Chapter 343: with translation of chapter title

Time flies.

The time for the first batch of Return to One Realm martial artists, as stipulated by the imperial court, to enter the valley has arrived.

After the mysterious figure previously scouted the military camp and deliberately provoked before escaping, the angel who had taken over Governor Hu's control of the province's supreme power was furious.

Thus we need to extract all personal names, place names, sect names, etc.

Let's go line by line.

The consequence was that the troops stationed outside Death Valley increased from one battalion to three battalions.

The three battalions were arranged in a triangular formation, occupying the heavenly, earthly, and human positions of the Three Talents, forming a rudimentary Three Talents Formation.

Thus, no matter which battalion encountered scouting, infiltration, or even attack, the other two battalions could quickly reinforce.

Under the intimidation of the neatly aligned three battalions of government troops, despite there being no fewer than a hundred Return to One Realm martial artists present, they still dared not act rashly.

As for martial artists at the Cave Void Realm from various sects, martial arts schools, and forces like Li Shuwen, as well as the second and third batches of Return to One Realm martial artists entering the valley, they were all confined within the provincial capital by the larger army.

Although they looked down on the martial world, the imperial court still valued martial artists greatly.

After all, martial artists constitute the main force of the imperial court's army.

As the largest 'sect' in the world, the imperial court can be said to best understand how much destructive power organized martial artists can unleash.

Lin Ke, Senior Brother Shi, Hu Suqi, and two disciples of the Clear Heart Sword Sect walked together, positioned in the middle of the valley-entering group.

Hu Songqi refused Hu Suqi's invitation, choosing to go alone; at this moment, clad in a full black robe, he walked at the very end.

After over three thousand martial artists had probed the path with their lives, the first quarter of Death Valley ahead had basically been cleared.

According to the map and route given by the imperial court, this batch of Return to One Realm martial artists could very smoothly pass through the first quarter.

Death Valley covers a vast area, with complex terrain and numerous routes.

Naturally, it was impossible for over a hundred martial artists who entered the valley to stay together all the time.

Thus, not long after entering the valley, the martial artists spontaneously split into small groups, each going their own way.

"This way."

Lin Ke sensed the grand formation in the valley and chose a route that could be called the most dangerous, with the most deaths.

Although others were somewhat puzzled, they still trusted Lin Ke and firmly followed him.

Including the two female disciples of the Clear Heart Sword Sect, one older and one younger.

Before setting out, their elders had repeatedly instructed them to definitely follow Lin Ke's commands.

No reason was given; it was simply a strict demand.

The two female disciples respected their teacher and valued the Dao, so of course they complied.

Seeing this, Lin Ke was very pleased.

Hopefully there are no arrogant fools in the ranks.

Actually, in Lin Ke's perception, the grand formation in Death Valley has already undergone significant changes.

The imperial court's supposedly cleared first quarter segment has actually given rise to numerous dangerous pits and mechanisms anew.

However, these traps and mechanisms are currently in a dormant state, not yet activated.

The martial artists re-entering the valley are precisely the trigger to awaken these traps and mechanisms.

The route Lin Ke selected belongs to a special path that has shifted from extremely dangerous before to now being easy and safe.

In the formation, it is also called the 'Life Gate'.

For some reason, Hu Songqi clearly was not walking with Lin Ke's group, could not track Lin Ke, yet also chose this route.

Six people, five in front and one behind, slowly but safely advanced along this rugged, narrow, perilous mountain trail comparable to a cliffside plank path.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, martial artists occasionally fell into traps and mechanisms.

The good news is that Return to One Realm martial artists generally have some resistance and escape ability.

The bad news is that casualties remain high.

"What on earth is going on?"

Outside the valley, in the military camp.

The angel watched the surveillance feed combining sorcery and mechanical generation, seeing one Return to One Realm martial artist after another die below, while personnel reported that the previously cleared first quarter segment was abnormal, making him extremely angry.

However, the angel did not roar; he calmly asked for an explanation, then slowly said: "I need an explanation, one that can satisfy the higher-ups."

Yet the calmer his tone, the greater the pressure it exerted.

The official responsible for map-making was frightened to the point of heart palpitations and trembling all over, yet dared not show it.

He racked his brains, concocting a reason that the operational mechanism of Death Valley was unexplored and might have changed, then calmly reported it upward without letting his teeth chatter.

"Hmm."

Fortunately, the angel only needed a plausible excuse.

This made the official let out a sigh of relief.

This life was considered saved.

However, good fortune did not last long; soon the angel indifferently said: "Take him out, imprison him. For such negligence and shifting blame, investigate."

