Chapter 165: One Strike, Eternal Peace, Victory

The iron smelter is a building in the system, always able to be lit or extinguished at Xia Hong's will.

Luo Yuan, Zhao Long, and the others who later joined Great Xia might not know.

But Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, Yue Feng, and the rest of Great Xia's earliest members all knew.

The basic version of the iron smelter was a small firepit.

The first time they fought the wood puppet ghost in the cave, Xia Hong had summoned the firepit out of thin air right before their eyes.

"Big brother didn't show up earlier—was it all to wait for now!"

Though Xia Chuan had vaguely suspected something, seeing the horrific wounds on Xia Hong's body, he immediately knew it wasn't entirely so.

Xia Hong had clearly been fighting this white-robed man for a long time.

No, not just any white-robed man.

It was Gao Yu.

Or rather—He Yuanhun!

As the furnace flame rose, everyone in Great Xia, including Xia Chuan, clearly saw the white-robed man's face.

The white-robed man was unmistakably Gao Yu, who had briefly stayed in the valley for a few days on the twenty-fifth of last month.

Gao Yu's appearance hadn't changed, but his face now held none of his former calm or warmth—only ferocity and brutality.

Black mist swirled around his body, complemented by his silver-white pupils and seven or eight thin slash wounds beside each eye, making his aura utterly evil.

The furnace had clearly different effects on the Mirror Immortal camp.

The two hundred-plus Earth-Digging cultivators at the perimeter reacted most violently, screaming as silver-white fluid streamed from their eyes; the four mid-tier cold beasts didn't cry out, but showed clear pain; as for He Gang and He Meng, who had broken through Cold-Resisting level, the weaker He Gang reacted more intensely.

The white-robed man, He Yuanhun, merely twisted his expression—his pain was far less than anyone else's—as he stared down at Xia Hong on the ground, his eyes filled with venomous hatred.

The stronger one's cultivation, the less effect the furnace had.

"Their eyes are their weak point—use flame-oil!"

As the furnace ignited and the Mirror Immortal ghosts showed such agonized reactions, Xia Hong seized the moment and struck swiftly.

He gave a single command to alert the others, then charged straight toward He Yuanhun on the third floor, drawing the ceremonial knife along the way.

Xia Chuan instantly realized—the slash wounds around He Yuanhun's eyes must have been inflicted by Xia Hong during their earlier battle.

"Everyone, take bows and blades, coat them in flame-oil, and target their eyes!"

Not just the Earth-Digging cultivators—even the five hundred-plus Wood-Cutting cultivators and some half-grown children in the camp immediately moved upon hearing Xia Chuan's order.

Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, and the other Earth-Digging cultivators, always armed with bow and blade, instantly nocked arrows and fired at the two hundred-plus Earth-Digging cultivators of the Mirror Immortal camp, still reeling in pain.

Their target, of course, was their eyes.

Whizz… whizz… whizz…

Zhao Long, the best archer, struck the first eye.

The man's eye was already streaming silver-white fluid; the arrow coated in flame-oil struck his pupil, instantly spewing thick smoke, then flames erupted from within his skull, unleashing a scream more agonizing than before.

"Aaaah…………"

The flames spread rapidly—within less than five breaths, his body was reduced to ash, vanishing into black smoke before everyone's eyes.

Seeing the man consumed by the flame-oil-induced flames, Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, and the rest of Great Xia's camp all wore expressions of triumph.

If there was a way to fight them, they weren't a problem.

"Run, run fast!"

But at that moment, He Meng and He Gang on the third floor charged toward them, shouting loudly, urging the perimeter forces to flee.

Though controlled, they hadn't lost all consciousness, nor their full combat ability.

Xia Chuan glanced back at He Meng and He Gang once, reached this conclusion in his mind, then shouted to the others: "Ignore them—keep killing these ghosts!"

Boom…………

Before He Meng and He Gang could reach Xia Chuan and the others, a massive black horn slammed into them, sending them flying.

"Roar…………"

What blocked them was a mid-tier Lei Kui, conjured from the wooden post.

With the iron smelter reignited, the five wooden posts naturally revived as well.

The other four wooden posts had each engaged one of the four mid-tier cold beasts.

