The mountain ridge was about a meter wide, uneven and rugged, difficult to traverse. On both sides lay bottomless, ten-thousand-foot abysses. Added to that were the lofty mountain and fierce winds; each time, one could only move half a small step at a time to keep their body steady.
If one took too large a step, the Great Wind would howl past, and a single lapse in footing would send them tumbling from the ridge. That was how Half-Step Many got its name. This mere twenty-odd-meter ridge had become the natural fortress of Mountain Crossing Wind's bandit gang.
By the time Ye Zhen reached Half-Step Many, the sky had already gone completely dark. The mountain forest was even more shadowy and dim!
After taking in the full view of Half-Step Many, Ye Zhen drew a sharp breath. This Half-Step Many was far too perilous. Though his Snake Springing Grass could now carry him forty meters with a single crouch and spring, Ye Zhen truly had no confidence that he could use it safely here.
The uneven ridge narrowed to barely half a step at its tightest point. Near the stronghold gate, the bandits had densely scattered Iron Caltrops on both sides. If he rushed through and made the slightest misstep, he would fall into the ten-thousand-foot abyss!
With his left hand, Ye Zhen lifted Bearded Third Boss by the back of the neck, making his drooping head rise at once. With his right hand gripping Third Boss's lower back, Ye Zhen hunched behind him, using Third Boss's corpse as cover as he stepped onto Half-Step Many and slowly advanced toward Mountain Crossing Wind's lair.
"Who goes there?"
"What person is that?"
"Speak! If you don't speak, I'll shoot!"
The instant Ye Zhen stepped onto Half-Step Many, the bandits on the other side spotted his figure—or, more precisely, they spotted Bearded Third Boss's figure—and began shouting questions one after another.
The moment he spoke, he would certainly give himself away. Ye Zhen resolved not to make a sound. Since the corpse in his hands had been Mountain Crossing Wind's Third Boss, he must have held some standing among the bandits.
Figures moved about atop the bandit stronghold gate. Seeing that the newcomer did not speak, they vigorously waved their torches. By the firelight, someone sharp-eyed recognized the newcomer.
"It's Third Boss, it's Third Boss! Third Boss, where are the other brothers? Boss said you'd soon be bringing back a huge haul of goods. Why don't we see anyone else?"
Ye Zhen gave no answer, merely moving forward with utmost care. In this short span, he had already crossed half of the twenty-odd meters of Half-Step Many while holding Third Boss's corpse before him.
"Third Boss, why aren't you speaking? Are you injured?" The torches on the other side waved even more urgently. In the firelight, blood could already be seen at the corner of Third Boss's mouth.
"Third Boss?"
The bandits opposite were extremely alert. After questioning him several times without receiving a reply, they hurled a torch high from inside the gate toward Ye Zhen.
The very instant that torch was thrown, Ye Zhen knew something was wrong. He was about to be exposed!
In an instant, the tossed torch illuminated Third Boss's appearance with perfect clarity: his tightly shut eyes, his iron-blue face, the bloodstains at his lips, the gaping hollow in his collapsed chest, and his feet hanging several inches above the ground.
Almost at the same time, Ye Zhen's tongue cracked like spring thunder as he roared, "Open the gate for me, damn it! I'm injured!" As he roared, Ye Zhen instinctively tightened both hands, making Third Boss's limp head jerk upright.
"Ghost!" The more timid bandits screamed miserably when they saw it all clearly.
In the darkness, torchlight blazed, and Third Boss floated above the mountain ridge like a Fierce Ghost.
Bearded Third Boss did have some prestige among the bandits. At Ye Zhen's inexplicable, vicious roar, several bandits guarding beneath the gate instinctively pushed it open a crack.
Taking advantage of the bandits' stunned confusion, Ye Zhen dashed several steps by torchlight and immediately closed to within five meters of the gate.
"Bad! Third Boss is already dead! Someone has snuck in! Shoot, fire the arrows!" a quick-witted bandit roared.
"Quick, close the gate! It's not Third Boss!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Almost the instant the bandits shouted, Ye Zhen suddenly crouched, then sprang up, shooting toward the gate like an arrow while holding Third Boss's corpse before him. The moment he launched himself, he raised Third Boss's corpse to block the dozen or so arrows raining down from above, while True Essence densely covered his fists as he smashed toward the gate!
Bang!
Splintered wood flew in every direction.
Ye Zhen's fists struck the wooden stronghold gate like battering rams. Not only did they blast open the gate that was about to close, they also punched two holes through it. The four bandits guarding behind it spat blood as they flew backward.
After charging into the gate, Ye Zhen found torches planted everywhere, and his field of vision immediately opened up. The danger of falling off a cliff at any moment was gone. His figure flickered, and he instantly charged at two bandits who were about to shoot arrows at him.
With a light pinch of his hands, he caught both arrows. As he lunged close, he reversed his grip and thrust them out, driving the two arrows through the bandits' chests.
