Li Guang's Warning

The routes through the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains vary from month to month and even from day to day.

It was early spring, which differed from the time Zhang Xuezhou had been detained by the Golden Toad Dharma King and forced to enter the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains in the past, and also from the time when the Golden Toad Dharma King led everyone to search for medicinal herbs in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.

"Is a smooth journey here truly enough to enter the Xieluosi River Holy Land?"

As Li Guang rode his horse through the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, he still found it somewhat unbelievable.

"Absolutely!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded, but he appeared very cautious when instructing Li Guang on the march.

He was also glad that the Golden Toad Dharma King was a talkative old demon who had often mentioned the connections between the eighty-one peaks of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains during his travels.

After finding the pile of poisonous mud that shattered the cave, Zhang Xuezhou had already embarked on the path for the Golden Toad Dharma King's return.

"That old demon king from the Xieluosi River Holy Land is only a stone's throw away from my Shanggu County!"

Back then, Zhang Xuezhou lacked cultivation and strength. He and the nearly dead old demon, the Golden Toad Dharma King, struggled together for a month before finally crossing the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.

However, if one is in good health, the travel time can obviously be shortened.

If you ride on a magical horse that excels at traversing mountainous terrain, this time can be further reduced.

The demonic horse galloped for only half an hour, covering a distance that used to take them a whole day.

If the journey goes smoothly, they should be able to enter the Xieluosi River Holy Land in about a day on horseback.

If there were magical birds or creatures skilled in flight, this time could obviously be shortened even further.

"No wonder I couldn't catch those Demon Race assassins!"

If the time is so short, it would obviously give the demons of the Xieluosi River Holy Land time to make an assassination attempt in Shanggu County.

Li Guang originally thought it wouldn't be easy for the demons from the Xieluosi River Holy Land to come to the Han Dynasty, but little did he know that as long as an old demon led the way, these demons could traverse the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains in a very short time.

This put him in a very passive defensive position, far less relaxed than these monsters who could come and go as they pleased.

When dealing with the Xiong State's army, the large-scale troop concentration also prevented Li Guang from venturing too far, lest he be caught in a dilemma.

He could only be thankful that he wasn't the type to relentlessly pursue his enemies, but rather that he had retained some caution. Otherwise, if he had led his troops more than three to five days away from Shanggu County, his rear might have been breached.

Li Guang looked out over the endless mountains and then down at the rubble and mud below.

"This place is called Great Yin Mountain. It used to be guarded by a mallard duck demon, who often bathed in the pool over there," Zhang Xuezhou pointed, adding, "I don't know if it's been replaced by another demon. If you want a safe journey without any news leaking out, you'll need to take action along the way and prevent them from escaping!"

The fact that the Golden Toad Dharma King, who was on the verge of a life-threatening crisis, chose this path clearly indicates that it has its merits.

The area guarded by the flying bird demons is located in a high and remote mountain range, and communication between the various mountain peaks is not frequent. However, if one can clear the area without disturbing these flying birds, like the Golden Toad Dharma King, it is almost possible to sneak in silently.

"There? It seems that half-human-sized bat demon is the guardian here," Li Guang said, looking around. "But it doesn't like taking baths; it's just hanging on the stalagmite above the pool over there!"

Zhang Xuezhou had never been to the pond where the mallards lived, but he knew that the pond was about two or three miles away from him.

He strained his eyes, but could only see a tiny bit of emerald green.

Finding the bat demon hidden within that emerald green is a difficult task for him.

"This scoundrel is no threat, let's go!"

As his mount galloped forward, Li Guang took out his bow with his right hand and drew it to fire.

With a whoosh, Li Guang urged his mount forward, without slowing down at all.

"That's how he died?"

To ensure his own safety and secrecy, Li Guang would obviously try to minimize the leakage of information.

Zhang Xuezhou thought this was probably a high-level player leading a group in the game, while he was just AFK (away from keyboard).

He hadn't even seen the bat demon's corpse yet, and the big boss was already saying he'd taken care of it.

"We'll have to wait here until the lake freezes over before we can cross. Everywhere else we go, we just go in circles. This water has a kind of..."

"I see the Flood Dragon Fish!"

Li Guang touched the longbow on his back.

He claimed to disregard the gregarious Demon Beast, the Flood Dragon Fish, but inwardly he was filled with emotion.

He had been to this area before, but Li Guang had never imagined that taking the right route would require crossing a lake.

