Chapter 393: Mountain Ridge Defense Battle

The rumbling sound was like thunder, shaking the mountains and rivers. Looking down from the peak, even the clouds and mist that usually shrouded the area were scattered, only to quickly close in again.

Although it lasted only a brief moment, Li Yan still saw it clearly.

A large crater appeared in the mountain forest, with smoke rising; it stood out starkly against the surrounding emerald green.

"It blew! It blew!"

Sha Sha Li Fei was full of excitement, sweat beading on the tip of his nose.

Li Yan was dumbfounded, "You... how much did you set off?"

Gunpowder is a consumable. The new gunpowder formula contains two types of heavenly treasures, making it extremely expensive. Even the imperial court, which monopolizes resources, has to use it sparingly.

For their team, the price was secondary; the key was that the proportions of this stuff were also particular.

If used entirely, the power would be too overwhelming.

Therefore, Li Yan and his team had a habit: when used for firearms, they could use all new gunpowder, but if using things like fire-caltrops, they usually mixed in half ordinary gunpowder.

The one before them was clearly not right.

"Nothing much, I just used a full portion."

Sha Sha Li Fei rubbed his bald head and gave an awkward smile, "Thinking the other side had many people, I wanted a loud one. The power is indeed extraordinary..."

Before he finished speaking, more than a dozen "Jing people" crawled out from the surrounding ground, all covered in dust, and one even had a broken leg.

They waved their arms and cursed while hopping on one foot, clearly furious.

Sha Sha Li Fei couldn't understand what they were saying, but he knew it wasn't anything good. He quickly said, "Mistake, mistake. The remaining few won't have this issue."

His mouth was apologetic, but his face showed no guilt.

Seeing this, the "Jing people" became even more enraged.

"Alright, stop messing around!"

Li Yan frowned as he looked below, "Everyone stay alert. This explosion will likely make them desperate..."

…………

The smoke cleared, and screams rose one after another.

Severed limbs were everywhere. Many soldiers were buried by earth and stone, and some unlucky ones were lifted by the shockwave, crashing into tree branches—either pierced by twigs or suffering broken ribs and vomiting blood.

Sha Sha Li Fei's ground fire-thunder, after increasing the gunpowder, had overturned the entire ground, killing at least dozens and leaving even more severely wounded.

With just this one strike, the Longxiang Army's vanguard battalion was completely crippled. Although there were still three or four hundred men left, they had been scared out of their wits.

*Clatter, clatter... *

Guo Xiu shook the dirt off his head and struggled to climb up. Looking at the hellish scene around him, his eyes instantly turned blood-red, "Traitors, how dare you!"

He was truly furious.

The traitor within the Cao Gang, the demon chaos in Dangyang, Xiangyang's Mount Lushan... although the two sides had never officially met, several of his plans had been disrupted by Li Yan.

More importantly, the other side had also taken his "Thunderbolt Fire Scripture," though he had other urgent matters at the time and did not continue the pursuit.

Thinking of this, Guo Xiu felt his three corpse-gods jumping in rage.

"Senior Brother, Senior Brother!"

A shout came from not far away.

It was the man who had been dressed as a peddler earlier.

He was also covered in dust, holding another man, his eyes red and his voice trembling.

The man in his arms was a dwarf, dressed in coarse cloth, unremarkable in appearance, with a massive head.

These two were senior and junior brothers named You San and Wang Si. Although they came from the Longxiang Army, they mostly spent their time mingling in the martial world.

You San was skilled in the Eye Divine Ability, while the dwarf Wang Si was skilled in escape arts. With the brothers cooperating, whether stealing or assassinating, they had never failed.

The dwarf's chest bones were already completely shattered, his eyes couldn't even open, and he was breathing out more than he was breathing in; soon, he stopped moving.

"Ah—!"

You San let out a low roar like a beast, picked up a fire-god gun not far away, and without a word, ran toward the mountain peak.

His fire-god gun had also been snatched from the Commandant's Office.

