The Masked Men

Golden Bell Temple.

The rear courtyard's meditation chambers.

Two barbarians disguised as monks knelt on prayer cushions.

Outside the door, the clash of weapons and screams rang out without end.

"Helm Master."

The sharp-mouthed monk was restless with unease. "Xiang Tingchun has sent men to surround Golden Bell Temple. What do we do? If the Jade Key also falls into their hands, then wouldn't that..."

The man called the Helm Master remained rather calm.

He took a piece of jade from his robes and handed it to the sharp-mouthed monk.

"Helm Master?!"

The sharp-mouthed monk looked panicked. "Absolutely not! This immortal treasure is of tremendous importance. How could you place it in my hands?"

"Xiang Tingchun knows me."

The Helm Master said blandly, "He will definitely cling to me like a leech. With the item on me, it is less safe instead. I will hold off that Xiang fellow. Find a way to escape. If there truly is no way, hide the Jade Key."

The sharp-mouthed monk carefully accepted the item. "Are we truly to be buried here today? It is all that damned traitor's fault. He actually brought the immortal treasure here and handed it over on a silver platter! Otherwise, the Tuoba and Yuwen tribes would already have united the grasslands and broken through the Great Sheng Imperial Court to replace it. That day would be just around the corner!"

"There is no need for such panic."

The middle-aged man truly resembled an enlightened Eminent Monk. His words were gentle and composed. "Even if we fail, the Cult Leader and the Great Khan still have contingencies. At worst, they will exchange benefits with the Old Emperor of the Sheng Dynasty.

"He is coming soon. Go."

"Yes!"

The sharp-mouthed monk secured the Jade Key, flipped out through the window, and vanished.

Bang—

A corpse crashed into the meditation chamber's wooden door like a boulder, smashing it down.

Xiang Tingchun stepped over the corpse and entered through the doorway. The Seedling Long Saber in his hand dripped blood without pause as he enunciated each word. "Give me the item."

"Alas."

The Helm Master sighed softly and drew two bronze maces from behind his back. "Lord Thousand Households does not even know what this immortal treasure is. Why go to such extravagant lengths?"

"Once you are dead, this official will naturally find out."

Saber light flashed within the meditation chamber.

Around twenty minutes after the signal arrow sounded.

People began fleeing down the mountain toward those guarding the road.

"Prepare!"

General Flag Fang raised his hand, ready to give the order.

"Help!"

"The monks of Golden Bell Temple are killing people!"

"..."

As the crowd drew nearer, the officers and soldiers saw that something was wrong.

There were at least nearly a hundred people running down the mountain.

The Witch God Cult was not an invading army. It was possible for several dozen people to sneak into the territory through remote mountain paths, but how could there be so many?

One look made it clear that most of them were common folk.

"Wait!"

General Flag Fang hurriedly stopped the archers who were about to loose their arrows and shouted at the crowd, "Stop! No one is allowed down the mountain! All of you, stop!"

"My lord, monks at Golden Bell Temple are killing people!"

"Help, my lord! Let me leave! Please let me leave!"

"..."

How could the panicked crowd possibly listen?

Shk—

General Flag Fang drew his Wild Goose Feather Saber and barked sternly, "I told you bastards to stop! Can't you understand? Whoever takes another step forward will be treated as a Witch God Cult follower and killed without mercy!"

Only at the sight of the gleaming silver blade were the people forced to halt.

Chen Sanshi watched the chaotic scene before him and knew that many innocent civilians would surely die today.

It seemed that, to avoid alerting the enemy, this Lord Thousand Households would rather let a few more civilians die.

"No one move! Whoever moves gets shot dead!"

General Flag Fang said vigilantly, "Officer Ma! Most members of the Witch God Cult are barbarians. Take a squad up there and inspect and question them one by one!"

Fortunately, they were Alien Races after all. Even if they disguised their clothing and appearance, their facial features and accents would still differ. Add questions about their family background and residence, and though it would take time, they could always be distinguished.

Seeing that they could no longer remain hidden.

The Witch God Cult followers among the crowd could no longer hold themselves back.

