Chapter 574: Breaking Through the Encirclement

Bang, bang, bang!

In the darkness, gunfire was constant.

The wind and snow howled, accompanied by blood splashing everywhere.

In just the blink of an eye, several people were blasted to pieces.

A man holding a saber leaped up, hiding behind a wall, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at the severed half-body in the distance and roared:

"Brother Lu!"

His name was Cui Sandao, a famous saber-wielder in the Sichuan underworld. Because he had a grudge against the Salt Gang, he had joined the camp of Young Master Wuxiang.

And the one left with only half a body had an even greater reputation.

His name was Lu Zhenshan, skilled in the Iron Shirt technique and known as the Iron Buddha. He possessed infinite strength and had once snapped the iron chains spanning the Kui Gate with his bare hands. He was heroic by nature and had the closest relationship with Cui Sandao.

But an Iron Shirt technique that had reached the peak of Dark Jin was no different from an ordinary person in the face of Divine Fire Guns.

Cui Sandao knew about the new-style firearms and had the opportunity to obtain a gun license, but he still stubbornly believed that the saber in his hand was the foundation.

At this moment, something in his heart completely collapsed.

But the gunfire in the distance did not allow him much time to think.

Bricks and stones splashed above his head; the stone wall could not hold out for much longer.

"Brother Tang, what should we do?"

Thinking of this, Cui Sandao turned his head to ask Tang Ling.

His gaze was somewhat complex, and his voice had lowered significantly.

To tell the truth, Young Master Wuxiang had previously valued Tang Ling extremely highly, even fawning over him somewhat, which had made him very uncomfortable, so he hadn't given the other party a good look.

But now, his attitude had also changed.

"Protect me!"

Tang Ling did not waste words. He immediately bit his fingertip, formed a seal, and chanted a spell, writing talismans on his specially made firearm while chanting:

"I humbly request the two masters of the ancestral lineage: this gun is no ordinary gun; transform into a lake of blood, transform into five hundred savage thunders, pierce the liver and break the lungs. I serve the Supreme Venerable Sovereign, act in accordance with the law!"

Whoosh~

In an instant, a violent wind whipped up all around.

Tang Ling didn't aim at all; he raised his hand and fired a shot.

This technique of his was not profound; it was simply borrowing the power of the patriarchs to push his instincts to the limit and fire according to his intuition.

It was considered the most basic method of firearm sorcery.

Boom!

Firelight splashed, and in the darkness in the distance, several screams immediately rang out, along with the sound of corpses falling accompanied by roof tiles.

The sound of gunfire from that side also ceased accordingly.

The tactics of the Black Feather Guards—using experts for protection, sorcerers for scouting, and suppressing with firepower—were truly crushing when facing ordinary people of the martial world.

But their positioning was too concentrated; they would be unlucky if they faced the same firearms.

This single blow killed at least three people.

Hearing Cui Sandao cheer, Tang Ling did not feel the slightest bit of pride. He said in a deep voice, "I can only suppress them; they will temporarily disperse. This is our only chance."

"If we don't charge through, we'll still die!"

After saying this, he prepared to continue casting his spell.

Boom!

Just at this moment, gunfire rang out again in the darkness in the distance, followed by continuous screams accompanied by the sound of a roof collapsing.

In the dark night sky, a clear and resonant voice also rang out.

"Li Yan of Guanzhong is here; everyone, just break through!"

It was Li Yan who had made his move.

He had chosen the perfect moment.

The team of men in front was nervous because of Tang Ling's sudden shot and was fully focused, which was why a gap had appeared.

Li Yan fired directly, first killing the Daoist of the Sanfa Sect who was responsible for scouting, and then charged into the enemy formation.

Amidst the flashing saber light, he slaughtered this team of men, leaving them in disarray.

There were still a few people left breathing, but he couldn't be bothered to pay attention to them. He roared his name into the night sky, then picked up two Divine Fire Guns and leaped, looking like a white crane spreading its wings, jumping from a high point onto the low roof beams.

