Becoming a Saint Starting with the Chasing Wind Leg Technique

Chapter 183 Improvement

He knew that wiping out the southern route would inevitably alert the enemy in the north and Sheng Huaixu, prompting a counterattack.

The real battles are probably yet to come. But he is fearless; his gun, already stained with blood, is eager for the next fight.

The night sky over Tianshui City was still shrouded in dark clouds, but it seemed that a glimmer of light had begun to appear from the south of the city. Though faint, it resolutely tore through the darkness and illuminated the way forward.

About thirty miles north of Tianshui City, in a secluded mountain valley, a campfire crackled, illuminating two gloomy and fierce faces.

The man on the left was exceptionally tall and robust, almost two meters tall, with broad shoulders and a thick waist. His skin was an unhealthy bluish-black color, and his face was covered with several hideous scars, especially one that cut diagonally from his forehead to his chin, almost splitting his nose in two, making him look extremely terrifying.

He wore sleeveless leather armor, revealing his muscular, scarred arms. Beside him leaned a heavy, ghost-headed sword, almost the size of a door, its blade thick and gleaming with a dark red, bloody light.

This man is one of the two mid-stage Refining Realm leaders sent by the Blood Lotus Sect to blockade the north of the city. His nickname is "Mountain-Opening Ghost" Tu Gang. He is known for his immense strength and ferocious swordsmanship. It is said that he once split open a city gate with a single slash. He is a famous and fierce general in the Blood Lotus Sect.

The person on the right was relatively short and stocky, dressed in an inconspicuous gray cloth outfit. He was thin, with a sallow complexion, and looked like a chronically ill tuberculosis patient.

But his eyes were unusually bright and sharp, like those of a hawk; his fingers were long and slender with distinct knuckles, and his nails were dark purple, clearly coated with deadly poison. Hanging at his waist were a pair of strangely shaped, water-splitting Emei daggers, their tips gleaming with a faint blue light.

This person was another leader, nicknamed "Poisonous Scholar" Liu Wumei. He was treacherous and cunning, skilled in using poison and hidden weapons, and meticulous in his thinking. He was Tu Gang's strategist.

Behind the two stood two fierce-looking early-stage Refining Realm martial artists, their capable subordinates.

"Boss Tu, Mr. Liu," a subordinate emerged from the shadows and bowed to report, "the brother we sent to make contact in the south of the city hasn't returned yet. According to the agreement, we should have received news half an hour ago."

Tu Gang frowned and said in a gruff voice, "What's Wu Feng up to? Is he trying to steal Song Jing's head for himself again, so he can claim credit with the Tenth Elder?"

Liu Wumei's sallow face remained expressionless as she gently tapped her knee with her fingers, slowly saying, "Wu Feng is indeed prone to greed and recklessness. But—he still has four early-stage Refining Realm cultivators under his command, Chen Yanzhou is critically injured and on the verge of death, and Song Jing is only at the Bone Forging Realm. Taking them down would be a piece of cake. Why did he need to delay for so long? And even forget to exchange information?"

His voice was high-pitched, with a metallic, abrasive quality that made it very unpleasant to listen to.

Tu Gang snorted: "Why should we care? Maybe they're in the heat of the moment, or maybe that little brat Song Jing is a bit slippery and took a little extra effort. Let's just wait and see."

Liu Wumei shook her head, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes: "That's not right. Although Wu Feng is greedy, he is not someone who doesn't know what's good for him. Elder Gan has strictly ordered the blockade of key roads and the killing of anyone who tries to enter or leave Tianshui City, especially Chen Yanzhou and Song Jing."

If he had succeeded, logically he should have immediately sent someone to inform us, discuss the next steps, or boast about his achievement. Now there's been no word from him—this suggests something has gone wrong.

"An unexpected turn of events?" Tu Gang scoffed. "What could possibly happen? Could it be that Chen Yanzhou had a sudden burst of energy before he died and killed Wu Feng?"

Is that brat Song Jing going to cause any trouble?

"Scholar Liu, you're overthinking things!"

