Chapter 42

Zong Shou gave a cold laugh, choosing the dishonorable method of ambush and assassination, and dying due to inferior skills. If the master of Qi Xiao still had any sense of shame, he would never have come to seek him out.

However, upon further reflection, in this era, the Divine Emperor had yet to appear. All the Five Continents and Sixteen Islands of the Yun Realm were filled with bloody slaughter and endless strife. As long as someone looked displeasing, one could draw their sword, and if they liked something, they could forcibly take it. The strong could rule everything, and the size of one's fists was the law. Apart from those who claimed to be prestigious and orthodox major sects, who else would talk about rules?

Only when the Divine Emperor unified the Ten Directions and established rites and laws would the martial cultivators and spirit masters of later generations be constrained.

However, it was indeed difficult for the Rebirth Realm spirit masters of the Central Yun Continent to seek revenge in the Donglin Yun Continent in a short time.

What was more troubling was who had instructed this person. There were indeed too many people who could have set up an ambush to kill him.

Upon careful consideration, his identity was truly one that made enemies everywhere—

Zong Shou bitterly smiled and brushed the matter aside, looking up and down at Yin Yang: "How are your injuries? How many did they kill? Any survivors?"

Yin Yang's injuries were slightly worse than Xue'er's, with a dozen blood streaks, some still oozing blood. However, Yin Yang's spirit was extremely vigorous, as if nothing had happened.

Yin Yang indeed brushed his injuries aside, frowning slightly: "A total of twelve people, all killed! They were all dead soldiers, hiding poison. Xue'er and I captured three, but none survived. Another secret martial master escaped, and I couldn't catch up."

Zong Shou sighed, but he had already not held out much hope when he asked. Then he turned his head and carefully looked in the direction outside the dense forest: "What about our losses?"

Speaking of losses, Yin Yang's thick eyebrows almost knitted together. His face was full of bitterness, and his words were still concise: "The losses were great!"

It wasn't until Zong Shou, carried by Chuxue, returned to the main road that he realized just how great Yin Yang's "great losses" were.

Of the sixteen Tayan Horses, four were dead, and the rest were lightly injured. Fortunately, these horses ran in front, bearing less of the impact.

The Fanyun Car was completely deformed, creating a large pit on the ground.

However, this car was indeed sturdy, made entirely of fine steel. A Fanyun Car, ten zhang long and weighing fifty thousand catties, was flipped thirty zhang high and then fell. It didn't fall apart, only some of the steel plates on the body were twisted.

One could imagine how solid this Fanyun Car was.

Zong Shou was at a loss, in this era, each Tayan Horse was worth about ten thousand silver taels. And a Fanyun Car crafted by a spirit forger might not even be available for a million silver taels.

"Blowing a fifty-thousand-catty iron lump thirty zhang high! How many high-grade Fireburst Talismans did these guys use?"

Zong Shou first looked at the giant pit in the middle of the road, which was about fifty zhang in diameter. Fortunately, the spirit array at the bottom of the Fanyun Car had offset most of the impact. Otherwise, the shock alone would have been enough to kill him and Yin Yang inside the car.

Naturally, they were able to survive, not because those people held back. It was just that once the number of Fireburst Talismans exceeded a certain limit, or if they were replaced with other high-grade talismans, they would likely trigger a spiritual energy wave. Chuxue and Yin Yang, sitting in front, would definitely have sensed it.

The problem was, this was probably just a test by those people. They likely just wanted to see what countermeasures Zong Weiran would have and who would still stand behind him, and what reactions would follow.

If it were a先天武修 (Xiantian martial cultivator) or a Night Roaming Realm spirit master who acted personally, they would have only been waiting to die today.

After circling around his Fanyun Car, Zong Shou finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The entire spirit array was not severely damaged, and with a little repair, it could continue to travel. At least reaching Xiaoyuan City would not be a problem. The fine steel and craftsmen there were sufficient to temporarily repair the car.

Then he felt a pang of pain, as the beast crystals he carried were indeed not many. Fortunately, this time, he had replenished a lot from Qi Xiao, with a total value of about fifty thousand silver taels.

And that third-stage Cold Hell Tiger, just this soul beast, was worth three times the Fanyun Car.

This time, he hadn't lost everything.

"Right!"

Zong Shou suddenly remembered something, turned around, and continued the topic that had been interrupted: "Yin Yang, do you remember that my father once arranged a fiancée for me? Her father is the city lord of Xuanshan City?"

Xuanshan City, named a city, was actually a country. Built on Xuanshan Mountain, it spanned fifty li.

All the human towns and cities within a thousand li around it were under its jurisdiction, and its influence extended to three provinces. Its city lord was also of the half-demon lineage.

In Zong Shou's memory, this person's strength seemed to be only slightly inferior to Qiantian Mountain and was on very good terms with Zong Weiran.

Upon hearing this, Yin Yang's face darkened, and he shook his head again: "Prince, it's best not to count on Xuanshan City. It's said that the Xuanshan City princess has always opposed this marriage. Recently, even her father and mother have been ambiguous. Over the years, they have ignored the prince, which can be seen from this—"

Zong Shou, however, felt a sense of relief, and even the losses from earlier didn't seem so painful.

What he hated most was such unclear entanglements.

※※※※

It took an hour to repair the spirit array of the Fanyun Car and to tidy up all the traces of the battle. When Yin Yang drove the car forward again, it was already an hour and a half later.

And just as the already dilapidated carriage disappeared at the end of the road, two figures suddenly appeared, one after the other, rushing from a distance.

One was middle-aged, the other a young man, their faces hidden in the rain, unclear. Only the two red palm marks on their faces were clearly visible.

"Who set up this killing trap?"

Carefully examining the surroundings, Feng Xiao's face showed deep thought: "It's pouring rain, the time when water-type spiritual energy is at its peak. To create such a deep pit, at least fifty high-grade Fireburst Talismans were used—"

Looking around at the trees and branches destroyed by sword qi and fist wind, Feng Xiao's eyes narrowed: "At least four secret martial masters fought here for fifteen minutes! Two of them died! In addition, there should have been a spirit master!"

Zong Ling, who had long known that Feng Xiao was experienced, was still slightly surprised. But the next moment, he sneered: "Who knows? There are too many people who want my cousin dead, and not a few who want to protect him. In any case, it couldn't be our people!"

Feng Xiao shook his head and moved like a ghost into the dense forest. Half an hour later, he stepped out again.

But his face was somewhat pale: "The spirit master who acted has reached the peak of the Soul Observation Realm. If I'm not mistaken, this person is likely that Qi Xiao. From my observation, this battle should have ended with a fatal strike within ten breaths, piercing the brain!"

"Qi Xiao? I heard that this person was once close to Zong Yang and considered him a friend. However, this person also has some connections with the Flame Mountain people. It could be guessed that the Flame Mountain people are trying to frame him, or it could be that Zong Yang deliberately did this to confuse the situation—"

Zong Ling muttered for a moment, then suddenly realized the true focus of Feng Xiao's words, and his expression changed.

"You just said that the fatal strike was delivered within ten breaths, piercing the brain? The person who acted is a Xiantian expert? Weren't the few people secretly protecting my cousin already being watched? Where did this person come from?"

Feng Xiao shook his head slightly: "I don't know the exact situation! I only know that killing a Soul Observation Realm spirit master with one strike is extremely difficult, even for a Xiantian martial master. This situation is indeed a bit strange! The strength around Zong Shou might be somewhat beyond our imagination. If we have to act personally, we might need to add more people—"

His words were filled with deep doubt.

The incident at the foot of Danling Mountain and the situation here today, all of this is unsettling.

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