Chapter 107

Following Fang Feibai's helpless, angry roar, Ye Xuanshang and Zi Rao fell into the Chu Jiang, which had surged due to the heavy rain, disappearing in an instant. After only a moment, they were tossed back onto the surface of the river by the rapid current, rushing downstream.

The night was windy and rainy, and the roaring, surging river water seemed to want to destroy everything. The entire Chu Jiang was impossible to see through. The two grabbed onto each other tightly, only able to try their best to avoid the fate of being dragged back to the bottom of the river, unable to distinguish direction at all.

This torrential rain made them suffer greatly in the river, but it also made it difficult for Fang Feibai and the others to pursue. Even the naval warships lost their usual utility, and the blockade on the river was temporarily dismantled, becoming an excellent opportunity for them to escape the pursuit. But even if they were completely uninjured, the two could not swim to shore under such harsh conditions. They were swept out for more than ten miles, the river surface gradually narrowed, the current became faster, and a rapid current suddenly tossed the two forward.

Zi Rao's limbs were weak, and she nearly let go of Ye Xuanshang. She felt her body go empty; below was a waterfall formed by the drop in water level, and before she could react, they fell straight down. Ye Xuanshang tried his best to wrap his arms around her waist, and the two fell into the rapid current of the river again, with no room for resistance, and before long, they fell into thin air again. But this time, they were not as lucky as before; a cluster of black shadows rushed toward them! Ye Xuanshang knew things were bad and turned around while holding Zi Rao.

With a violent "peng" sound, his back hit a reef in the river hard, blood sprayed from his mouth, and the two were flung sideways in the whirlpool.

Although it was pitch black, how could Zi Rao not know that Ye Xuanshang was risking his life to protect her? She opened her mouth to shout, but the wind, rain, and rapid waves rushed toward them head-on.

The force of this rush down the waterfall was no less than facing a full-force strike from the Zhuri Sword. Ye Xuanshang's meridians and lungs felt as if they were splitting, and he nearly fainted on the spot. If Zi Rao hadn't desperately supported his body, he would likely have been dragged to the bottom of the river by the waves.

After struggling with great difficulty out of the fatal whirlpool, Zi Rao wrapped one hand into the sword belt behind Ye Xuanshang's back, holding him tightly, while her other hand luckily climbed onto a dead tree that had fallen into the river. Only by using this as support could she barely hold on.

After rushing out for several more miles, the river split, and the momentum slowed slightly. When they leaned toward the shore again, the dead tree was tripped by something and became stuck in place, shaking continuously. Zi Rao seized this opportunity, barely raising her True Qi, and finally dragged Ye Xuanshang to the shore.

Although the heavy rain was not as terrifying as before, it showed no signs of stopping at all.

As soon as she left the great river, Zi Rao collapsed to the ground, without a shred of strength in her body. The riverbank was filled with towering mountain stones and dense forests. At this moment, she still held onto Ye Xuanshang tightly, feeling that his injuries were very heavy. If this continued, he would lose his life before the Liefeng Cavalry could catch up. Gritting her teeth, she struggled to get up, using all her remaining strength to help him leave the riverbank and walk into the mountain forest.

This torrential rain not only saved Zi Rao and Ye Xuanshang but also allowed Qie Lan and the others to escape from the jaws of death.

The entire Chu capital was in chaos in the heavy rain, making it impossible to see. Even though the Liefeng Cavalry was invincible, it was difficult for them to exert even half of their usual power at this time.

But even so, when Qie Lan and the others fought their way out of the encirclement, only two or three out of a hundred Jiuyi warriors remained, almost everyone was injured, the two generals Chu Rang and Sikong Yu had perished on the battlefield, Luan Ying, Qingming, and others had all suffered not-insignificant internal injuries, and Su Ying had nearly lost his life, only saved by Li Si's care, which turned danger into safety.

When they reached outside the city, the rain eased slightly, and Qie Lan led the group to temporarily take refuge in a dilapidated ancient temple.

According to the current situation, although they had fought their way out of Shangying City, whether they could successfully escape the Chu Kingdom was still an unknown. On the night of the wedding with the Nine Princess, Huang Fei had so decisively attacked the Di Du. Now that the Nine Princess's life or death was unknown, how could the Eastern Emperor let it go?

With schemes as deep as the sea and a city as deep as heaven, these two men who overturned the world—in this battle situation where wind and clouds surged—no one had expected that it would break the bloody curtain in such a way and so rapidly.

What was the truth behind the incident in the Shangyang Palace tonight? Was the Chu Queen alive or dead? Was the Nine Princess ordered to kill? How did Han Xi manage to escape? Was it the Eastern Emperor who used the marriage as a pretext to set a trap to destroy Chu, or was it the Shao Yuan Jun who had secretly plotted against the Di Du's royal family?