For a time, Ye Zhen was like a tiger charging into a flock of sheep, slaughtering the bandits until ghosts wept and wolves howled. Some bandits even dropped to their knees and begged for mercy.
Yet Ye Zhen showed not the slightest softness. Whether they were Blood Refining Realm bandits at the third or fourth layer, or ordinary bandits who knew only a little superficial martial skill, he slaughtered them all without mercy.
What had happened in the forest had already taught Ye Zhen an extraordinarily cruel and bloody lesson. Not to mention the dozen or so shriveled corpses hanging in the stronghold courtyard at this very moment.
Everything had turned this young man's heart into iron and stone in that instant!
Ye Zhen did not kill every bandit at the gate. He left two alive and allowed them to flee frantically deeper into the stronghold, while he trailed closely behind them.
Along the way, the two bandits whom Ye Zhen had spared screamed madly. From time to time, bandits who heard the commotion and did not know what was happening rushed over.
But before the current Ye Zhen, anyone below the True Essence Realm could not even last half an exchange beneath his hands. As his figure flashed and drifted, they were killed with a single palm.
Following them all the way to several shadowy houses, Ye Zhen passed one building when a bandit who was not even wearing pants suddenly leaped out and slashed at him with a saber.
Pale cyan True Essence flowed densely over the saber like water.
Without even looking, Ye Zhen threw out a Five Peaks Divine Fist through the air. Before the fist arrived, its cyan fist imprint blew the bandit's head apart like a rotten watermelon.
"Second Boss..."
The two bandits fleeing ahead like panicked beasts suddenly shrieked as if someone had seized them by the throat. One of them was so terrified that he collapsed limply to the ground.
The man Ye Zhen had casually killed with one punch was actually Mountain Crossing Wind's Second Boss.
With one palm, Ye Zhen shattered the throat of the bandit collapsed on the ground. Then he abruptly seized the neck of the only remaining bandit in sight, lifted him into the air, and demanded, "Where is Mountain Crossing Wind?"
The bandit rolled his eyes and barely raised an arm to point at the only courtyard here. The next instant, several cracking sounds rang out as Ye Zhen directly crushed his neck bones.
The instant Ye Zhen stepped into that courtyard, a bare-chested, pot-bellied man covered in chest hair strode out from the inner hall.
"Young Lady He, I'll give you another quarter of an hour to consider. Submit to me, Mountain Crossing Wind, and I absolutely won't disgrace you. Even your father will gain great benefits! Once I finish off this fly, if you still refuse, then don't blame me, Mountain Crossing Wind, for using force!"
As Mountain Crossing Wind came out of the inner hall, he was still trying to persuade the young woman tied up with ropes inside.
"I'm the fly? Then give it a try!"
Whoosh!
Ye Zhen exploded into motion, launching a Snake Springing Grass attack combined with the Five Peaks Divine Fist through the air.
Hmm?
His eyes narrowing, Mountain Crossing Wind watched Ye Zhen's fierce advance, and his expression abruptly turned incomparably grave. His palms shifted as he met Ye Zhen with a fist stance that seemed slow but was actually fast.
Bang!
The two streams of True Essence collided violently, exploding into a small whirlwind. Ye Zhen did not move from where he stood, but Mountain Crossing Wind retreated half a step.
"True Essence Second Layer cultivation?" Ye Zhen snorted coldly. His own cultivation had only just reached the late stage of the First Layer True Essence Realm, but with his incomparably pure True Essence, only someone at the True Essence Second Layer or stronger could contend with him head-on.
Mountain Crossing Wind's brows suddenly furrowed. He was greatly shocked by Ye Zhen's strength.
"Brother, which road are you from? Why are you kicking over my stall? Have we offended you somewhere? Name your terms. I, Mountain Crossing Wind, will never be vague about it." Having suffered a slight loss in one exchange, Mountain Crossing Wind's gaze flickered.
"I want your head. Will you give it to me?" Ye Zhen sneered.
"Kid, don't fail to appreciate favors! With that little cultivation of yours, I don't even put you in my eyes. You'd better know what's good for you."
"Is that so? Then come!"
With an angry roar, Ye Zhen rushed forward like a whirlwind, unleashing the Thunder Leopard Lightning Fist he had only recently learned.
"You thing that can't tell good from bad!"
Mountain Crossing Wind roared furiously, and his fist stance changed. The seemingly slow yet truly swift fist stance that had received Ye Zhen's killing move earlier came out again. This time, however, Mountain Crossing Wind wielded it with even greater mastery.
The fist stance seemed slow but was actually swift, endless and unbroken. Before the first force ran out, the next force emerged, like waves of water. Vaguely, Mountain Crossing Wind's True Essence even took on a faint water-blue hue, making the fist art appear exceptionally profound.
Even more fatal was that once this fist stance made the slightest contact, it clung on endlessly. It made one feel as though they had fallen into layer upon layer of strange, continuous force fields; every movement became awkward, and their strength could not be fully unleashed.
