Chapter 23: Leading the Troops to Storm the Stronghold

"Huh?"

Zhang Jian looked surprised.

This was his first time encountering an animal with spiritual intelligence.

That must be a spirit monster.

He faintly sensed that the two blue hawks had a strange aura, with a peculiar taste.

There was also a faint undulation.

An undulation of spiritual power.

But it was very faint.

But it was completely different from the few outsider cultivators he had seen.

Zhang Jian subconsciously remembered this strange taste.

But then he fell into hesitation.

His entry into Phoenix Tail Mountain was not merely to suppress bandits; he also carried a secret mission.

It was said that Phoenix Tail Mountain might have an ancient prince's tomb, containing a fairly rich set of burial goods, and possibly a formidable external martial arts inheritance; Zhang Yicai had sent him on this errand.

This information had come from Gu Xiu'er.

Those two fellow disciples had entered Phoenix Stream County, their main purpose also being that tomb, and they planned to borrow troops from Yang Qing to accomplish it.

But they hadn't expected to be trapped at the Zhang family.

In the end they had to rely on this information for self-preservation.

"Great nephew, have you found anything?"

Seeing Zhang Jian suddenly stop, Zhang Kui immediately turned his gaze over; though he was big and burly, he was meticulous.

After thinking, Zhang Jian said: "Fourth Uncle, there may be a change in Phoenix Tail Mountain; I estimate that outsider cultivators have already arrived there first!"

Zhang Kui's expression shifted upon hearing this; he couldn't help but frown and asked doubtfully.

"What merit does that nest of wasps have to attract outsider cultivators? Moreover, if their gang possessed an outsider expert, how could they stay put? Given the nature of these bandits, they'd likely have cleared out other strongholds in the Twin Phoenix Mountain Range."

Zhang Jian's eyes flickered; he also had doubts, but to verify his guess he had Zhang Kui send a few sturdy men to scout the mountains from a distance, not to approach the stronghold.

At the same time he had the five hundred soldiers hide first, to avoid being discovered by the mountain's outsider cultivators.

This was also out of prudent consideration.

Zhang Jian did not really want to take risks.

After all, he had just stepped into the cultivation world and had a bright future ahead.

As long as he fulfilled his filial duty, staying safe would bring a vast future; a little gold and silver were not worth risking his life.

But Zhang Jian also had his own considerations.

He guessed that this outsider person might have been sent out by the Upper Yuan Sect to spread the news, possibly to disgust the Zhang family.

A cultivator who covets only mundane wealth, Zhang Jian estimated, would not be too strong; if he were too strong, those two little demons might not escape either.

Not long after, several sturdy men returned with the news.

"The stronghold still stands, and there are still patrols!"

This startled Zhang Jian; his guess had not been wrong.

That outsider person obviously still needed to use the nest of wasps in Phoenix Tail Mountain to help locate the tomb.

This also indicated that the outsider person's cultivation level would not be too high.

But this was normal; Zhang Jian, from his earlier contest with the Gu family, had also vaguely realized that in the world there are few orthodox cultivators; most probably merely obtained a volume or two of heterodox techniques to make a living.

Just look at the Gu family's reputation and you'll know.

After learning that the Zhang family might have extraordinary individuals, even if it meant suffering some loss of face, they did not continue to pester.

This indicated a situation: perhaps they had no extraordinary individuals at hand, and even if they did, they would keep them as a hidden trump card, not to be used lightly.

Having now mastered the Wind Walking Technique and Thunder Action Formula from the Minor Wind and Thunder Technique, and having made an initial entry into the Purifying Soul Spell, Zhang Jian still felt somewhat confident.

As long as he did not meet a true cultivator of magical power, even if he could not win, fleeing would be fine.

He had recently put hard work into the Wind Walking Technique...

Narrowing his eyes, Zhang Jian said directly: "Fourth Uncle, I will go first, open the stronghold gate; you all press forward—even if there are one or two heterodox technique practitioners, they should pose no problem!"

Although he said so, Zhang Jian also felt a bit regretful.

It's not worth destroying the tablet of the Accumulated Good House; otherwise, in this situation, raising the tablet and coming over, see which heterodox practitioner dares to sway recklessly!

Moreover, this squad formed from government officers likewise held an imperial appointment; plus, Zhang Kui being the Magistrate of Phoenix Stream County, though only a ninth‑rank official, still held an official status, possessed dragon‑tiger aura, and could still deter heterodox paths.

"Good, our troops will follow shortly!"

Zhang Kui's expression was solemn; he slightly urged his horse, then immediately ordered his personal guards to relay the command, preparing to advance into Phoenix Tail Mountain.

At the same time, clear obstacles.

In Phoenix Tail Mountain, Zhang Jian moved extremely swiftly; having made up his mind, he still chose to believe the truth he had deduced.

Along the way, Zhang Jian found almost no hidden sentries on the road; later, in the dark woods he saw several corpses turned to dry husks.

On them lingered a strange spiritual influence that made him feel nauseous.

This further corroborated Zhang Jian's suspicion.

At Phoenix Tail Stronghold, Zhang Jian leapt into the air; several yellow talismans were affixed to his legs and feet, and for a moment he seemed able to ride an invisible layer of air; his keen innate spiritual sense gradually found a rhythm in the unseen wind currents.

