Chapter 73 - 71: What the Hell is This Thing?
’Zhu Quanyi is a traitor?’
Xia Shiyuan could hardly believe his ears.
If you had to name the person in the army least likely to be a traitor, it would have to be Zhu Quanyi!
Zhu Quanyi’s loyalty to the Cao Dynasty was matched by few.
"Zhu Quanyi? Hmph! I’m not him. I’m a Xu, from the Xu Family—Xu Wancai!"
The disdainful voice of ’Zhu Quanyi’ suddenly rang out.
’Xu Wancai, a man of the Xu Family?’
A series of images flashed through Xia Shiyuan’s mind.
That boy who had been lucky enough to survive the bandits’ attack back then... that had to be Zhu Quanyi. There was no doubt.
’So when did the Xu Family swap Zhu Quanyi out and replace him with Xu Wancai?’
Xia Shiyuan suddenly remembered.
Sixteen years ago, Zhu Quanyi passed through Lizhou with the army.
Because life for soldiers became incredibly harsh after entering Celestial Gate Pass, new recruits were generally allowed to rest for a day in Lizhou, with some free time to move about.
If the Xu Family had been targeting Zhu Quanyi all along, that would have been the perfect opportunity to pull off a swap.
The new recruits didn’t know each other well, and most people would instinctively look away from Zhu Quanyi’s burnt face upon seeing it.
The chances of being exposed if the Xu Family had switched him out then would have been very small.
At that time, Xu Wuan already knew about Fangxiang Mountain’s plan, so it was highly likely he would have made such preparations!
"The Xu Family? What a ’fine’ Xu Family! Everyone, surround him and kill this man!"
Hearing ’Zhu Quanyi’ admit he was from the Xu Family, everyone around them instantly understood.
Although they still didn’t know how the Xu Family had managed it, there was no need for any more words.
"Kill me? I’m not the one who’s going to die. Tonight, you’re the ones who will die!"
Xu Wancai laughed maniacally, his already ugly face appearing utterly monstrous in the flickering firelight.
But he was not afraid.
The smoke attack was the signal. When it began, he had secretly poisoned the water basins.
None of the generals present, including Hong Yangtai, had ever suspected he was a traitor.
In the heat of the moment, no one had considered the possibility that the water in the basins might be poisoned.
Now, nearly all of these powerful generals had been poisoned.
Although it wasn’t fatal, their combat strength would be drastically reduced.
What’s more, he had already sent the signal. Mu Yedong should be here by now!
BOOM!
Just as he expected, as the surrounding soldiers tried to close in through the night and smoke, several figures descended from the sky, landing with a tremendous crash.
A dozen or so surrounding soldiers had no time to react and were caught in the impact, killed instantly.
"Mu Yedong!"
A deep, powerful voice boomed out.
"Hahaha, Hong Yangtai, you and I have fought for thirty years. It seems tonight will be the night you die!"
Mu Yedong laughed heartily as he looked at the imposing figure who had spoken.
Next to Hong Yangtai, there had been seven or eight commanders with respectable levels of Cultivation, but now, each of them was struggling to breathe. They had clearly been poisoned, and their combat power was severely diminished.
Xu Wancai, the spy and traitor, had perfectly executed every task a spy could hope to accomplish.
Tonight, Hong Yangtai faced certain death, and Celestial Gate Pass was sure to fall!
"General Mu, I remember you said you would grant me one request. I want you to fulfill that promise now!"
"Those two are the ones who killed my Xu Family’s ancestor! They haven’t been poisoned! I want you to kill them now!"
Xu Wancai suddenly spoke up, pointing at Xia Shiyuan and Jiang Zuo, who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion, his voice filled with boiling hatred.
"Those two seem like they shouldn’t be underestimated. Wei, I’ll leave them to you."
Mu Yedong said, instructing the elder beside him.
"Two at Great Success in the Meridian Passage realm. They do seem much stronger than ordinary Meridian Passage practitioners. However, against me, they won’t last a single exchange!"
Elder Wei nodded, and with a flicker of his body, he moved toward Xia Shiyuan and Jiang Zuo like a phantom, ready to kill.
Besides him, another freelance Martial Artist he knew well followed close behind, guarding against any potential ambushes.
Mu Yedong wasted no more words. He, along with three others and Xu Wancai, charged toward Hong Yangtai and the poisoned generals.
As for the woman in black, she had not come down with Mu Yedong and his group.
"Villain! Don’t even think about it!"
A general charged forward, attempting to intercept Mu Yedong.
Mu Yedong swung the great saber in his hand, and the general raised his own saber to block.
CLANG!
But Mu Yedong’s strike sliced right through both the saber and the man, cleaving him in two in an instant.
"A Meridian Passage Martial Artist is nothing more than a slightly stronger commoner in my eyes. What’s more, you’re at seventy percent of your full strength at best. You have no one to blame for your death when you dared to stand in my way!"
Mu Yedong said impassively.
"Hong Yangtai, be a good man and come accept your death. These generals of yours can’t save you. Tonight, no one can save you!"
With that, Mu Yedong continued his charge toward Hong Yangtai.
Two more generals charged forward, fearless of death, but in the blink of an eye, they too became spirits under Mu Yedong’s saber.
"Mu Yedong, I will face you!"
Hong Yangtai knew there was no hope for a lucky escape tonight. If he didn’t fight back with all his might, death was his only path.
Swallowing a pill, Hong Yangtai’s injuries seemed to mostly heal, and he leaped up to confront Mu Yedong.
As the two began to clash, on the other side, Elder Wei reached Xia Shiyuan and Jiang Zuo.
