Forming Alliances

Zhao Dalong opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he nodded in agreement.

"Da Long, you stay with the Third Escort, while Song Ge and I will take the mountain path. If we make any discoveries, we'll immediately notify you with a coded signal."

Chen Lu tethered the spirit horse to a secluded spot, and after communicating their contact information, he and Wang Shengsong ventured into the mountain path.

At this moment, the moon is high in the sky, countless stars dot the heavens, and insects chirp in the grass, creating a peaceful and serene atmosphere.

Fortunately, the three镖头 (bodyguards) controlled their speed very well, allowing Chen Lu and his companion, who were traveling on rugged mountain paths, to catch up.

Before long, the location of the calamity indicated by the divination slip appeared in the distance.

"Brother Song! Wait!" Chen Lu's eyes darted around, and he had a plan in mind. He quickly bent down, lowered his voice, and reached out to stop Wang Shengsong.

"What's wrong? Did you find something?"

Wang Shengsong appeared much calmer, unlike Zhao Dalong who seemed nervous.

"It seems... a little too quiet."

"Quiet?"

"There were birds chirping and insects buzzing ahead, but once we got here, there was nothing but the sound of the wind."

I've heard that only when a cultivator or a demonic beast dwells there, their aura impossible to conceal, can this happen.

It is common knowledge that mortal beasts can avoid natural disasters, but whether they are so sensitive that even cultivators can avoid them is something no one has really investigated in detail. It's just that the story has been around for so long that people have come to believe it.

Wang Shengsong frowned, took out his longbow, nocked an arrow, chanted an incantation, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes.

Chen Lu also took out his crossbow, brought it close to the lens, and infused it with spiritual energy. In an instant, the dark mountain forest in his field of vision became much brighter, and he could zoom in and out freely within a few hundred meters without any distortion.

Just in case, Chen Lu gave a secret signal to the three镖头 (bodyguards) to stop.

After watching for a while, he finally saw half a head peeking out from behind the tree in the indicated direction, and then found four more people in other places.

Only two people were well hidden, without revealing any trace, so Chen Lu could not disclose their location.

According to intelligence, those two are the most powerful and the oldest, so they must have a wealth of experience in this area and would subconsciously avoid many problems.

After confirming that the attack was a sure thing, he said in a surprised tone in a low voice:

"Brother Song! Look over there, there seems to be someone there!"

Chen Lu leaned closer to Wang Shengsong and handed him his spirit-summoning crossbow.

"This is?"

Wang Shengsong took it in his hand, turned it over a few times, and immediately understood its full function.

"This! This is the Thousand Machines Sect's 'Spirit-Chasing Crossbow'!?"

After receiving it, he immediately became quite fond of it, but upon closer inspection, he noticed something amiss.

"Hmm? There's something wrong with this.

The materials used by the Thousand Machine Sect are made by melting various metals. Although they are metals, they feel as warm and smooth as jade. When held in the hand, they only feel slightly heavy.

Not only is yours heavy and cold, but to be exactly like the original, many parts were actually forcibly kneaded after being forged!

Chen Lu was startled and quickly leaned closer, looking intently at the places the man pointed to, but he couldn't see anything.

"Oh, I forgot, you haven't studied any secret techniques related to pupils, so you can't tell."

Wang Shengsong pointed to certain parts of the Spirit Crossbow and explained them in detail:

"These are the key points; adding even a fraction more will decrease accuracy, while subtracting even a fraction will affect the flow of spiritual energy."

No matter how well you maintain it, it will definitely break down in 15 to 20 years!

Just as Chen Lu was filled with doubt about the divination results, he changed the subject and continued:

"Fortunately, there's nothing wrong with yours. Just take good care of it, and as long as it's not damaged, it'll be fine."

Chen Lu breathed a sigh of relief, as long as nothing bad happened for at least several decades.

He suddenly remembered his business and quickly pointed to several places.

"Brother Song, look at these places, it seems like someone is hiding there."

Wang Shengsong picked up the crossbow, brought it close to the lens, and with the aid of his pupil technique, saw the group of people clearly.

"It really is!"

He muttered to himself, his voice tinged with barely suppressed joy.

"If there are indeed seven people, then the two who have not yet been discovered are not a concern."