Although Guo Xiu was equally furious, he calmed down at this moment and ordered repeatedly, "Retreat first, be careful of more ground fire-thunders in the forest!"

"You all, save Brother You San first. He cannot die; without his divine ability, it will be hard to avoid the imperial court's pursuit!"

Although Guo Xiu's commands had failed time and again, leading the Longxiang Army to such a state, this sentence was correct.

You San's Eye Divine Ability was extremely rare. Although it wasn't a thousand-mile eye, his vision was sharper than a falcon's; he could pierce through mist and formations, like a telescope, seeing everything clearly within his line of sight.

The reason they had been able to avoid the pursuit of the Law Enforcement Hall and the Commandant's Office all these years was largely due to You San's divine ability.

These experts within the Longxiang Army glanced at each other, stopped talking, leaped onto the surrounding trees, and jumped between thick branches, avoiding the ground fire-thunders as they headed toward the peak...

Longxiang Army Commander Feng Lei also luckily escaped the ground fire-thunder. With a gloomy face, he stepped forward to ask, "My Lord, what should we do?"

Guo Xiu gritted his teeth and said, "This is the ground fire-thunder from the 'Thunderbolt Fire Scripture.' Clear the mines one by one first, then send troops up the mountain to encircle and suppress them."

"They are using this item to block us, so they definitely don't have many people. As long as we kill Li Yan, the rest are nothing to fear!"

"Yes, My Lord!"

Feng Lei bowed solemnly and then ordered the mine clearing.

The Longxiang Army was one of the earliest forces to come into contact with firearms. Although their luck was poor, they had accumulated quite a bit of experience.

Led by a Captain who was also skilled in the Smell Divine Ability, they led two hunting dogs and soon found another ground fire-thunder.

"Quick, it's right over there!"

The Captain whispered a warning, "The ground fire-thunder has a stepping mechanism. Remember to clear the loose soil around it first, then dig carefully."

"Yes, sir!"

Several soldiers took their tools and stepped forward carefully.

Their approach was indeed correct; after all, any firearm needs to be triggered. As long as the mechanism is destroyed, it can be disarmed.

But they never imagined that the triggering method of this ground fire-thunder was truly unconventional.

*Sss! *

In the tunnel, several "Jing people" lit the fuse and immediately danced and gestured, using earth-escape arts to flee wildly.

Another roar followed, earth and stone splattered, and the soldiers who went to clear the mines all suffered; they were blown high into the air, vomiting blood from their mouths, and fainted.

Guo Xiu's eyelids twitched wildly, "Why did it blow again?"

The Captain in charge of mine clearing swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said tremblingly, "This subordinate doesn't know either. They used some method, but the power of the ground fire-thunder was clearly much smaller."

Guo Xiu was thoughtful and gritted his teeth, "Find more people. Test it and immediately turn back. I'm afraid there's something underneath."

Although fearful, two Longxiang Army soldiers stepped forward carefully. After scratching twice, they turned and ran.

*Boom! *

Sure enough, by luring the "Jing people" to light the fuse in advance, the ground fire-thunder exploded, but no one was injured.

"My Lord is wise!"

Commander Feng Lei immediately began to flatter him.

Guo Xiu had just been trying randomly and didn't expect it to actually succeed. He was overjoyed and kept sending people to test it.

The "Jing people" were, after all, unfamiliar with gunpowder.

Not long after, accompanied by roars, the ground fire-thunders buried by Sha Sha Li Fei were detonated one by one...

………

Above the cliff, Li Yan closed his eyes slightly, his little finger twitching.

Near the dense forest at the foot of the mountain, a paper doll was hiding in the bushes. Even with the thick mist blocking the way, it saw everything clearly.

*Swish! *

You San's figure appeared on a tree, then leaped down, picked up the fire-god gun, dark energy erupted under his feet, and he dashed up the hillside.

The Commandant's Office's fire-god gun?

Li Yan became vigilant as soon as he saw it.

He knew that in the mountains and forests of Jingxiang a few months ago, using firearms for mutual assassination had become the mainstream.

The other side must have accumulated quite a bit of experience.

