Chapter 1421: Must Save

Until two hundred and thirty people had gathered, Qi Yunsheng gave the order to depart. He temporarily assigned Xue Zongwu's elite troops to his own command, then selected over sixty strong and capable men from the manor, and only then left through the western gate, following the guidance of the Maternal Needle to track the enemy.

These two hundred and thirty-plus people marched at a decent pace, but they could not compare to Qi Yunsheng himself.

Xue Zongwu's lightness technique was taught by him; Qi Yunsheng's cultivation was profound and his breath enduring, so when he ran at full speed he was faster than a fine horse.

Yet he had made up his mind: he would neither rush ahead nor fall behind, but simply follow the main force as they advanced together.

After leaving Xiaotao Mountain Manor and traveling several li westward, one arrives at the famous Xinghu Lake of Mangzhou.

This lake originally covered only a few dozen hectares, but after Mangzhou widened and dredged it five times over the years and diverted river water to replenish it, it became the vast expanse of blue waves seen today.

When the party tracked the enemy to this point, they were blocked by the lake's waters.

"The killer might have escaped by boat." Baoxin ran quickly around the lakeside and returned to report, "There are six small boats at Liao Village by the lake, each capable of carrying six or seven people. Master, should we take a boat to pursue?"

Qi Yunsheng gazed at the tranquil lake surface in the night, narrowed his eyes in thought for a few breaths, then shook his head: "Continue on land, even if we must detour. We are not in a hurry."

Xue Zongwu's martial skill had long surpassed his teacher's; Qi Yunsheng knew full well how formidable this disciple was, and upon hearing the news of his beheading, he was greatly shaken.

Xue Zongwu was, after all, a commander of troops, bearing a rich essence of power—something ordinary cultivators could not compare to. To put it this way, those with deeper essence than him could not be found in the entire Yaoguo state, numbering only a handful.

Moreover, he still had three deputy commanders by his side, whose abilities were also not insignificant—although Xue Zongwu had left his two strongest deputies behind at Frost Creek and had not brought them along.

Even so, they were still killed by the Nine Abyssal Great Emperor.

The killer's power is truly unfathomable.

In tracking such a formidable person, Qi Yunsheng is doubly cautious, and must not act recklessly or carelessly as Xue Zongwu did, endangering himself.

Even if the Nine Abyssal Great Emperor is fiercely aggressive, he could not possibly charge alone into this group.

Furthermore, Qi Yunsheng himself is not someone easy to deal with.

Now, he only needs to follow the killer's direction—neither hurried nor delayed—and in time he will surely catch up.

He also sent someone to the government office to deliver a message; officials and troops will soon arrive to join him in the joint search for the murderer of Xue Zongwu.

His decision naturally met with no dissent.

However, as they were about to detour around the lake, Fu Wending, holding a copper basin, called out: "Master, wait a moment—the golden needle has moved."

The golden needle suddenly turned.

Previously, its swing had been very slight, indicating the killer was advancing at a steady speed in one direction; but now, it changed direction rapidly.

The golden needle pointed north.

Has the Nine Abyssal Great Emperor gone north again? Qi Yunsheng frowned.

But not having to detour around Xinghu Lake is already a good thing; he gave the order, and the entire party turned and headed north.

The road to the north is not easy—there are mountains and valleys, and especially on such a pitch-black night, traveling lightly risks a sprained ankle, and at worst, a fatal fall. Fortunately, these two hundred-plus are all elite troops, especially Xue Zongwu's army, which is capable of night marches.

After not walking long, they could see the strange rocks of the northern mountain of Xiaotao Mountain Manor—namely, the starting point where He Lingchuan and the Weng brothers spread their wings to glide—

They had already arrived at the base of the cliff north of the northern mountain. Taking advantage of the darkness, they looked up at the mountain stones, which seemed like strange-shaped demonic beasts.

All around was pitch black, and Qi Yunsheng felt increasingly strange as he walked.

At this moment, Fu Wending came over again holding the copper basin: "Master, the golden needle is spinning wildly!"