"Brother Song, shall I give the signal to let the Third Escort and the others come up?"

Although Wang Shengsong was at the same cultivation level as him, he was much older and more experienced, so he had to consult with him on many things first.

"Okay, let's call them up and discuss it again."

Chen Lu nodded, turned around, and made a few sounds that sounded like ordinary insect chirps to outsiders.

"Big Dragon! Wait, something's happened."

The three镖头 (bodyguards) stopped Zhao Dalong, listened carefully, and after confirming that there was nothing wrong, gave the coded response.

"Let's rendezvous with them and halt our advance!"

After settling the spirit horse, the two found Chen Lu following the route they had agreed upon beforehand.

After he told the two men about his discovery, the Third Escort was very surprised, as he had never seen this type of crossbow before.

After showing the two the five people whose tracks had been discovered, Chen Lu suggested:

"Third Chief, Song and I will launch a surprise attack from the slope. We are confident that we can severely injure the four of them first."

Take the opportunity to sneak up from the flank and capture the person who has fallen.

The remaining three were attacked from both sides and had no choice but to abandon their rescue attempt and flee.

This is Chen Lu's true thought: some things are better left undone than to relinquish control to others.

After some thought, the three镖头 (bodyguards) felt that this seemed to be the better solution.

He glanced at the sky and pondered for a moment:

"You must be careful. Strike immediately after the incense stick has burned, lest things change if you delay."

After saying that, he led Zhao Dalong down the mountain stealthily and they split up to sneak towards the two locations.

Wang Shengsong had already memorized the location. After discussing their respective goals, they stealthily moved towards the closer direction to achieve greater accuracy. After all, a bow is not as good as a crossbow, as a crossbow can shoot farther and more accurately.

Chen Lu then found a high slope, gripped the crossbow with his fingertips, and suppressed his breathing to the lowest possible level.

The wind in the forest was blowing hard, and the rustling of the leaves perfectly masked any other sounds.

At this moment, the Yuansheng Sect cultivator hiding behind the tree frowned, his fingertips lightly resting on the bowstring.

The seven of them were scattered and hidden in the woods on both sides of the official road, and had been lying there for a whole day.

Not only was there no sound of the caravan's wheels, but there wasn't even a scout in sight.

"Senior brother, something's not right."

From a crack in the rocks not far away, a monk was complaining in a low voice, his tone full of impatience.

"Did the Wang family change their route? We've been waiting here all day, don't let it all be a wasted trip."

The complaining monk had barely finished speaking when he felt a sudden jolt in his chest, as if he had been struck in the face by a giant hammer.

The longbow slipped from his hand, and he staggered a few steps before falling backward to the ground. In the excruciating pain that almost suffocated him, he was shocked to discover that a short arrow had pierced his chest and abdomen.

Only then did excruciating pain surge through his entire body like a tidal wave, uncontrollably erupting into a piercing scream.

The remaining people were stunned for a moment. Although the distance was quite far, the sound of the arrow was extremely faint when it reached them.

But to the ears of a group of skilled archers, it was crystal clear.

Whoosh! Whoosh! ... Whoosh!

Three arrows rang out, two fast and one slow, and three figures fell one after another.

They were either pierced through the chest and abdomen by crossbow bolts, or through the shoulders and back, or struck in the ribs and fell to the ground.

His spiritual energy was in complete disarray; he couldn't even get up, let alone draw his bow to fight back, and all he had left was the strength to howl in pain.

In the blink of an eye, the four senior brothers lost their fighting ability.

"There's an ambush!"

The leading cultivator was so shocked that the hairs on his body stood on end, and a chill ran from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

He couldn't understand it. They each found excellent cover, their imposing manner almost completely suppressed.

The vast forest has thousands upon thousands of trees and boulders that can be used as cover! And with the darkness of night, one's figure almost blends into the environment.

Even if you don't move and let them search at will, it will still take them most of the day.

How could someone be so accurate, without even a single sign?

call out!

The sound of arrows rang out again.

The leading cultivator carefully recalled the direction from which the sound came, and poked his head out. Just as he was about to investigate the trail, a dark light came straight at him with incredible precision.

"grass!"

He suddenly bent back, trying his best to dodge. Fortunately, he reacted quickly enough, and the short arrow almost grazed his chest before embedding itself in the rock behind him.

