor could one hear a sound of human voices; it was like a deathly, ghost town.

On the mountain road, several corpses of patrol soldiers could already be seen, lying haphazardly in pools of blood.

Xue Min called the men who had led the way to her.

"Where is Inspector Lü?"

The leader of the gang of thugs quickly replied, "When we escaped, Inspector Lü was leading his men in a fierce battle with bandits in the center of the fortress."

Fierce battle?

Xue Min became even more wary.

There wasn't a sound of fighting to be heard here, so Lü Chong and his group were probably already in grave danger.

But when she thought of the task assigned by the county magistrate—to investigate the disappearance of the Bone Forging Realm martial artist—she suppressed her intention to back down.

She and Zhou Yuan exchanged a glance, both seeing the seriousness in each other's reactions.

"Into the fort!"

Xue Min waved her hand and led her team into Yanling Fort.

Although the village is remote, it still has several hundred households and the streets are relatively wide.

Several main roads lead directly to the square in the center of the village.

They hadn't gone far when a soldier let out a cry of alarm.

"There are so many corpses ahead!"

Zhou Yuan took a few steps forward and, sure enough, saw a large number of corpses lying on both sides of the street.

There were garrison soldiers from the patrol and inspection offices, but there were many more ordinary, unarmed civilians.

Men, women, young and old, none were spared.

This band of mountain bandits actually slaughtered the entire village.

Zhou Yuan's brows furrowed slowly.

Xue Min, standing to the side, also had a somber expression.

As a centurion in the patrol battalion, she had dealt with bandits countless times and knew their cruelty all too well. But such an inhumane massacre also ignited a fire of anger in her heart.

"Maintain formation, advance!"

Xue Min waved his hand, and the patrol soldiers behind him immediately raised their shields, assumed a defensive posture, and cautiously advanced.

Another half incense stick's time passed.

The group stepped over the increasing number of corpses and finally arrived at the square in the center of the fortress.

The sight before them made everyone gasp in shock.

The square was in complete disarray.

The corpses were piled up like mountains, and the crimson blood flowed into streams, disappearing into the unknown.

The air was filled with a nauseating smell of blood.

A pack of wild dogs were surrounding the pile of corpses, tearing and gnawing at them frantically.

The most eye-catching feature is the tall archway in the center of the square.

The three large characters "Yanlingbao" are written in vermilion on the archway.

Several figures were hanging prominently on the crossbeams of the archway.

One of them was Lü Chong, the patrol inspector of the southern city.

Beside him were several taxi drivers whom Zhou Yuan recognized.

Zhou Yuan's expression froze instantly.

Without the slightest hesitation, he found a large bow, bent it, and nocked an arrow.

The movements were completed in one smooth motion.

call out!call out!call out!

Several whooshing sounds rang out, and the ropes suspending the corpses snapped.

Several figures fell from mid-air.

"alert!"

Xue Min reacted quickly and immediately waved her hand.

The guards under her command immediately dispersed, firmly controlling all the exits of the square.

Zhou Yuan quickly stepped forward and bent down to check Lü Chong's injuries.

The injuries were extremely severe.

His chest was caved in, and countless bones in his body were broken; he was only hanging on by a faint breath.

As for the taxi drivers next to them, they had already died.

Seemingly sensing someone approaching, Lü Chong laboriously opened his eyes.

When he finally saw Zhou Yuan's figure clearly, an extreme fear appeared in his unfocused pupils.

He opened his mouth, and with his last bit of strength, he managed to utter a few words, albeit haltingly.

"Retreat—retreat quickly—"

"There is—a marrow cleansing—"

Before he could finish speaking...

On rooftops from all directions and deep within alleyways, countless figures suddenly emerged.

There were mountain bandits dressed in various colored leather armor, and mysterious people shrouded in black robes.

There were hundreds of them, densely packed together.

In an instant, the entire square was packed with people.

Upon seeing this, Xue Min's heart sank.

There are so many of these thieves!

But what made her feel even more suffocated was that three figures had appeared on the high platform at the top of the archway at some unknown time.

The three figures stood silently, yet they exuded three terrifying auras that were as deep and unfathomable as a mountain.

They were all at the Marrow Cleansing Realm!

The person on the far left is wearing a black robe, and his appearance is not visible.

But Xue Min recognized the two people next to him!

Black Wind Mountain, Green Dragon Village!

Chief Chief, Zhao Qingfeng!

Second Chieftain, Duan Fei!

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