The Only Hope (Part Two)

The night was as black as ink, and the full moon hung high in the sky.

Huanglong Market is located at the confluence of the Wanxing Mountain Range, Guanyin Mountain Range and the Qianliu River.

This place was once just an ordinary post station along the official road, but its geographical advantages have transformed it over the centuries into a remote commercial market.

Countless caravans and martial arts groups stopped here, and all sorts of entertainment shops lined up one after another, forming a city that never sleeps without walls.

Unaffected by the glitz and glamour of the night, brothels, casinos, and pleasure boats became the playground for countless merchants, travelers, and wanderers.

Sudden,

A convoy of cars drove in from the east entrance of the market, instantly attracting the attention of passersby.

The black Coiled Dragon on the Fragrant Phosphorus Sandalwood carriage was lifelike. Several disciples of various Demon Horse, walked in front of the carriage, swords in hand.

If anyone on the street dared to Will Soul to probe the cultivation levels of this group of young talents, they would find that all of them possessed cultivation levels of at least the fifth rank.

The man and woman at the very front of the convoy were both Grandmaster of the third rank. The man was dressed in plain clothes with long hair, while the woman wore an intricately carved outfit and had a curvaceous figure.

The two scanned the surrounding crowd, and wherever their gaze fell, people looked away.

Looking around,

Riding at the head of the caravan, the man in plain clothes chuckled softly:

"Huanglong Market is still as lively as ever, but not much has changed."

Upon hearing this, the woman beside him replied indifferently:

"We've only been gone for Jingjiang Prefecture months, so there shouldn't be much change."

The man in plain clothes smiled upon hearing this:

"That's true. Although it was a wasted trip, it's good that Xin Yao's Third Brother is alright. It's a pity I didn't get to see him."

When the strong-looking man heard the man in plain clothes mention Xin Yao's Third Brother, the woman's eyes flashed with deep disdain.

"What can be seen in a spoiled brat who only knows how to eat and drink?"

The man in plain clothes chuckled upon hearing this, appearing quite carefree.

"It's just a rumor. Judging a person's character based on rumors is too superficial. I would make my own judgment if I saw it with my own eyes."

As he spoke, the man in plain clothes seemed to remember something and suddenly asked in a low voice:

"Ziqing, I remember you stayed in the Imperial Capital for a while back then. Did you meet your Third Brother Xin Yao, then?"

Ziqing gently shook her head, her long, smooth hair fluttering slightly.

"There's not much to say. I only saw him once from afar. He was leading that group of so-called ' Four Young Masters of the Capital,' swaggering around doing things like bullying men and women. There's nothing to say. He's worlds apart from Xin Yao."

"Ziqing, my Third Brother was a pitiful person too."

Suddenly, a soft female voice came from the black Coiled Dragon- carriage behind them.

"."

Upon hearing this voice, the two unconsciously slowed down.

The curtain of the black Coiled Dragon carriage was lifted from the inside, and a young woman came into their view.

She wore a light blue dress embroidered with peach blossoms. The dress was elegant and she had a tall, slender figure. Her long black hair was styled into a high bun, and the collar of her dress was slightly open, revealing her beautifully curved, fair, and slender neck. The blue dress made her skin look even whiter than snow, and she always had a slight smile on her lips.

At first glance, a gentle, soothing feeling arises in one's heart.

Zhou Ziqing shook her head slightly and didn't say anything more, but she didn't retract her earlier assessment of Xu Changtian.

The man in plain clothes standing to the side grinned and said:

"Caught between Xu Changge, Xu Chang'an, and Xin Yao, let alone the fact that Xu Changtian is an ordinary person who cannot cultivate, if it were me, I would feel very sorry for him."

Xu Xinyao's eyes dimmed slightly:

"Zhonghua is right, but I heard from people in the Jingjiang Prefecture that my Third Brother seems to have had some fortuitous opportunity and has changed quite a bit."

As he spoke,

The girl's beautiful eyes curved upwards, a strange light shining within them:

"This time, he actually took the initiative to tell his older brother that he wanted to go out and gain experience."

Li Zhonghua chuckled and shook his head.

"It's just a pity that I won't be able to see your Third Brother Xin Yao, this time when I go down the mountain."

Xu Xinyao's beautiful eyes flickered slightly:

"Zhonghua, are you going back to Yaoyue Mountain?"

Li Zhonghua nodded and smiled.

"Yes, my sect sent me a message a few days ago that I should go back."

Xu Xinyao was silent for a moment, her eyes, as clear as autumn water, flickered slightly as she looked at the man:

"You've really had a tough journey, Zhonghua."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhonghua chuckled, shook his head, and, strode his horse leisurely, spoke directly:

"I was just coming down the mountain to gain experience, and I never expected to meet such an extraordinary woman as Miss Xin Yao. It's a pity I can no longer accompany you on your journey across the world."

Xu Xinyao blinked her beautiful eyes:

"Zhonghua is joking. What kind of extraordinary woman is Xin Yao?"

