Esoteric Sect Assassin (I)
Huayang City is one of the five major cities near the Tianya Mountain Range.
The Ming Dynasty possessed dozens of large cities, but only five cities bordering the Tianya Mountain Range were controlled by Dark Forces. The other cities were almost entirely under the control of the imperial court. The court seemed to have a tacit agreement with the Tianya Mountain Range: these five cities were entrusted to the Mountain Bandits of the Tianya Mountain Range, but they were forbidden from setting foot in the other cities. These five cities were renowned throughout the six kingdoms as both paradise and decadent paradises. The pleasures they offered were virtually limitless.
These five cities only had a few dozen Yamen Runners, which were purely for show, because the other cities of the Ming Dynasty had nearly 10,000 soldiers. This also shows who the real owners of these five cities were. Of course, Wind and Rain City, one of the five cities, had nearly 100,000 soldiers, because Wind and Rain City was also a pass to defend against the Yuan Mongolia Kingdom! Hundreds of years ago, the Yuan Mongolia Mongol Kingdom swept through the other five countries, making the emperor of the Ming Dynasty never dare to trust the Yuan Mongolia Kingdom.
Instead of paying taxes to the Yamen, various industries in the city pay taxes to different factions. Each faction has nearly a thousand people here, and the struggle between them is extremely fierce. Neighboring factions often fight each other, perhaps over who gets the tax from a teahouse!
However, the power struggle in Huayang City came to an end because of the appearance of one person, who is now the boss who occupies half of Huayang City — Xiao Lin!
Xiao Lin swiftly merged six of the twelve western powers, becoming the biggest winner in the western chaos—though this achievement now belonged to Zhang Xingfeng. The Zhu Family, located near the west and already immensely powerful, also merged with four of the twelve powers. The Wang Family, controlled by the Zhang Family and led by Wang Tong, also merged with two of the twelve powers, significantly increasing their influence. The Chiyou Clan, Yu, Chen, and the largest Lin family, being too far away, received no benefit.
Under Xiao Lin's leadership, Zhang Xingfeng advanced towards Huayang City. This time, Xiao Lin was very decisive and did not bring any servants, only his wife. Iron Head stayed at the main camp to train the Iron Blood Army!
A strange smile suddenly appeared on Zhang Xingfeng's lips, but he continued walking as usual.
Xiao Lin was currently embracing Hong Xiao, completely ignoring his junior brother Xiao Lin Zhang Xingfeng, leaving him standing to the side. Suddenly, Xiao Lin's smiling face lost its smile, and his brows furrowed slightly! But in an instant, he revealed the same strange smile as Zhang Xingfeng —a smile of amusement.
Xiao Lin suddenly stopped and didn't move. Hong Xiao looked at her husband in confusion. Xiao Lin winked at her playfully. Hong Xiao knew what her husband meant, so she didn't say anything and just snuggled up to Xiao Lin.
Zhang Xingfeng stopped abruptly, maintaining a short distance from Xiao Lin —a distance Zhang Xingfeng deliberately kept. He didn't want those people to be so foolish as to provoke him.
"Call out!"...
Suddenly, the sound of bowstrings rang out all around, and arrows shot straight at Xiao Lin and Hong Xiao. Xiao Lin remained unmoved, using his height to pull Hong Xiao completely into his arms. The arrows struck Xiao Lin directly.
"Bang!" The tip of the arrow struck as if hitting a block of iron, the sound crisp and clear. Xiao Lin, who cultivated External Cultivation, was not someone these few arrows could harm. You must know that External Cultivation are extremely difficult to master. Ordinary people cannot even break through to the Innate Realm unless they have solidified Innate Primordial Qi throughout their body. Otherwise, they can only reach the Fifth Rank at most! The physical bodies of masters of External Cultivation arts are so strong that they can directly face the attacks of masters of the same level without any effect, and they can completely ignore masters of lower levels!
It seems the enemy also knows the power of Xiao Lin's External Cultivation; this arrow was probably just meant to put Hong Xiao in a slight threat! Zhang Xingfeng thought so, and Xiao Lin thought so too, but the enemy didn't think so!
A sharp whistling sound Void Breaker as an arrow, a golden arrow shrouded in golden light, hurtled towards Xiao Lin's back at astonishing speed! Zhang Xingfeng sensed the power of the golden arrow in an instant. He believed that an expert archer possessed at least the strength of a first-rank master, or even a Heavenly Realm expert. Although Xiao Lin had just reached the Golden Core Stage, his physical body had not undergone further cultivation! Danger!
But Zhang Xingfeng didn't move! He trusted his junior brother, he trusted Pangu's vision, and most importantly, he trusted the Splitting Hail Axe within Xiao Lin's body!
"Bang!" A glint flashed in Xiao Lin's eyes, and suddenly a giant axe stood between Xiao Lin and the golden arrow. Faced with a top-tier immortal artifact, the golden arrow could only helplessly "boom!" and turn into dust.
"Clap! Clap! Clap!" The sound of clapping rang out, and a middle-aged man dressed in yellow stepped forward. Behind him were more than a dozen men in black, each carrying a giant bow on their back, while the man in yellow carried a golden bow! His quiver was also filled with many golden arrows. It seemed this man in yellow was at least very wealthy.
