Dragon Blood Saint Emperor

HYAH! HYAH!

Dust swirled furiously as warhorses whinnied. The Red Blood Iron Cavalry charged out of Nanyang City, bound straight for Black Wind Valley!

One hour later, the Nanyang Guard arrived at Black Wind Valley.

The landscape stretched out before them, an endless vista of towering mountains, treacherous ridges, and strange, precipitous peaks that rose and fell in undulating waves.

Before one of these peaks, several hundred members of the Nanyang Guard stood, their cold gazes fixed ahead, thick with killing intent.

At the head of the group, Di Xuan glanced into the distance and said, "Black Wind Valley is inside Black Wind Gorge. The terrain is perilous—easy to defend and difficult to assault. If we travel by air, we’ll be too conspicuous and will likely alert the bandits. There are, however, two roads leading straight there, which would allow for a surprise attack."

"And what two roads are those?" Tan Zhengqing asked.

"One path is through Nanling Gorge, but it’s a prime location for an ambush," Di Xuan explained. "The other is through Songzi Ridge. It’s safer but also farther, and it’s separated from our objective by an impassable chasm."

Tan Zhengqing frowned and said, "If that’s the case, we’ll take Nanling Gorge!"

"Lord Tan!"

Ye Wushuang frowned and called out.

"Brother Ye, what is it?"

Tan Zhengqing turned to ask.

"An ambush has been laid in Nanling Gorge. Marching blindly in there is not the best course of action!"

Ye Wushuang sensed that things were not so simple.

Black Wind Valley’s terrain was easy to defend and difficult to assault; a direct incursion would be highly susceptible to an ambush.

"Deputy Captain Ye, this is a surprise attack. The bandits of Black Wind Valley don’t know we’re coming!"

"If we choose Songzi Ridge, the journey is too long. We’d likely be exposed before we even reach Black Wind Valley, losing the element of surprise."

"And once the bandits have time to react, not only will we fail to exterminate them, but we might also be forced to return empty-handed."

Di Xuan stared coldly at Ye Wushuang.

"And what if the bandits already know we’re coming?"

Ye Wushuang’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Deputy Captain Ye, what’s that supposed to mean?" Di Xuan said coldly. "We may have had our disagreements in the past, but right before a major battle, you’re saying you don’t trust me? Do you really think I would endanger our brothers?!"

"Di Xuan, Brother Ye didn’t mean it like that!" Cao Hong interjected from the side.

"He knows full well what he meant!" Di Xuan snorted, then turned to Tan Zhengqing. "Captain, since someone here doesn’t trust me, I’ll volunteer to be the vanguard!"

With that, Di Xuan shot Ye Wushuang a sinister glare, then spurred his horse and charged toward Nanling Gorge.

"Deputy Captain Ye, I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood Deputy Captain Di!"

Seeing Di Xuan personally take the lead, many of the Nanyang Guard shook their heads, sighing to themselves. ’Ye Wushuang is still too young!’

"Lord Tan!"

Ye Wushuang’s expression remained unchanged as he turned to Tan Zhengqing.

"Let’s go!"

Tan Zhengqing hesitated for only a moment before calling out to Ye Wushuang, his decision made. He then headed for Nanling Gorge. ’Since this is a surprise attack, we have to move so fast they don’t have time to react!’

Choosing Nanling Gorge was undoubtedly the swiftest path.

Besides, Black Wind Valley only had two masters at the Spiritual Spring Ninth Layer. Even if there was a crisis, they could handle it.

’Interesting. In that case, let’s just see what you’re planning.’

A cold smirk touched Ye Wushuang’s lips. Di Xuan’s behavior had been bizarre the entire way, and his agitated outburst just now was even more abnormal.

How could Ye Wushuang possibly believe there wasn’t a problem?

But Tan Zhengqing didn’t seem willing to listen, and none of the Nanyang Guard believed him either.

So be it.

Withdrawing his gaze, Ye Wushuang followed them.

"We’ve reached Nanling Gorge!"

Di Xuan announced, leading a squad of men into the canyon. They were nearly through the entire gorge, and still, nothing had happened.

At that, the Nanyang Guard members following behind quickly picked up their pace.

But they hadn’t gone much farther when a booming laugh echoed from the cliffs above. "HAHAHA, I was wondering who was causing such a commotion. If it isn’t Captain Tan! A most sincere welcome!"

"Damn it, an ambush!"

In an instant, every man’s expression changed drastically.

"Fall back!"

Tan Zhengqing’s face fell. "Fall back!" he bellowed. How could he not know they had walked right into a trap?

But as he shouted, countless powerful figures appeared on both sides of the gorge, blocking their path of retreat. Above them, the cliffs were now lined with even more silhouettes.