Not daring to be the slightest bit careless, as Li Yan's little finger twitched, the paper doll immediately slid along the ground, following You San closely.

Seeing the distance between the two sides getting closer and closer, You San suddenly raised his gun.

Li Yan felt it was strange when he saw it. The distance between the two sides was still three or four hundred meters, and the other side was still in the clouds and mist. At such a long distance, even with a fire-god gun, there was no accuracy at all. What was the point of firing?

But soon, he was shocked, quickly turned around, leaped, and jumped behind a giant rock.

*Bang! *

The sound of gunfire rang out at the foot of the mountain.

In an area ten meters away, earth and stone splattered instantly.

Just as Li Yan expected, at this distance, the fire-god gun had lost its accuracy, but it was close enough.

The other side had the Eye Divine Ability, they were sharpshooters!

Li Yan immediately shouted, "Old Sha, it's the Eye Divine Ability, hide first!"

Sha Sha Li Fei, who was aiming his gun, heard this and quickly dragged the bewildered Wu Ba to hide behind the giant rock.

And in this short time, You San had rushed out of the thick mist and stopped at a distance of two hundred meters from the crowd.

He didn't rush to get closer, but quickly replaced the magazine, stood on the spot, a cold smile appearing at the corner of his mouth, and aimed his gun upward.

!.

You San could occupy a special position in the Longxiang Army and even dare to confront Guo Xiu, relying on more than just divine ability.

His martial arts weren't considered powerful, and he only knew some unorthodox bewitching evil arts, but after obtaining the fire-god gun and cooperating with his divine ability, his combat power increased instantly.

Quite a few experts had died under his gun.

Encountering this situation, Li Yan didn't panic, but blew a long and short whistle, then threw out a smoke pellet, and pinched a secret formula, whispering, "Nuogao! Heaven's truth is too pure, the essence of Ren and Gui. Internally corresponding to the kidney... act quickly as the law commands!"

Once the Mysterious Water Escape was used, his whole body was immediately wrapped in water mist, his figure faded, and borrowing the cover of the thick smoke, he circled toward You San from the side.

When practicing at Lake Liangzi Lake, they had done some drills and coordination for this situation.

To deal with this kind of sharpshooter, they thought of three ways.

First, let Lv San control the falcon to drop fire-caltrops from the air.

Second, Li Yan uses escape arts to get close and kill.

Third, Wang Wang Daoxuan casts a spell.

Now that Lv San was not there and Wang Wang Daoxuan had to preside over the Dharma altar, naturally, Li Yan would use escape arts to get close and kill in close quarters.

The thick smoke from the smoke pellet attracted You San's attention. He held the fire-god gun, aimed around the smoke, and was ready to pull the trigger at any time.

Li Yan's eyes revealed killing intent as he approached quickly.

But just at this moment, You San suddenly turned his gun.

This guy could pierce through escape arts!

Li Yan's hair stood on end, and he directly did a lazy donkey roll.

*Boom! *

The sound of gunfire rang out, and gravel splattered.

Li Yan narrowly avoided it. After getting up, dark energy erupted under his feet, and at the same time, he held his blade horizontally and charged toward You San.

At this distance, the other side had no time to change the magazine.

However, You San was also not panicked and quickly retreated.

At the same time, two sharp arrows flew from the thick mist; it was the Longxiang Army experts coming to help.

*Swish, swish! *

The arrows whistled, heading straight for Li Yan's face.

Li Yan didn't stop at all, stepped on the mud-treading steps, blocked the sharp arrows with his blade from left to right, and accelerated again.

His eyes were full of killing intent, and his speed didn't slow down at all.

That protruding-eyed gunman was truly a hidden danger.

Even if he got injured, he had to clear this person first.

However, he was still a step too late.

Seven or eight figures had already rushed out of the thick mist.

Two men were the fastest; their faces were somewhat similar, and their clothes were the same—all in grey robes, and both held long spears.

But the two men's spears were different.

One used a zhang-eight big iron spear.

One used a soft rattan spear.