To Xiao Lin's astonishment, Zhang Xingfeng, standing under the tree, did not attract any attention from the men in yellow. This was actually the result of comprehending and understanding nature, merging oneself with heaven and earth. Experts could not sense any human aura at all, and Zhang Xingfeng was in the blind spot of the men in yellow.
Moreover, the man in yellow was no ordinary person; he was Gu Qi, the chief disciple of the Grand Elder of Esoteric Buddhism, holding a revered position within the Esoteric Sect with countless disciples and grand-disciples. He was somewhat disdainful of being sent by the Great Elder to deal with Xiao Lin. He believed that his Heavenly Realm strength allowed him to sense everyone within a one-mile radius, and he had sensed Xiao Lin and Hong Xiao from the beginning, assuming there were only two of them.
"Xiao Lin, your kung fu is really quite good. You should still bow down!" Gu Qi's voice was ethereal, without any pressure, as if a good friend was advising him.
Xiao Lin raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh, you're from the Esoteric Sect!"
Gu Qi smiled slightly and said, "You're very smart. You should know why I came to kill you!"
Xiao Lin laughed wildly, then suddenly his eyes flashed with lightning as he stared at Gu Qi and said, "Of course, of course I know. It turns out that almost all of the twelve forces in the west were originally tribes from the Yuan Mongolia who migrated to the Tianya Mountain Range. Your Esoteric Sect also controlled most of these twelve forces. But because of my appearance, your Esoteric Sect completely lost all twelve forces, without even gaining a single benefit. Aren't you frustrated? Hahaha..." Xiao Lin seemed quite smug.
Gu Qi wasn't angry at all. He just looked at Xiao Lin with a slightly pitiful expression, then suddenly sighed to the sky, "Xiao Lin, you are also a hero of your generation, but today you are destined to die! I know your personal strength. On the surface, you are at the second rank, but I estimate you should be at the first rank. But even if you are a master of the Heavenly Realm, you will still die here!" Gu Qi suddenly changed his expression from before, becoming extremely fierce! A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.
"Then stop talking nonsense and get to work. I need to accompany my wife to Dragon Soaring Jade Shop in Huayang City to buy some things for her!" Xiao Lin seemed very impatient, as if the person in front of him was a petty thief blocking his way, whom he could eliminate with a wave of his hand.
Gu Qi wasn't angry. He simply waved his right hand slightly, and twelve black-clad experts immediately surrounded Xiao Lin. Zhang Xingfeng couldn't help but laugh. Why? Because these twelve black-clad men were using the Twelve Heavenly Gate Array of the Ming Dynasty. When Zhang Xingfeng left home and encountered Li Da and his group, Zhang Yu had used the Twelve Heavenly Gate Array to deal with him. Seeing the Twelve Heavenly Gate Array now, he felt a sense of familiarity.
The Twelve Heavenly Gate Array was considered an ordinary formation in the Ming Dynasty. In the eyes of the Yuan Mongolia, even if they used formations, they could only use the second-rate formations of the Ming Dynasty. However, even a second-rate formation is still a formation, and it still has power.
Most importantly, these twelve men in black all seemed to possess the strength of a second-rank cultivator. The person who set up the formation was powerful, and even if the formation was second-rate, its power was terrifying! Xiao Lin clearly sensed this.
"Death Gate—Absolute!" Gu Qi said softly, her voice very low.
The twelve men in black conjured golden light from their hands, forming the golden hand seals of the Esoteric Sect. The twenty golden hand seals detached from the twelve men in black, forming a net that enveloped Xiao Lin and Hong Xiao.
Xiao Lin, having reached the Golden Core Stage, clearly Spiritual Sense the power of the golden handprint! A sudden jolt ran through him. Even if he could withstand it, what about Hong Xiao, who only possessed Fifth Rank strength? Faced with this attack, Xiao Lin wasn't confident he could completely protect Hong Xiao. Zhang Xingfeng Xiao Lin thought of his senior brother, but his Spiritual Sense detected Zhang Xingfeng's demeanor; he clearly seemed to be enjoying the spectacle.
"Ah!" Xiao Lin suddenly roared. He had initially wanted to hold back his strength, but now he was going to let those Esoteric Sect guys know his true power!
A sudden burst of white light emanated from Xiao Lin's body! The white light materialized, clinging tightly to his skin like a garment. As if clad in a white armor, Xiao Lin exuded the aura of a war god, his domineering presence undiminished, and the Splitting Hail Axe instantly flew into Xiao Lin hand! With the axe in hand, nothing could stand in his way!
However, the twenty-four golden handprints released by the twelve black-clad masters suddenly converged at this moment, transforming into a much smaller, blood-red handprint— the Blood Hand Seal!
Zhang Xingfeng's expression changed instantly. He sensed the terrifying power of the Blood Hand Seal, and he understood why the incredibly powerful Tantric Esoteric Sect of Yuan Mongolia only used the Twelve Heavenly Gate Array.
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