He Meng's face twisted with frenzy as he watched his own men scattering below, desperate to rush down and help.

But the wooden post's Lei Kui gave him no chance—it blocked him, and also blocked He Gang.

Though both had broken through Cold-Resisting level, they were still no match for a mid-tier Lei Kui specialized in defense.

Crucially, the furnace's light suppressed their full power, while the wooden post's Lei Kui was different—it had stronger defense than a real Lei Kui and could even ignore pain.

With this imbalance, no matter how desperate they were, they had no way to break through.

They could only keep attacking the Lei Kui while watching their own men being systematically shot down by Xia Chuan and the others.

"Luo Yuan and the Hunting Team come with me—the rest of you keep shooting arrows, leave none alive—kill!"

Seeing the two hundred-plus Mirror Immortal camp members begin to flee toward the western valley entrance, Xia Chuan's face hardened—he drew his great blade, shouted orders to the others, then leapt down first.

The sixteen members of the Hunting Team followed him down.

The remaining forty-plus Earth-Digging cultivators continued shooting arrows at those who had already fled far away.

…………

Meanwhile, Gao Yu had already been driven by Xia Hong to the southern edge of the valley.

Xia Hong slashed the ceremonial knife toward his pupils; He Yuanhun sidestepped, barely avoiding the blade—seeing the black grease on the knife, his pupils flickered with terror, his heart filled with dread.

"He knew it was me all along—he stayed hidden all this time to find me. The furnace could've been extinguished anytime—he kept it lit on purpose to deceive me, making me believe it needed someone to ignite it!"

Boom…………

He Yuanhun, both shocked and terrified, dodged the long blade—only to be struck square in the chest by Xia Hong's relentless punch.

The terrifying force crushed his chest inward, sending him flying like a cannonball deep into the southern mountainside.

This area was close to the southern iron mine cave—the rock here was far harder than elsewhere.

Yet even so, Xia Hong's punch drove him seven or eight meters into the mountain.

Puh…………

He Yuanhun spat a mouthful of blood, looked up at Xia Hong advancing step by step, and in his eyes, beyond ferocity and rage, there was far more terror.

Everything tonight had been part of his plan.

Control four mid-tier cold beasts, unleash this wave of cold beasts from four tribes, assault Great Xia's camp, and force them to extinguish the iron smelter's fire.

He knew perfectly well that a wave of this scale could hardly destroy Great Xia.

But forcing them to extinguish the fire? That was easy. Once done, he and his two hundred men could crush Great Xia effortlessly.

Everything went smoothly—even half an hour ago, when he'd been hiding above the valley observing, and Xia Hong spotted him, he still felt certain of victory.

Only when Xia Hong revealed strength surpassing his own did he begin to sense something was wrong—yet by then, the fire had been extinguished.

The moment the fire went out, he truly believed victory was his.

Who knew Xia Hong would give him such a shocking surprise?

The furnace's fire didn't need anyone to light it—Xia Hong could control it at will.

"Just as I was about to break through Cold-Resisting level, someone came to the camp to teach me about combat bodies—how could such a coincidence exist in this world?

You went to such lengths to orchestrate this massive cold beast wave, just to make me extinguish the fire—you've been scheming for a long time, but unfortunately…………"

Xia Hong spoke casually, but in truth, he'd only confirmed He Yuanhun was Gao Yu half an hour ago, upon sensing the Mirror Immortal camp's large-scale invasion.

Before the cold beast wave arrived, Xia Hong had already broken through and awakened.

He chose to stay hidden behind the scenes precisely to lure out the ghost behind the Mirror Immortal camp once and for all—and eliminate it in one stroke.

At first, he hadn't connected these events to Gao Yu.

But half an hour ago, while searching the valley's perimeter for ghosts, he noticed signs of large-scale infiltration by the Mirror Immortal camp.

Suddenly, many things became clear.

This cold beast wave was surely created by the ghost behind the Mirror Immortal camp.

But logically, a cold beast wave exceeding five hundred beasts—how could a mere Great Xia camp possibly resist?

The ghost had no need to bring people at all—it could simply wait for the beasts to slaughter everyone.

