Ox Ghosts and Snake Spirits

Bang, splat!

Liu Jierong's head took Zhou Shan's Twin Peaks Pierce Ears head-on. It was as though two iron hammers had smashed down on it viciously. Explosive force burst forth, and under the crushing pressure, Liu Jierong's head immediately twisted out of shape.

His incomparably fragile eyeballs burst apart in an instant. Every tooth in his mouth was knocked out and sprayed forth with the blood. His ears had been reduced to pulp, while the cerebrum and cerebellum inside his skull had been shaken into mush.

Liu Jierong was now dead beyond all doubt. No miracle pill or wondrous medicine could save him.

With a bang, Liu Jierong crashed heavily to the ground.

Riiip!

Zhou Shan tore off a piece of his clothing and immediately covered his face, leaving only his eyes exposed.

At this moment, several dozen Black Armored Army soldiers charged in from all around.

"Commandant!"

"Lord Commandant!"

The several dozen Black Armored Army soldiers saw Liu Jierong lying on the ground.

Boom! Bang—

Zhou Shan charged into the crowd like a Demonic Beast immune to blades and spears. One Black Armored Army soldier after another was sent flying, and the heavy armor on their bodies shattered under a terrifying force.

Sweep Across a Thousand Armies!

Zhou Shan unleashed the Great Strength Vajra Leg and swept his leg in a circle.

The Black Armored Army soldiers around him all suffered broken bones and torn tendons as they toppled backward. Even when blades and spears struck Zhou Shan's legs, they only produced the clang of metal striking metal.

The several dozen Black Armored Army soldiers who had rushed into the courtyard were swiftly all brought down by Zhou Shan.

"Hahaha, so this so-called Black Armored Army is nothing more than this." Zhou Shan laughed loudly. "I am Cheng Shifei of the Vajra Sect. If you want revenge, come find me."

As he spoke, Zhou Shan used the lightness skill within the Golden Bell Shield. His body became as light as a swan's feather, and he leaped into the air, tapping several times through the void like a dragonfly skimming the water, briefly traversing the air itself.

"Fire arrows! Fire at once!"

When the remaining Black Armored Army soldiers in the commandant's residence saw Zhou Shan rise into the air, they immediately ordered a volley.

The Black Armored Army soldiers drew their bows and fired. Some even hurled the long spears in their hands as concealed weapons.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh—

In an instant, dozens of sharp arrows, long spears, and lances shot toward Zhou Shan in the air.

Golden Bell Shield!

Zhou Shan immediately raised his protective golden bell.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang—

The arrows, spears, and lances that struck Zhou Shan were immediately knocked flying.

Before long, Zhou Shan had traversed through the air to the outside of the commandant's residence, then darted swiftly toward the city gate.

On the street leading to the city gate, Zhou Shan encountered another forty-man unit of the Black Armored Army. They formed a military formation and charged at him, but Zhou Shan did not entangle himself with them. He leaped onto the rooftops and raced away.

On open, level ground, surrounding a person was easy. But within a city, let alone Luyang County having only five hundred Black Armored Army soldiers, even if there were five thousand, without an expert to restrain them, they could not possibly surround an Aperture-Opening Martial Artist.

Just like Zhou Shan, who did not clash with the Black Armored Army head-on but simply leaped onto the rooftops and fled at speed, the Black Armored Army on the streets could only stare helplessly, even if they formed military formations.

Ordinary bows, arrows, blades, and spears could not harm Zhou Shan at all.

"I'm leaving!"

Before long, Zhou Shan arrived beneath the city wall. Circulating his inner force, he sprang upward, his toes tapping repeatedly against the wall. Borrowing the force of the wall, he flew ever higher, soon vaulted onto the city wall, and then jumped down from it.

Very quickly, Zhou Shan vanished into the night.

With a Black Armored Army commandant and captain killed, Luyang County was destined not to have a peaceful night.

But that had nothing to do with Zhou Shan. Once outside Luyang County, he headed straight back to Qingyang City. At the commandant's residence, he had declared the name of the Vajra Sect. If the Black Armored Army investigated, they would investigate in the direction of the Vajra Sect.

Zhou Shan had done this precisely so that the Black Armored Army would intensify its pursuit of the Vajra Sect's surviving members.

The Golden Bell Shield Cultivation Technique could only be cultivated up to the Innate Realm. He was already an Aperture-Opening Martial Artist. For another martial artist to break through from the Aperture-Opening Realm to the Innate Realm would take decades, and some might never reach it in their entire lives.

Even a Martial Dao genius blessed with exceptional talent would require several years.

