Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

Chapter 270 Dealing with the Crisis

Mo Yuming never showed mercy to his enemies. While wielding his Golden Silk Inlaid Sword and fighting four men, he also used his extraordinary divine sense to detect any weaknesses in the surrounding bandits. Whenever an opportunity arose, he would unleash his Soul Sword to assassinate them without hesitation. The Soul Sword, appearing and disappearing without a trace, was feared even by those at the early Heaven Rank. Therefore, the appearance of the Soul Sword instilled great terror in the bandits, who feared that a moment of carelessness would result in being injured by the Soul Sword that flew from who-knows-where.

The arrival of the Soul Sword in the chaos immediately tipped the scales of war in Mo Yuming's favor. Within just a few rounds, several bandits were injured in sneak attacks by the Soul Sword. All the bandits were deeply wary of this elusive Soul Sword. A magical artifact capable of autonomous flight was more troublesome than dealing with a master. Because you never knew where it would appear next, or who it would attack.

The arrival of the Soul Sword immediately disrupted the entire battlefield. The bandits were forced into retreat. They all began to shrink back, preparing to flee. But Mo Yuming and his men were unwilling to give up so easily. If they could hold out a little longer, reinforcements would arrive. Then, these bandits would have no chance of escape.

Mo Yuming floated to the sidelines, cutting to the crossroads and blocking the path of the bandits. With a single move, 'Shadow Follows,' he forced the four bandits at the front to retreat. Sharp sword shadows appeared before them almost simultaneously. Metal-based swordsmanship emphasizes speed and swiftness, making it the most direct and efficient of the five elemental combat techniques. No one would willingly engage in a direct duel with a metal-based martial artist in battle.

Originally, these bandits were not very strong, with most of them at the seventh or eighth level of the Earth Rank. Twenty-odd people made up a very strong team. The six National Security soldiers who were only at the third or fourth level of the Earth Rank would have been killed. However, they did not expect that there would be high-level Earth Rank Falcon Guards lying in ambush here.

Moreover, as soon as these seven Falcon Guards appeared, they fired Demon-Slaying Arrows in unison, injuring or killing several of them. The Falcon Guard members' cultivation levels were generally above the seventh level of the Earth Rank. Although the addition of the Falcon Guards made them strong, their numbers were still far fewer than theirs. Even with the addition of Guo Anshi, they could only barely defend themselves and delay their defeat.

But just as they were about to gain the upper hand and unleash a massacre on the Falcon Guards and National Security Guards, they were bewitched by Mo Yuming's Illusionary Demon Flute, losing their best opportunity. Mo Yuming then seized the opportunity to kill three of them and severely injure another, eliminating their numerical advantage and leaving them with only a slight advantage in overall combat strength. However, Mo Yuming's arrival, along with his use of the Soul Sword—a soul weapon that even Heavenly Rank experts feared—made them vulnerable.

The addition of the Soul Sword boosted Mo Yuming's combat power to the equivalent of the Heavenly Rank, instantly reversing the situation and putting the bandits at a disadvantage. However, Mo Yuming's current strength was only at the fourth level of the Metal Element, not the peak Earth Rank. Therefore, although the bandits were at a disadvantage, they weren't particularly afraid of Mo Yuming. So, in their disadvantageous position, they simply wanted to find a way to retreat.

Seeing Mo Yuming recklessly blocking their way, they were secretly delighted. If they could kill Mo Yuming together, they might not necessarily lose. So the four in front exchanged glances and then launched an attack on Mo Yuming, unleashing their most powerful moves.

Upon seeing this, Mo Yuming smiled slightly and did not immediately raise his sword to retaliate. Instead, he pointed his finger forward a few times, and suddenly sand and stones flew in mid-air, a sandstorm surrounded the four of them, with countless boulders mixed in with the sand and stones hurling at them.

Mo Yuming had rarely had the opportunity to use his earth-based cultivation technique, which was already approaching the Heavenly Rank. Even when he did, he used it primarily for self-defense, as his opponents were all Heavenly Rank cultivators higher than him. This sandstorm was ineffective against Heavenly Rank cultivators with higher cultivation levels than himself. However, it was extremely effective against enemies one or two ranks lower.

The four were engulfed by a sandstorm, bombarded by countless rocks. Completely disoriented, they became easy targets. The weakest among them, a middle-aged man at the seventh level of the Earth Realm, was fatally injured by a boulder and passed out. The other three also sustained various injuries.

All the bandits were dumbfounded. They hadn't expected that a young man would be a dual cultivator of metal and earth elements, and that his earth element was at the peak of the Earth Rank. His cultivation was higher than all of theirs. Moreover, he had a spirit treasure soul sword to aid him. He could probably take on ten men at once.

Previously, I rarely used earth-based martial arts for attacks because I felt they weren't fast enough and lacked power. I only used them for self-defense. However, as my experience grew and my understanding of various martial arts styles deepened, I gradually began to value the strengths of each style.

