Outside the main hall.
A middle-aged man with a white beard slowly lowered his longbow, exhaled softly, and smiled.
A clear scar ran down from his right eye. He almost went blind.
But at this moment, the scar only added to his ruthlessness.
"Lord Zhao truly lives up to his Innate God; his abilities are indeed extraordinary," exclaimed a Red-Haired Hu Xi standing nearby, clapping his hands in admiration.
"Not at all, compared to your Dog King's dual-sword skills, mine is nothing," Zhao Yueting said modestly.
As the person in charge of Sea Dragon in Huaxin County, he had long been quite dissatisfied with the person in charge on Tanyang's side.
Therefore, if he can succeed in making a contribution during this opportunity, it will be a good contrast to the accident that happened on Tanyang's side before.
With the decline of one side and the rise of the other, he might be able to take over and replace him, allowing him to take charge of the branch in Tanyang.
Therefore, to ensure success this time, he simply led his elite troops to participate in the encirclement and killing.
"My lord, some of Zhang Xuan's subordinates have retreated to the Profound Heart Hall, while others have gone to Shangde Garden," a guard reported. "Fang Qi's deputy is asking about our next move."
"No rush, where is Old Daoist Zhang Xuan?"
"Zhang Xuan is currently fighting with Palace Master Tang Sha and has already fled to the Back Mountain."
"Let's deal with Zhang Xuan first; the rest are nothing but chickens and dogs. Impressive, Zhang Xuan truly lives up to his reputation as a former Fifth Grade Master."
Zhao Yueting praised it.
He knew how formidable Tang Sha was; if they were to fight head-on, he would surely be defeated within twenty moves.
But Zhang Xuan, facing Tang Sha and Fang Qi one after another, actually managed to hold out for so long.
He put down his bow, took the scimitar handed to him by his subordinate, and led several men quickly toward the alleyway on the side of the main hall.
That's the direction leading to the Back Mountain.
*** Qinghe Temple Mountain Gate.
Zhang Rongfang gazed at the Mountain Gate guarded by people, raised his Wish Wheel, and took a step forward.
"How are you going to get up there? There's probably going to be internal strife up there soon."
A somewhat familiar voice drifted from behind.
Zhang Rongfang was slightly taken aback and turned his head to look.
Qing Su actually came too.
She was still wearing a mask and leather armor, and now she had a short knife in her hand.
"Why are you here?" Zhang Rongfang asked, puzzled.
"I only remembered after you left that you hadn't given me the Feather Token yet," Qing Su said calmly.
"You still haven't told me how you plan to get up there?"
Zhang Rongfang didn't reply. He casually tossed the Feather Token behind him and walked forward with the Wish Wheel in his hand.
He soon arrived at the front of the Mountain Gate.
"Who goes there?" The guards were several Martial Cultivation Disciple dressed in Daoist robes and white jackets.
There were both men and women among them.
"My name is Zhang Rongfang. I was on business in another city before. Now that I have returned, please take a look at my Wen Die."
Zhang Rongfang handed over his identity Wen Die.
Since there are still Daoist priests guarding the mountain, it seems there's still time.
He breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Among the guards at the Mountain Gate, an older Daoist priest stepped forward, took the Wen Die, and glanced at it.
"I'm sorry, the Mountain Gate is closed today. If you have something to do, you can come again tomorrow." He didn't even look at it carefully before casually closing the gate and tossing it to Zhang Rongfang.
Zhang Rongfang frowned, about to speak.
"Zhang Rongfang? It's you!?" Suddenly, a female Daoist priest walked out from behind the group of people opposite.
The newcomer had a fair complexion, regular features, and a calm demeanor. It was Si Tunan whom Zhang Rongfang had known since his days Servant Disciple.
Si Tunan's face stiffened. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but then held back.
"Situ, what are you doing here?" Zhang Rongfang sensed that something was wrong.
Si Tunan is Martial Cultivation Disciple, so why would he come to the Mountain Gate to do the job of guarding the gate?
"I've been assigned to guard the Mountain Gate. The Dao Palace has important business today. If you want to come, you can come tomorrow."
