Chapter 155: The Mirror Immortal

Hongmu Ridge remained as it always had been, frozen in its eternal frosty guise.

Towering trees seemed forged from ice spikes, and the ground between them lay blanketed in white fluff; moonlight filtering through the branches was swallowed whole by the snow, leaving not a trace.

All around, silence reigned; any sound carried by the wind and snow stood out with startling clarity.

"You five—why do your clothes look thicker than everyone else's?"

Xia Hong, walking at the front of the group, turned to look at Xu Ning and Lin Kai, whose outfits were noticeably larger than the others', then scanned the rest and noticed Qiu Peng, Zhu Shun, and Zou Yuankai wore the same—prompting him to ask curiously.

Upon hearing this, the entire hunting team broke into smiles.

Yet Xu Ning and the other four named men looked distinctly embarrassed.

"Leader, those five are wearing something underneath!"

Seeing Xia Hong turn to look at him, Xu Ning immediately stripped off his outer coat.

Beneath his black cloak was no inner lining—but a thick, double-sided pale gold leather armor.

"Is this… Lei Kui hide?"

Xia Hong stepped forward, touched it, and instantly recognized the material; he then turned to examine the chests of Lin Kai and the other three, and immediately understood why they looked so embarrassed.

"Didn't I tell Big Brother before? Mu Dong used Lei Kui hide to make five sets of armor—we all tried them. This armor can block most arrows fired by Digging Realm cultivators. Since it's just sitting idle, we figured we might as well let these five wear them—though they'll have to pay rent!"

As Xia Chuan spoke, the others couldn't help but chuckle.

Lin Kai blurted out: "I told you, this armor should've gone to you guys—we five were the last to break through, and our strength is weak…"

"Hahaha, exactly because your strength is weak, that's why you're wearing it!"

…………

Xu Ning and the other four, being the latest to break through, were being given special treatment.

Lin Kai's embarrassment wasn't from humiliation—it was because they felt their weak strength didn't merit such fine gear, and that it should've gone to stronger members.

Seeing the five being teased, Xia Hong couldn't help but chuckle softly, his eyes filled with clear admiration.

Solidarity isn't just words; admiring the strong means nothing—it's caring for the weak that truly shows a camp's cohesion.

Lin Kai, Xu Ning, and Qiu Peng were from the old Xia; Zou Yuankai was from the old Luo Ge; Zhu Shun was from the old Huang Zhao.

The hunting team was, in fact, the most representative microcosm of the camp.

From this single act, it was clear that over the past half-year, every member of Xia had been fully integrated.

"By the way, weren't there still twenty-five Lei Kui skull plates?"

Remembering the spoils from killing He Meng and his group, Xia Hong asked again.

Xia Chuan replied: "All the skulls were taken by Mu Dong for study. The ones He Meng's group wore required five pieces to form one shield—we thought it too cumbersome and didn't bring any."

That made sense.

Though the skull plates offered strong defense, each was small and awkward to carry; and to assemble them quickly into a shield like He Meng's crew did would require extensive practice and coordination.

Let's hope Mu Dong's research brings some surprises!

Unaware, Xia Hong had already led the group to the northernmost edge of Hongmu Ridge.

After merely circling the outer zone, Xia Hong's expression immediately darkened.

The others, following his gaze, grew equally grim.

"The number of low-level cold beasts is off."

"The tracks in the snow are too numerous."

"Are the Jingxian camp people still coming over?"

"Almost certainly—no one else would dare."

…………

Indeed, Jingxian Camp still treated his warning as wind in the ear.

Being so disregarded stirred anger in Xia Hong.

Yet compared to his fury, what filled his heart now was far more confusion.

Their continued incursions into Hongmu Ridge made it clear Jingxian Camp either ignored his warning—or, more bluntly, still didn't take Xia Camp seriously.

If so, then why not come directly to retaliate?

After losing He Meng and so many men, the enemy hadn't retaliated for six straight days—yet kept coming to Hongmu Ridge as if nothing had happened.

This behavior was deeply suspicious.

For the past six days, Xia's people hadn't left camp—but Xia's base had remained in the valley all along; if they wanted revenge, they could've come anytime.

Finding Xia's base was impossible.

Not to mention two Cold Resistance experts and hundreds of Digging Realm cultivators—even a casual stroll along Hongmu Ridge's perimeter would've revealed it easily.

Not to mention Lu Shang's former leader, Lu He, had visited the valley before—and now his entire camp had merged into Jingxian.

Xia Hong could be certain: Jingxian Camp knew exactly where Xia's base was.

Which made it even stranger.

