Chapter 464: Witch Banners Raised, The Way Back Cut Off

Sanguanzhen, one of the key towns under the jurisdiction of Gongliang City.

The bustling scenes of dense crowds and cargo transport that once existed have vanished, leaving behind only desolation and bleakness.

The sky is overcast, with light unable to pierce through the dense, thick cloud layer, and the earth is shrouded in gloom.

A transparent, soft veil hangs between heaven and earth, resembling a jellyfish drifting with the waves underwater, covering an area of a hundred acres all around.

"It is done!"

A Witch Martial Master with a face full of Totem patterns looks up and laughs, "I used the skin and corpses of over a hundred high-level martial masters to refine and raise these sixteen Witch Banners; all martial artists who enter the battle will have no way back."

The nearly transparent soft veil is, shockingly, refined from the corpses and bones of high-level martial masters.

This is one of the secret treasures of the Witch Tribe, known as the Witch Banner.

Once the Witch Banners are deployed, the space between heaven and earth is distorted; martial artists find every step difficult, while the Witch people move unimpeded, like fish in water.

Originally, the martial artists held the geographical advantage, but after the Witch Banners appeared, the situation between the enemy and us instantly reversed, and the roles of attacker and defender shifted.

The Witch Martial Master presiding over this grand project is named Yehenu, who hails from the Gu Insect path's elite army and is a top-tier powerhouse among Witch Martial Masters.

In layman's terms, his status in the Witch Tribe is equivalent to the likes of Yan Shan and Cao Wudang.

This Witch Banner plan was formulated and executed by him, integrating the manpower of three tribes to ambush the Fucheng garrison.

In this battle, the Witch people won a complete victory; 3 Commanders were annihilated, along with countless fallen Captains and elite soldiers, gathering the materials needed for the sixteen Witch Banners.

After this small victory, with the help of the Witch Banners, Yehenu plans to unite with other tribes to round up the martial artists, ensuring the top merit is safely in his pocket.

He is already at the peak realm of a Martial Master; if he can gather enough merit and receive the Instruction from a Great Witch of the Strong Martial level, pushing past the bottleneck will be as natural as water flowing into a channel.

"Hmm, my son is dead?"

Just as he was full of ambition, Yehenu suddenly froze, struck by the bad news.

One of the sons he valued most had actually been killed by a martial artist; this was simply impossible.

Witch beasts, divine weapons, Blood Merit Books, and so on—all the standard equipment for a Witch powerhouse had been fully provided to him.

Not to mention, his son had already been selected for the Gu Insect path's elite army, and his overall strength was among the best within the tribes.

"Martial artist, I have memorized your aura; the next time I meet you, it will be your death day."

The moment his son died, a cluster of Totem patterns on Yehenu's left cheek twisted a few times, actually reconstructing the unique blood-Qi essence of Zhou You.

His gaze was sinister, "The martial artists are already like turtles in a jar; I reckon he cannot escape."

……

"Commander Chen is leading his troops to retreat; they suffered a great loss just now, with the strength of 3 Commanders' worth of troops depleted."

"The Hundred Crafts Department underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, encountering an ambush; their mechanical weaponry was destroyed entirely."

"Cao Wudang is being hunted by the allied Witch tribes; he is driving the Underworld River Chariot to slaughter in all directions, fighting while retreating. It is said that a Strong Martial Great Witch is tracking his location and intends to strike regardless of status."

"Yan Shan's whereabouts are unknown; according to Yan Wanjun, he heard a person's name and abandoned his disciples to leave alone regardless of anything else. Now our Fucheng martial arts circle is leaderless, each fighting their own battle."

"The Fucheng Monarch led the elite of the noble families to fight a decisive battle against the Witch Gu Insect elite army in the wilderness; the corpses stretch for ten thousand miles."

Zhou You and Zuo Lv walked along the way, killing Witch people when they encountered them, and maintaining a safe and polite distance from martial artists, exchanging information using food and water.

The martial artist opposite them wolfed down food and said vaguely, "The Witch people are cunning; they deliberately abandon supplies in the wild. Some friends didn't understand and went up to take them, only to fall into a trap."