Si Tunan gritted her teeth, a hint of reluctance flashing in her eyes, and still tried to persuade the other party not to go up the mountain.
"Tomorrow?" Zhang Rongfang fell silent, glancing at the people in front of him.
There's only one path leading up the mountain from Qinghe Temple. Taking a different, roundabout route would waste a lot of time.
So, "What if I insist on going up the mountain today?"
"You really want to?" The middle-aged Daoist priest laughed. "Interesting, then you can give it a try."
Zhang Rongfang stopped speaking.
He looked up at the mountain, and faintly heard a sound drifting in the wind.
Wow.
He mentioned the Wish Wheel.
Take a step forward.
Suddenly, a figure flashed by.
A group of mountain-guarding Daoists were momentarily stunned, and the middle-aged Daoist still had the cold smile from before on his face.
A crisp, popping sound.
His eyes were blank, and his head flew high into the air.
A headless corpse beneath him slowly knelt down.
Only after the body fell did the others realize what had happened and scream.
Zhang Rongfang's figure had already rushed through the Mountain Gate, turning into a black line and rushing up the mountain.
Its speed far exceeded that of the so-called Third Grade- rank.
Qing Su, who was behind, didn't react at all. Just a moment ago, she was waiting to see how Zhang Rongfang would react.
But "this"
"That movement technique!!"
Her body trembled slightly.
That wasn't shocking, it was terrifying.
A chilling sensation ran up her spine from her tailbone to the top of her head.
If it had been her who blocked that attack just now, Qing Su felt a chill run down her spine.
Because the answer was already in her heart.
That blow would have killed her, even if it had been her.
"This is not Third Grade movement technique at all!! Zhang Rongfang, you've been hiding it very well!!"
She suppressed the goosebumps on her body, gritted her teeth, and quickened her pace to follow him up the mountain.
She wanted to see for herself what Zhang Rongfang was really up to! At the Mountain Gate.
For a moment, only Si Tunan and the others were left, their faces pale as they stared at the headless corpse, completely still reeling from the sudden turn of events.
Bang!
The second gate of the Mountain Gate was breached by a powerful force as the wooden door to the Guest-Welcoming Hall was smashed open.
The door fell down, and the two Daoist priests inside, each holding a staff, turned around to look.
In an instant, two streaks of blood Blooming.
The two men clutched their throats in bewilderment and slowly collapsed to the ground.
In the shadows behind them, Zhang Rongfang withdrew his Wish Wheel, calmly walked through the Guest-Welcoming Hall, and arrived at the inner door.
Qing Su was right.
As long as he is fast enough, there will only ever be one enemy.
Squeak.
The inner door opened, revealing the dojo where the fierce battle was still raging.
Two leather-armored swordsmen roared and swung their swords at him.
The gleaming silver blade was almost stained dark red with blood.
Swish.
The blade grazed past Zhang Rongfang's side, but missed.
He took a step forward, flashing past the two like a phantom.
Pfft.
Two soldiers clutched the bleeding neck and collapsed to the ground.
No need to make a move; simply place Leaving Injury Shang in the correct position, and everything will be over.
Further away, a Martial Cultivator practitioner saw this and roared as he charged forward, wielding a knife in both hands.
Clang! The giant cleaver, longer than a person, slammed heavily off the stone bricks on the ground, embedding half of its blade.
Zhang Rongfang flashed and appeared behind the burly man, a row of Blood Pearl slowly dripping from the blade.
The burly man stood frozen in place, his body slowly splitting into two sections starting from his waist, before he slid to the ground.
At this moment, Qing Su hurried over from behind.
She felt a chill run down her spine as she looked at the corpses along the way.
Only then did she realize what kind of person she had provoked.
At this moment, Zhang Rongfang had killed seven or eight people in succession, including several minor leaders.
This counterattack allowed Zhang Xintai and the others, who were trapped in the Profound Heart Hall, to catch their breath and begin to roar and charge back.
Qing Su exhaled softly; at this moment, Zhang Rongfang was nowhere to be seen on the field.
He was like a deadly viper in the shadows; you could only catch a glimpse of him before someone was killed.