As soon as the words fell, two individuals wearing Red Cavalry entered the tent, dragging the speechless, wooden-official out.

Being detained and investigated by the Red Cavalry, even if one does not die in prison, will still suffer severe punishment.

"Who is this person?"

The angel suddenly waved his hand, enlarging a small screen.

The people inside the tent hurriedly looked over, seeing that while other teams had suffered various obstructions, this five-person squad, plus a woman far behind, were actually progressing very smoothly.

No wonder the angel paid special attention to them.

Immediately someone consulted the roster, matched appearance and build, and announced the six individuals' identities.

"Is it Hu Shengqing's daughter? Li Shuwen's disciple?"

After listening to the report, the angel seemed thoughtful, murmuring to himself, "That's kind of interesting."

In the valley.

In the team called "Somewhat Interesting", Lin Ke noticed that he was being watched.

It's only natural to think so.

The court expended great effort, organizing so many martial artists, one after another, to explore Death Valley, even not hesitating to take down the exceptionally capable Commander Hu; of course it would not simply abandon the martial artists in Death Valley and ignore them.

Surveillance is inevitable, and moreover it's still a minor matter.

Lin Ke believed that among this batch of Unity Realm martial artists, there must be hidden experts belonging to the court.

Moreover, Death Valley, which originally could be explored or not, after the court's heavy intervention, has in Lin Ke's view increased in importance.

He wasn't going for the so-called Longevity Peach or the highest secret manual of evil witchcraft; he merely wanted to see the true intentions of the court and the Kang-Qian Emperor.

With that in mind, Lin Ke paid no heed to the feeling of being watched like a thorn in his back, nor to Hu Songqi trailing far behind, and instead earnestly scouted the path forward.

Even when fighting a rabbit, a lion uses its full strength.

Lin Ke would not be careless just because his mental power was strong and he possessed secret arts.

He himself can teleport, so he fears no danger, but what about the others?

It's best that such a thing as dead teammates not happen.

"How quiet!"

Among the two female disciples of the Clear Heart Sword Sect, the younger one, Xu Huiyun, suddenly let out a sigh.

After going around a small hill, it felt as if they had walked from one world into another.

The previously constant noisy sounds were suddenly shut out.

It gave quite a feeling of having arrived at a utopian paradise.

Quite coincidentally, what appeared before the five-person team was precisely a peach blossom forest with fallen petals scattered abundantly.

"Halt." Lin Ke sensed something amiss and quickly spoke up to warn.

In his mental perception, ahead was a cliff, not a peach blossom forest.

But in his vision, just like the others, he saw a peach blossom forest, not a cliff.

The problem is simple: either his perception is wrong, or his sight is wrong.

However, Lin Ke felt that perhaps neither perception nor sight was at fault, but rather some kind of spatial superposition or temporal disorder had occurred.

The other four, upon hearing Lin Ke's voice, immediately stopped and did not move forward.

Hu Suqi had actually been continuously releasing her mental power to sense the surroundings.

However, the quality and quantity of her mental power could not match Lin Ke's; its range was not as broad, nor as keen.

After receiving the hint, Hu Suqi then noticed the abnormality and immediately asked, "What is going on?"

"I don't know for now."

Lin Ke did not voice his guess, but instead made a new decision: "We'll change routes and go this way."

Turning toward the nine o'clock direction, Lin Ke chose a new route, with no intention whatsoever of investigating the secret of the peach blossom forest/cliff.

Curiosity killed the cat.

In the peril-ridden Death Valley, to survive safely one must restrain one's curiosity.

Even if the peach blossom forest/cliff hid a great secret, Lin Ke would not be interested in the slightest.

Stone Senior Brother, Hu Suqi, and the two disciples of the Clear Heart Sword Sect instantly understood Lin Ke's plan and all followed suit.

The new route Lin Ke selected was even more difficult to travel.

From time to time, humanoid monsters half rotting flesh and half white bone would leap out to block the path.

At their worst, they would completely block the entire path ahead.

It seemed as if they were forcing the five-person team to turn back at the fork and head toward the peach blossom forest/cliff.

These humanoid monsters, if Lin Ke guessed correctly, must be the transformed forms of the martial artists who died in earlier batches in the valley.

Not every plant species in the valley can completely absorb the vitality from human flesh and blood.

Corpses from which the vitality was not fully drained become puppet-like humanoid monsters used to deal with later arrivals.

Without Lin Ke needing to act, nor Stone Senior Brother and the two Clear Heart Sword Sect disciples needing to engage in close combat, Hu Suqi raised a hand and unleashed a fire technique that directly burned through those zombie-like humanoid monsters.

This performance clearly exceeded the expectations of the two Clear Heart Sword Sect disciples.

