Chapter 2590

According to the original plan of the Lingyun Palace, if a strong attack could defeat the enemy and rescue Duan He Yun, that would be ideal; if not, and the forbidden escape barrier was destroyed, then the earthen wall could still strike at the root and take advantage of the chaos to sneak away with Duan He Yun.

Rescuing their chief puppet master is more important than figuring out the enemy's details.

As for the hostages' location, it is also easy to determine—the earthen wall just needs to follow the guidance of the Divine Gaze, which is infallible and never fails.

Lingyun Palace even planted an immortal and a great demon of the same level among this group.

The earthen wall requires two puppet masters to operate, with a maximum load of four people. Therefore, two immortals launching a surprise rescue of Duan He Yun should pose no problem.

As long as Duan He Yun is saved, the two experts won't mind continuing the slaughter afterward.

The two puppet masters were originally responsible for rescuing people, but upon touching the captive's body, they felt it stiff and hard; upon closer inspection, it was not Duan He Yun and A Lian at all, but clearly one large and one small toad.

"Why would the Divine Gaze be on a toad?" They had no time to ponder, and quickly shouted: "Ambush, retreat!"

But it was too late.

Just as they appeared, a spider web shot from the cave corner, perfectly drenching the earthen wall from head to toe.

The earthen wall was startled and instinctively struggled. Seeing this, the puppet masters immediately drew their blades to cut the web, but the four-layered spider web's composite structure was too sturdy—they couldn't saw through it in time.

The earthen wall immediately tried to dive underground, but the opponent was one step ahead—before it could burrow deep, they grabbed the spider web and hoisted it upward!

The earthen wall is only six feet tall; once lifted, it hangs helplessly in midair, with no room to maneuver.

The two immortals landed and immediately launched a sneak attack from behind on the guards, without any hesitation.

But one guard's back flared with yellow light, enveloping his entire body.

A true "Golden Bell Shield."

Such a magical artifact is not something ordinary people can possess.

Another guard reacted even faster—midair, a cold light flickered slightly, and he backhandedly slashed straight at the great demon's neck!

Earlier, he had kept his head down and his back turned, revealing nothing, but now, as he stretched his body, cold light flashed throughout the chamber.

The immortal opposite first felt the blade aura nearly pierce his eyeball, then saw the smug smile on his face:

"Secure the net, don't let the fish escape!"

……

At the same time, two caravans departing from Baishan City encountered bandits on their northward journey to Yanxia Bay.

Lingyun Palace's transport convoy was actually ambushed—this had not happened in the past ten years. Casualties were minor, but vehicles and supplies were completely looted.

These caravans make multiple daily round trips between Baishan City and Yanxia Bay, transporting various goods. Now, however, a group of enemies lies in wait on the official road, attacking every passing convoy and not even allowing a single sack of rice through!

After being robbed several times in succession, Lingyun Palace was furious.

The food supply for tens of thousands in the three small worlds of Yuntai depends on these caravans—going without grain for one day is tolerable, two days is manageable, but any longer is unacceptable.

Moreover, the growth of the Hidden God Monarch's fragments requires abundant nourishment, which cannot be interrupted even for a moment. Lingyun Palace's puppet masters also require many externally purchased herbs and materials for their experiments.

There's no choice—Lingyun Palace can only dispatch military forces to escort the caravans.

Even transporting the most basic daily necessities now requires mid-to-high level combat power, which infuriates Lingyun Palace, but without them, supplies cannot reach Yanxia Bay.

After assigning dedicated escorts, the bandits stopped coming.

But before the caravan could breathe a sigh of relief, new troubles followed in quick succession:

To the north of the city lies Dahu, and a long stretch of the official road circles around it, with low terrain.

As soon as the caravan entered this stretch, they were dumbfounded:

Before them lay endless lake water—where was the road? The usual road?

This season happens to be the flood season, so the lake surface naturally expands, but over the past many years, the lake water has never flooded the official road.

This entire mountain hollow has become a marshland—on one side is Dahu, on the other are mountain ranges, and the official road is submerged under a zhang of water—how can the caravan possibly move forward?

In just a few hours, the lake water could flow backward? Lingyun Palace, even thinking with their knees, knows this must be the enemy's doing.

However, this roadblock strategy is remarkably well-planned—it stopped the caravan without losing a single soldier.

Lingyun Palace had no choice but to dispatch two experts proficient in earth techniques, ordering them to find a way to raise the ground and construct an embankment for the caravan to pass.

These two individuals possess immense magic power—working together, there should be no reason they cannot succeed.

But the problem is, every time the earth embankment nears completion, an invisible force interferes, pushing it back down into the lakebed.

The opponent is also highly skilled in earth techniques, and even more adept than Lingyun Palace's practitioners—each time, they act one step ahead.

After this back-and-forth five or six times, two hours have passed, yet the caravan remains stranded on the shore, staring longingly, unable to move an inch.

The news reached Lingyun Palace, and even Helu Tian grew somewhat anxious.

Wang Mao Shi received the report again, entering to say: "Immortal Wu Yu identified an old acquaintance on the Sang River battlefield—Immortal Ming Ke."

Helu Tian was somewhat surprised:

"Lingshan?"

"Yes. Judging by this, the enemy comes from Lingshan."

Xiao Ping interjected from the side: "May I ask how this came about?"

How was this conclusion reached?

"Immortal Ming Yao and Immortal Ming Ke, these two master-disciple brothers, had long ago defected to Lingshan. Recently, Immortal Ming Yao led Lingshan's forces in a great battle against the Earth Mother, achieving remarkable results—supposedly, after returning to Lingshan, he even received generous rewards." Wang Mao Shi relayed Wu Yu's original words, "Immortal Ming Ke also had two cultivators beside him, whom Wu Yu recognized as well—indeed, they are all from Lingshan. Therefore, it can basically be confirmed that the enemy invading Lingyun Palace this time is from Lingshan."

Xiao Ping frowned: "How can we rule out the suspicion of Cang Yan? Perhaps they are working together!"

Wang Mao Shi countered: "If you were Lingshan, having just obtained the top-secret intelligence of Yanxia Bay with great difficulty, would you share it with Cang Yan?"

Xiao Ping puzzled: "Why not? Cang Yan is also a major power today, and we are not on good terms with Bei Jia or them."

"As the saying goes, 'the law is not transmitted to six ears'—once such a secret is known by more than one person, the risk of leakage increases tenfold or more!" Wang Mao Shi shook his head. "How would Lingshan know that after the news reached Cang Yan, it wouldn't leak out? The Nine Abyssal Great Emperor has countless subordinates—who knows if any of them are our spies?"

"Such risk cannot be anticipated or controlled, so Lingshan must remain tightly sealed; likewise, if Cang Yan obtained the secrets of Yanxia Bay, they could not share them with Lingshan."

His words were rather dogmatic, but not without reason—Xiao Ping momentarily couldn't find a rebuttal.

"Looking back at history, cooperation between Cang Yan and Lingshan has indeed been rare—the Battle of Yanjing City being an exception." Wang Mao Shi added, "Their relationship appears harmonious on the surface, but is actually distant."

Xiao Ping frowned: "I've heard that Cang Yan's founding emperor, the Nine Abyssal Great Emperor, once caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace—precisely through cooperation with Lingshan."