The cold moon hung like a hook in the isolated sky, the night deep and dark, with many shadowed areas so pitch-black that one couldn’t even see their fingers when held out.
Outside the perimeter of the Xie Ridge bandit camp, mounted bandits patrolled in groups of four, taking shifts to guard the mountain paths. Occasionally, they raised lanterns to inspect behind rocks and among the treetops, vigilant against potential enemy ambushes.
However, their patrols were somewhat lackadaisical, with low chatter and lewd laughter breaking out now and then, as they discussed which of the camp prostitutes had the best figure and the most skill.
Indeed, ever since Ze Luoju set up his stronghold at Xie Ridge, no one had ever dared to assault this place. After he advanced to the Outer Scenery realm and became a dominant power in the Hanhai region, Xie Ridge turned into a name that struck terror into the hearts of bandits. Who would have the audacity to attack?
Therefore, upon returning to the Xie Ridge camp, these horse bandits let down their guard, releasing their pent-up tension, completely unconcerned about any possible night attacks. Their patrols were merely perfunctory.
Each patrol team was led by a squad leader who had opened his eye orifice, followed by three ordinary horse bandits at the Qi Accumulation stage. As this particular group reached a large tree, a young bandit with a sharp nose and alert eyes chuckled, “Chief, I need to take a leak.”
“Damn you! Lazy bastards always have more piss and shit!” The orifice-opening leader covered his nose and waved his hand sideways, “Hurry up, you’re so unlucky!”
A trickle of urine sound came from behind the tree. The leader chuckled and said to the other two subordinates, “His body’s already weak at such a young age. Listen to that sound.”
No sooner had the words been spoken than he suddenly noticed a monk’s knife slashing out from the darkness beside him. Where there had been nothing before, a monk’s knife abruptly cut forth!
This scene was so eerie and terrifying!
The squad leader was also a bold man. Facing the blade that was too late to dodge, he didn’t evade at all, instead swinging his own knife downward. Years of bloodshed on the blade made him instinctively choose the most normal reaction.
However, that was only the most normal choice under ordinary circumstances.
Ding!
The saber clashed against something metallic—merely a forearm hastily raised in defense. With a swift stroke, the executioner’s blade severed the leader’s neck, sending a fountain of blood gushing forth, drenching him in crimson.
This lightning-fast scene happened so swiftly that the remaining two bandits hadn’t even reacted when they saw their leader collapse with his neck half-severed. As they came to their senses, wanting to shout, a figure leapt down from the tree canopy, driving a long sword straight into one bandit’s throat and twisting it. Meanwhile, another figure darted from a rock crevice, right hand in a floral gesture, gently flicking to seal the acupoints of the bandit facing away.
The bandit who had just finished urinating saw this scene and immediately screamed in terror, trying to alert his comrades inside the camp.
Then he saw the monk’s blade coming toward him, cutting his raised weapon in half and then slicing him in two.
Before plunging into darkness, he vaguely thought, “Damn you, you bastards won’t live either. My comrades inside the camp must have heard my scream. Huh, why hasn’t there been any movement yet…”
Zhen Hui looked puzzledly at the fallen bandit: “Senior apprentice-brother, why was he making soft whimpering sounds?”
Shouldn’t he be screaming loudly? Why did it feel like he was possessed?
“Maybe he had epilepsy.” Meng Qi, with a straight face, reassured Zhen Hui. After leaving the Wheel-Round World, his Illusory Transformation Great Art had progressed rapidly. A couple of days ago, he had experienced the Tianhai Source, where one day equaled a month, bringing him nearly to perfection. Thus, he had fully grasped the techniques, almost reaching the proficiency of Duan Xiangfei. This method of interfering with the senses, making the opponent perceive their hearing as abnormal, making them think they were screaming loudly, was one of those techniques.
“Oh,” Zhen Hui said, pointing at the only living bandit on the ground, proudly showing off his achievement: “Senior apprentice-brother, I captured one alive.”