The Wind Walking Technique had already been cultivated by him to the level of entry into the hall.

But due to lacking sufficient practice data, Zhang Jian could not break through this barrier in a short time.

Relying on the Wind Walking Technique, he easily bypassed the stronghold's high walls, knocking unconscious the sentries in the arrow towers with a casual strike.

After dealing with the fierce bandits on the perimeter, Zhang Jian did not rush to act.

His extremely keen spiritual sense already faintly detected a dense, chilling spiritual influence circulating deep within the bandit stronghold; this influence was very intense.

But unlike the orthodox cultivators who have cultivated magical power as mentioned in the Nine Chapters of the Pure Clarity of Tong Mountain, this gave Zhang Jian some confidence in his heart.

But as a cautious person, he did not choose to rush forward; with a thought he immediately sealed his own spiritual mechanism, instead hiding in the dark.

Soon after, shouts of killing came from below the city battlements; Zhang Kui led a troop and had already smoothly rushed to the front of the mountain stronghold, opening its gate.

"Not good, big brother, the government troops are charging up the mountain!"

When the third chief, Zhang Bao, charged into the rear mountains with a bloody face, the chief was leading a band of fierce outlaws, sweating profusely as they dug up the earth and moved the rocks.

Upon hearing this, he was greatly startled.

Beside him, the black-clad diviner on the stone opened his eyes, his face grim, and cursed.

"A bunch of useless wastes, they can't even hold a stronghold!"

His grim face showed some intense anger; the person who had told him the location of the Min King's tomb had already mentioned it to him before, and several other families also knew of this, the nearest being the Zhang clan of Fengxi County; he had deliberately left these outlaws, not without the intention of preparing in advance.

He hadn't expected these notorious outlaws to be so useless.

Seeing Song Heihu still in a daze, he immediately shouted:

"Why don't you quickly meet the enemy? Do you still want me to exert effort?"

At once, Song Heihu hurriedly called to the dozens of bandits nearby, who hastily picked up their weapons and rushed to the stronghold gate; Zhang Kang also had a layer of black aura appear around him and silently followed.

He had long received news that the Zhang family might also have extraordinary individuals; to be safe, he prepared to first hide in the dark, wait for the right moment, then launch a sudden strike against them.

At the same time, he instinctively stopped his steps and habitually took out a tortoise shell from his sleeve to divine for himself.

Only see the copper coins fall and scatter in all directions.

"The lowest omen, a sign of great misfortune!"

Seeing this, Zhang Kang's face sank.

A flicker of hesitation immediately crossed his eyes, but after a moment the malevolent intent in his heart prevailed, preparing to follow up and see the situation.

When he arrived at the gate, however, he saw wave after wave of arrow rain shooting down from the stronghold's arrow towers; including Song Heihu, the bandits fell over half after just one volley, and if this continued he would soon be left alone.

This inevitably made Zhang Kang frown.

Facing such a well-organized army, even though he possessed heretical dao arts, he still had misgivings; these troops were not mere mountain bandits, they possessed the righteousness of the court, and furthermore their leader held an official position and wielded dragon-tiger aura, making them difficult to deal with.

Facing such a well-organized army, even though he possessed heretical arts, he still had misgivings; these troops were not mountain bandits, they inherently held the righteousness of the court, and moreover their leader held an official position and possessed dragon‑tiger aura, making them not easy to deal with.

He also glanced around, seeing that the outside practitioners had entered the field, and his heart suddenly harbored some speculation.

"This time it was not the Zhang family's people, but merely the Fengxi County magistrate's office suppressing bandits?"

But the previous divination appeared in his heart, his eyes flickered with a hint of sway, looking at Song Heihu and the others, beneath a covert stirring of thought he actually felt some hesitation.

However, in the dark, Zhang Jian, relying on his keen spiritual sense, had already locked onto the black-clad diviner a step earlier.

In his spiritual perception, the spiritual mechanism emanating from Zhang Kang's whole body was extremely yin and cold.

Although it was somewhat stronger than his own spiritual mechanism, it was not overwhelmingly so.

"The advantage is mine!"

Seeing Zhang Kang dawdling there, he immediately guessed Zhang Kang's intention.

"Scared, preparing to slip away?"

Zhang Jian's eyes brightened, his figure immediately stealthily drew closer a bit; in an instant six wind-travel talismans appeared in his hand, affixed to his body, and his form turned into a gust of clear wind, nearly instantly closing in on Zhang Kang.

At the moment Zhang Jian drew near, Zhang Kang immediately sensed it, instinctively looking in the direction from which Zhang Jian approached.

Greeting this heterodox practitioner was Zhang Jian's premeditated full-force surprise attack; only see six yellow thunder talismans activated by his spiritual power, and in an instant crimson lightning bolts flew from the talismans, enveloping the diviner.

What greeted this heterodox practitioner was Zhang Jian's premeditated all‑out surprise attack; only six yellow thunder talismans were seen, which he activated with spiritual power, and in an instant strands of red lightning flew out from the talismans, enveloping the diviner.

Six crimson lightning bolts violently trembled, echoing throughout this forest.

Hesitation leads to defeat; decisiveness leads to giving away for free!

Hesitation will lead to defeat; decisiveness will lead to giving it away for free!