Chapter 245: Longshan adds trouble, you are late

North of the Wu Shuang giant rock encampment, snow plains.

A short figure draped in yellow was fleeing in a sorry state, galloping north along the snow plains.

Swoosh...

An iron arrow shot suddenly from behind, piercing straight through the yellow-clad person's shoulder, making their already unsteady footsteps even more faltering.

"Want to run? It's not that simple!"

Xia Chuan held a pale golden giant bow, cold light in his eyes. After firing one arrow, he nocked a silver iron arrow.

The pale golden iron-core bow in his hand was named 'Divine Arm'. With a draw weight reaching six *zong*, it was the pinnacle of Great Xia's current forging craftsmanship. It was only after his eldest brother Xia Hong had been away for a period that Mu Dong accidentally acquired a new material from Wuyuan, which, combined with the previously obtained dragon tendon and snow bamboo silk, took a long time to research and create.

Originally, Xia Chuan had brought the Divine Arm to Longyou this time intending to give it to his eldest brother, but since he hadn't seen Xia Hong yet, he could only keep it by his side.

Right now, hunting down Wu Xiong, it had come in handy.

Xia Chuan pulled the string and fired again. The six-*zong* draw weight Divine Arm bow didn't just have special materials for the bowstring; the bow body and even the matching arrows were all forged from thousand-refined iron. The iron arrows themselves were small in volume, with thousands of dense silver forging patterns stacked together, appearing silver in appearance.

Bang...

When the Divine Arm bow fired, the sound was completely different from an ordinary bow. The bowstring, having withstood the force of six *zong*, suddenly snapped back into place. Xia Chuan, who was in pursuit, felt his body pause slightly, and the accumulated snow on the nearby ground was blown outward by the airflow caused by the bowstring's reset, showing the power of this bow.

Swoosh...

If even the resetting bowstring could cause such a stir, the fired arrow went without saying. The iron arrow arrived in an instant like a meteor, no different from the first, piercing directly through the back of Wu Xiong's neck.

Puchi...

Wu Xiong fell headfirst into the snow. The impact of the iron arrow ground his body forward for a full ten-plus meters, pushing the accumulated snow high in front, finally forming a small snow mound. He lay inside, life or death unknown.

With the back of the neck pierced, he was one hundred percent dead.

Even if an immortal came, they couldn't save him!

Xia Chuan, including Peng Bo and the two others following him, saw the joy that had just risen in their eyes freeze instantly as the snow mound suddenly exploded, and a black shadow galloped out from within, continuing to flee north.

"He can still live?"

"Isn't there something strange here? Is this even Wu Xiong?"

In the gap while Peng Bo and the others were stunned, Xia Chuan had long since chased after him. Not only did he chase, but his expression also became abnormally solemn.

"He can't die. This is..."

Aside from a strange, there was simply no way to explain the scene before him.

Just now at the Wu Shuang encampment, seeing Wu Xiong flee even after his spine was severed, Xia Chuan had only been guessing, but now, he could basically conclude.

"This Wu Xiong is definitely connected to a strange!"

Besides his solemn expression, a trace of worry also rose in Xia Chuan's heart.

Yuan Cheng and Yu Wentao were both at Yangyuan Peak last night.

Worry was worry, but seeing Wu Xiong had already run more than three hundred meters away, Xia Chuan quickly took a piece of Condensing Fire Oil from his bosom, crushed it, smeared it on an arrow, and aimed again at the fleeing Wu Xiong.

Bang...

The iron arrow broke through the air, this time aiming for the back of Wu Xiong's head.

Shiu...

Wu Xiong in the distance seemed to sense something, suddenly lowering his head and stooping his body. The silver iron arrow flew past, almost grazing his scalp.

But Wu Xiong, who had dodged this fatal arrow, showed no joy on his face, only because the terrifying airflow created by the iron arrow had actually blown his body, which had just stopped, directly to the ground.

With such a good opportunity, how could Xia Chuan let it pass?

Hu...

The next second, a black blade edge swept up ten-plus meters of snow waves, reflecting in Wu Xiong's slightly panicked pupils, slashing straight toward his head.

Qiang...

However, the anticipated scene of decapitation did not appear.

A silver snake spear lay horizontally in front of Wu Xiong, not only blocking Xia Chuan's black blade but even pushing back toward Xia Chuan.

"Who is it? Give me..."