Qi Yunsheng looked and saw that the golden needle in the basin was spinning rapidly, back and forth, with no fixed direction.

What is going on?

Having held the Maternal Needle for many years, he pondered briefly, his face changing color: "The killer is very close to us!"

The Nine Abyssal Great Emperor has actually turned back again, right in our vicinity!

Upon hearing this, the entire party became alert.

More than half of those present had personally witnessed the scene where the Nine Abyssal Great Emperor beheaded General Xue; upon hearing that this formidable person had returned, everyone became extremely vigilant.

Qi Yunsheng further considered whether the Nine Abyssal Great Emperor had discovered he was being followed; otherwise, why would he turn back midway? As he thought this, the Maternal Needle began to tremble.

This indicates that our side is now within less than twenty zhang of the target! "On guard!" Qi Yunsheng drew a deep breath, circulated his true energy throughout his body, to guard against a sneak attack by the Nine Abyssal Great Emperor. The eyewitnesses had already described to him how the Nine Abyssal Great Emperor strikes—truly swift as Lei Ting.

However, the Maternal Needle trembled only a few times, then returned to calm and began to turn again—

The target is now rapidly moving away from them.

"Follow, hurry and follow." After Qi Yunsheng said this, he unconsciously stopped his steps, because the Maternal Needle had directly turned from due north to the southeast!

Impossible? Fu Wending pointed to the southeast and murmured: "Isn't that direction exactly Xiaotao Mountain Manor?"

Has the Nine Abyssal Great Emperor made a circuit and returned to Xiaotao Mountain Manor?

Afterwards, the Maternal Needle's indication stabilized again, steadily pointing toward Xiaotao Mountain Manor, with only occasional variations.

Qi Yunsheng's expression turned grim.

If the Nine Abyssal Great Emperor went anywhere else, he could follow at a leisurely pace.

But not Xiaotao Mountain Manor! That is his gate, his foundation.

Many of the Qi family's most secret documents, many shameful secrets, are hidden within the manor.

Once exposed, where would the Qi family find refuge in Yaoguo? Do not forget, there is still the Qingyang Regent eyeing them like a tiger watches its prey; if these things fell into her hands...

Qi Yunsheng finally understood Xue Zongwu's earlier worries.

Ironically, in order to track the killer, he had brought all the able-bodied men from the manor; now only ordinary laborers and servants remain in the manor, not to mention a few dozen guards, who pose no threat whatsoever to the Nine Abyssal Great Emperor.

Has that scoundrel calculated his movements, lured them away, and then sneaked into Xiaotao Mountain Manor? However, they are now in the northern valley, separated from the manor's northern mountain by a cliff, with no proper road available. For these two hundred and thirty-plus to return to Xiaotao Mountain Manor, they must first detour to the western slope, then enter through the western gate—not only must they make a large detour, but the return route is even more difficult!

At this moment, two bursts of fireworks suddenly rose in the southeastern night sky, both in green and red.

Alarm! Xiaotao Mountain Manor is under attack.

Everyone looked to Qi Yunsheng: What should we do? Qi Yunsheng hesitated.

Actually, there is still a way to return quickly to the manor: climb over mountains and ridges, directly ascending from the valley below the cliff!

There is a "monkey path" there—the route monkeys commonly use to go up and down the valley. Although Qi Yunsheng is over sixty, when he activates his lightness technique he remains as agile as an ape, and his two disciples are no less capable.

They can return from here by climbing over the mountains, with a speed more than twice that of detouring via the western slope.

But this would inevitably mean leaving the main force.

Xuezongwu's guard unit also wasn't entirely composed of experts; it was impossible to climb back up this nearly ninety-degree, hundred-zhang cliff, and the number of people who could traverse the mountain with Qiyunsheng was limited.

Could this be a trap? The enemy might be trying to isolate him for a sneak attack? Would he repeat Xuezongwu's mistake?

Qiyunsheng was still hesitating when, not far away, several loud booming sounds suddenly erupted.