“Good job. We exactly need a prisoner to find out the situation and layout inside the camp.” Meng Qi praised Zhen Hui, dragging the captured bandit behind a huge rock. Gu Changqing, with a slightly crazed look in his eyes, tossed the three corpses down the nearby slope, concealing the most obvious traces to prevent the archer on the watchtower from noticing anything amiss.
Behind the rock, Meng Qi felt his forehead throbbing, his spirit spreading outward, his gaze deep and dark as he stared at the captured bandit, releasing his mute seal: “Tell me the layout inside the camp.”
The bandit had intended to call for help, but as soon as he met Meng Qi’s eyes, he felt his very soul being drawn in, and in a daze, he began answering his questions.
This was one of the uses of the Illusory Transformation Great Art. Although it could only be used on enemies whose cultivation level was significantly lower than his own, it was still a wondrous technique, an excellent choice for gathering intelligence.
Therefore, even though the effects of the Illusory Transformation Great Art were not as good as those of a Half-Step Outer Scenery cultivator, for someone at Meng Qi’s level, it was almost a godlike auxiliary technique!
“Little apprentice-brother,” Meng Qi said, drawing a rough map of the camp on the ground, carefully explaining his mission and escape route to Zhen Hui to prevent any danger, “Got it?”
“Okay,” Zhen Hui nodded, his small face tense and serious.
Meng Qi turned to Gu Changqing: “‘Evil Scholar’ Kang Zhi is cautious by nature, and his residence is located between the dwellings of the two seven-orifice masters. Although I’m not afraid, I’m still worried about being outnumbered. So we’ll hide nearby first, wait until the fire breaks out and the camp becomes chaotic, then charge straight into Kang Zhi’s residence, using speed to counter slowness, implementing a decapitation tactic.”
“Decapitation tactic?” Gu Changqing instinctively asked.
“It means capturing the bandit king first. Kang Zhi is Ze Luoju’s strategist, in charge of the camp. Only by capturing or containing him first can we ensure the chaos in the camp doesn’t subside. Then, one of the two seven-orifice experts will go to check the fire situation first, and only when they realize something is wrong will they return. With that time, we can calmly deal with the remaining seven-orifice expert and Kang Zhi.” Meng Qi explained in detail.
Gu Changqing’s eyes filled with hatred: “Fine, leave Kang Zhi to me.”
Although he had one less orifice than Kang Zhi, it wasn’t a big difference. His cultivation technique wasn’t bad either. As long as he was willing to fight to the death, there was a good chance he could hold out until Meng Qi finished dealing with the seven-orifice expert and came to help.
For someone who wasn’t afraid of death, how could he fear a life-or-death fight!
Avoiding the watchtower, the three of them sneaked into the camp from another direction. Then Zhen Hui went alone to the food storage area, which was basically undefended, while Meng Qi, using the Illusory Transformation Great Art, moved like a ghost with Gu Changqing through the camp, arriving outside Kang Zhi’s residence and hiding in the shadows.
Along the way, due to the presence of the watchtower, they couldn’t avoid patrols several times, but thanks to the shadows and the Illusory Transformation Great Art, the two managed to deceive the complacent bandits.
Because the camp had enjoyed peace for many years, Kang Zhi’s residence was a built courtyard, with carved railings and jade-like masonry, quite luxurious. The courtyards on both sides were occupied by two seven-orifice experts—Ze Luoju maintained his old habits as a lone robber, keeping only women, not family members. When in the camp, he directly resided in the assembly hall, dividing the wealth into three parts: one part was sent to Halle to be handed over to Old Man Cry, one part was used for the horse team’s needs and partially rewarded to subordinates, and the remaining part, like An Guoxie, was secretly invested in properties hidden there.
After hiding in the shadows, Meng Qi signaled Gu Changqing to wait first, then extended his spirit outward, enveloping his entire body, cautiously leaping onto the roof, confirming Kang Zhi’s presence.