Being blocked by someone for no reason, Xia Chuan roared out in anger immediately, but before he could finish, a familiar voice came from not far away.

"Lord Administrator, this is the Third Young Master of Longshan, Li Xuandu."

Qiu Peng!

Xia Chuan's brows knit together. He first withdrew his black blade and looked up at the white-clad middle-aged man holding the snake spear in front of him, only then discovering that Qiu Peng, not far away, was bringing a group of people rushing toward this side.

He looked into the distance behind Qiu Peng and saw two wooden houses a kilometer or two away, only then realizing with a start that he had unknowingly chased to the plain where the Longshan army was stationed.

After Wu Xiong had just left the giant rock encampment, he had been fleeing north the whole time, which was exactly the location of the Longshan garrison.

Clearly, the commotion of the hunt was too great, alarming the people of Longshan.

Qiu Peng was currently on a diplomatic mission to Longshan, so it was not strange for him to come over with them.

"Alarming Longshan, this is a bit troublesome."

Peng Bo, Zhu Yuan, and Hong Guang, who were behind, also rushed over and stood behind Xia Chuan. Qiu Peng also quickly broke away from that side, stood by Xia Chuan's side, and quickly whispered to him for a while.

Following Qiu Peng's report, while Xia Chuan's gaze shifted slightly, he also sized up the group of people who had come from Longshan.

Aside from Li Xuandu who had blocked him, a total of five people had come from Longshan. The leader was a beautiful white-clad woman, and the other four were all middle-aged in appearance, one of whom looked somewhat similar to Li Xuandu.

"Li Ying Xuan Ling, Li Xuandu, Li Ying Xuan Yan..."

After knowing the identities of the arrivals, Xia Chuan focused his gaze on Li Xuandu's side. Seeing that Wu Xiong had already been helped up by him, he immediately interrupted Qiu Peng's narration and turned directly to look at the leader, Li Ying Xuan Ling, saying with a trace of respect and cupping his hands:

"Great Xia Administrator Xia Chuan, pays respects to the Young Lady!"

The five people including Li Ying Xuan Ling, and Li Xuandu who had just blocked Xia Chuan—the six Cold-Resisting Realm experts from Longshan present—all focused their gazes on Xia Chuan, their faces carrying a very obvious sense of scrutiny.

If one observed more closely, they would discover that apart from Li Ying Xuan Ling, the depths of the other five's eyes also hid a trace of imperceptible shock, or even wariness.

This person in charge of Great Xia seemed a bit excessively young.

Young, yet his strength was not low.

The one who felt this most deeply was naturally Li Xuandu, who had just blocked Xia Chuan's blade. He put away his snake spear, glanced at Wu Xiong behind him, and signaled to him with his eyes.

Wu Xiong, who had escaped death, was full of gratitude. Upon receiving the signal, he immediately walked behind Li Ying Xuan Ling and the other five.

"Young Lady, this Wu Xiong has a high probability of having been controlled by a strange, or he himself is a strange transformed. Longshan must absolutely not take him in."

As the words fell, the whole scene was silent for a full ten-plus breaths.

Xia Chuan looked up, seeing the slightly playful gazes of the Longshan group. He only lowered his head to ponder for a moment, and immediately knew what they were thinking.

"Xia Chuan, you Great Xia invaded Longyou, destroyed my Wu Shuang, and killed so many people in my encampment. Now you are still making false accusations, framing me as a strange. You are simply bullying people too much!"

Wu Xiong, who had stood behind Li Ying Xuan Ling, suddenly spoke with grief and indignation, then knelt directly toward Li Ying Xuan Ling and the others, saying sorrowfully:

"I, Wu, was previously blinded by greed and colluded with Hou Hu to betray the alliance. My Wu Shuang encampment having its current fate can be considered self-inflicted. Whether to kill or carve, I, Wu, leave it to Longshan to deal with. However, this Great Xia's actions at Yanglu last night, I, Wu, must expose..."

Hearing this, Xia Chuan's expression was already a bit off. He directly interrupted Wu Xiong and said in a deep voice: "I am not shooting without a target. Young Lady, you can look at his spine and neck. His spine just received a blade from me, and his neck was also pierced by an arrow from me. It is impossible for a normal person to survive, but he..."

Before Xia Chuan finished speaking, his expression changed.