Their gazes toward Stone Senior Brother inevitably turned somewhat strange.

After getting along for so long, how could Min Ruhua and Xu Huiyun not know that Stone Senior Brother and Hu Suqi are a couple?

The key is, Stone Senior Brother seems perhaps unable to defeat his partner.

In that case, how can one ensure their standing in the family?

Facing the gazes of Min Ruhua and Xu Huiyun, Stone Senior Brother gave an embarrassed smile.

Since being together, Stone Senior Brother has gone from having the upper hand, to being evenly matched, to now having to secretly eat the tonic medicine his master gave him; his family status has merely kept dropping.

Now he has just given up.

Watching the blazing flames, the five-person team found an upwind spot, each using their own method to avoid the scorching smell.

Behind them, Hu Songqi sensed the fluctuation of Hu Suqi's spellcasting and involuntarily used the Ghost Eye Technique to look ahead.

Watching the fire technique that was burning and slaughtering the zombie-like corpses, Hu Songqi's expression changed slightly.

It had been a long time since anyone had seen Hu Suqi take action; her strength has been growing ever stronger.

Outside the valley, in the military camp.

Through the surveillance footage, seeing Hu Suqi's fire technique and Hu Songqi's Ghost Eye, the angel couldn't help but sneer repeatedly.

"What a loyal and righteous Hu Shengqing!"

"His legitimate daughter practices ancient witchcraft, his illegitimate daughter practices evil witchcraft, and both have reached such a profound level, hehehe..."

"Do you really think your little schemes escape the notice of the court officials and His Majesty?"

The officers and officials of the Tent Commander now wish they were deaf.

Can they even hear this?

Behind the angel stands His Majesty, and several court bigwigs are also standing, so they have no fear of Governor Hu at all.

But they don't have it!

If even a hint of today's matter leaks out, what awaits them will be a strange and bizarre death.

However, there's no need to think; Governor Hu will surely know the angel's words.

Not to mention that Governor Hu has taken root in this province for many years, has many followers, and naturally has loyal subordinates.

It is likely that the angel herself and the forces she represents will proactively inform Governor Hu of today's matter.

Otherwise, without using thunderous means, probing bit by bit, when will it be possible to completely sweep away Governor Hu's influence in this province?

In the valley.

The fire burned for a full half hour before barely managing to incinerate all the corpses blocking the way.

However, for now we cannot go there.

With ashes and tar all over the ground, how can we set foot?

Since Hu Suqi has taken action, revealing her identity as an ancient witchcraft practitioner, she might as well go all out and strike again.

Without chanting a spell or taking out spell materials, she simply pointed, and the ground covered in ashes and tar began to roll on its own.

Soon it turned the surface soil underneath, covering the ground with a new layer of earth.

And she hasn't stopped yet.

Hu Suqi pointed again, and a narrow ice crystal path suitable for one person quickly formed.

Walking on the ice crystal path, one need not worry about stepping on anything dirty.

"Take it easy."

Senior Brother Shi saw Hu Suqi's face pale considerably and felt pity.

Hu Suqi merely gave a faint smile, without responding.

Seeing this, Senior Brother Shi felt utterly helpless.

The five-person team wasted no time, immediately stepped onto the ice crystal path, and continued forward.

At the same time, Hu Songqi stood before the peach forest/cliff for nearly an hour before finally making up her mind.

"Father, this is all because you forced me."

Hu Songqi gritted her teeth, and hatred shot from her eyes like a piercing blade.

She merely, after receiving the task of bringing out the Supreme Secret Manual of Evil Witchcraft from the Valley of the Dead, conducted some investigations.

Thus she came to know the Valley of the Dead's historical records and some related anecdotes.

How could she know that the Valley of the Dead was so important in her father's schemes?

She could never have imagined that Emperor Kangqian would care so much about the Valley of the Dead, mobilizing troops on such a scale, even to the point of being described as using any means necessary and sparing no effort!

She exposed the existence of the Valley of the Dead merely as revenge against Lin Ke after suffering an unbearable humiliation.

As the disturbances caused by the Valley of the Dead grew larger, events quickly surpassed Hu Songqi's expectations, not following the direction she had envisioned, at which point she began to panic a little.

Thus, when Lin Ke came to her door and said that working for him could bring liberation.

Only Hu Songqi, who had long harbored the desire to free herself from her father's control, would agree so readily.

A slim hope, after all, is still hope.

Now is the time to make a bold move.

Hu Songqi hesitated for a long time, then chose to go all out.

Anyway, if the gamble fails, the worst is death; if it succeeds, perhaps she can turn the tables.

Why not give it a try?