Ceng, ceng, ceng!

Accompanied by the sound of shattering roof tiles, Li Yan lowered his body and moved forward at high speed. When he was close to another team of men, he raised both guns directly.

This team had been killed by Tang Ling, and they had just reorganized their formation, with their sorcerer also using his full supernatural powers to scout.

Li Yan made his move, having already broken away from his concealment technique, so he was naturally discovered.

"Over there!"

A monk with a lecherous face pointed in his direction and shrieked.

Boom! Boom!

Before the other party's voice had even faded, Li Yan fired directly.

The two people opposite him immediately turned into blood mists and exploded. At the same time, the roof collapsed, and the remaining people fell down along with the roof tiles.

"Form up!"

The captain of the Black Feather Guards roared a reminder.

But immediately after, he felt a chill in his chest. He looked up and saw that Cui Sandao had seized the opportunity to charge over, his face ferocious, and raised his saber to stab him through.

The others were no better off.

This group of people gathered by Young Master Wuxiang, although not top-tier, were all ruthless men famous in the martial world; how could they miss such an opportunity?

Saber light flashed, and fists and palms alternated.

In the blink of an eye, they slaughtered this group of Black Feather Guards completely.

"There are still more, over there!"

Li Yan couldn't be bothered to waste words and pointed directly at the street in the distance.

"Disperse and flank them!"

Tang Ling gave a low shout and charged into the wind and snow, carrying his gun.

The others were also experienced; they all took detours through the dark alleys and headed in the direction Li Yan pointed.

As for Li Yan, he waved his hand to shake off the bloodstains on his saber, looked in the direction of the carriage shop, and walked into the darkness with eyes full of murderous intent...

…………

Outside the carriage shop, the fierce battle was in full swing.

Sha Lifei and the carriage firm leader Xie Huaiqing worked together to stabilize their position, forcing the demoness Bai Qihong back time and time again.

But they simply couldn't manage to kill her.

Sha Lifei fired several shots in a row, but only shattered one of her water sleeves.

As for Young Master Wuxiang and Situ Qian below, they were evenly matched.

Situ Qian stepped on five ghosts, his iron umbrella flying and swirling; as he moved, black mist surged, making him no different from a true ghost or god.

Not only that, the other party also used a fine sword technique.

In legends, Zhong Kui's travels have four characteristics.

First is riding the "Kui Star Sedan," a magical artifact bestowed by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang when he canonized Zhong Kui as the "Blessed and House-Guarding Holy Lord," which could cross the yin and yang and fly across the ground.

Second are the five ghosts beneath his seat, accompanying him on his journey.

Third is the Seven-Star Green Blade Sword in his hand, which slays demons and evil spirits.

Fourth is the Bat Treasure Fan in his hand, symbolizing the bestowing of blessings.

Situ Qian's method was a unique god-inviting technique; although it was sinister, he had learned seven or eight parts of the appearance.

The difference was that his sword technique was more ferocious, his moves were sinister and treacherous, and the blade carried a sticky, sinister qi.

This was a magical artifact refined from resentment-turned-curses; once scratched, it would infect the soul, which was even more terrifying than poison.

Young Master Wuxiang was equally extraordinary. Seeing that this magical artifact was ferocious, he didn't make direct contact with it at all, tumbling and leaping, his movement technique like a ghost, and while dodging, he waved his hand to throw out steel awls.

In short, neither of them could do anything to the other.

Situ Qian was not in a hurry; he just wanted to trap the other party here. Once the Black Feather Guards killed the others, it would completely form a cage to suppress and kill this famous leader of the Chengdu underworld.

But Li Yan's appearance made his heart tremble.

He had never had contact with Li Yan, nor did he know that the other party had been entrusted by his master to clean up the sect.

But Nie Sangu's defeat, Tian Qi's death, and the deaths of the few people from the ghost opera troupe earlier had already made him alert.

Even the Prince of Shu had explicitly ordered to find an opportunity to encircle and suppress Li Yan.