Because Wu Xiong stood up directly, walked in front of the Longshan group, and revealed his back and neck.

His back indeed had blade marks, but they were not deep;

The back of his neck also indeed had a cut, and one could tell at a glance it was an arrow wound, but the arrow wound was not deep either, visible to the naked eye, only two or three centimeters.

How long had it been? It had almost recovered as before?

Peng Bo, Zhu Yuan, and Hong Guang, the three who had just seen with their own eyes how heavy Wu Xiong's injuries were, were full of shock on their faces.

The three even couldn't help but take a step forward, wanting to continue accusing him.

Only, before the three could speak, they were stopped by Xia Chuan.

"Young Lady, last night I and Han Jiuli were guarding Yanglu. The Second Young Master brought people to attack. The Longyou army's vanguard was too strong, and we were simply no match. During the bloody battle between the two sides, Great Xia killed their way out halfway. I fled in a panic. The Second Young Master and the others are now life or death unknown; they were either killed by Great Xia's people or captured by them."

Swish...

After Wu Xiong finished these words, Li Ying Xuan Ling and the other six looked up in unison, glaring at Xia Chuan and the five.

Not only that, they even shifted their positions, as if to surround Xia Chuan and the five.

Yanglu, what exactly happened?

Xia Chuan's mind was full of only this one question right now.

The moment Wu Xiong revealed his injuries, he realized that no matter what else he said, it would be useless.

These people from Longshan could not possibly believe him.

Great Xia taking Wu Shuang, Longshan was definitely uncomfortable in their hearts.

Them saving Wu Xiong was clearly just to add trouble to Great Xia.

If he could expose the truth that Wu Xiong was a strange, perhaps he could reverse it, but this strange not only had astonishing recovery abilities, but its personality was also clearly cunning to the extreme.

"Young Lady, I won't say any extra words. You probably won't believe whatever I say now. I have a piece of something here. You only need to smear it on Wu Xiong, and you will understand!"

Xia Chuan directly took a piece of Condensing Fire Oil from his bosom and threw it toward Li Ying Xuan Ling's side.

"Nonsense! Quickly hand over my Second Brother!"

Shiu...

Li Ying Xuan Yan actually made a move directly.

"Run!"

The long sword slashed over suddenly. Xia Chuan's gaze flickered. After blocking with his black blade, he no longer tried to argue, but took Qiu Peng, Hong Guang, and the four others and fled directly.

Only, running at this time seemed a bit late. Li Ying Xuan Ling, Li Xuandu, and the other four had long since moved their positions in advance, surrounding the five. When Li Ying Xuan Yan made this move, the six of them moved almost simultaneously.

Puchi...

The strongest, Li Ying Xuan Ling, did not go for Xia Chuan but chose the weakest, Zhu Yuan. Her movements were as fast as lightning. Not only did she pierce Zhu Yuan's shoulder with one sword, but she suddenly slashed toward his neck again.

Keng...

Just as the sword edge was about to slash him, Xia Chuan, who had run quite far, actually turned back. His black blade blocked horizontally, pulling Zhu Yuan and using the force to retreat directly more than ten meters.

Just now, when Li Xuandu blocked the blade to save Wu Xiong, Xia Chuan had already sensed that his strength was above his own. Now, having taken another sword from Li Ying Xuan Ling, he realized this woman's strength was even more terrifying than Li Xuandu's. His expression changed drastically, and he shouted to the few people behind him:

"Quickly blow the bone whistle to call for help!"

Peng Bo, who had newly joined, didn't understand, but Zhu Yuan, Hong Guang, and Qiu Peng immediately took out their bone whistles, blowing them wildly while dealing with Li Ying Xuan Yan and the others.

Di... di... di... di... di...

They had been hunting Wu Xiong for so long that they should already be some distance from the Wu Shuang encampment. Under normal circumstances, wanting to call for help was naturally impossible.

But the bone whistles in their hands could do it.

!

Great Xia now had two types of bone whistles. The one equipped for the Earth-Digging Realm was ground from the nasal bone of a Frostwolf, capable of transmitting at most one or two kilometers;

The one equipped for the Cold-Resisting Realm was ground from the nasal bone of a Frost-Electric Ape, the sound was crisper, and it traveled further. Added to the strength of the Cold-Resisting Realm, it could transmit up to twenty kilometers.

"Want to call for help? Don't worry about the others, follow me to catch Xia Chuan!"