Yet it still brought people.

The reason was simple: the ghost knew this cold beast wave alone couldn't destroy Great Xia—or rather, its purpose in creating the wave wasn't to destroy Great Xia at all.

The ghost behind the Mirror Immortal camp knew this cold beast wave couldn't destroy Great Xia!

That itself was a massive red flag.

Before Xia Hong broke through Cold-Resisting level, Great Xia's true strength lay in the five wooden posts—but this secret was extremely hidden, and even within Great Xia's camp, not everyone knew. How did the ghost behind the Mirror Immortal camp know?

Combine that with the cold beast wave being deliberately timed just before nightfall—clearly to prepare for the Mirror Immortal camp's later infiltration.

On the surface, the Mirror Immortal camp was several times stronger than Great Xia.

Yet it dared not openly invade at night; knew the cold beast wave couldn't destroy Great Xia, yet still schemed so meticulously—what other reason could there be but to use the wave to force them to extinguish the fire?

In other words, the ghost behind the Mirror Immortal camp didn't just fear the iron smelter's fire—it also knew about the wooden posts, and understood the furnace's powerful attraction to cold beasts.

Throughout this entire period, the only person who had visited Great Xia, interacted with the iron smelter, and possibly known about the wooden posts, was Gao Yu, who claimed to come from Shenwu Village east of the Twin Dragon Mountains.

The Mirror Immortal camp had never revealed its true leader—He Yuanhun—who could resurrect He Meng and He Gang was almost certainly him.

If so, then Gao Yu—or rather, He Yuanhun—was the ghost behind the Mirror Immortal camp.

After confirming this, Xia Hong still didn't emerge.

His target had always been the ghost.

With the Marked Stone, Xia Hong could sense through the system any foreign life entering within a one-kilometer radius of the valley.

Half an hour ago, upon sensing over two hundred men from Mirror Immortal Camp enter, he had already been watching from the shadows.

=9+book_bar

Unfortunately, discovering all 271 of them were Earth-Digging Realm, Xia Hong immediately realized the anomaly still lurked unseen.

Coincidentally, at that moment, Shi Ping extinguished the furnace fire, and all low-grade cold beasts were drawn out by the blaze outside the valley's western side.

Only the four mid-grade cold beasts remained motionless.

Moreover, He Meng and He Gang now appeared as well.

These two events confirmed for Xia Hong that the anomaly was certainly near the valley.

He must have observed every detail inside the valley, so the moment the furnace fire died, he immediately notified He Gang and He Meng to lead men into the valley.

These four mid-grade cold beasts not only withstood the furnace fire for so long, but also defied logic by ignoring the fire outside.

In other words, from start to finish, the four mid-grade cold beasts were controlled.

Even after confirming the anomaly's proximity, Xia Hong remained baffled.

The Mark Stone could clearly sense any foreign life form within a one-kilometer radius; since He Gang and He Meng were detected, the anomaly must have been too.

The camp lay within the valley, so the one-kilometer radius amounted to only a small area beyond Redwood Ridge—Xia Hong had searched it two or three times, yet found nothing.

At his most desperate, he had even prepared to reveal himself.

He had always monitored the camp's casualties.

He watched every move Xia Chuan made; the collective effort of the rest of the camp to reach this point far exceeded his expectations.

If too many lives were lost merely to uncover the anomaly, it would be a pyrrhic victory.

Just as he was about to give up, he happened to glance upward—at the intersection of the two mountain ridges above the valley.

Only then did he suddenly realize he had overlooked the most critical location.

The Mark Stone's one-kilometer detection range included sky and ground, but the peak where the two mountains crossed stood over two thousand meters high.

Sure enough, after quietly climbing up, Xia Hong discovered Gao Yu—a figure in white robes, eyes glowing silver.

The ambush succeeded, but he paid a price.

The wound on his left cheek, the cracks in his left arm, and the dozen blood holes in his chest were exchanged for one truth: the anomaly's fatal weakness was its eyes.

Or rather, the anomaly's power was intrinsically tied to its eyes.

………………

Xia Hong's momentary stun lasted only an instant; Gao Yu, kicked into the mountain, was buried under dust shaken loose by the impact.