Not just Xia Hong—Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, and others—all furrowed their brows, clearly sharing his thoughts, utterly baffled by Jingxian Camp's motives.

"Could it be… they're pretending to tolerate He Meng's death as an excuse to force us to cede this northern territory entirely?"

As Luo Yuan spoke, the others fell into deep thought.

Actually… there was some logic to it.

But soon, Xia Chuan dismissed the theory.

"No reason—if they truly intended that, they could've sent someone to negotiate. Now they just keep invading Hongmu Ridge in silence—this isn't the posture of someone seeking compromise…"

After saying this, Xia Chuan turned to Xia Hong and added:

"Besides, with Jingxian Camp's overall strength, do they even need to compromise like this?"

This silenced everyone.

Two Cold Resistance experts, hundreds of Digging Realm cultivators—given Jingxian Camp's previous behavior, the most logical move would've been to march straight to Xia's door and declare war.

So why this?

Unlike the others, as soon as Luo Yuan voiced his guess, Xia Hong knew it was impossible—but he himself couldn't explain why Jingxian Camp acted this way.

Why didn't Jingxian Camp come directly?

Could it be… they already know about the Green Bamboo Fence, the Marker Stones, the Wooden Piles?

Impossible—Xia Hong immediately shook his head; the first two structures had only just been pointed out, and the Wooden Piles had never been shown to anyone else.

They couldn't possibly know.

Swoosh…

A sudden whistle of wind passed by Xia Hong's ear—he snapped his brows tight, drew his blade instantly, and spun to slash behind Luo Yuan.

Clang…

"Run! Scatter!"

It was an iron arrow, fired at high speed from the eastern perimeter. As Xia Hong slashed it down, his face turned ashen—he roared at the group.

The sudden change was too abrupt; Luo Yuan didn't even have time to turn around—he only heard the arrow strike the ground and Xia Hong's shout. He instantly realized something terrible had happened and, with Xia Chuan and the other seventeen, fled frantically southward.

Swoosh… swoosh… swoosh… swoosh… swoosh…

Soon, everyone understood why Xia Hong had shouted.

Not just the east—but the west, deep within Hongmu Ridge; the north; even the south, the very direction they were fleeing—arrows erupted from all four directions.

Thwack… thwack…

Five or six arrows pierced flesh; of the seventeen who hadn't yet scattered, four fell behind.

Zhao Bao was hit in the left thigh; Li Yun in the chest; Li Ping's waist was pierced clean through; Ying Xuan fared worst—a shaft drove through his left cheek and exited his right, blood instantly coating his entire face, his appearance horrifying.

All four wounded men, fearing they'd slow the others, bit their lips and stifled every cry, refusing to make a sound.

"Keep running! Don't stop!"

Xia Hong lagged behind, signaling the four to keep fleeing while swiftly swinging his ceremonial blade.

As he chopped down countless iron arrows, he also seized moments to scan the surroundings.

What he saw sent a chill through his heart.

East, south, west, north—around the center of his seventeen men, roughly a hundred meters out in each direction, hundreds of figures were advancing rapidly, shooting arrows as they came.

"We've been ambushed!"

"How did they know we'd come out tonight?"

"Was this planned all along?"

"No, no—it doesn't fit. The east has the most men; the west has fewer—they must've just rushed over from the Arrow Bamboo Grove."

"They've been keeping watchers on the valley!"

………………

In a flash, countless thoughts raced through Xia Hong's mind—but his hands never paused.

Thwack…

Just as he chopped down three or four arrows aimed at Zhao Bao's heart, a high-pitched whistle pierced his ear—he leapt forward, shoved Zhao Bao aside, and swung his blade horizontally.

Swoosh…

The arrow's speed far exceeded his expectations—it missed his blade, pierced through the curtain of steel, and shot straight for his left eye.

In the split second, he couldn't even turn his head—desperate, he shut his left eye.

Hiss…

The arrow pierced his eyelid; the immense force slammed into his face, driving his head violently backward to absorb the impact.

It felt like an eternity—or perhaps just an instant—a warm stream slid down his temple. Xia Hong opened his left eye, pulled the arrow from his eyelid. His face showed relief—but his heart was ice-cold.

Just half an inch short—no, it was because my skin membrane's progress surged dramatically these past few days. Without that, my left eye would've been lost for sure.

Not just my left eye—I might've lost my life too!

Pfft…

Several arrows piercing flesh sounded out; Xia Hong snapped his head up, blood instantly flooding his eyes.

The moment he stepped back, leaving no one to block the arrows, Xia Chuan and the others fleeing south immediately ran into trouble.

The same four who were hit first.

