A Flaw in the Plan

Just then, a rapid whistling sound arose. Chen Guishuo, who was airborne, changed his sword stance, flicking his sword to the side and creating sword flowers.

With a clanging sound, Chen Guishuo deflected five or six incoming arrows with his wild swordplay. Below, over a hundred ambushing figures, led by Guan Tie, suddenly charged out, rushing uphill on foot with bows and crossbows.

Guan Tie had been signaled by Lan Ruoting to quietly bring his men to investigate. He hadn't expected to witness Yuan Gang in danger. Knowing how much the Prince admired Yuan Gang, Guan Tie couldn't stand by and do nothing.

Taking advantage of the arrow attack, Yuan Gang quickly broke free and rushed down.

Chen Guishuo landed hastily, with no time to hide. Another volley of arrows, dozens of them, rained down densely. It was difficult to block them all with his sword. He quickly raised his arm and cast a spell, releasing his magic power to form a protective barrier.

As the dozens of arrows reached Chen Guishuo, they rapidly slowed and stopped in mid-air, trapped by his magic power. The arrowheads were at varying distances from Chen Guishuo; some were only a finger's width from his eyeball, nearly causing him to break out in a cold sweat.

The varying distances of the arrowheads were because the continuous barrage had almost broken through Chen Guishuo's magic power defense. The reason was simple: as the arrows struck consecutively, the earlier ones faced a stronger defense, which also consumed some of its power. The later arrows naturally encountered less resistance, allowing them to penetrate further.

This was not the end. Guan Tie waved his hand, and another wave of arrows was fired.

Chen Guishuo dared not resist head-on. His Qi Refining cultivation was insufficient to withstand the continuous attack of so many arrows. He flicked his hand, sweeping away the arrows suspended in front of him, and dodged behind a large tree. The sound of arrows striking was rapid. Some arrows embedded themselves in the tree trunk, their fletching trembling, while others whizzed past the tree.

Chen Guishuo was suppressed, while Yuan Gang had already plunged into a group of people, temporarily escaping danger under their protection.

Guan Tie, holding a saber, sized up Yuan Gang. Seeing that he seemed unharmed, he asked, "What happened?"

Yuan Gang replied indifferently, "I don't know."

Seeing that Yuan Gang was alone, Guan Tie seemed to recall something and urgently asked, "Where is Su Jieren?"

Yuan Gang looked towards the mountaintop. "Still in the temple!"

Without another word, Guan Tie immediately waved to his subordinates, "Go!" and prepared to head into Nanshan Temple to rescue Su Jieren.

Yuan Gang grabbed his arm, warning, "There's more than one cultivator; it's dangerous!"

Guan Tie said sternly, "The Ying Yang and Wulie Guards never abandon their comrades!"

Yuan Gang's expression froze. He stared at Guan Tie, his gaze complex.

Guan Tie didn't think much of it and again gestured to his men, "Move!"

A group of people began to charge up the mountain, advancing towards Chen Guishuo's hiding place.

Yuan Gang, who had intended to escape according to plan, glanced back in the direction of the mountain's descent, then looked again at the group charging up the mountain. His cheek tightened slightly. Ultimately, he abandoned his planned escape and charged up with the crowd. He borrowed a Zhanmadao from a guardsman carrying a crossbow on his back, accelerating his charge and moving to the front to hold the line.

Just as the group approached Chen Guishuo's hiding spot, someone suddenly flew down from the treetops above. It was Xu Yitian. Upon entering the crowd, his sword light flashed, instantly drawing blood from five or six people. He caused immediate chaos in the formation.

Xu Yitian plunged directly into the crowd. Those around him dared not shoot for fear of hitting their own men, so they drew their sabers and charged forward to fight him hand-to-hand. However, they were no match for Xu Yitian.

Seeing his comrades fall one by one, Guan Tie's eyes widened in fury, and he roared, "Signal arrow!"

Just as Yuan Gang turned to see what was happening, Chen Guishuo suddenly darted out from behind the tree and lunged with his sword. Yuan Gang, having sensed the attack, parried with his saber.

Clang! With a crisp sound, saber met sword. Chen Guishuo once again experienced Yuan Gang's brute strength, the impact causing his sword to vibrate and his palm to go numb.

Yuan Gang, on the other hand, seemed unfazed. He swung his saber, hacking and slashing at Chen Guishuo. His immense strength overcame all techniques, forcing Chen Guishuo to retreat and dodge repeatedly. Chen Guishuo retaliated with a Profound Clear Palm, sending a burst of palm energy at Yuan Gang, making him stagger back. However, Yuan Gang stabilized himself with a stomp of his leg and immediately charged forward again, swinging his saber wildly.

Several signal arrows were successively fired, streaks of light shooting into the sky and exploding with popping sounds.

With a loud bang, the waiting crowd on the official road suddenly looked back towards Nanshan Temple. They saw a red light explode in the sky, followed by several more explosions and flashes of red light. It was an urgent distress signal!

Whether it was Shang Chaozong or Shang Shuqing, everyone immediately mounted their horses. The scattered guardsmen, both near and far, rushed forward. The thunder of hooves echoed as hundreds of men, armed with bows, crossbows, and sabers, galloped towards the temple to provide reinforcement.

Niu Youdao frowned deeply. "What's going on? Why are there so many distress signals?"

Things had taken an unexpected turn. Worried about the Monkey, Niu Youdao also spurred his horse and followed.

Qu Wu and the others from Guangyi Commandery were stunned. Seeing Shang Chaozong and the others rushing off in a hurry, Qu Wu also jumped on his horse and waved, "Let's go, let's see what's happening!"

Ten people mounted their horses and galloped off in pursuit.

