Chapter 371: What Are You Waiting For?

In a valley just north of Kaoshan City, Ghost Face landed, leading Chu Liang and the others.

Ghost Face turned to them and said with a serious tone, "The imperial court's forces will depart from Kaoshan City, and no matter which direction they take, we'll see them from here. We'll intercept them in this valley. I'll summon a mist that will obstruct their divine sense, ensuring they won't detect us from the air. As soon as the White-Feathered Golden Luan appears, we strike immediately!"

With that, he drew out a large banner and waved it through the air, chanting incantations. He then bellowed, "Come to me, Mist!"

Whoosh—

Sure enough, a thick gray mist rose from the ground, quickly engulfing the entire valley and concealing everyone within it.

All eyes were fixed on the sky, observing secretly from the shadows.

Before long, a magnificent White-Feathered Golden Luan appeared, soaring gracefully through the heavens. The imperial court's forces were heading straight north without a hint of precaution.

Ghost Face looked up at the sky, ready to order his men to attack.

Behind him, Chu Liang and a few others exchanged glances, silently confirming their intentions.

Although they were reluctant to lose Ghost Face, a valuable source of information within the White-Bone Hall, they could not in good conscience help the diabolical sect assassinate an imperial court official. Therefore, their plan was to let the target go amidst the ensuing chaos, sabotaging the mission without exposing their identities. This would be the best possible outcome.

However, things might not go so smoothly. If necessary, they would have no choice, but to work together and kill Ghost Face and Xiao Si, silencing them forever.

But before Ghost Face could give the order, a sudden change occurred in the sky.

A beam of white light fell onto the back of the White-Feathered Golden Luan, and immediately, a group of Celestial Hunting Guardians scattered into the air. Someone attempted to escape using a scroll that activated Shattering the Void but was shot down by a terrifying demonic arrow from afar.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye!

As Ghost Face watched the two people fall from the sky and into the valley, he hesitated for a moment before he ordered, "Go search! Kill the target on sight!"

The dark arrow just now had sent chills down every spectator's spine. Ghost Face didn't choose to dispel the mist as he wasn't confident he could take the arrow if it was aimed at him.

He kept the mist to continue obscuring distant detection. It was only in such a scenario that he would dare to strike at the target.

Moreover, the Celestial Hunting Guardians in the air and the demonic aura from afar were quickly approaching, about to enter the valley in the blink of an eye. Without the mist to obstruct them, those two forces would immediately clash. Ghost Face didn't know their purpose; if the target were taken by someone else, the task of killing that target would then be difficult to achieve. The mist could temporarily slow them down.

According to the order of the Elder of White-Bone Mountain, the target harbored an important secret and must be silenced forever!

The mist hindered divine sense detection, allowing even Ghost Face to see only within a few dozen zhang. However, as they were very near the valley, he knew that by following the direction of the fall, they would surely find the target, kill him swiftly, and leave undetected.

The other two groups wouldn't even know what happened in the mist.

The undercover agents led by Ghost Face were stunned by what had just occurred as they noticed that the person who had just opened a scription in mid-air and was shot down looked a lot like Zhang Chen.

Previously, Zhang Chen didn't participate in this mission because he had been temporarily summoned for an important task by the Ascending Dragon Academy.

How did he end up on the other side?

Aside from the imperial court and the diabolical sect, there was another group present, and that powerful demonic aura... could they be demons?

Confusion swept over the group, but they quickly refocused on their top priority: finding the target.

Just then, Ji Lingyu approached Chu Liang and said through Voice Transmission, "I can see the target's location. You distract Ghost Face, and I'll go for the rescue."

Chu Liang immediately raised his voice to rally the others, "As the chamber master, it's my duty to tackle the toughest challenge! I'll intercept the Celestial Hunting Guardians. Brothers, find the target quickly!"

Hearing this, Ghost Face frowned immediately.

All these people were new members of the Ghost-Face Chamber. To earn their trust and obedience, a leader had to shoulder the heaviest burdens. Chu Liang's bold declaration and eagerness to perform was a move to establish his authority.