"Idiots!"

Situ Qian couldn't help but grit his teeth and curse.

The ones he was cursing were naturally the people who provided the intelligence.

The current Chengdu Prefecture was a mix of dragons and snakes, with people from all walks of the martial world gathered. Although the Prince of Shu's mansion didn't provoke them, they had also sent out many secret lines.

Just like this time, it was someone providing intelligence.

But the intelligence clearly had problems.

If they had known Li Yan was coming, they wouldn't have brought only these people.

Not only that, listening to the sounds of gunfire and screams in the darkness in the distance, Situ Qian already had the intention to retreat. They were just taking money to do a job; furthermore, they were also on guard against the Prince of Shu and were prepared to double-cross him, so how could they risk their lives here?

Once a person hesitated, their moves also changed.

Young Master Wuxiang was a veteran of many years; how could he not see the trick? A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and his speed accelerated instantly.

Like a green shadow, he shuttled back and forth in the arena.

Just at this moment, Li Yan finally arrived.

While running, he quickly replaced his magazine, and seeing the Ghost Zhong Kui in the black mist, he raised his hand and aimed directly.

Situ Qian saw that the situation was bad, his iron umbrella spun and blocked in front of him, sinister wind and black mist surged, and he prepared to use an escape technique to flee.

"Hahaha, where are you going?!"

But just at this moment, Young Master Wuxiang suddenly let out a loud laugh.

He formed a seal with both hands, then separated his ten fingers, as if hooking something, and yanked fiercely downward.

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Clatter, clatter!

Above the ground, light and shadow flickered instantly.

The steel awls he had thrown out earlier had been deflected by Situ Qian, spinning and piercing into the ground, crooked and scattered everywhere.

But at this moment, they all soared into the air.

The qi of the gang and evil dissipated, revealing crisscrossing metal wires.

Li Yan was also somewhat surprised when he saw this.

Young Master Wuxiang was worthy of being the leader of the Chengdu underworld.

These metal wires were clearly a type of magical artifact, masked by evil qi; even when he used his supernatural powers, he hadn't discovered them.

It was likely one of the other party's trump cards.

Li Yan didn't wait any longer and pulled the trigger directly.

Boom!

With a loud bang, the black mist in the arena scattered.

Situ Qian's magical artifact iron umbrella was blasted into pieces, and the tough, shattered leather skin fell all over the ground.

This strike could be considered as having broken the other party's escape technique.

Young Master Wuxiang also took advantage of the situation to pull, and the dense metal wires, like a spider's iron web, carried sharp steel awls and wrapped around Situ Qian.

Rip!

Accompanied by the sound of metal tearing through muscle, the five ghosts beneath Situ Qian were directly cut into pieces, blood and flesh splashing everywhere, staining the accumulated snow red.

"Wa ya ya~"

Situ Qian also let out a roar, formed a seal, and leaped up. He was instantly wrapped in black mist, leaped into the air, dodged the cutting of the metal wires, and instantly appeared on the roof of the carriage shop.

Afterward, he spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood.

Li Yan glanced at the broken corpses on the ground and immediately understood what was going on.

These five little ghosts were all refined by Situ Qian using evil methods, with sinister souls and fierce ghosts possessing them, listening to his commands and cooperating to deploy the formation.

Although their physical bodies were destroyed, their sinister souls were still there.

Situ Qian had actually used a secret technique directly, destroying the five little ghosts to forcibly use an escape technique to flee.

Although he had dodged a disaster, he had also suffered no small backlash.

Boom!

He had just stood firm when the ground beneath his feet exploded with a bang.

It was Sha Lifei in the attic who had seized the opportunity, listening to the sound to identify the position, raising his Divine Fire Gun, and pulling the trigger.

"Ah—!"

Situ Qian let out a scream, and half of his leg was directly blown off.

Before he could react, a white shadow whistled past in the air, wrapping around his waist with flowing cloud water sleeves and disappearing into the darkness.

It was precisely Bai Qihong who had made her move to rescue him.