“Still holding discussions this late…” Meng Qi noticed Kang Zhi sitting in the courtyard’s center, fanning himself while admiring the moon and giving orders to his subordinates.
“Step up the propaganda about the Gu family—ensure everyone in the Hanhai region knows they are not outsiders. They have families and homes. Anyone who dares oppose us will share this fate,” Kang Zhi sneered.
This man had distinctive features and was quite well-known, so Meng Qi recognized him immediately. Upon hearing his words, Meng Qi felt a surge of anger rising from his heart and wickedness stirring beside his gall.
He restrained his impulse. It wouldn’t be hard to ambush and kill Kang Zhi now, but the real difficulty was how to escape afterward. So he returned to Gu Changqing’s side and nodded, indicating that Kang Zhi was indeed there.
The two waited quietly, patiently waiting. After a while, flames suddenly erupted in the distance, roaring and burning. A “shrill” voice shouted loudly, “Fire! Fire!”
Boom, the camp instantly became noisy, as if countless voices exploded at once. Some bandits rushed to put out the fire, some were at a loss, and some came to seek instructions.
Following Kang Zhi’s command, the seven-orifice expert from the left courtyard led some bandits to investigate, preventing enemies from causing trouble.
“Now!” Meng Qi whispered secretly to Gu Changqing, then activated the Illusory Transformation Great Art again, his spirit enveloping his whole body, lightly leaping onto the roof. Gu Changqing followed closely behind.
At this moment, due to the fire, Kang Zhi was very vigilant, with more than ten bandits surrounding him. Some were skilled fighters with two or four orifices opened. Under prepared conditions, the effects of the Illusory Transformation Great Art were limited.
However, being able to draw away one seven-orifice expert and create chaos was already quite satisfying for Meng Qi, and he didn’t mind the inability to launch a surprise attack.
“A real man must face the enemy head-on.” Meng Qi grinned at Gu Changqing, his white teeth flashing, before suddenly charging forward, his戒刀 carving a dark crimson arc through the air.
Kang Zhi, who had been prepared, took a step back, waved his folding fan, and sent three dark rays straight at Meng Qi. More than ten bandits, led by several two-orifice or four-orifice squad leaders, rushed forward to meet him.
Meng Qi secretly used the Thousand Jin Drop technique, landing to avoid the three projectiles, but now a “human wall” of flashing cold light and “sharpness” stood between him and Kang Zhi.
He didn’t stop moving, charging straight into the blades of horse sabers and long swords. He raised his left hand to protect his face and throat, then crashed into the wall of blades like a heavy war chariot.
The front bandits felt a tremendous force transmitted through their swords and sabers, causing them to involuntarily lean backward. To their horror, they saw that most of the horse sabers and long swords were either blocked by his left hand or couldn’t penetrate his dark golden skin. Only a few managed to inflict wounds, causing blood to flow. However, even then, the wounds weren’t deep, as if the weapons were firmly clamped by his muscles.
“Kill him!”
Meng Qi roared, thrusting outward with his left hand while sweeping the Red Sun Subduing Evil Blade horizontally with his right.
A dark red arc flashed, and heads flew up, blood spraying like a waterfall!
As the bodies fell, Meng Qi’s path suddenly cleared, leaving only enemies on both sides. He used the Wind God Leg technique to evade them and charged recklessly toward Kang Zhi.
Seeing this fierce scene, Kang Zhi seemed a bit startled, staring blankly at Meng Qi rushing toward him.
A brilliant gleam of light flashed as Meng Qi parried with his Red Sun Evil Blade. A tremendous force surged through, forcing him to take a step back. Before him stood a gray-haired old man wielding a horse-chopping saber—the other Seven Apertures expert.
Seeing this, the remaining bandits rushed toward Meng Qi’s back, but Gu Changqing quietly entered the courtyard, bypassing them, and charged straight at Kang Zhi.
Meng Qi stopped his steps, not retreating but advancing instead, rushing toward the seven-orifice expert.
A dark red blade of light shone, and the Splendid Red Dust descended!
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