Qie Lan looked up at the bloody, stormy night, the figure of that person in light clothes and thin robes flashing through her heart.

The group detoured along the Yuan River, avoiding the border defenses that might be blockaded, and soon infiltrated the area of the Le Yao Palace without anyone knowing.

Crossing a mountain, just as she climbed to the top of the slope, Qie Lan's gaze suddenly froze.

On the small hill near the lake opposite, two sides were locked in a fierce battle.

One side was dozens of black-clad warriors forming a formation with their backs to the water, tightly protecting a carriage with deep, hanging curtains in the middle. The other side was the Liefeng Cavalry elite, with brilliant red armor, numerous troops, and horses, covering the mountains and plains.

The black-clad warriors had clearly just blocked a round of enemy attacks. The Liefeng Cavalry formation shifted, and three rows of cavalry charged out from the middle, launching a fierce attack again without leaving any gaps.

A faint, ethereal sound of a flute suddenly drifted over.

Li Si was shaken upon hearing the sound, blurting out: "It's the Master, the Master is in the formation!"

Qie Lan also recognized the strange flute sound that had once caused the Jiuyi army to return in defeat. As expected, with the slight change in the black-clad warriors' formation, the three rows of Liefeng Cavalry were instantly torn apart. A pale red quickly permeated the battlefield, then faded away faintly, while the lake behind the black-clad warriors, blurred by the rain and mist, seemed to have absorbed too much blood, gradually glowing with a bizarre crimson.

Battle clouds and blood mist rolled in all directions.

The strength of the two sides was vastly different. Even though they had suffered losses again, the Liefeng Cavalry's tight encirclement did not collapse because of this; instead, they adjusted their layout and made preparations for an all-out attack.

The flute sound was also not as ethereal and fading as before, threading through the rain waterfall in strands.

Qie Lan immediately ordered: "Master Shusun, you lead half the troops to attack from the Xun position in the southeast; you must disrupt the enemy's layout. I will lead the rest to break in from the Kun position, cut off their right-wing blockade, and find an opportunity to charge at the location of their main general with all our strength."

Shusun Yi's brows were tightly locked: "Your Highness, the enemy's strength is far superior; fighting like this, we have no chance of winning."

Qie Lan stared at the battlefield, her eyes filled with sharp, cold beauty. The light was like lightning in the rainy sky, pointing at the tragic slaughter before her, carrying a trace of unyielding determination: "We were able to break out from ten thousand Chu troops, so why fear such a formation? Form the Zhou Tian Sword Array to break the enemy; the Eastern Emperor will surely find an opportunity to cooperate. Since we have already advanced without retreat, life and death depend on this one battle!"

A sharp light flashed in Shusun Yi's eyes. At this moment, Su Ying nearby looked up at the sky and suddenly spoke: "Princess, wait a moment. I have a way to try a fire attack against the Liefeng Cavalry."

The Liefeng Cavalry's orders shifted, and nearly a thousand cavalry charged out from both sides, encircling toward the lakeside, gradually forming an encirclement. Contrary to their previous fierce attack posture, they began to slowly push inward.

The encirclement circle gradually shrank, forcing toward the location of Mingyi Tower with an overwhelming formation.

Shang Rong's white brows furrowed. He knew that facing this tactic, in no time at all, this place would become a death trap. He immediately retreated to the side of the carriage and requested: "Master, the strength of the two sides is too different; long battle is not beneficial. Please let Ying Nu escort the Master away; leave this place to this old servant and Nie Qi!"

A low, light cough came from inside the curtain, but there was no indication. Shang Rong, in his anxiety, could not care about too much, kneeling forward: "The Master's life is tied to the royal family and the world; there must be no mistakes. It is this old servant's duty; please, Master, forgive this servant's crime!" Having said this, he kowtowed heavily and dared to reach out to lift the carriage curtain.

The wind and rain curtain suddenly drifted like mist, but it lifted on its own. Suddenly, a cold, calm gaze shot over. A faint green shirt, faint words: "You step back."

"Master!" Shang Rong's heart was suddenly shocked, and he saw the Eastern Emperor lower his eyes gently, the flute sound flowing from his lips.

Beside the vast sky, eight bolts of lightning suddenly pierced the layered clouds, the terrifying bright light shining directly on all sides, gathering toward the center of the battle formation.

Dark clouds pressed down as if to destroy, and startling thunder cracked across the sky.

The rain and thunder were intertwined like anger, the world seemed about to fall, and a thousand armies changed color.

The jade flute in Zi Hao's hand was exquisite, and the Nine-Turn Spirit Stone suddenly emitted a soul-capturing clear light. Man and jade reflected each other, like snow, like a dream.

Under the flute sound, in the rain lake, blood color surged across the sky, rolling toward the battlefield of slaughter.