Li Zhonghua's tone became somewhat serious as he said:

"Xin Yao, I, Li Zhonghua, have spent most of my life in the mountain gate, always thinking of traveling the world with my sword, punishing evil and helping the good. But after coming down the mountain, I found that I can't possibly eliminate all the evil in this world, nor can I help all the good. Killing one demon can save ten people, but there are too many demons in this world."

"And since I met you, Xin Yao Xin Yao, we've only been together for a year, yet the number of people you've helped and who have survived is well over a million. Giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him how to fish. If such merit doesn't qualify you as an extraordinary woman, then who does?"

"Tsk, that's so cheesy, Li Zhonghua."

Zhou Ziqing glanced at Li Zhonghua, a hint of amusement in her eyes. "If you like our Xin Yao so much, why don't you have your master propose marriage to the Prime Minister's Estate?"

"I'd like to."

Li Zhonghua, upon hearing this, remained nonchalant, simply smiling and shaking his head.

"But I know I'm not good enough for Xin Yao, so I'd better not make a fool of myself."

"It is Xin Yao who is not worthy of you, Brother Zhonghua."

Xu Xinyao, inside the carriage, gently shook her head. "If it weren't for Zhonghua and Ziqing protecting me, Xin Yao might have died many times over along the way."

Zhou Ziqing's beautiful eyes curved slightly as she smiled:

"Since you're so grateful, then let Xin Yao treat everyone tonight. It'll be a good opportunity to say goodbye to Li Zhonghua; who knows when we'll meet again after this parting?"

"Tsk"

Li Zhonghua clicked his tongue, his voice tinged with dissatisfaction, and reached for his sword sheath to tap Zhou Ziqing's horse's rump.

"Zhou Ziqing, why do I feel like you're urging me to leave quickly? Although my sect is urging me to go back, I can still at least finish this trip to Shengshan County."

Zhou Ziqing parried with her sword, glared at him but ignored him, and then turned to Xu Xinyao and asked:

"By the way, Xin Yao, why do you insist on going back to Shengshan County? The Spring Tide in the Wanxing Mountain Range has started again recently, and there are more and more Demon Beast in this area."

Xu Xinyao paused briefly upon hearing this, then whispered:

"Because of my Third Brother's matter, the illusion array wasn't completed before I had to leave. I need to go back and check if the array is perfect."

Zhou Ziqing looked slightly surprised upon hearing this and whispered:

"Didn't we already activate the grand formation to verify the power of the Illusion Mist Array before we left?"

Xu Xinyao's beautiful eyes curved slightly as she whispered:

"That activation of the grand formation only verified its power; many of the core procedures for the formation were not fully implemented. It would be best to go back and take a look."

Li Zhonghua's words remained simple and direct:

"Xin Yao, are you worried that the Wanxiang Sect will sabotage things after you leave?"

"Um."

"Why?"

"."

Xu Xinyao fell silent for a moment, then gazed into the darkness towards Shengshan County.

Things went too smoothly in Shengshan County.

"Although establishing the Wanxiang Sect would yield many benefits, their agreement was too readily accepted. I have a feeling they're hiding something."

Shengshan County,

Outside the Illusion Mist Array, attracted by the Beast-Luring Incense, various kinds of Demon Beast gathered from afar along the dark mountain forest towards Shengshan County.

Within the Illusion Mist Array, the bloody slaughter continued.

The Shengshan Border Army formed a battle formation outside the city like a meat grinder. Wave after wave of Demon Beast with grotesque mouths rushed out of the mist, only to be crushed into piles of bones by the army formation.

The corpses of various Demon Beast had piled up into small mountains outside the city, but unfortunately, the number of Demon Beast emerging from the mist outlets showed no signs of decreasing.

The Illusion Mist Array set up by Xu Xinyao is a trapping array.

This is a powerful trapping formation that can be seen with the naked eye, capable of trapping tens of thousands of attacking Demon Beast within its confines.

But similarly, it is merely a trap.

The formation itself could not effectively kill the Demon Beast; it could only guide them out in batches, ultimately leaving the task to the Shengshan Border Army to handle.

Three hours had passed since the Shengshan Border Army left the city to form ranks and slaughter the Demon Beast.

The Wanxiang Sect continued its methodical approach of slowly releasing Demon Beast into the formation, while some soldiers in the Shengshan Border Army, having formed their battle formations, were already showing signs of exhaustion.

At this rate, the first casualty will appear very soon tonight, and once that happens, it will only be the beginning.

In a desolate silence,

Colonel Wang stared at the inky black fog in the distance, his voice very soft:

"Young Master Zhou, if we manage to break through, will the Wanxiang Sect spare the people trapped inside?"

Colonel Wang was quick to accept reality and equally quick to adapt.

The fact that the Shengshan Border Army broke through the encirclement meant that if the Wanxiang Sect continued its plan to massacre the city, their actions would become known to the outside world.

After a moment's thought, Xu Yuan instinctively wanted to nod in agreement, but ultimately shook his head slightly.

"Won't."

"Why?" Colonel Wang suddenly looked up and stared at Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan said, enunciating each word clearly, "There is no evidence."

When humans and Demon Beast die, they generate Yin Qi, but it does not immediately produce Ghost Mist.

This is a relatively long process.