The man using the iron spear suddenly bowed forward, the spear thrust in a line, using the White Snake Spitting Letter, heading straight for Li Yan's chest.

Just when Li Yan wanted to block, the other person lowered his body forward, rolled on the ground, and the rattan spear in his hand was like a poisonous snake, turning a corner in the air, heading straight for his lower body.

Li Yan had no choice but to retreat.

And the man using the iron spear advanced again, shaking his arms at the same time, his mouth spitting a whistling sound, and the iron spear suddenly shook out more than a dozen spear shadows, enveloping Li Yan's whole body.

Both were dark energy experts, far from being comparable to Li Yan, but their spear techniques combined odd and straight, actually forcing him back.

Li Yan was annoyed, having already seen the trickiness of the two men's spear techniques.

The man using the iron spear was using the "Yang Family Spear."

This "Yang Family Spear" was not the spear technique of the Yang Family Generals, but was created by Yang Yang Miaozhen, the wife of Li Quan, the leader of the Red Jacket Army in the late Southern Song Dynasty, known as the "Twenty-year Pear Blossom Spear, invincible under heaven."

If it were just this person, it would be easy to talk about.

His spear technique, although exquisite, had weaker internal power.

But his brother used the Jiangnan "Ground-Rolling Spear," with flexible body techniques, good at overcoming hardness with softness, specializing in attacking the lower path, extremely sinister.

The brothers cooperated, already seamless.

For this situation, Li Yan also had a way to deal with it; once the Soul-Severing Flying Knife came out, it could be broken immediately.

However, others had already made their move.

One of the men had already pulled out a flintlock gun from his waist.

The most troublesome was You San, full of killing intent, having already replaced the magazine, ready to aim.

Li Yan didn't say a word and turned to leave.

He was fast, dark energy erupted under his feet, he walked in a zigzag route, his figure was unpredictable, and he returned to the mountain top.

*Bang! Bang! *

Two consecutive shots behind him, earth and stone splattered, but none hit.

"Hahaha!"

You San, although he missed, laughed wildly, "What kind of rising star in the martial world, the reputation is blown loud, but that's all."

"Fellow Daoists, he is only one person, join hands to capture him, I want to skin this kid and light a sky lantern!"

"No rush!"

The Daoist who set up the altar earlier spoke quickly, solemnly saying, "This kid is cunning, his Daoist methods and martial arts are not bad, there must be traps ahead, let this poor Daoist force him out."

After speaking, he took a piece of yellow paper from his bosom, folded it into a knife shape in two or three moves, bit his fingertip, drew a blood talisman on it, aimed at the giant rock where Li Yan was hiding, and muttered words in his mouth, speaking in the local language of Yun-Gui.

Seeming to sense something, the old Daoist suddenly opened his eyes.

"Summon!"

*Swish! *

The paper knife flew out instantly, turned a corner in the air, bypassed the giant rock, and headed straight for Li Yan's brow.

Paper Knife Soul-Severing Method?

Tongtian Sect!

Li Yan immediately recognized this spell.

The Tongtian Sect was also a major school, mainly circulating in the three provinces of Foot Chuan, Yu, and Sima Qian. Some worshiped Taishang Laojun as the ancestor, and some worshiped the Tongtian Sect Leader as the master.

This Dharma Sect had extremely fierce spells, specifically targeting the divine soul, and had many taboos, including not eating beef, dog meat, scaleless fish, and flat-feathered livestock meat (i. e., poultry feathers), and not passing under spider webs.

The more taboos, the stronger the power naturally.

Even through the giant rock, the divine soul could be locked.

But just as the paper knife was about to pierce his brow, Li Yan's face was cold, he suddenly raised his hand and grabbed the paper knife in his hand.

*Sizzle, sizzle! *

Electric arcs flashed, and the paper knife instantly turned into fly ash.

*Puff! *

The old man's spell on the opposite side was broken, his heart and mind were shaken, he felt stuffy in his chest, and immediately vomited a mouthful of blood...

Second update in the afternoon.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 394 =====