Before long, the number of chaotic troops belonging to Sea Dragon and Fang Qi on the field dwindled.
Some people even found themselves missing half of their teammates without warning, and were so frightened that they dropped their weapons and ran away.
Many of these so-called rebels were actually just ordinary farmers a few months ago.
The remaining Daoist priests under Tang Sha were gradually surrounded by Zhang Xintai and others who launched a counterattack.
The scene was chaotic, with fighting breaking out everywhere.
Qing Su tried her best to find Zhang Rongfang.
However, even with her Fourth Grade physical strength, she still found it somewhat difficult to locate the other party.
While pursuing her target, she had already seen the corpses of several elite Third Grade Sea Dragon experts.
These experts, who were only slightly weaker than her, lay on the ground, gradually growing cold, like trash.
This made her feel even colder.
She had realized that this Zhang Rongfang was definitely not just Third Grade! His strength far exceeded her expectations!
Finally, her gaze caught sight of a blurry Shadow.
It's Zhang Rongfang!
He was getting up from beside a corpse, seemingly having obtained some information, and was walking straight down an alleyway.
Qing Su gritted her teeth and quickly followed.
*** Back Mountain.
A row of Daoist robes and clothing drying in the sun.
The two figures clashed rapidly, their heavy clashing sounds echoing intermittently.
Clothes were torn to shreds with tremendous force and thrown into the air, scattering and drifting with the mountain wind.
Before long, Tang Sha's chest heaved, and he took a few steps back and stopped.
He's getting old. To be able to play like this is already quite impressive.
Zhang Xuan on the other side had blood at the corner of his mouth and was also seriously injured. But that wasn't the key point; the real issue was that after fighting for so long, their stamina was completely depleted.
"Ha ha ha ha!!"
Not far away, Zhao Yueting, carrying a curved sword, laughed loudly and led his men closer.
"Palace Master Tang, it seems you're getting old. You haven't been able to defeat a mere Zhang Xuan after all this time. Should I lend a hand?"
Zhang Xuan looked at the newcomers, especially Zhao Yueting at the front. This man was Fourth Grade leader of Sea Dragon, and his "Wind-Splash Saber Technique" was said to be able to impervious to water, making him quite formidable.
He is now almost completely exhausted, struggling to hold on, hoping that the three leaders of the Han Family can come up the mountain to provide timely assistance.
But the reinforcements that came were actually Sea Dragon and his gang of villains!
Zhang Xuan's heart sank.
Looking back on this hasty uprising, I thought we were brothers united as one, and we thought we were sworn brothers who would die together.
Only now do I realize that those people and those events were all fake.
To secure their surrender, Fang Qi's people actually went to such lengths. "But thankfully, at least Hong Yan and Rong Fang are still outside."
"Hong Yan is already pregnant. As for Rong Fang, it's a pity he won't live to see his future fame."
On the other side.
"I'm getting old, I'm not a young person anymore," Tang Sha said without trying to be strong. Since someone was offering to help, she naturally wouldn't refuse.
"I would like to ask Mr. Zhao for your assistance."
He clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhao Yueting.
Zhao Yueting burst into laughter and charged forward with his sword.
After taking only a few steps, he suddenly realized something was wrong and turned around abruptly.
Behind him.
Two of his three men, whom he had just brought, were already lying in Blood Pool.
The last person was reaching out with difficulty, trying to touch him and remind him.
Smack
The arm drooped down, and a large hand loosened its grip on the man's neck.
His large hand hung limply, with drops of blood dripping from his fingertips.
"Now."
In the shadows, a person slowly approached.
"It's another one-on-one match."
Zhang Rongfang raised his head and looked at Zhao Yueting in front of him, his face covered with specks of blood splattered from the gunshot.
"I apologize, Master, I am a step too late."
Then, just like before, he looked up and met Zhang Xuan's astonished gaze.
Thank you all for your support, and thank you to my father, Han Gaozu, for the recommendation. Also, I'd like to offer up a new book here – The Lord of the Strange Dao). It's a work by a veteran author, and I guarantee its quality. If you're interested, you can check it out.