He attacked both of them at once, his left and right hands striking out at each man respectively.
Just as he was about to make contact, a strange, demonic purple light suddenly erupted from Elder Wei’s palms.
In the dark of night, the purple glow was incredibly conspicuous.
Hong Yangtai, who had just exchanged a single blow with Mu Yedong, caught sight of this from the corner of his eye and roared, "Be careful! Don’t let his palms touch you! That’s the Grandmaster, Wei Jiemie!"
’Wei Jiemie?’
The surrounding generals froze.
Then, as they recalled just who Wei Jiemie was, one by one, they fell into despair.
Wei Jiemie, it was rumored, had mastered a powerful Cultivation Technique called the Silent Extinction Divine Skill, and the Inner Breath he cultivated possessed an unbelievable ability.
His Inner Breath was like a virus; anyone struck by him would find their body withering into silent extinction, dying swiftly.
Below the rank of Grandmaster, no one could withstand a single strike from him. Anyone hit by it was doomed to die if they didn’t take immediate action.
Even a Grandmaster had to be careful when facing him, or they too would be eroded by his Inner Breath, their combat power severely reduced in a short time.
Because of this terrifying Inner Breath ability, the elder earned the name Wei Jiemie; few even knew his real name.
Later, it was rumored that every time Wei Jiemie used his terrifying Inner Breath, it would consume a portion of his own lifespan.
Only then did the many Martial Artists understand why Wei Jiemie rarely made a move, and their fear of him lessened considerably.
After all, to Wei Jiemie, most people’s lives weren’t worth him sacrificing his own to take.
Hong Yangtai had shouted a warning, but unfortunately, it was too late.
Wei Jiemie grabbed Xia Shiyuan’s Cold Iron Shattering Mountain Saber with one hand, his other palm sliding along the blade to strike Xia Shiyuan’s wrist.
In an instant, Xia Shiyuan’s wrist began to blacken and wither at a speed visible to the naked eye. It was a terrifying sight.
Xia Shiyuan was horrified. Recalling the rumors about Wei Jiemie, he immediately retreated, gritted his teeth, raised his saber, and swung it down, severing half of his arm.
On the other side, Jiang Zuo had assumed he was only facing a Meridian Passage Martial Artist.
After achieving Great Success with his Blood God Skill, Jiang Zuo was more than capable of dealing with a Meridian Passage Martial Artist even in his normal form.
An unguarded Meridian Passage Martial Artist would be critically injured, if not killed, by a single punch from him.
Sensing something strange about Wei Jiemie’s palm, Jiang Zuo also found it was too late to withdraw his attack.
Jiang Zuo attacked with his fist, and Wei Jiemie simply extended his large hand and caught it.
THUMP!
A dull thud sounded.
Both Jiang Zuo and Wei Jiemie felt their bodies jolt.
Jiang Zuo instantly felt something invade his fist, as if countless needle points were stabbing into it.
Looking closely, he saw that the skin on his fist was actually starting to turn purple and black.
Although the process was slow, if he didn’t do something, his fist would suffer the same fate as Xia Shiyuan’s arm.
"What a powerful Meridian Passage practitioner! No wonder Xu Wuan died at your hands. You cannot be allowed to live!"
Who would have known that after taking Jiang Zuo’s punch, Wei Jiemie would be even more shocked.
’Have the times changed? How could a Meridian Passage Martial Artist be this strong? From that single punch, I can feel a faint blockage forming in my meridians.’
With his immense combat experience, Wei Jiemie knew at once that he had sustained an internal injury.
He hadn’t used his full strength, but to receive an internal injury from taking a punch from a Meridian Passage Martial Artist was something Wei Jiemie found almost unimaginable.
"So powerful? All the better! You can die by my hand!"
The Meridian Passage Martial Artist who had followed Wei Jiemie laughed upon hearing this and charged toward Jiang Zuo.
’This person is already being eroded by the Silent Extinction Inner Breath; it doesn’t matter how powerful he is.’
’A Grandmaster’s Inner Breath is this powerful... I can’t hold back any longer!’
’I can’t believe there’s a Grandmaster who’s such a sneaky old bastard. If he’d fought on the battlefield during the day, would there even be a need for this assassination attempt now?’
Mu Yedong had thought the same. But until Hong Yangtai was seriously wounded, Wei Jiemie had been completely unwilling to act, let alone step onto the battlefield.
Jiang Zuo didn’t understand the reason for this, but as the needle-like sensation in his fist grew stronger, he knew he couldn’t hold back any longer.
He immediately activated his Blood God Skill with all his might.
Ever since achieving Great Success with his Blood God Skill, Jiang Zuo had never activated it with his full power like this.
BOOM!
An incredibly intense surge of vital energy erupted from within him. Jiang Zuo, who stood 1.8 meters tall, instantly shot up to over two meters as he transformed into his muscular form!
The Martial Artist with Wei Jiemie was already shorter than Jiang Zuo. He charged up to Jiang Zuo and was just about to strike when, in a daze, the person before him suddenly transformed into a blood-colored giant.
’What the hell is this thing!’
The Meridian Passage Martial Artist was utterly horrified and hastily tried to retreat.
But Jiang Zuo’s massive fist was already smashing down like a thunderous hammer.
’There’s no dodging it!’
The Meridian Passage Martial Artist could only cross his arms, trying to block Jiang Zuo’s strike.
But...
It was like a praying mantis trying to stop a chariot!
BOOM!
As Jiang Zuo’s fist descended, the Meridian Passage Martial Artist felt an indescribably heavy force slam into his crossed arms.
BANG!
The next instant, his entire body rapidly swelled and then exploded with a bang, vanishing without a trace!