"impossible!"

He cursed under his breath, not having time to think about the shady dealings involved.

Fortunately, that moment also allowed him to discover the direction from which the crossbow bolts were coming.

He dared not stay in one place, so he decisively turned over and left his original position.

The moment his feet touched the ground, the longbow was fully drawn and shot diagonally into the sky.

The crossbow has a long range when fired horizontally, but the only way to hit a target at the top of a slope is by launching it in a volley.

call out!

A faint glimmer of light followed the arrow and pierced the darkness.

The other two Yuansheng Sect cultivators saw the arc clearly and quickly calculated the landing point in their minds.

He nocked a long arrow, took a deep breath, drew the bowstring taut, turned his head, and shot it out with a bang.

Whoosh! ×2

As soon as the arrow left the bowstring, he would turn around to take cover, draw the bow again, and fire, repeating this process.

Boom—!

A long arrow struck a tree trunk near Chen Lu and exploded with a bang, scattering sparks that, aided by the strong wind, instantly ignited the dry branches and leaves.

Before he could react, the other arrows followed closely behind.

Under the scorching sun all day long, the woodland on the high slope was extremely dry. In the blink of an eye, a wave of fire formed, carrying broken wood and stones that flew everywhere, and the entire slope trembled.

But no screams came from the smoke and dust; only the silence of crackling dry wood.

A good archer never shoots a second arrow from the same spot.

But a good hunter can lure his prey into the trap on their own, and make them think they have the upper hand.

Not far away, in a small earthen cave that could only accommodate one person, Chen Lu huddled inside.

He had anticipated the opponent's counterattack strategy.

Unable to pinpoint the longbowmen's location, they could only focus on the fixed points from which the crossbow bolts were fired horizontally, and use volley fire to cover and attack the crossbowmen.

And since they were far away, they would inevitably launch attacks towards the spot where he was firing his crossbow.

However, the use of fire and lightning arrows was unexpected.

Fortunately, after the last crossbow bolt was fired, the earthen caves that had been dug in advance were enough to provide cover.

After crawling inside, the raging fire didn't even scorch a corner of his clothes.

Meanwhile, the Third Escort, along with Zhao Dalong, had already taken advantage of the chaos of the first wave of sneak attacks to quietly reach the location of the four fallen men.

Just as they finished tying up the fourth person, they heard a commotion coming from the dense forest.

The three surviving cultivators believed that the archers on the slope were trapped by the raging fire and had no time to spare.

However, another archer was still missing, and he wanted to rescue his fallen junior brother before he arrived.

Zhao Dalong threw down the four chains he was holding, and without exchanging a word, he stomped his foot and launched himself forward.

"Ha!"

The three镖头 (head of the镖师) swallowed hard and let out a loud shout.

Driven by spiritual energy, the sound waves, carrying the powerful blood and qi of the body-refining cultivators, suddenly crashed into the ears of the three, causing the leaves in the forest to fall in a rustling sound.

A yellowish-brown aura emanated from Zhao Dalong's body, and his tall and powerful physique caused the nine-ringed broadsword to tremble as he swung it.

The three of them were instantly stunned, their minds went blank, their spiritual energy became stagnant, their ears rang, and they even swayed as they stood up.

The defining characteristic of bodyguards is their imposing presence and immense influence; they want the whole world to know about their every move.

Regardless of their strength, they can scare away many cultivators with evil intentions.

"ha!"

Just as I was regaining some clarity, I heard another loud shout.

Just as the two men closed in, Zhao Dalong swung his nine-ringed broadsword and slashed fiercely.

Unfortunately, even with such an advantage, the disadvantage of lower cultivation level cannot be compensated for.

Despite his blurred vision, the man desperately channeled his spiritual energy, contorting himself into an extremely awkward posture, and managed to dodge the attack.

The leader dared not fight again, fearing that they would send more men this time, and even more worried that reinforcements were on their way.

He glanced at his four junior brothers, who were tightly bound, and roared through gritted teeth:

"withdraw!"

Bang!

As soon as he finished speaking, he threw out a cloud of fog bombs, which exploded in mid-air, creating a thick cloud of smoke that obscured his entire figure.