Everyone turned their heads at the noise and saw flames shooting into the sky and thick black smoke rising above Xiaotaoshan Villa! The Nine Abysses Great Emperor was wreaking havoc inside the villa again.

How many explosions has this been tonight?

Judging by the sound, Qiyunsheng could roughly determine it was in the north-northeast direction—probably the explosion came from Liuxiangju?

After another ten or so breaths, another series of explosions rang out, this time even farther away.

Qiyunsheng had operated here for many years, and most of the Qi family's ancestral foundation and wealth were in Xiaotaoshan Villa, but if the Nine Abysses Great Emperor kept bombing like this, Xiaotaoshan Villa would be blown to pieces.

He gritted his teeth, turned his head, and said: "Those who can climb the mountain, step forward."

Let's first see how many there are, then decide.

Some of Xuezongwu's guards stepped forward upon hearing the call.

Besides Qiyunsheng and his two disciples, there were actually nearly thirty people capable of climbing the mountain—no wonder, they were the elite meticulously cultivated by Xuezongwu himself.

Qiyunsheng was overjoyed, his heart finally at ease.

No matter how formidable the Nine Abysses Great Emperor was, he was at most three people, with one or two currently wreaking havoc in Xiaotaoshan Villa. What chance did they have of ambushing Qiyunsheng on the monkey trail? How great could it possibly be?

Well, even if the Nine Abysses Great Emperor truly lay in ambush on the mountain path, their thirty-odd men could take him on one-on-one—would they still not win? Qiyunsheng himself possessed profound cultivation, and it had been a long time since he'd met a worthy opponent. Tonight, he was merely shocked by Xuezongwu's death and naturally cautious. But now, upon careful reflection, could the Nine Abysses Great Emperor's power truly surpass Qiyunsheng plus his two favored disciples plus thirty elite soldiers? Speaking factually and logically, why would the Nine Abysses Great Emperor choose to strike at Xiaotaoshan Villa? Simply because Xuezongwu only brought a handful of people into the villa; conversely, the Nine Abysses Great Emperor feared Xuezongwu's large force and dared not attack when surrounded by his elite troops, only wishing to wait until he was alone.

Now Qiyunsheng had over thirty elite troops at his side—what was there left to fear?

Even if we suppose our side couldn't win in a fight, couldn't we still retreat?

Having realized this, Qiyunsheng calmed his spirit, chuckled darkly at his own jumpiness, and admitted he had again fallen into the habit of excessive caution.

Let's take the shortcut back—provided the shortcut is good, we can arrive within a quarter of an hour.

"Go."

He waved his hand, and his two disciples took the lead.

The thirty-plus elite soldiers of the Xue family army surrounded him in the center as they crossed mountains and ridges.

The over one hundred others who couldn't climb the mountain would have to detour to the western slope and take the long way around.

Gazing at the pitch-black cliff face, Qiyunsheng tossed out a insect-shaped cloth doll, then softly chanted an incantation.

This was also a magical artifact made from the Mother's Needle, appearing like a toy, yet when thrown to the ground with a soft "pang" sound, it transformed into a four-chi-tall giant flea-louse.

This creature resembled a cricket in appearance—oily and black-shiny, with very short wings that couldn't fly well, but strong legs. Qiyunsheng and Fuwending rode upon it, and climbing mountains and slopes felt like walking on level ground.

It couldn't fight but excelled at crawling, and could persist for more than three ke. Aside from consuming too much energy, it had no other flaws.

Qiyunsheng regretted that the azure avian demon had been slain by the enemy; otherwise, having it for aerial reconnaissance would have greatly increased their safety margin.

Soon, the party had scrambled over several massive rocks.

As for this monkey trail behind Xiaotaoshan Villa—needless to say, Qiyunsheng knew it like the back of his hand, and his two disciples had traversed it more than once, so familiar they could navigate it with ease. They knew the most difficult and dangerous stretch lay ahead, while the path behind was comparatively gentle.

The Nine Abysses Great Emperor had still not appeared, and Qiyunsheng's tightly wound nerves eased slightly.

(End of Chapter)