This is a question that no normal person would even consider.

Moreover, the ice on the lake is not thick enough, which directly prevents large groups of people from passing through, making it suitable only for elite, skilled groups.

Although the road Zhang Xuezhou pointed out leads directly to the Xieluosi River Holy Land, when used for military purposes, it is only suitable for launching surprise attacks, not for large-scale battles.

Thoughts raced through his mind, but his eyes remained alert, watching his surroundings. Any slight movement would surely be met with a piercing arrow from him.

Only when he could no longer sense the presence of other demons did he take a barbed arrow with a thin thread attached from his quiver.

"The skin of the Flood Dragon Fish is thick and its flesh is tough, making it difficult to eat, but its liver is somewhat palatable!"

The Golden Toad Dharma King only needed to pick up the Flood Dragon Fish from the ice, while Li Guang used a long-range shooting and pulling line to hunt the Flood Dragon Fish.

The former is relatively easy, except for the fact that he's a cripple; the latter, on the other hand, possesses genuine strength.

Zhang Xuezhou acted as an assistant, and seeing that Li Guang was even interested in the Flood Dragon Fish, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but marvel.

However, he didn't mind eating some more of the Flood Dragon Fish's liver; helping out at the moment was considered a positive action.

"Your knife is good, but the way you wield it is a bit too rough!"

When Li Guang Zhang Xuezhou use a short knife with a chipped and dented blade to gut and kill a fish, yet still manage to do it quickly and well, he couldn't help but be somewhat surprised.

When he saw clearly that Zhang Xuezhou was holding a broken and precious blade, with even the nicks on the blade being very new, he couldn't help but lament the waste of such a precious item.

"I don't know any swordsmanship," Zhang Xuezhou said. "This knife is just for brute force; I'll use it for as long as it lasts!"

"Use it for as long as it lasts!"

Li Guang muttered something under his breath.

He ultimately concluded that the craftsman who forged this precious sword would likely be furious upon hearing Zhang Xuezhou's words, and might even be tempted to kill this worthless piece of trash.

Li Guang was not skilled with a sword, but he was undoubtedly heartbroken to see someone who didn't know swords destroy one.

This shouldn't be a knife for killing fish, nor should it be a knife for slashing and hacking around.

If this knife were in Emperor Jing's hands, it would become the most terrifying blade in the world.

Assassination is all about being silent and stealthy. While some divine weapons may be powerful, they are far less effective than the Deer-Slaying Blade in terms of concealment and sharpness. Furthermore, the outward brilliance of a divine weapon is disliked by those skilled in assassination.

"Your Majesty was fortunate not to have encountered this sword; otherwise, killing me would have been a piece of cake!"

Li Guang felt a slight pang of regret.

Killing him was easy, which naturally meant that Emperor Jing could easily use this knife to kill others as well.

The fish-killing knife in Zhang Xuezhou's hands would never have ended up in this state if it had been in a different owner.

Unfortunately, Emperor Jing never encountered this sword.

Even Emperor Jing had already passed away.

For the Great Han Dynasty, the era of Emperor Jing had passed.

For Li Guang, the new emperor's era brought too much uncertainty.

He casually shot the Flood Dragon Fish while pondering, until a ray of sunlight slanted in, and the white light on the blade caught his eye.

At this time, the lake surface was rapidly covered with ice, like a spider web, and the ice continued to deepen and thicken.

The path across the lake was right in front of him, and for some reason, a chill ran through Li Guang's heart, just like the cold glint reflected in that white light.

He seemed to sense some kind of warning, yet found it difficult to grasp this premonition.

The omen of war is not a good one, but with Emperor Jing's death and Zhou Yafu's demise, Li Guang had no more formidable rivals in the vast Han Dynasty. Even Cheng Bushi, who was only good at defense but not offense, would be shot dead by him.

Li Guang couldn't figure out the origin of this omen, nor could he figure out who could kill him.

His expression darkened slightly as he pondered the many masters of the Great Han Dynasty.

But Li Guang couldn't think of anyone in the current Great Han Dynasty who was capable of fighting, and people like Dong Zhongshu were not even worthy of his attention.

"If only a great fortune teller could divine my future!"

He sighed inwardly, unable to fathom the origin of this explanation.

But if Zhang Xuezhou doesn't mind, Li Guang would like to collect this knife used for killing fish.

If one day one encounters a wise person, they can at least produce a prophetic object to resolve the doubts and thus potentially break the deadlock.