But Zhou Shan possessed the Nine Breaths Assimilation talent. One day of cultivation could increase his inner force by a year. It would not be long before he broke through to the Innate Realm and became a Martial Dao Grandmaster.

At that point, he would need the Golden Bell Shield's advanced Cultivation Technique, the Indestructible Vajra Skill, to undergo Marrow Cleansing Blood Changing and become a Supreme Martial Dao Grandmaster. And the Indestructible Vajra Skill was still in the hands of the Vajra Sect's surviving members.

Although other Cultivation Techniques could also be used for Marrow Cleansing Blood Changing, compared to that, obtaining the Indestructible Vajra Skill held by the Vajra Sect would be easier. After all, Cultivation Techniques of that caliber were controlled by major sects.

If he could not obtain the Indestructible Vajra Skill, Zhou Shan would have no choice but to remain in the Black Armored Army, accumulate military merit, and exchange it for a Cultivation Technique from the Guiyuan Sect that could enable Marrow Cleansing Blood Changing.

Meanwhile, in Luyang County.

Although Zhou Shan had already escaped the city, the Black Armored Army immediately mobilized as well. Together with the ordinary soldiers, they sealed off the entire city. At the same time, a captain promptly reported the deaths of Commandant Liu Jierong and Captain Liu Xuan to Qingyang City.

A sharp eagle cry rang out.

Immediately afterward, a streak of azure light tore through the sky and flew out of Luyang County.

It was the Demonic Beast Green Scaled Eagle, one of the Demonic Beasts raised by the Guiyuan Sect. It flew at incredible speed, capable of covering several hundred kilometers in one hour, and was specifically used to transmit intelligence.

"What did you say? Someone from the Vajra Sect killed a Black Armored Army commandant?"

At the Hundred Herbs Gang in Luyang County, Gang Leader Huang Maoquan revealed a shocked expression upon hearing his subordinate's report.

"I understand. You may leave." Huang Maoquan waved his hand, dismissing the man, then thought to himself, No, I must inform the Hall Master of this. He needs to leave the city as soon as possible, lest the Black Armored Army uncover him.

Huang Maoquan immediately left the room and arrived at an underground secret chamber. Standing before its door, he said respectfully, "Hall Master, this subordinate has a matter to report."

"What is it?"

A dignified voice came from inside the secret chamber.

"This subordinate has received word that a Black Armored Army commandant has been killed. The Black Armored Army will surely place the entire city under martial law and begin a search. If Hall Master remains in the city, there is a risk of exposure."

Huang Maoquan spoke solemnly.

"Who did it?"

"They say it was the Vajra Sect," Huang Maoquan said. "That person even left behind a name: Cheng Shifei."

"Impossible." At that moment, the secret chamber door opened, and a man in blue stepped out. He said in a low voice, "The surviving members of the Vajra Sect are cooperating with our Blood Fiend Sect to deal with the Guiyuan Sect. If there were an operation, I could not possibly be unaware of it. Besides, anyone foolish enough to give his own name must have been framed."

"Hall Master, what should we do now?"

Huang Maoquan asked.

"With a Black Armored Army commandant dead, they will certainly search the entire city for Vajra Sect members. I will leave the city and lie low for a while." The man in blue said, "While I am gone, put the task of transporting medicinal herbs on hold."

"Yes, Hall Master!"

Huang Maoquan clasped his fists.

Meanwhile, at the Xu Family residence in Luyang County.

"It could not have been one of our sect's disciples." An old man in gray robes shook his head, then frowned deeply. "Which force would dare frame my Vajra Sect?"

"Elder, what should we do next?"

The Xu Family Patriarch asked.

This gray-robed elder was an elder of the Vajra Sect.

The Xu Family, Luyang County's wealthiest merchant family, was a force secretly supported by the Vajra Sect.

Aside from the upper ranks of the Vajra Sect, few knew of the relationship between the Xu Family and the Vajra Sect.

"The Black Armored Army will certainly conduct a thorough search of the entire city next. I will leave the city for a time and wait until the storm has passed."

The gray-robed elder spoke gravely.

"We spent no small price to finally smooth things over with Commandant Liu, only for him to be killed." The Xu Family Patriarch sighed. "When the Black Armored Army sends another commandant, we will have to smooth things over all over again."

"It is nothing more than spending some additional silver." The gray-robed elder said in a low voice, "While I am gone, cease all operations and wait for the storm to pass."

"I understand."

The Xu Family Patriarch nodded.

Although Luyang County was now sealed off,

the Blood Fiend Sect Hall Master and the Vajra Sect elder were both Aperture-Opening Martial Artists. Escaping the city was no difficult matter for them.