Food is poisoned, cloth hides insects; once touched, they flare up violently, which has killed quite a few martial artists.

As time went on, the martial artists became more cautious and would never touch supplies scattered in the wilderness.

The consequence of this is that supplies have become even scarcer.

The martial artists have no choice but to rely on digging up cellars in ruins and hunting wild beasts to replenish their strength, eating one meal and missing the next. "You must be careful; there is a Witch expert ahead named Mudahan, powerful and cruel, searching everywhere for Lu Zhigang to take revenge."

The martial artist shook his head, "Lu Zhigang's whereabouts are a mystery; he did not participate in the martial arts circle's expedition this time, so where could one find him!"

"I don't know how Lu Zhigang offended him either."

Zhou You nodded subconsciously after hearing this; he seemed to have guessed it. His alias Lu Zhigang had killed many Witch people during his trip to Beijing; it seems he has encountered the aggrieved party.

On the panel, there is a large red dot at a distance from the target; he didn't know before, but now he knows the enemy is Mudahan.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo!"

After seeing the martial artist off, Zhou You pinched his chin and pondered for a moment.

He held a wooden stick and drew a simple map on the ground, "Zuo Lv, you remember this path. Start from now, don't worry about anything else. After meeting up with Lan Chengxiu and the others, head straight north."

"Eh?"

Zuo Lv asked in return, "Hall Master, you aren't coming with me?"

"We must separate."

Zhou You shook his head without further explanation.

On the panel, the mission has changed again, "Trial Project (Six-Star), The Long Road Home: Now that the Witch people have laid out the Witch Banners, the world is a labyrinth; find a way to break the predicament."

Things have become serious! The Witch people were indeed prepared; they actually used a secret treasure called the 'Witch Banner' to seal off the retreat of the martial artists.

The current situation is that the Witch people have the occupied cities at their backs and can continuously send out manpower, while the martial artists have their retreat cut off and are trapped in a desperate situation of fighting alone.

At this point, whether Lan Chengxiu and the others can be saved is no longer important; breaking the situation is the top priority.

Although the Witch Banners are soft and transparent, leaving no trace when scattered into the air, they have ultimately attracted attention.

"Ho, ho, ho!"

Bian Zhou bared his teeth, his facial muscles twisted and ferocious, as if wearing a macaque mask.

His limbs stretched extremely long, soft and flexible like noodles; *swish, swish, swish*, he whipped and lashed out, his fists and claws like shadows, easily prying open the skulls of the Witch people surrounding him.

Clusters of steaming hot brains were freshly served.

The strongest Witch Martial Master on the scene let out a fierce roar and pounded his chest; the Totems on his skin squirmed crazily, flowing into his mouth like black water and gathering at the tip of his tongue.

*Pat*, the tip of his tongue suddenly opened its eyes, broke the skin and drilled through the flesh to grow fuzzy limbs, becoming a Gu Insect in the blink of an eye.

The Gu Insect stretched its soft, mucus-covered body, and with a *hum* like vibrating metal, it killed its way to Bian Zhou like lightning.

The Witch people's Gu Insects can pierce gold and jade, come and go like the wind, and possess various sinister and violent poisons, making martial artists turn pale at the mention of Gu.

Bian Zhou had already held the advantage, but was suddenly ambushed by the Gu Insect, facing mortal danger in an instant and appearing on the verge of disaster.

"Huo-ha!"

Black hair sprouted from the face and limbs of Xia Zhou, his movements accelerated instantly, and his ten fingers pinned the Gu Insect to the ground without a hair's breadth of error.

His ferocity flared, and his fingernails, like sharp blades, plunged in, tearing the Gu Insect to pieces.

Just as he was about to press his advantage and pursue the Gu Insect's master, suddenly...

"."

Bian Zhou stopped his footsteps, because the Witch person in front of him, for some reason, had actually vanished on the spot after turning a few corners.

This scene was too bizarre, as if there were a trap.

An hour had passed since the Witch Banner was set up, and strange phenomena were occurring in every location.

(End of chapter)