My cultivation disguise has been exposed by Xiao Sizi.

In the very center of the altar, there were even several rusty samurai swords and a few dried skulls.

The translator glanced at the wooden sign at the door, his expression changed slightly, and he quickly went to Yuchi Gong's side to report.

"Lord, this seems to be a place where they enshrine fallen warriors and so-called 'heroic spirits,' it's called something like a shrine."

Yuchi Gong looked up at the dilapidated temple with its eerie atmosphere, recalling the shameless face of that famous man from earlier.

"Heroic Spirits? These spineless cowards dare to call themselves Heroic Spirits?"

Yuchi Gong sneered, snatched a burning torch from a soldier beside him, swung his arm in a wide arc, and smashed the torch into the roof of the dilapidated temple.

"Pour me some kerosene! Burn this dilapidated temple to ashes! Turn over the soil around here, don't get the soles of the Tang Dynasty's shoes dirty!"

The towering flames engulfed the primitive latrine, and amidst the billowing smoke, Yuchi Gong led his army, rushing tirelessly towards the next slaughterhouse.

……

Meanwhile, in a range of mountains deep in the heart of the island.

Qin Qiong carried two golden bronze maces as he walked along the narrow and rugged mountain path.

He did not ride a horse; the mountain path was too steep for the Tang Dynasty's warhorses to maneuver freely. Qin Huaidao was currently fighting alongside the Crown Prince in another area, while Qin Qiong was accompanied only by Xue Xiaowei, a veteran of countless battles, and behind him were five hundred silent Tang Dynasty infantrymen arranged in a long, single-file formation.

The climate here is damp and cold, and the valleys are shrouded in a layer of persistent white mist all year round.

A gentle breeze blew by, and the white mist swirled.

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!

A dozen sharp shuriken and kunai shot out from the dense forest on both sides without warning, heading straight for Qin Qiong's face and throat.

Qin Qiong didn't even blink; instead of retreating, he advanced.

He suddenly raised his right arm, and the golden mace in his hand created a golden afterimage in front of him.

A series of loud clanging sounds followed.

The hidden weapons were all knocked away by the golden mace and crashed into the woods on both sides, instantly eliciting several shrill screams. Several short figures dressed in black night clothes fell from the treetops.

"Kill." Qin Qiong's tone was calm, and his steps did not falter in the slightest.

Behind him, Captain Xue led a team of elite soldiers who darted into the dense forest like cheetahs. With a wave of his sword, he beheaded the ambushers who were not quite dead yet.

This is the fifth ambush they have encountered today.

The mountain people and ronin here are exceptionally stubborn. They dare not confront the regular army of the Tang Dynasty head-on, so they use their familiarity with the terrain to hide in the shadows and launch sneak attacks.

Qin Qiong didn't care about the harassment at all. He was like a patient old hunter, following the traces left along the way, step by step driving the resistance forces in this mountainous area into a corner.

Suddenly, the view opened up, and the mountain path came to an end, revealing a deep and vast valley.

The valley was surrounded on three sides by towering cliffs, leaving no way out. At this moment, in the center of the valley, two or three thousand Japanese ronin and samurai who had retreated here were densely packed together.

Driven to the brink of despair, their eyes bloodshot, they stared intently at the five hundred Tang soldiers who appeared at the valley entrance like wild beasts, gripping their swords and spears tightly, ready to fight like cornered animals.

A burly Japanese samurai leader with a fierce face pushed through the crowd and stepped out.

He held a four-foot-long, precious katana in both hands, its blade gleaming with a chilling light in the mist.

He pointed at Qin Qiong, let out a strange howl like a wolf, raised his sword with both hands, took big strides, and launched a desperate charge towards Qin Qiong.

Just as Captain Xue was about to step forward to fight, Qin Qiong raised his hand to stop him.

"These mere barbarians dare to claim courage."

Qin Qiong took a deep breath, and his bones made a popping sound like popping beans.

Without adopting any defensive stance, he stepped forward, twisted his waist, and suddenly exerted force with his forearm, bringing his golden mace in his right hand down with terrifying, destructive power.

The samurai leader roared and swung his sword to parry, attempting to block the attack with his hundred-times-forged katana.

Click!

The deafening clang of metal striking metal made the eardrums of those around them ache.

The famous sword, which the Japanese treasured, broke in two under the heavy blow of the golden mace.

The golden mace continued its trajectory with undiminished force, carrying a suffocating wind pressure as it slammed into the leader's chest.

His entire chest cavity collapsed instantly, and the leader's body was like being hit by a speeding carriage. He was sent flying dozens of feet away, crashing heavily into the crowd behind him, spitting blood from his mouth and nose, and died on the spot.

One move and you're dead.

The Japanese samurai in the valley were all dumbfounded, and their morale plummeted instantly.

"All troops, charge forward, leave no one alive." Qin Qiong sheathed his golden mace and coldly issued the order for the general offensive.

Five hundred Xuanjia soldiers, like tigers among sheep, unleashed a bloody storm in the secluded valley.

The fighting continued until dusk, and the ground of the entire valley was covered with a thick layer of corpses, with dark red blood pooling into a small puddle.

Captain Xue wiped the sweat from his face, stuck the dulled blade of his longsword into the soil, sat down against a stone wall at the edge of the valley, and gasped for breath.

He only felt that the stone he was leaning against was a bit uncomfortable.

Captain Xue turned around and casually rubbed the back of his hand, which was covered with iron gauntlets, against the stone wall.

Thick moss and soil were scraped off by the armor, falling down in a rustling sound.

Captain Xue was stunned.

On the surface of the stone wall, where the disguise had been scraped away, instead of the usual grayish-brown of rocks, a large expanse of dazzling white texture with a pure metallic sheen was exposed.

The light from the newly lit torch was so bright that he could barely open his eyes.

He suddenly stood up, drew the short knife from his waist, and frantically chiseled at the stone wall beside him.

Large chunks of rock peeled off.

The entire stone wall, tens of feet long and several feet high, shimmered with a metallic luster that could stop your heart from beating.

That wasn't an ordinary stone; it was an entire strip of naturally occurring ore exposed on the surface, of exceptionally high quality.

Captain Xue's hands trembled as if he were having a seizure. He turned around and scrambled to Qin Qiong's side, his voice completely distorted with shock.

"Duke...this...this mountain..."

Qin Qiong strode over, looked in the direction the deputy general was pointing, and froze on the spot.

Qin Qiong ripped open the front of his shirt and frantically pulled out the communication crystal that Li Chen had given him from his pocket. He then squeezed it hard with a sudden burst of strength.