Li Ying Xuan Ling made a prompt decision, going directly for Xia Chuan. The other six heard the sound and also put down the targets they were chasing, all surrounding Xia Chuan.

"Save the Administrator!"

Qiu Peng didn't hesitate in the slightest, directly giving up on running and standing with Xia Chuan. Hong Guang and the injured Zhu Yuan did the same.

Even Peng Bo, who only hesitated for three or four breaths, made the same choice as the three.

"I expected this!"

However, Li Ying Xuan Ling's cold laugh made the three's expressions freeze instantly.

Shiu...

The one bearing the brunt was still Zhu Yuan.

Li Ying Xuan Ling clearly realized that the stronger the strength, the harder to kill. Only by killing the weak first and then breaking them one by one was the correct solution.

Zhu Yuan, whose shoulder had already been pierced by an arrow, simply couldn't dodge Li Ying Xuan Ling's sword. In his panic, he could only shift his body, using his chest to catch the sword edge that was originally slashing toward his neck.

Chirla...

Blood plasma spurted from his chest. Zhu Yuan's face turned deathly pale instantly. Not only did the broadsword in his hand fall, but he also fell directly to the ground. If it weren't for Xia Chuan pulling him in time with white silk threads, Li Ying Xuan Ling's sword would have severed his head in the next second.

Hu...

However, Xia Chuan's situation here was not good either.

Distracted, his shoulder was picked by Li Xuandu's snake spear, and a piece of flesh and blood was forcibly picked away. Too late to let out a cry of pain, he could only grit his teeth, pull Zhu Yuan back, and continue to flee south.

Right now, only Peng Bo could still block a bit. Zhu Yuan was heavily injured, and Hong Guang and Qiu Peng's strength was not enough, so they could only keep dodging.

Long defense leads to loss, let alone facing seven such powerful opponents as Li Ying Xuan Ling and the others.

Shiu...

Another sword slashed over, the target again being Zhu Yuan.

"Administrator, let go, run yourself!"

Zhu Yuan, no matter what, didn't want to drag Xia Chuan down this time. Seeing Xia Chuan unwilling to let go, he actually gritted his teeth and stood his ground, turning back to catch Li Ying Xuan Ling's sword with his body.

The moment he turned back and stood his ground, the conflict on Xia Chuan's face flashed and disappeared. He directly retracted the silk threads, gritted his teeth, and continued to flee.

Under such circumstances, not even a breath could be wasted.

"Zhu Yuan, rest assured, I will definitely..."

Swoosh...

An iron arrow shot straight from the south side. Xia Chuan looked up, and a rich joy instantly erupted on his face.

On the snow plains to the south, Luo Yuan, Lu Yang, Zhao Hu, Zhao Bao, Hong Gang, and Huang Yong, six people, were holding strong bows and rushing wildly toward this side.

During the time they had been fleeing, the bone whistles had never stopped.

Luo Yuan and the others had actually rushed over to support!

"Saved! Zhu Yuan, come back quickly!"

Xia Chuan reacted extremely quickly. Realizing they were saved, he shouted loudly, turned back, released the silk threads, pulled Zhu Yuan again, and pulled him hard toward this side.

Zhu Yuan also had perfect tacit understanding, kicking the ground with both legs and raising his blade to block Li Ying Xuan Ling's sword behind him. Although the wound on his chest was torn open again and blood overflowed from the corners of his mouth, he still used Xia Chuan's pulling force to retreat rapidly behind him.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh...

Luo Yuan and the six who rushed over almost never stopped shooting arrows, only waiting until they converged with the five before turning around, slinging their bows, taking out weapons, and rushing to the front of the five.

"Administrator!"

"Zhu Yuan, how are you?"

"Administrator, Meng Yi just rushed over from the Hive. He said Yuan Cheng returned from Yanglu and has a matter of extreme urgency to tell you. I just happened to come to find you..."

"Don't talk yet, run directly, go back to Wu Shuang and talk."

Hearing Luo Yuan say that Yuan Cheng returned from Yanglu and even had Meng Yi bring a message, Xia Chuan immediately showed joy, but looking back at Li Ying Xuan Ling and the seven behind, he still chose to flee first.

Seeing Luo Yuan and the six appear, Li Ying Xuan Ling and the others' expressions were ugly, and they couldn't help but be somewhat shocked.