"The fist art Mountain Crossing Wind is using is definitely a Human-tier Mid Grade martial skill!"
Ye Zhen's expression grew increasingly grave. Whether it was the Five Peaks Divine Fist, the Thunder Leopard Lightning Fist, or the Inch Step Collapse Fist, none could break through Mountain Crossing Wind's endless fist stance. Vaguely, that unceasing force field was even able to restrain Ye Zhen's fist arts.
Had Ye Zhen not relied on his incomparably pure True Essence to overpower Mountain Crossing Wind in terms of True Essence, he feared he would already have been defeated.
Half an hour passed, yet Mountain Crossing Wind's fist stance remained unceasing like water waves, while Ye Zhen's fist stance, caught within it, grew increasingly weak.
"What a pity. I haven't perfectly fused the Thunder Leopard Lightning Fist and the Inch Step Collapse Fist. Otherwise, I could defeat him with one punch!"
With a silent sigh of regret, Ye Zhen's body was suddenly carried aside by Mountain Crossing Wind's endless fist stance. He lost his balance slightly, his shoulder swayed, and he revealed an opening.
Mountain Crossing Wind, who had been locked in combat for so long that he was already anxious as a cat on hot bricks, suddenly had his eyes flare with brilliance. Taking one step forward, he slashed a palm toward Ye Zhen's throat.
Almost at the same time, Ye Zhen's body swayed slightly, and he angled his shoulder into Mountain Crossing Wind. True Essence instantly covered his shoulder and trembled with a strange frequency.
Snake-Wandering Steps—Slippery Snake Style!
"Not good!"
Mountain Crossing Wind cried out when he noticed the change, but his palm still uncontrollably slashed into Ye Zhen's shoulder, while Ye Zhen followed the momentum and rammed into Mountain Crossing Wind's chest.
However, Mountain Crossing Wind's palm strike was no joke either. Although Ye Zhen had long covered himself in True Essence for defense and used the Slippery Snake Style of the Snake-Wandering Steps to disperse the force, that palm still left Ye Zhen's right arm numb.
With his right arm numb, Ye Zhen's left hand flashed out sixteen points of cyan light like lightning: the Spirit Snake Vein-Cutting Hand's Pulse Severing and Essence Sealing.
Visible to the naked eye, Mountain Crossing Wind's body stiffened slightly, and sounds like exploding beans rang out from within him as he broke through the True Essence blocking his pulses.
Ye Zhen seized that fleeting chance for battle in an instant.
His body shifted, his left fist suddenly exerted force, and an Inch Step Collapse Fist struck Mountain Crossing Wind squarely in the chest.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A dense series of shattering sounds could almost be heard coming from Mountain Crossing Wind's body. It was the sound of his internal organs being shattered by the Collapse Force of the Inch Step Collapse Fist.
After several creaking sounds came from his throat, Mountain Crossing Wind crashed backward.
Looking at the fallen Mountain Crossing Wind, Ye Zhen inwardly felt ashamed. He had still needed to use the old method of luring Mountain Crossing Wind into a killing blow and relied on the Snake-Wandering Steps to succeed. His martial skills were still far too lacking.
In the inner hall not far away, Young Lady He had struggled and crawled to the doorway to watch the battle. As she watched Ye Zhen kill Mountain Crossing Wind with one punch, her beautiful eyes shimmered brilliantly.
After casually tending to the wound on his shoulder, Ye Zhen crouched down and began searching Mountain Crossing Wind's clothes. From what Ye Zhen knew, Mountain Crossing Wind's savings would definitely not be meager.
To Ye Zhen's surprise, after searching him all over, he found nothing at all.
Just as Ye Zhen was feeling disappointed, his gaze suddenly swept over an ancient bracelet partly concealed by Mountain Crossing Wind's sleeve. Its style was remarkably similar to the storage treasure on Jin Yuanbao's hand.
"Could it be?"
With a thought, Ye Zhen reached to remove the bracelet from Mountain Crossing Wind's wrist. Almost at the same time, dense footsteps sounded from outside the courtyard gate, accompanied by the clatter of bow and crossbow mechanisms.
In an instant, Ye Zhen's back tightened sharply, and a feeling of extreme danger surged into his heart.
P.S. Let me explain: today's update came far too late, and I am truly sorry. No matter the reason, I must first bow to all my brothers.
But Pig Three had no choice. My daughter came down with hand, foot, and mouth disease. We struggled through the whole night, then went to the hospital this morning. We did not get back from the hospital after her IV drip until past three in the afternoon, and only now could I offer everyone this chapter.
The second update today will definitely come, but it will probably be very late—around midnight. Once Pig Three's daughter gets through this illness, Pig Three will do his best to update regularly and steadily.
Finally, I still have to shout: Here is a four-thousand-word big chapter! Young men, where are your votes!
A reminder: Sanjiang votes are cast beneath the Sanjiang category page!
Before you continue