Just at this moment, as if echoing this celestial anomaly, a burst of fierce light unexpectedly erupted behind the Liefeng Cavalry. Once it appeared, it expanded instantly, and firelight rose one after another. One saw the armor of the Liefeng Cavalry soldiers burning, and clusters of incredible flowing fire exploded and splashed, turning into a terrifying sea of fire in the heavy rain, causing the Liefeng Cavalry formation to suddenly fall into chaos.

Shang Rong's expression was stunned, unable to believe that a fire formation could ignite in such rain, but he reacted immediately. With a sharp whistle, he leaped over the battlefield of both sides and lunged down from mid-air, killing toward the enemy's command position, which was wide open due to the chaos.

Shan Qi was greatly shocked. Before he could figure out what had happened in the formation, claw shadows lunged at his face, sharp, strange, and unimaginable. In his desperation, he leaned back urgently and kicked out!

Feng Yun nearby saw that the situation was bad and shouted urgently to draw his sword, attacking Shang Rong from front and back.

Unexpectedly, a clear, sharp white light suddenly shot from the battle formation, resembling a snow phoenix charging straight into the clouds. The Floating Gossamer Sword appeared in the heart of the formation, intercepting Feng Yun!

Two figures flew up in mid-air, lightning-fast in the rain and mist, sword light bursting forth.

From the east and west, shouts of battle rose simultaneously, charging fiercely into the enemy formation.

Shang Rong's body was like a ghost, his five fingers sinking in mid-air, locking toward Shan Qi's throat. Shan Qi didn't even have the gap to draw his sword, his toes tapping the horse's back, instantly connecting eight moves with Shang Rong. Just as he was about to leap back, Shang Rong flashed forward, and his claw wind had already sealed the space of several feet around him. Shan Qi flipped his right hand diagonally, striking straight at Shang Rong's face from bottom to top. Although he was the head of the four generals of the Marquis Mansion, his response and moves were all first-class, but ultimately he was no match for Shang Rong's seasoned ruthlessness. His shoulder bone felt a sharp pain, and he had already been swept by Shang Rong's fingertips; a True Qi that was extremely cold locked directly into his meridians from the Jianjing point.

The two exchanged several moves, which could be described as swift and unparalleled, and Qie Lan and Feng Yun also decided the winner in an instant.

A sound of metal clashing came from the thunder and rain. The long sword in Feng Yun's hand snapped into pieces, his figure flying backward. Qie Lan's left arm was splattered with blood, and she was even more shaken by his palm force, her blood and Qi roiling, her True Qi unable to follow, and she fell backward into thin air.

On all sides, there were nothing but the Liefeng Cavalry's forest of spears and blade formations. In her current situation, it was absolutely impossible for her to escape the encirclement.

Suddenly, a green shirt flashed before her eyes, like a snow shadow and clear stream, starlight splashing and dyeing the breeze. Qie Lan's slender waist tightened, and she had already been embraced from behind. Zi Hao carried her, spinning and shaking his sleeves. Wherever his palm wind reached, the surrounding enemy soldiers flew and tumbled, collapsing and scattering. He, however, took Qie Lan and rose with the momentum, drifting out of the danger zone.

White fur and green shirt flew in the rain and mist, the sound of the jade flute once again resounding through the universe. The clear, cold, icy musical notes took away the soul of everyone, and the entire battlefield seemed to fall silent.

The heavy rain eased slightly, also withdrawing its torrential power; it was no longer the situation where the Nine-Turn Exquisite Array was about to be activated, shaking the heavens and souls.

Qie Lan landed in the Mingyi Tower formation and suddenly felt a warmth; the cloak on Zi Hao's body had already fallen onto her shoulders, blocking the gusts of cold rain. "Go into the carriage; do not rashly move your True Qi again," Zi Hao ordered in a calm voice. Qie Lan's gaze met his, and without a word, she retreated and did as told.

Shang Rong also returned at this moment, holding Shan Qi, whose acupoints were sealed, in his hand. Li Si, Shusun Yi, and others seized the opportunity to join forces with Mingyi Tower, and the two sides formed a standoff.

The Liefeng Cavalry suddenly dared not act rashly. Feng Yun was afraid of harming the hostage and could no longer order a forced kill. Although Shan Qi was controlled by others, he was strong-willed and stubborn, glaring and shouting: "Feng Yun! The Liefeng Cavalry only has generals who die in battle; there is absolutely no..." Before he could finish speaking, he was swept by a finger wind at his mute point and could no longer utter a single word.

Before the thousand armies, the Eastern Emperor covered his lips and coughed several times, raising his eyes to face the Liefeng Cavalry coldly, his clear, faint voice drifting down like ice rain: "I will keep this person for now. Go back and tell the Shao Yuan Jun: if he wants to compete with me, let him come himself."

(End of Chapter)