Zhao Bao, shot through the left foot, moved slowest, lagging behind; two arrows pierced his chest, two more his shoulders—his speed dropped even further.

Li Pingkai's waist wound had bled down to his legs; three new arrows stuck into his back; his breath was frantic, his sprinting steps growing unsteady.

Li Yun, shot through the chest, was no better—if not for Ying Xuan supporting him, he wouldn't have had the strength to run at all.

But Ying Xuan's cheek was pierced too; his eyes were glazed, clearly pushed to his limit.

In a moment like this, any wound—especially one that hampers movement—means death is near.

It wasn't just those four; ahead, Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, and the other thirteen all carried one or two arrows each, their movements distorted, clearly wounded.

=9+shu_ba

Worst of all, arrows rained from all directions with no sign of stopping—worse still, two to three hundred men from the east were rushing closer, now less than fifty meters away.

"They're trying to wipe us all out!"

Xia Hong turned to look at the hundreds to the east; at fifty meters, he could clearly make out their faces.

Seeing their leader was Yuwen the Guardian, Xia Hong's killing intent surged to its peak—but he forced it down, raised his ceremonial blade, and became a whirlwind, sweeping past Xia Chuan and the others to position himself ahead.

"Watch out for arrows from behind—keep spreading out, run south!"

Xia Chuan and the others saw Xia Hong's move and instantly understood his intent; they widened their lateral spacing but kept fleeing south.

In less than ten breaths, Xia Hong had covered dozens of meters and reached a large tree at the southern edge of the arrow barrage.

His ceremonial blade became a whirlwind; without hesitation, he caught the direction of the arrows' origin with his peripheral vision, leapt up, and slashed down hard.

Pfft…

A black-clad man wielding a massive bow didn't even scream—his body was split clean in two and dropped straight from the tree.

"First, scatter and run…"

With the first man dead, the Jingxian Camp's hidden scouts on the south side instantly realized Xia Hong's strength; one shouted, and over a dozen leapt down from the trees, scattering in all directions.

"Think you can run? Die!"

Xia Hong wouldn't let them get away; though coming south was mainly to let Xia Chuan and the others break free, killing even more Jingxian Camp's Digging Ground cultivators would be a bonus.

He moved like lightning, closing the distance to the nearest man in an instant; as his right hand slashed with the ceremonial blade, his left hand snatched the twin-bladed great axe from his back, tilted his head slightly, and hurled it at another.

Crack… Thud…

As the ceremonial blade killed one, the hurled great axe smashed the other straight into the snow—bright red blood instantly stained the ground; two lives ended in a flash.

Shhh…

Seeing two of the hunting team's seventeen had fallen, Xia Hong grew impatient, his killing intent intensifying; he directly hurled his ceremonial blade straight at the third.

The one-point-seven-meter slender ceremonial blade pierced like a spear, straight through the man's heart; less than a dozen breaths later, three Jingxian Camp Digging Ground cultivators lay dead in his hands.

The Jingxian Camp's ambush deployment was unclear, but the southern side had the fewest—only about ten men; Xia Hong had already torn open the gap in mere moments.

Coincidentally, Xia Chuan and the others rushed up from behind.

"Keep running—don't worry about me!"

Hearing Xia Hong's words, Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan hesitated—but meeting his unyielding gaze, they gritted their teeth and ran on.

"Don't let them escape! Brothers, hold them back—when Second Leader arrives, they'll all die!"

Strangely, the nine who had just fled south, seeing the hunting team break through the encirclement, charged back without fear of death.

Watching the nine approach, Xia Hong's killing intent turned icy.

He hadn't been unable to catch them—he'd stopped only to shield Xia Chuan and the others from arrows, fearing further losses to the hunting team.

These nine, fearless, returned—only to delay them.

"Unafraid of death? Then I'll send you to it!"

Xia Hong never intended to flee; he flung his ceremonial blade away and charged barehanded toward the one closest to Xia Chuan and the others.

The man, middle-aged, saw Xia Hong charging and instinctively flinched—but the fear vanished, replaced by ferocity and rage.

He dropped his longbow, raised his blade, and slashed down at Xia Hong with full force.

"Over twenty thousand jin!"

Xia Hong had no time to admire his fearless spirit; sensing the man's strength through his qi and muscle, he didn't even dodge—instead, he kicked sideways at the descending blade.

Pfft…

The blade met Xia Hong's leg; the violent force shattered the man's grip—then the blade reversed along its own path.

Only now, the returning force was greater, faster.

The blade's back was unsharpened, two to three inches thick.

Even so, it split the man's face, driving straight into his skull.

"Fourth!"