However, despite stepping down as chamber master, the most authoritative figure in the Ghost-Face Chamber remained him. If Chu Liang succeeded in establishing his authority in front of these new members and later defied him, it could undermine his control over the entire chamber.

No! I must take back the opportunity to establish my authority!

Ghost Face thought.

So he grabbed Chu Liang's shoulder and said, "It's just a team of Celestial Hunting Guardians! Leave them to me! Go with the others and locate the target!"

"Old Chamber Master..." Chu Liang replied, looking moved, "Very loyal of you!"

Ghost Face then leaped into the air.

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

The team of Celestial Hunting Guardians had just entered the mist when they were confronted by a ferocious face!

"Go find the target!" Zhou Gu'an, the leader, shouted. Without asking the identity of the figure that appeared out of nowhere, he drew his saber and slashed at them.

Swoosh—

"Trying to leave?" Ghost Face sneered and changed his finger seals.

Hundreds of ferocious faces suddenly emerged from the mist, appearing as ghostly apparitions, their bloody mouths wide open, ready to bite the Celestial Hunting Guardians!

Everyone drew their sabers and slashed at the apparitions, but as soon as the apparitions shattered, they immediately exploded!

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom—

The area above the mist was instantly blasted open with craters.

Listening to the intense sounds of battle, Chu Liang couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement. Ghost Face was indeed worthy of being a guardian of the White-Bone Hall; his strength was formidable, far surpassing their previous leader, General Hei Yu.

If they wanted to take him down, it would indeed take considerable effort.

...

Wei Xi fell from the sky. Although he had been very close to Zhang Chen in the air, they landed far apart on the ground. For a moment, the old man found himself all alone.

Fortunately, he was at the first realm of cultivation and was physically strong, so he didn't suffer any serious injuries from the fall.

But in the mist of this valley, a cold, murderous aura constantly swirled. Having served as an official in the Southern Regions for many years, Wei Xi was familiar with this aura; it was clearly diabolical qi!

What should I do?

he thought.

His mind raced, and he quickly realized that in his current situation, running was the only option.

Wei Xi was an official in Kaoshan City. One day, a village under his jurisdiction reported finding strangely shaped white bones in the river, suspected to be demonic beast remains.

He could have just reported the matter to the city supervisors, but he decided to check it out himself and get some fresh air. His wife had been quarreling with him ever since she saw him helping the widow Wang fetch water the previous day.

Upon arrival, he discovered that the bones on the riverbank were half-human, half-beast... before death, it seemed to be a beast-headed, human-bodied creature.

He thought it was strange and followed the river upstream to the mountainous regions in the Southern Regions where he found a cave with a crack emanating a malevolent aura.

Wei Xi didn't dare to investigate further, so he returned to the city and reported the matter to the city supervisors.

Somehow, the news reached the capital of Yu and even alarmed the Regent and the Emperor, prompting the palace to send the White-Feathered Golden Luan to bring him to the capital.

After wasting half his life, he thought this was his chance to rise to great heights. Who knew he would fall halfway through the flight?

Run, run, run.

The word echoed in Wei Xi's mind.

But after only a few steps, a figure in black blocked his way!

Without a doubt, this must be someone from the diabolical sect!

"A diabolical cultivator!" Wei Xi wailed, trying to turn and flee.

But the diabolical sect member moved swiftly and was already in front of him!

My life is over!

Wei Xi immediately closed his eyes, resigning himself to his fate, thinking that if there was a next life, he would never help a widow fetch water again.

"What are you waiting for? Come with me!"

"Hmm?"

After a moment, Wei Xi, who had closed his eyes and braced himself for death, felt no blade. Instead, he heard a voice from the diabolical sect member.

He opened his eyes and saw a woman with delicate facial features and a faint golden sparkle in her eyes underneath the black robe.

"I'm here to save you, come with me!" Ji Lingyu urged, pulling Wei Xi up and fleeing into the mist.