One man disguised as a wealthy gentleman raised his hand and struck the old man in front of him squarely in the back.

The old man sprayed a mist of blood and died on the spot.

The crowd, which had only just been brought under control, descended into chaos again. Everyone screamed and fled in every direction in blind panic.

"Brothers, kill! Carve out a bloody path—"

The Witch God Cult followers no longer bothered pretending. They revealed their concealed weapons and charged in amid the chaos.

"Do not panic!"

General Flag Fang shouted as he fought the wealthy gentleman, not forgetting to command, "Each Squad Leader's men form a unit! Cooperate with one another! Form formations and surround them to kill them!!!"

The Witch God Cult followers had clearly scattered and fled.

Thus, the number they encountered was not too great—seven or eight men, and no experts in the Bone Tempering realm. It seemed the experts had broken out in other directions.

Chen Sanshi commanded his men and worked with another banner officer to surround a one-eyed man tightly.

Zhu Tong, Wang Li, and the others wielded long spears, thrusting at the cult follower from all directions.

The man was roughly at the initial stage of Blood Refinement. Wielding twin sabers, he hacked and slashed wildly. After great difficulty, he relied on brute force to approach them, only to be driven back at once by the shield-and-saber soldiers and plunged back into bitter fighting.

Moreover, the army had a banner officer at the initial stage of Blood Refinement working alongside them. Before ten exchanges had passed, the Witch God Cult follower was riddled with openings and stabbed by the chaotic spears until his entire body was full of bloody holes.

This was the army!

Those martial sects of the jianghu did not possess this kind of Combat Power.

Chen Sanshi did not remain idle either. He drew his great bow like a full moon; the string moved, and the arrow flew.

A Wolf-fang arrow passed through a gap in the chaotic crowd and pierced straight through the face of a Witch God Cult follower over a hundred paces away. With a thud, his head was nailed to a tree trunk, and he died instantly without pain.

"Die—"

A Witch God Cult follower at the initial stage of Blood Refinement crept in from the flank, raising the crescent saber in his hand for a sneak attack.

How could Chen Sanshi's sharp hearing fail to notice him?

He had been waiting for this moment. The instant his opponent raised his saber, he turned and loosed an arrow.

The two were less than ten paces apart. The force of the Two-stone bow sent the attacker tumbling backward. Before he hit the ground, a long spear caught up with him. Its blade swept across his neck, separating head from body. Like a kicked ball, the head rolled gurgling far down the slope.

The melee did not last very long.

The army had superior numbers and soon trapped the Witch God Cult followers. No matter how stubbornly they resisted, they likely would not hold out for much longer.

"I wonder how the main battlefield is going."

Chen Sanshi looked toward Golden Bell Temple.

Had Xiang Tingchun obtained the item as he wished?

Holding the Reed Leaf Spear, he prepared to help quickly end the battle.

Rustle—

Several dozen zhang away, the Sounded of a branch snapping came from the trees.

Someone had hidden for a long time and was preparing to flee amid the chaos.

A fish that had slipped through the net!

Chen Sanshi immediately followed the sound in pursuit.

Through the forest, he saw a brownish-yellow figure flash by in the distance.

The trees ahead were thick, blocking more than half his view.

Relying on his hearing and the tracks left on the ground, Chen Sanshi pursued all the way while remaining cautious and not advancing too rashly. After all, he did not know his opponent's realm. A cautious sailor sails for ten thousand years.

Only after traveling several li and reaching open ground did he finally see the person he sought.

A bald monk with a sharp mouth and monkey-like cheeks, dressed in monk's robes. Yet his ears bore pierced holes where ornaments had once been worn, clearly not the style of a Sheng Dynasty commoner.

Chen Sanshi drew his bow and was about to fire when another group rapidly approached.

These people carried ordinary longswords. All wore black clothes and covered their faces with black cloth. There were four of them in total, and they blocked every route of escape, stopping the sharp-mouthed monk.

A third-party force?

Chen Sanshi found one of the masked men familiar. "Is that him?"

He concealed his breath and hid himself, watching in secret.