Unless the Wanxiang Sect is foolish, they will most likely only have tampered with the Illusion Mist Array and the City Defense Array, and will not be in a hurry to inscribe other arrays to restrict the Ghost Mist.

Because once people are dead, they have ample time and energy to do these things during the period when the corpses are emitting Ghost Mist.

In other words,

Even if everyone in Shengshan County were to die at this point, it would be because the formation had malfunctioned.

As for breaking through the encirclement to announce it to the world?

Officer, our Wanxiang Sect funded and provided manpower to build this grand formation for you, yet your Shengshan County border troops, cowardly and unwilling to defend the city, instead fled and now they're blaming us?

If you say we're cultivating Ghost Mist, then show us the evidence.

Do we have a formation in Shengshan County that nourishes Yin Qi?

In the flickering firelight,

The deep wrinkles on Colonel Wang's face seemed to deepen even further, and his voice was low and somewhat hoarse:

"But we know."

He pointed to the fog that blotted out the sun, his finger trembling slightly:

"This Illusion Mist Array was built by the Wanxiang Sect, yet it malfunctioned at a time like this. No matter what, they can't escape blame!"

The sound echoed softly, and the city wall fell silent for a moment.

Xu Yuan shook his head, his voice low:

"Colonel Wang, it's no use."

"Throughout my journey, whether it's traveling merchants or sect disciples, everyone believes that the builder of this Illusion Mist Array was the Fourth Miss of the Prime Minister's Estate, not the Wanxiang Sect. The Wanxiang Sect was only responsible for providing the supplies and money."

At this point, Xu Yuan paused for a moment:

"Furthermore, you previously stated that Xu Xinyao left before the completion of the grand formation project, but rumors circulate that Xu Xinyao only left after verifying the formation's effectiveness. This confirms that she created the formation."

Colonel Wang gritted his teeth and whispered:

"The reason for activating the grand array that time was to verify the effectiveness of the illusion array's mist, not for acceptance testing."

"But none of you denied it before," Xu Yuan said.

Colonel Wang's voice trembled slightly. "Miss Xu has done so much for Shengshan County and has earned such a good reputation. How can the Shengshan Border Army deny it?"

So they're all the same.

Xu Yuan looked at the Illusion Mist Array: "There's no way to investigate this anymore."

Colonel Wang's voice was laced with suppressed anger:

"You mean Miss Xu's identity has actually become the protection of these sons of bitches from the Wanxiang Sect?!"

Xu Yuan remained silent for a moment, then nodded:

"That's the situation as it is at present."

Even if Xu Xinyao is willing to testify afterward, in the eyes of the outside world, this is just something she did for her own reputation.

"And,

"The identity of the Fourth Miss of the Prime Minister's Estate will greatly influence the judgment of those investigating in the court, after all, her adoptive father is the current Prime Minister."

"If the Wanxiang Sect had been better prepared, even if the Shengshan Border Army had managed to break through the encirclement, they would most likely have been accused of desertion, and all your words would have been seen as lies fabricated to exonerate yourselves."

Colonel Wang's voice sounded much older as he pointed inside and outside the city:

"So that means these 400,000 people are definitely going to die?"

Xu Yuan looked at Colonel Wang, took a deep breath, and said in a low voice:

"There is a way, but the chances are slim."

"What method?" Colonel Wang asked immediately, a rare glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes once again.

"Current array technology cannot achieve remote control."

Xu Yuan's voice was unhurried. "In other words, if the Wanxiang Sect wants to control the Illusion Mist Array, they must set up a control point near Shengshan County. You two set up the array to help my senior sister and me break through, so we can go out, find the person, kill them, and use that array to control the Illusionary Array."

Upon hearing this, Colonel Wang hesitated slightly:

"Could there be a powerful Wanxiang Sect guarding that place?"

Xu Yuan nodded:

"There will definitely be strong individuals, but their strength will not be too great; at most, they will be third-grade Grandmaster."

"Why?" Colonel Wang frowned.

Xu Yuan quickly and calmly analyzed, "The Wanxiang Sect is very strong overall, but not strong enough to silently cultivate a second-grade Origin Beginning Master. Their First-Grade Mortal Shedding and second-grade Origin Beginning are basically well-known. If these people make a move and leave traces, it would be equivalent to confirming the fact that the Wanxiang Sect intends to massacre the city. The Wanxiang Sect cannot take that risk."

"."

After the words were spoken, the air was silent for a moment.

Without the slightest hesitation, the burly border soldier bent his knees and knelt directly on the ground.

"."

Xu Yuan frowned, preparing to help him up, but the other man was kneeling so tightly that he couldn't lift him up with his cultivation level.

Colonel Wang clasped his hands in a fist salute and bowed deeply to Xu Yuan.

"Shengshan County thanks Young Master Zhou for his great kindness."

Xu Yuan frowned and said in a low voice:

"Colonel Wang, I can't guarantee that I can find that control point."

"And,

"This does not convict the Wanxiang Sect."

Colonel Wang shook his head and grinned:

"Young Master Zhou, at least now these 400,000 people have a chance to survive."

I'll only be posting two chapters today; I'll make up for yesterday's update tomorrow.