"Captain Tan, now that you’ve graced our Black Wind Valley with your presence, do you really think you can just leave?"

A scar-faced man carrying a massive blade on his shoulder descended from the air, his powerful Spiritual Spring Ninth Layer aura bursting forth, intimidating all who felt it.

The faces of the Nanyang Guard grew grim as their vigilance peaked.

’What’s going on?’

None of the Nanyang Guard could understand what was happening. But as their gazes fell upon Di Xuan, their expressions suddenly changed.

"Second Master, I’ve brought the men. The rest is up to you. Remember, I want the heads of Tan Zhengqing and Cao Hong, and Ye Wushuang’s corpse."

With a sinister smile, Di Xuan rode his horse over to the Second Master of Black Wind Valley.

"Di Xuan, what did you just say?"

In that instant, an expression of utter disbelief crossed Cao Hong’s face.

It wasn’t just him; every member of the Nanyang Guard stared at Di Xuan in disbelief. Di Xuan, a Deputy Captain of the Nanyang Guard, had colluded with the bandits of Black Wind Valley!

"HAHAHA, you still don’t understand?!"

Di Xuan laughed maniacally, staring at the dumbfounded Nanyang Guard. He enunciated every word with relish: "It was I who leaked the news that you were coming to attack Black Wind Valley. And it was I who personally led you into this pre-laid trap. Is that clear enough for you now?!"

"You bastard!" Hearing this, Cao Hong couldn’t help but roar, "Di Xuan, you’re a member of the Nanyang Guard! Why would you do this? Why would you send us all to our deaths?"

Di Xuan—a scion of the Nanyang City’s Di Family and a Deputy Captain of the Nanyang Guard. They never would have imagined that he would betray them.

Even when Ye Wushuang had warned them earlier, they hadn’t given it a second thought.

But now they realized they had been wrong—horribly, terribly wrong.

"Hmph. Deputy Captain of the Nanyang Guard? Once I kill Tan Zhengqing and return to Nanyang City, I’ll be the Captain. You ask me why? There’s your reason."

Di Xuan smiled grimly, then turned his gaze to Ye Wushuang. "And then there’s him. Ye Wushuang, the enemy of my Di Family. Today, I’ll settle that score as well!"

"You’ll have to make it back to Nanyang City alive first!"

Tan Zhengqing’s gaze was ice-cold as he stared at Di Xuan, his eyes brimming with boundless killing intent.

"You think you can kill me? HAHAHA!"

Hearing Tan Zhengqing’s words, Di Xuan burst into another fit of wild laughter. "Second Master, they’re all yours! Make sure not a single one is left. Eradicate them all!"

"Don’t worry. When the time comes, Tan Zhengqing’s head and Ye Wushuang’s corpse will be delivered together."

The Second Master sneered at Tan Zhengqing and uttered a single word: "Kill!"

BOOM!

As the Second Master gave his cold command, terrifying waves of energy erupted from all sides, threatening to level Nanling Gorge itself!

Kill!

The Nanyang Guard, filled with rage, charged forward, their Spears of Slaughter piercing through the air toward the throng of bandits!

However, caught in this sudden pincer attack, the Nanyang Guard could not hold their ground.

In a mere instant, many of them were already bleeding on the canyon floor.

Kill!

Tan Zhengqing roared and, brandishing his sword, charged the Second Master. A terrifying Sword Aura, like a rainbow piercing the sun, shot forth as a murderous Sword Intent flooded the gorge.

"I was just hoping to see what Captain Tan is made of!"

The Second Master shot through the air, bringing his giant blade down in a sweeping, horizontal slash.

The sharp Blade Aura collided with the sky-rending Sword Light.

The resulting wave of murderous energy obliterated the rock faces on both sides of the gorge, turning them to dust.

"HAHAHA!"

Watching the Nanyang Guard members fall one after another, Di Xuan laughed and turned to leave.

"Di Xuan, you piece of filth!"

Cao Hong roared. Watching his brothers fall one by one, his eyes went bloodshot with fury, and he charged madly toward Di Xuan.

But he had only taken a few steps before two masters at the Spiritual Spring Seventh Layer blocked his path.

"Cao Hong, you want to kill me so badly, but you can’t!" Di Xuan taunted, laughing. "HAHAHA, I’ll be waiting for them to bring me your head!"

Di Xuan laughed heartily as he rode away.

Meanwhile, Ye Wushuang sat quietly atop his Red Blood Horse. One by one, bandits charged him, only to be slain by wisps of Sword Qi that materialized from thin air.

He remained perfectly still, his eyes fixed on the empty space above.

’There,’ he thought. ’A powerful expert is lurking there. It must be the one who hasn’t shown himself yet—the Big Master, a master of the Yin Yang Realm!’