"No need to chase, chase any further and we'll be at Wu Shuang!"

Seeing Xia Chuan didn't hesitate and chose to flee even with support, Li Ying Xuan Ling waved her hand directly, stopping the crowd.

Wu Shuang had Great Xia's garrison. Chasing in, all seven of them would be in danger.

"Six plus five, this Great Xia actually has eleven Cold-Resisting Realm experts!"

Li Xuandu stared at the eleven people fleeing, his tone incomparably solemn.

Not only him, the other four from Longshan also had thick wariness rising on their faces, and even Li Ying Xuan Ling clearly had more importance in her eyes.

Of the twelve encampments in Longyou, excluding them and Zhaoyang, the other ten encampments each only had three to five Cold-Resisting Realm experts. This suddenly appearing Great Xia actually had eleven. How could they not be shocked?

However, their shock did not stop there.

Wu Xiong, at the very back, flickered his gaze slightly and said: "It's not just eleven. There are two more at Yanglu. I remember one is called Yuan Cheng and one is called Yu Wentao."

Thirteen.

"Thirteen. And this is just the people they brought to Longyou. They took the Hive; would they not send people to stay and guard it? If you count that Hong Xia, I feel this Great Xia is no less of a threat than Zhaoyang!"

Li Xuandu spoke in a deep voice, and the crowd's expressions became solemn again.

"Return to the station. Wu Xiong, tell me everything about Yanglu."

"Yes!"

Hearing Li Ying Xuan Ling's words, Wu Xiong lowered his head, a strange, evil smile appearing on his face, and he hurriedly followed behind the six, walking toward the Longyou station.

Wu Shuang giant rock station.

After Xia Chuan brought people fleeing back, the anxious-looking Meng Yi clearly had been waiting for a long time. Seeing the somewhat sorry-looking Xia Chuan and the others, his expression changed slightly, and he was just about to open his mouth to ask.

"No need to ask. First tell me how Yuan Cheng and Yu Wentao are. What exactly happened at Yanglu?"

Meng Yi nodded solemnly and immediately relayed the news Yuan Cheng had told him, word for word.

Following Meng Yi's narration, Xia Chuan's expression became increasingly solemn, especially hearing about the Bai Lu Strange and the white dew drops that could spread like a plague, his expression changed drastically.

"Administrator Yuan said that those white dew drops, contact means infection, and they spread if the distance is too close. Those with injuries on their bodies are even easier to infect. He knows of three or four thousand people who ran down from Yangyuan Peak last night. Wu Ying was killed on the spot. Longshan's Li Xuantian, his three subordinates—Wu Xiong, Han Jiuli, and Wu Lin—seven Cold-Resisting Realm experts are missing. He doesn't know how many of the remaining two or three thousand people have been controlled by the strange..."

Meng Yi was still talking when Xia Chuan suddenly tore open his clothes, lowered his head to look at his shoulder and chest, and his face instantly froze.

Just now, being besieged by Li Ying Xuan Ling and the others, his shoulder and chest had been slashed by swords several times. At this moment, near the wounds, a layer of white dew drops was densely spread.

Peng Bo, Hong Guang, and Qiu Peng, seeing this, immediately untied their clothes as well. Seeing the dew drops near the wounds, all their faces froze.

Xia Chuan shook his head, walked to the side of the unconscious Zhu Yuan, and turned over the wound area on his chest.

His chest was almost completely occupied by dew drops.

"You are late!"

Before Meng Yi could react, Xia Chuan pointed at him and said: "You also untie your clothes and see for yourself if you have any on your body."

Meng Yi hurriedly untied his clothes, and seeing sparse white dew drops appearing on his body, his expression went numb instantly.

"Send people to deliver a message, bring all the Condensing Fire Oil in the encampment's inventory."

"Check the people of Wu Shuang. I suspect they have all been infected. Do not move them to the Hive for the time being. Wait until the Condensing Fire Oil arrives."

"Notify the people at the Hive to also strictly screen. Gather everyone with dew drops on their bodies together. It cannot be allowed to spread like this."

Xia Chuan made a series of deployments, his gaze incomparably solemn. Recalling Wu Xiong just now, who spoke of the situation in Longyou with ease and even took the opportunity to sow discord between Great Xia and Longshan, he felt a chill in his heart.

"This Bai Lu Strange is much harder to deal with than the previous two!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 246 =====