Inside the living room of Nanshan Temple, Su Jieren, who had been answering questions and stalling for time, also turned his head sharply upon hearing the distress signals.

Song Yanqing and Yuan Fang were also startled. The group rushed out immediately and saw the signals blooming in the sky.

Su Jieren's face changed drastically. With a clang, he drew his sword and prepared to charge out.

Song Yanqing's eyes flashed. He flipped his hand and unleashed a Profound Clear Palm, striking Su Jieren squarely in the back. Su Jieren coughed up blood and was sent flying, crashing to the ground.

"Keep him under guard!" Song Yanqing shouted back to Yuan Fang, then flashed out and leaped onto the roof of the front hall, running swiftly to see what was happening.

At the scene of the fierce battle in the woods, seeing that the other side had sent out a distress signal and knowing it was not advisable to continue the fight, and seeing Chen Guishuo struggling, Xu Yitian also unleashed a Profound Clear Palm. He sent several people flying with one palm strike, then flashed out, sword in hand, breaking through the encirclement. His flying sword darted towards Yuan Gang, who had his back turned and was fighting.

"Careful!" Guan Tie shouted a warning, charging forward to block, swinging his saber wildly at Xu Yitian.

Clang! Xu Yitian deflected the incoming Zhanmadao with a single sword strike. He followed up with a thrust, drawing blood, and his sword tip plunged into Guan Tie's chest.

Having been warned, Yuan Gang turned his saber and swung it at Xu Yitian. However, Xu Yitian had already leaped into the air, kicked off a tree trunk, and shouted, "Go!"

Chen Guishuo immediately turned and dodged.

Whistling arrows shot out rapidly. The guardsmen who rushed forward fired their bows and crossbows. However, within the dense forest, their effectiveness was limited. Xu Yitian and Chen Guishuo used the tree trunks for cover, leaping up into the canopy and disappearing from sight.

A group of people rushed forward, holding their bows and crossbows in a defensive posture. Others rushed to support the fallen Guan Tie, crying out mournfully, "Sir! Sir..."

Guan Tie, surrounded by the group, extended a bloody hand towards Yuan Gang, who stood silently nearby, looking at him with expectation.

Everyone else also looked at Yuan Gang. Two people in the crowd cleared a path for him.

Yuan Gang stepped forward, took Guan Tie's bloody hand, and slowly crouched down.

Guan Tie gripped his hand tightly, gathering his strength to speak to him, "Brother Yuan, stay, stay..."

Yuan Gang remained silent, watching him. By the time Guan Tie stopped moving, his head lolled to the side, and he fell into someone else's arms, Yuan Gang still hadn't given him the answer he wanted.

Ignoring the furious gazes from his surroundings, Yuan Gang's expression was indifferent. He leaned on his saber, slowly stood up, and looked around. In just this short while, over thirty of the hundred personal guards Guan Tie had brought had fallen!

Outside Nanshan Temple, Xu Yitian and Chen Guishuo, who had flown back, met Song Yanqing at the temple entrance.

Seeing that Xu Yitian was covered in blood, Song Yanqing immediately asked, "Did you succeed?"

Xu Yitian shook his head. "I didn't see Niu Youdao, but I ran into a group of elite soldiers and started fighting. They should all be Shang Chaozong's personal guards!"

"That little thief is quite cunning. Does he think Shang Chaozong can protect him?" Song Yanqing sneered.

Just then, the rumbling sound of hooves could be heard from the foot of the mountain, clearly charging upwards.

Chen Guishuo said with some concern, "Senior Brother, it's probably Shang Chaozong's other forces. Should we avoid them?"

Song Yanqing turned back and shouted, "What are you afraid of? Can Shang Chaozong's men really keep us here?"

Chen Guishuo worried, "Shang Chaozong is still a dignified Commandery King. It's not appropriate for us to make a move against a Commandery King. If this gets out, it will cause a lot of trouble, and we can't afford to offend either side."

"Who said we're going to make a move against Shang Chaozong? I don't want to provoke him, but he shouldn't provoke me either. What can an outdated Commandery King do?" Song Yanqing scoffed and sneered, "Since I'm here, Shang Chaozong has to give me an explanation. He must hand over Niu Youdao!"

Xu Yitian and Chen Guishuo exchanged glances. They thought about it and realized that with Shang Chaozong's current strength, it was almost impossible for him to keep the few of them.

"Gather everyone in the temple here, lest that Bear Demon escapes!" Song Yanqing turned back and ordered, then paced to the steps leading down the mountain. With his hands behind his back, he coldly watched the path up the mountain below, looking as if he was waiting for an honored guest.

Chen Guishuo quickly went into the temple to gather people.

Hundreds of men rushed to the mountainside and rendezvoused with Guan Tie's contingent. Shang Chaozong, dismounting, quickly entered the woods on the side of the mountain path and stood before Guan Tie's corpse, his gaze sweeping over dozens of bodies.

The surrounding personnel maintained a high level of alert.

Niu Youdao, who arrived shortly after, also hurried over. Seeing Yuan Gang standing silently, unharmed, he finally breathed a heavy sigh of relief, though he was a bit puzzled as to why Yuan Gang hadn't followed the plan and left.

His Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and Shang Chaozong, his face full of gloom, asked, "What happened?"

"Your Highness, we came here to investigate and ran into Brother Yuan being attacked, so we intervened to rescue him..." A personal guard recounted the entire incident in detail.

After hearing the account, Niu Youdao frowned deeply and stared at the silently standing Yuan Gang.

Upon learning that Su Jieren might still be in the temple, Shang Chaozong's gaze shifted from Yuan Gang's face to Niu Youdao's, and finally, he waved his hand and shouted, "Up the mountain!"