Li Yan hadn't expected that the two of them would react so quickly; he hadn't even had time to use any of his trump card moves.

He frowned and was about to step forward with his saber.

"Quick, surround them, don't let a single one go!"

Just at this moment, the sound of horse hooves and clamor rang out in the distance, the ground began to tremble, and visible firelight illuminated the night sky.

It was the garrison soldiers beginning to assemble.

"Li Li Shaoxia, this is no place to stay long!"

Young Master Wuxiang spoke up to remind him, and at the same time reached out and shook his hand, and the metal wires on the ground were quickly retracted, leaving trails on the snow.

"Old Sha, let's go!"

Li Yan didn't waste words and gave a loud roar toward the inn.

"Alright!"

Sha Lifei let out a laugh and leaped down from the attic.

Bringing along that carriage firm leader Xie Huaiqing, the four of them quickly left, led by Young Master Wuxiang, and headed toward the entrance of the secret passage.

Di~ di~

Young Master Wuxiang had an iron whistle in his mouth, blowing it as he ran.

On the street ahead, people kept rushing out from the darkness, covered in blood and murderous, it was precisely Tang Ling and the others.

Seizing this opportunity, they had already slaughtered the last batch of Black Feather Guards.

They hadn't run far when an ancient well appeared on the street ahead, old and covered with accumulated snow at the wellhead.

"Quick, go!"

Young Master Wuxiang gave a reminder and leaped down.

Li Yan gave Sha Lifei a look and followed closely behind.

But he saw Young Master Wuxiang kick left and right against the smooth well wall, taking advantage of the momentum to drill into a pit in the middle.

Li Yan also used the same movement technique, even the stones he stepped on were exactly the same, and he also drilled into the pit.

This Young Master Wuxiang was extremely sinister; he didn't dare to trust him.

"Li Li Shaoxia, rest assured."

Young Master Wuxiang naturally could see it and said indifferently, then waited at the hole looking upward.

Very quickly, everyone drilled in.

Young Master Wuxiang took out a fire-starter again, blew it bright, dug a gunpowder bamboo tube out of the brick seam, and lit it directly.

"Quick, go!"

With an order, everyone drilled into the pitch-black tunnel.

Boom!

A roar rang out behind them, and stones fell clattering.

By the time the garrison soldiers surrounded this place, the entire stone well had already collapsed, with layers upon layers of stones piled up, mixed with mud to seal the entrance.

In the darkness, the Ghost Zhong Kui Situ Qian, supported by Bai Qihong, hopped out on one leg, his other severed thigh dripping blood continuously.

"Find that secret line!"

His face was ferocious like a ghost, "I want that brat dead!"

…………

In the darkness, footsteps and panting were constant.

"Alright, it's fine now."

After running for a long time, Young Master Wuxiang suddenly stopped, fished a torch out of the well wall beside him, and lit it.

The bright light dispelled the darkness and also dispelled the fear.

Some martial world men and carriage shop workers sat down on the ground directly, panting heavily as they looked around, their faces full of lingering fear.

Tonight was truly a brush with death.

Li Yan remained calm and looked around.

This pit wasn't dug temporarily; the surrounding walls were all built with blue bricks, plastered with white lime, and covered in moss, clearly not of recent origin.

Who had created this secret passage...

Seeming to see his question, Young Master Wuxiang spoke directly: "During the Daxiang years of the previous dynasty, followers of the Maitreya Sect stirred up trouble, saying they were slaying a dragon outside the city and built this well to suppress it, but in reality, it was to build a secret passage to enter the Prince of Shu's treasury and steal."

Li Yan was startled, "You mean, this secret passage leads directly to the Prince of Shu's mansion?"

"That goes without saying."

Young Master Wuxiang looked at Sha Lifei behind Li Yan, sneered, and shook his head, "Li Li Shaoxia, thank you for your help tonight."

"This secret passage was originally intended for you to see."

"If you want to deal with the Prince of Shu, you can't do without me!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 575 =====