Having found the earth-based cultivation technique quite effective, Mo Yuming decided to use it to his heart's content this time. After the sandstorm subsided, Mo Yuming unleashed another palm strike, sending a golden burst of spiritual energy through the air. By the time it reached the bandits, it had transformed into a rain of meteorites several meters wide. Countless millstone-sized spiritual meteorites rained down upon the group of bandits, engulfing more than a dozen of them.

The dozen or so people immediately launched a coordinated attack to defend themselves. However, the meteorite was too large and extremely fast. Falling from such a height, it was not something every Earth-rank expert could withstand. The three who had been injured earlier, after blocking several meteorites, were struck by the meteorite's powerful force, coughing up blood and suffering severe injuries, rendering them incapable of fighting. The remaining few were also in a sorry state, disoriented and groaning from the impact of the meteorite.

Seeing this, the Falcon Guards naturally wouldn't let this rare opportunity slip by. After the meteorite crashed, they immediately attacked, and several screams rang out almost simultaneously. After a round of slaughter, only five or six bandits remained who could still fight.

At this moment, reinforcements from the Falcon Guard and the National Security Guard arrived, numbering forty or fifty men. They surrounded the group of bandits.

As for the two Heavenly Realm cultivators fighting Ji Xianlin, they were still struggling to hold on. Surrounded by Ji Xianlin's sword light, escape was nearly impossible. The swordsmanship of the Ji family of 'One Sword Pavilion' emphasizes that one sword is ten thousand swords, and ten thousand swords return to one sword. The higher the cultivation level, the more sword points of light appear, densely packed in all directions, like a cage of light. Anyone trapped within would be attacked by countless sword lights no matter which direction they charged. The area enveloped by the sword light was Ji Xianlin's battle domain. Only by breaking through this sword light domain could escape be possible.

Although both of these individuals are at the third level of the Heavenly Rank, the difference between them and those at the fourth level is significant. The first to third levels of the Heavenly Rank are considered low-level, the fourth to sixth levels are mid-level, and the seventh to ninth levels are high-level.

Although there's only a one-level difference between Heavenly Rank 3 and Heavenly Rank 4, they are essentially equivalent to the same realm. Two Heavenly Rank 1 cultivators might defeat one Heavenly Rank 2 cultivator, and two Heavenly Rank 2 cultivators might defeat one Heavenly Rank 3 cultivator. However, even two powerful Heavenly Rank 3 cultivators cannot defeat a Heavenly Rank 4 cultivator—that's the principle. Moreover, on the path of cultivation, many people break through to Heavenly Rank 3, but those who aspire to advance to Heavenly Rank 4 or higher are extremely rare; perhaps only one in a hundred Heavenly Rank 3 cultivators might break through to Heavenly Rank 4.

The two experts at the third level of the Heavenly Rank never expected to encounter a fourth-level Heavenly Rank expert in this remote place. The only way to escape Ji Xianlin's combat domain now is to sacrifice one of them to buy time for the other to break through and escape.

But the two were neither brothers, nor sworn brothers, nor confidants. Therefore, they weren't yet inclined to sacrifice themselves for the other's survival. Although both were fighting desperately, neither had yet considered dying in the line of duty.

Since no one values ​​righteousness, let's die together! Perhaps we can keep each other company on the road to the underworld. Ji Xianlin raised his longsword, and then the tip trembled. Instantly, countless sword lights, like a rain of pear blossoms, shot towards the two. The battle zone formed by the sword shadows suddenly shrank, becoming less than ten feet in diameter. The sharp sword energy pressed directly against their skin.

Trapped in the battle zone, the two men were unable to move their limbs; any slight movement would result in injury from the sword energy. They were drenched in sweat, their eyes filled with despair.

Suddenly, one of them revealed a ferocious look in his eyes, let out a strange shout, and stretched out a palm. A surge of icy blue spiritual energy emanated from his palm, causing the surrounding air temperature to plummet and frost to appear faintly in mid-air. As this cold air intensified, even the surrounding air seemed to begin to solidify.

This person gathered a large amount of ice spiritual power, and then pushed this ball of ice spiritual power forward, towards his comrade-in-arms, another Heavenly Rank cultivator who was fighting alongside him. He never expected to be attacked by his own comrade-in-arms. He was immediately hit and his entire body was instantly frozen into an ice sculpture. This old man never dreamed that he would be betrayed by his teammates at this most critical moment, frozen and used as a human weapon to be pushed out and crash into the sword domain outside.

The sword shadows that were everywhere in the sword domain struck the humanoid popsicle with a series of clangs. The humanoid popsicle was instantly turned into a hedgehog, and bright red blood gushed out from the sword holes, turning it into an ice man stained with blood.