After killing this man, Xia Hong switched targets, sprinting to where he'd thrown his ceremonial blade; he punched another dead, then drew the blade and charged the remaining seven.

These twelve on the south side, though fierce, were utterly incapable of holding back the hunting team against Xia Hong.

The bodies on the ground were Li Yun and Li Pingkai.

Xia Hong turned to look at the two corpses on the east; recognizing them, his killing intent deepened—especially seeing Xia Chuan and the others had successfully broken through the southern encirclement, realizing he was now unburdened, his movements grew even faster.

Chii…

The seven, realizing they couldn't match Xia Hong, still tried to chase Xia Chuan and the others; Xia Hong ignored the arrows behind him, focused solely on slaughtering these seven.

In less than five or six breaths, three of the lagging ones fell.

Swoosh…

As he charged toward the fourth, another high-speed whistle pierced his ear; Xia Hong's brow twitched—he didn't block this time, twisting aside to dodge.

Pfft…

Watching the iron arrow pierce through the tree, Xia Hong's eyes flashed with shock—then he turned, seeing Yuwen the Guardian, less than twenty meters behind, holding a powerful bow, his gaze icy.

Behind Yuwen the Guardian, two to three hundred more men steadily approached, forming a ring that encircled Xia Hong completely.

"Fate truly turns, doesn't it? Xia Hong, this time, you're finished!"

Xia Hong said nothing, only stared at the massive bow in Yuwen the Guardian's hand—specifically, at its white bowstring.

Seeing the string was woven from white silk, but several times thicker than the one he'd taken from He Meng and others, Xia Hong's expression shifted slightly.

Though many arrows had targeted him, only three truly mattered: the first aimed at Luo Yuan, the second at his left eye, and the third that forced him to dodge.

All three were clearly fired by Yuwen the Guardian.

The first two aside, the middle one—capable of piercing his skin membrane—must have carried power exceeding one zong.

The thickened white silk had such incredible tensile strength!

"Xia Hong, earlier He Meng killed eight of yours; you killed twenty-five of ours; tonight, I led the ambush—both sides suffered losses. By numbers, Great Xia still came out ahead. Don't you agree?"

Seeing Xia Hong silent, Yuwen the Guardian spoke again, this time with a hint of sincerity.

Hearing that tone, Xia Hong guessed what was coming; he didn't answer, only lifted his head and asked flatly:

"What do you want to say?"

Yuwen the Guardian stepped forward, voice low: "We're both human, struggling to survive in the Ice Abyss. Why must we kill each other? The supernatural horrors and cold beasts are our true enemies. Xia Hong, don't you agree?"

Now came the real pitch!

Xia Hong looked up, silent, waiting for Yuwen the Guardian to continue.

"If Brother Xia Hong is willing to bring Great Xia under our banner, the Jingxian Camp will sweep the floor in welcome—and offer you the third seat."

At that moment, a young man stepped out from behind Yuwen the Guardian.

"Brother Xia, the Jingxian Camp has over ten thousand souls and hundreds of Digging Ground cultivators. You've seen today's strength—and our First Leader, He Yuanhun, is a man of great talent and vision. He values talent. He said if you join, everything before is forgiven. Any other demands—you may name them."

Looking at the young man behind Yuwen the Guardian, Xia Hong's face darkened; he growled: "I should've killed you when I had the chance."

The young man was, of course, Yuwen Tao—the one Xia Hong had spared earlier.

Hearing Xia Hong's words, father and son both paled.

Clearly, all their earlier words had been wasted.

"Had you said this at the start, I might not have agreed—but I'd have considered it seriously. Now…"

Xia Hong didn't finish, but his gaze shifted to the bodies of Li Yun and Li Pingkai behind them—his coldness unmistakable.

"Xia Hong, if you count all three clashes, the Jingxian Camp lost more men than your Great Xia. Why cling to this…"

"Yuwen the Guardian, your first words—what did you call me?"

No more talk; Xia Hong cut him off, his tone sharp: "I'm finished?"

Xia Hong gripped his ceremonial blade, looked up at Yuwen the Guardian, then swept his gaze over the entire Jingxian Camp circle, and said coldly:

"Who's finished? That's still too soon to say.

Your ambush today had some success.

But after tonight, the Jingxian Camp will be in trouble…"

As he finished, Xia Hong leapt—his ceremonial blade carving a streak of cold light through the night, straight toward Yuwen the Guardian at the center.

Surrounded by two to three hundred men, Xia Hong didn't fear—he charged first!

Even Yuwen the Guardian's patience cracked.

"If you're this stubborn, then kill him!"

Everyone around immediately drew their great knives, surrounding Xia Hong in three concentric layers.

(End of Chapter)