Liu Wumei ignored Tu Gang's taunts, pondered for a moment, and then instructed her subordinate, "Send two more clever brothers to carefully check the south side of the city. Don't reveal your presence. Report back immediately if you find anything!"

"Yes!" The subordinate accepted the order and left.

Tu Gang, growing impatient, grabbed a wine flask beside him and took a large gulp. Wiping his mouth, he said, "If you ask me, we should just storm into Tianshui City, kill those Chen Yanzhou and Song Jing, and that damned magistrate, slaughter the city, loot everything, and then go back to report to the Tenth Elder! Why bother waiting here and getting frustrated!"

Liu Wumei glanced at him coldly: "Boss Tu, Elder Gan's order is to blockade and wait for the army to encircle us, so that we can finish the job in one battle."

Although Tianshui City was weak, it was still a county town with city walls to defend it and powerful crossbows.

We are short-handed, and even if we can take it by force, the losses will be significant. Don't forget, although the Ninth Elder is holding off Pingtianmen, there's no guarantee that other experts aren't aware of the situation. A cautious approach is best.

Although Tu Gang was not convinced, he knew that Liu Wumei was right, and he dared not disobey Elder Gan's orders, so he had no choice but to drink a few more mouthfuls of wine.

Time ticked by, and the atmosphere in the valley grew increasingly oppressive. The men sent to investigate still hadn't returned.

Tu Gang's patience was wearing thin. He paced back and forth anxiously, his heavy footsteps thumping on the ground.

Liu Wumei stopped tapping her knees and instead squinted, gazing towards the south of the city. Her sallow face was slightly furrowed.

Finally, after nearly an hour, one of the men sent out scrambled back, his face ashen and his eyes filled with terror. Before he even reached them, he screamed, "Boss Tu! Mr. Liu! Something terrible has happened!"

Tu Gang and Liu Wumei stood up at the same time, their faces darkening.

"What's the panic! Explain yourself!" Tu Gang shouted.

The henchman, panting heavily, stammered, "South—south! Boss Wu and the rest—are all—all dead!"

"What?!" Tu Gang and Liu Wumei exclaimed simultaneously, their faces showing disbelief and shock for the first time.

"Did you see clearly? Wu Feng is dead too?!" Liu Wumei stepped in front of his subordinate and asked sharply.

"Look—look closely!" The subordinate swallowed hard, his voice trembling. "They're all dead! Boss Wu, and Zhao Mang, Wen Qing, Qian Bao, Mo Jiu, all dead! Their bodies are on the hillside ten miles to the south, blood—blood is everywhere!"

"How did you die?" Liu Wumei pressed, her voice icy.

"They all died from sharp weapons! Most of them were gunshot wounds! Throat, heart, forehead—all were fatal with a single blow! Clean and swift! Boss Wu—besides the gunshot wounds, Boss Wu also seemed to have knife wounds, but the fatal wound was also a gunshot wound through the heart! Look at those wounds—the person who used the gun was extremely skilled and ruthless, definitely a master gunman!" The subordinate recalled the horrific scene, still feeling lingering fear.

"A master of guns?" Tu Gang's eyes widened like copper bells, flashing with a fierce light. "Could it be that old dog Chen Yanzhou? Even with his serious injuries, he still has such strength?"

"No, even at his peak, killing Wu Feng wouldn't be that easy, let alone killing all four early-stage Refining Realm cultivators and escaping."

Liu Wumei's face turned extremely ugly. He paced back and forth a few steps, then suddenly stopped, his eyes flashing with cold light: "It wasn't Chen Yanzhou! If it were Chen Yanzhou at his peak, perhaps he could have done it, but he's seriously injured, that's a fact. It's impossible for him to kill five people so swiftly! Moreover, besides the gunshot wounds, there were palm prints, fist prints, and even traces of poison needle backlash at the scene—it wasn't just one person who attacked! Or rather, the person who killed those early-stage fodder and the person who killed Wu Feng might not be the same person, but they are both experts with guns!"

"More than one expert with guns?" Tu Gang was even more confused. "Besides Chen Yanzhou, who else in Tianshui City is a gun expert who can reach this level?"

Those martial arts school owners?

Is it still that same county magistrate, He Tianxiong?