The old man who had ambushed his comrade seized the opportunity to leap out of the sword domain, then unleashed a series of ice shields behind him and fled into the distance. However, before he had gone more than two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters), his body suddenly stiffened, and he collapsed to the ground. A pale blue longsword emerged from his back, then flew into the sky, disappearing in mid-air with a 'whoosh' as ​​a dark shadow.

After retrieving the Soul Sword, Mo Yuming approached the old man, who was frozen solid. He glanced at him and saw that although the old man had more than a dozen sword holes in his body, none of them had hit any vital points, so he was not fatally injured. He was simply frozen solid by the Xuanbing ice and could not move.

"Since you survived such a calamity, let it go. I hope you have good luck!"

Mo Yuming cast an ice spell, melting the Xuanbing (mysterious ice) that sealed the old man's body. Although Mo Yuming's water element cultivation was only at the fifth level of the Earth Rank, melting the Xuanbing formed from spiritual energy was still a piece of cake for him.

Although the old man was severely injured, he was still a third-level Heavenly Rank cultivator. After the ice was broken, his spiritual energy circulated throughout his body, and he slowly regained his vitality. After lying on the ground to recover his strength, he stopped the bleeding from his wounds and then took out a few pills from his pocket and swallowed them. After meditating for a while, he slowly propped himself up, bowed to Mo Yuming and Ji Xianlin, and then walked towards the post road outside the city.

Under Mo Yuming's instructions, the Falcon Guards did not make things difficult for the seriously injured old man, allowing him to leave on his own.

The battlefield has been cleaned up. Including the two Heavenly Rank elders, there were a total of twenty-three people. Ten were killed, six were seriously injured, three were slightly injured, three were captured alive, and one was released.

The wounded and those captured alive were taken to the dungeon for safekeeping. The wounded received treatment first, while the uninjured were immediately interrogated.

The interrogation results came out that very night: the group was indeed assassins sent by Wu Yi. There were three groups, each with more than twenty people, all disguised as various travelers and refugees, infiltrating the city. Some even sneaked in from the wilderness. They would then reunite at a designated location. This group was the first to arrive, and they had just finished reuniting, preparing to infiltrate the city as planned to carry out assassinations, cause chaos, and sow discord. The noblewoman whose right hand was severed was Dong Wei's wife. After Dong Wei's death, the Dong family was essentially ruined, and all the Xuan Gong practitioners above the Earth Rank in the Dong family joined this assassination operation.

The accompanying Heavenly Rank attendants were all Wu Yi's guest advisors. Wu Yi had a total of eighteen Heavenly Rank guest advisors, including eight at level three, five at level two, and five at level one. Now, only one of the eight level three Heavenly Rank attendants remained with Wu Yi; five had fled, and two had died. Two of the level two attendants had died. Two of the level one attendants had also died in battle in Xin County.

Two second-level Celestial Realm experts accompanied the second group, while the third group consisted of one second-level and one first-level Celestial Realm expert. Their destination was Shangyuan City and Zhongyuan City.

Upon receiving the news, Mo Yuming immediately notified Su Yangyan, who was stationed in Shangyuan City, and Jiang Yuheng, who was stationed in Zhongyuan City. However, all the Heavenly Rank experts had already been dispatched to guard various passes. Now, apart from Lei Ye, Dian Ye, and Bao Ye who were refining weapons at the arsenal, there was only He Ye stationed at Wushuang Fortress in the mainland.

After careful consideration, the only option was to dispatch Lei Ye and his men to defend the two cities; He Ye could not be mobilized under any circumstances. Jingzhou still needed a powerful expert to oversee it, so Ji Xianlin had to remain there for the time being. Mo Yuming's current combat strength was equivalent to the first level of the Heavenly Rank. Therefore, it was decided that Ji Xianlin would go to Zhongyuan City to handle the emergency. Fortunately, the elderly Si Rongnong, who had just returned, hadn't left; she was also a second-level Heavenly Rank expert and was currently in Shangyuan City.

With Master Lei at Heavenly Rank 3 and Granny Si at Heavenly Rank 2, no matter which team arrives in Shangyuan City, there's nothing to worry about.

Both Master Dian and Master Leopard are at the second level of the Heavenly Rank. Mo Yuming dispatched them to Zhongyuan City to guard it, and he himself also rushed to Zhongyuan City. This way, even if the assassin team sent to Zhongyuan City had two second-level Heavenly Rank assassins, they could be dealt with. As for the other Earthly Rank assassins, there was no need to worry at all. The Falcon Guards and National Security Officers stationed in Zhongyuan City and Shangyuan City were more numerous than in any other city, and their systems and mechanisms were already very complete, far superior to those in Jingzhou City.

No matter where the bandits appear, the Falcon Guard and the National Security Guard will be dispatched immediately. Their crisis response capabilities are several times greater than those of Jingzhou City.