Seeing no movement from Gao Yu for a long while, Xia Hong's expression grew tense. He approached the mountain slowly, dagger in hand, just as he was about to step into the dust.

Shhh…

A sliver of silver mirror-light suddenly pierced the smoke, hurtling straight for his face.

Xia Hong's eyes widened in shock—he leapt backward violently, raising his blade in a desperate block.

Ding…

The mirror-light struck the Ritual Dagger with only a faint chime.

Yet the next second, the Ritual Dagger forged from iron ore cracked like shattered glass—and the cracks spread rapidly.

Crack… crack… crack…

Three breaths later, the Ritual Dagger, which had fought beside Xia Hong for so long, shattered completely, crumbling into debris and falling to the ground.

Xia Hong dropped the broken hilt, glanced at his own cracked left arm, his expression grave yet tinged with relief.

"The same trick won't work twice…"

The first strike on the mountaintop succeeded only because he didn't understand it.

After all, the anomaly's strength still fell short of his own.

"Big Brother, catch!"

The moment Xia Hong lost his Ritual Dagger, Xia Chuan beside the wooden hut noticed.

He shouted, hurling a long blade toward him.

Xia Hong caught it, studying the slender silver-white blade, noticing the hundred-fold forging patterns along its edge—his pupils widened with sudden delight.

"Head, I've got more!"

Xiang Mudong also threw two items his way.

Xia Hong reached out and caught them: an iron-core bow and a quiver of iron arrows.

The iron-core bow bore the hundred-fold forging patterns too; its string was transparent, threaded with a faint white hue—Xia Hong recognized at once: the transparent part was mid-grade Tengjiao sinew, the white strands were fine threads, no doubt taken from the kill of He Meng.

And every single iron arrow in the quiver bore the hundred-fold forging patterns!

Xia Chuan and his men had forged three hundred-fold weapons for him.

But the bowstring's tensile strength…

"Big Brother, this bowstring is woven from Tengjiao sinew and white threads—it can withstand a hundred thousand jin of tension."

Hearing Xia Chuan's words, Xia Hong hesitated no longer. He drew the bow, nocked an arrow, and fired straight at Gao Yu, who had just emerged from the dust.

"Aaaah…"

Gao Yu, sprinting westward out of the valley, took the arrow through his right eye and screamed in agony.

The immense force hurled his body over ten meters to the left.

Worse still—his right eye burst into flame.

"Now you're exposed. Running won't be so easy again!"

The moment Xia Hong touched the iron arrow, he knew the tip had been pre-coated with flame-oil.

With a cold laugh, he drew his blade and charged straight at Gao Yu.

"Head, run first—we'll hold him off!"

But before he could reach Gao Yu,

He Gang and He Meng—who had just abandoned Lei Kui to rescue him—changed direction instantly and blocked Xia Hong's path.

"Brothers, we cannot let the Head fall! As long as the Head lives, Mirror Immortal lives—and none of us will die!"

Not only He Gang and He Meng—someone else shouted, and the Earth-Digging Realm members of Mirror Immortal Camp, who had been fleeing from Xia Chuan's group, abandoned their escape and rushed toward Gao Yu.

"Protect the Head, brothers!"

"As long as the Head lives, Mirror Immortal endures—we die defending him!"

"Mirror Immortal warriors fear no death."

"So long as the Head lives, we are immortal."

"Fight the Great Xia to the death—kill!"

…………

Even many Earth-Digging Realm members who had already escaped the valley now turned back.

Watching the sea of frenzied Earth-Digging Realm warriors charging toward him, shouting slogans to protect their Head, Xia Hong showed no emotion—not even the admiration he'd shown before.

In his eyes, only coldness—and overwhelming killing intent!

"Stubborn fools. From the moment I stepped out of my seclusion, Mirror Immortal Camp has ceased to have any reason to exist!"

Xia Hong took a shallow breath, raised his newly acquired Ritual Dagger, and turned to Xia Chuan and the others charging toward him, giving a slight wave of his hand.

"I alone am enough."

Noticing Gao Yu slipping westward out of the valley, Xia Hong's eyes flickered with a dark gleam—he ignored him.

(End of Chapter)