Although they were also at the Refining Realm, they were at most at the early stage, and they were not skilled in spear techniques!

Liu Wumei did not answer. His brows were furrowed, as if he was thinking rapidly: "Could it be—reinforcements sent by Pingtianmen from the prefectural city? They had anticipated that we would block the north-south thoroughfares and sent experts to meet us in advance?"

No—impossible! The Ninth Elder is personally overseeing things in the prefectural city, and the Tenth Elder is keeping the Pingtianmen branch in check. They couldn't possibly send experts over silently without being detected! Unless—”

A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes: "Unless it's the Pingtianmen headquarters, or the imperial court sending a secret expert?"

But even he himself found the idea absurd. Tianshui City was merely a small border town; what merit did it possess to attract such important figures?

"Who on earth is it?!" Tu Gang roared in fury, kicking a nearby rock to pieces. "How dare they kill five members of my Blood Lotus Sect, especially at the Refining Realm! I'll find them, tear them to pieces, skin them alive!"

A violent killing intent erupted from him, terrifying the messenger who had brought the message so much that he collapsed to the ground.

Liu Wumei remained relatively calm, but her eyes were filled with killing intent and seriousness: "Whoever it was, to be able to silently eliminate Wu Feng and his group of five, their strength is absolutely not to be underestimated. They are at least top-tier experts in the mid-stage of the Divine Refinement realm, and may even be in the late-stage! Moreover, the opponent used a gun—a master of guns—"

He scanned the list of known gun-wielding experts in Tianshui City and the surrounding area, eliminating them one by one, but still had no clue.

"Boss Tu, this is no small matter," Liu Wumei said in a deep voice. "With Wu Feng and his four companions killed, we have lost our ability to blockade the south of the city. The enemy has likely already entered Tianshui City, or is nearby."

We must report this matter to the Tenth Elder and Master Sheng immediately! At the same time, strengthen our defenses to prevent a surprise attack!

"Report it?" Tu Gang's anger hadn't subsided. "I'll lead my men into Tianshui City right now and drag that gun-wielding bastard out!"

"No!" Liu Wumei said sternly, "The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light. Their strength is unknown, and they were able to eliminate Wu Feng and his group of five silently. They are no easy opponents."

If we act rashly, we may very well repeat the same mistakes!

The most urgent task is to figure out who our opponent is and what their objectives are!

"Immediately dispatch someone at top speed to report this matter to the Tenth Elder and Altar Master Sheng! Also, warn Altar Master Sheng to be careful; the other party might be targeting us, or—it might be targeting the Zhou family, or even him!"

When the name "Master Sheng" (Sheng Huaixu) was mentioned, Tu Gang calmed down a bit.

Although Sheng Huaixu's strength was similar to theirs, his special status made him a favorite of the Ten Elders and one of the key figures in this plan, so he could not afford to lose him.

"Damn it!" Tu Gang slammed his fist into a nearby tree trunk, snapping the thick branch in two. "Those bastards got off easy! Do as you say! Send someone to report immediately! Also, keep your eyes peeled, search the area within twenty miles! Kill anyone suspicious!"

"Yes!" the subordinate replied hastily and scrambled off to make the arrangements.

Liu Wumei gazed at the pitch-black night and the faint outline of Tianshui City in the distance, her sallow face showing a mixture of emotions.

A mysterious gun master, at least at the peak of the mid-stage of the Refining Realm, suddenly appeared near Tianshui City and killed five of their best men—this undoubtedly cast a heavy shadow over the seemingly sure-fire plan to massacre the city.

"Who exactly ruined our plans?" he muttered to himself, his eyes flashing with cold light. "Whoever you are, daring to oppose my Blood Lotus Sect, I will make sure you die a horrible death!"

The night wind howled, carrying a heavy stench of blood and a chilling atmosphere, foreshadowing an even greater storm brewing.

Meanwhile, in Tianshui City, Song Jing and his companions, who had just won a minor victory, were unaware that the enemy's counterattack and an even more severe test were about to begin.

But at this moment, Song Jing's precious cultivation technique had reached a bottleneck, and he was about to break through!