Dominating Martial King
Chapter 82 - 82 79 Encounter

82: Chapter 79: Encounter 82: Chapter 79: Encounter When Chu Xisheng and his siblings rode rented horses and galloped to the exterior of Fire Bone Cave, it was exactly noon.

Chu Xisheng had just stepped into the perimeter of Fire Bone Cave when he felt that the atmosphere here was very wrong.

Not a single pedestrian was present on the marketplace built against the cave, and the majority of shops were wide open, their interiors a complete mess.

Additionally, there were some corpses on both sides of the street, their flesh and blood indistinguishable.

After examining two of the shops, Chu Yunyun couldn’t help but frown deeply, “The town must have been raided, by a large group of horse bandits.”

She saw a large number of hoof prints on the street, along with fresh horse dung.

The wounds on the deceased were mostly on their heads, shoulders, and chests.

The cuts went from top to bottom, and all the bones inside were shattered.

Clearly, they had been hacked from above by someone on horseback.

They had taken advantage of the momentum of their war horses, delivering extremely powerful blows.

Moreover, the wounds were fresh, with the blood not yet fully dried, indicating that this large-scale robbery and massacre had occurred within an hour.

Chu Xisheng was filled with shock and doubt, “Where did these horse bandits come from?

Dare they target Fire Bone Cave?”

Fire Bone Cave was a lawless land, not governed by the court.

There were no Police Pool of Blood, no Six Gates, and no City Guard Army here.

However, over twenty medicine shop businesses from Xiushui County were entrenched here, with deeply rooted powers.

Behind them stood either long-standing Martial Arts Families or powerful Jianghu Gangs.

Although the forces of the Long Family and Iron Banner Gang had already withdrawn from Fire Bone Cave, inside the marketplace of the cave, one could easily muster eight to nine hundred Martial Masters to protect the place.

The medicine gatherers were also tough opponents, all possessing excellent martial arts skills from surviving in the depths of Fire Bone Cave.

It is said that a hundred years ago, the court intended to establish a county here, but the local powers banded together and blocked the proposal.

The prefectural governor who had strongly advocated this policy was demoted to the Northern Territory, where he died in battle at the frontier after just a year.

Chu Yunyun’s gaze turned chillingly cold, “Ordinary horse bandits naturally wouldn’t dare touch this place, but it’s different with the Blood Wind Thieves involved.”

After the battle at the Library, only a handful of the Blood Wind Thieves were left, but those remaining were all exceptionally skilled elites.

The power behind Blood Wind Sword Li Daogui was able to rival the Formless Divine Sect.

It would be easy for the Blood Wind Thieves to find a group of horse bandits to collaborate with near Xiushui County.

The two of them found two sets of clothing in the town, changed out of their Martial Arts Academy disciple uniforms, and then headed towards the nearest cave mouth.

It was apparently the left eye socket of the remains of an enormous ancient god, bowl-shaped in structure.

Chu Xisheng found over a hundred horses at the cave mouth, guarded by a team of seven horse bandits who were responsible for looking after the horses.

There were also more than ten people inside the cave mouth, all clad in leather armor and gripping their sabers, with alert expressions on their faces.

After surveying the environment, Chu Yunyun walked directly towards the direction of the cave mouth.

She was draped in a black cloak, her silhouette fleeting and phantom-like.

“Who’s there?”

The horse bandits drew their sabers, but just as they completed this action, Chu Yunyun had already reached their midst.

Crack!

Crunch!

Amidst a series of crisp bone-breaking sounds, these individuals didn’t even have time to react before they fell to the ground.

However, Chu Yunyun left two alive, their neck bones twisted but still faintly breathing.

Chu Xisheng followed suit, pointing a Magic Refining Light Steel Blade he had picked up at one man’s throat, “Where are you horse bandits from?”

That man looked at Chu Xisheng with infinite hatred and resentment filling his eyes as he spit out a mouthful of bloody saliva, “We are from West Mountain White Cloud Village, and you bastards are doomed!”

Chu Xisheng had limited knowledge of the Daning River gangs.

He didn’t know what kind of force White Cloud Village was or where it was located.

But he knew about West Mountain.

When they first arrived in Xiushui County, Chu Yunyun had gone hunting there.

It was a mountain range stretching over four hundred miles, a vast expanse.

“What are you doing here?” Chu Xisheng’s blade pierced an inch into the horse bandit’s throat, causing a trace of blood to flow, “What do the Blood Wind Thieves intend to do?”

“Of course, we came to make a fortune; the lads from the Blood Wind Thieves are short on cash, so we thought we’d lend them a hand.”

The horse bandit, fully aware that he was doomed, showed no fear and laughed, “But apart from scouring the Fire Bone Cave for treasure, they seem to be after someone, a woman, they say.

If you have what it takes, go down there and ask those heroes of the Blood Wind Thieves yourselves.”

He hoped that Chu Xisheng and his companion would venture deeper into the Fire Bone Cave, effectively sending themselves to their deaths; thus, he answered every question thoroughly.

A chilling look flashed across Chu Xisheng’s eyes, and with a casual swing of his blade, he ended the man’s life.

At that moment, Chu Yunyun had already dealt with the bandits near the horses and was using Corpse Dissolving Water on the bodies.

During her last venture into the Fire Bone Cave, she had failed to properly dispose of the bodies outside the cave, which posed a significant hazard.

Fortunately, the Long Family’s people hadn’t noticed, and didn’t investigate further.

The two of them hurriedly cleaned up the scene and continued deeper into the cave.

Thinking about what the horse bandit had said lit a fire within Chu Xisheng’s heart.

He was eager to find Lu Luanti immediately; however, the Fire Bone Cave extended over twenty miles, with the deepest part reaching three miles underground.

Inside, there were countless tunnels akin to blood vessels in the human body—interconnected and intricate to an extreme degree.

Even the most experienced medicine gatherers familiar with the cave faced the risk of getting lost.

Finding someone in here was akin to a blind man feeling his way through, purely relying on luck.

“Don’t worry, I have a way.”

Chu Yunyun glanced sideways at the frantic Chu Xisheng, “Miss Lu is a lucky one with inherent protection; her background is extraordinary.

She will be fine.”

This guy usually said one thing and meant another, claiming he would avoid Lu Luanti out of respect, yet became this anxious the moment she ran into trouble.

Chu Yunyun suddenly halted and looked around, then fiercely punched a nearby stone wall.

This was her first full-force punch, causing the surrounding stone cave to shake frighteningly.

Chu Yunyun frowned slightly, feeling a sharp pain in her chest as her blood surged violently.

She had used just twenty percent of her physical strength, yet it had aggravated an internal injury.

Chu Yunyun then pressed her forehead against the stone wall, explaining as she listened intently.

“This ‘Sound Listening and Returning’ technique is passed down in the military.

By using artificially created vibrational sounds, one can listen to activities within dozens of miles.

Unfortunately, I’ve lost my True Yuan, so my range of hearing is nowhere near what it used to be.”

Moments later, her pupils dilated, and she quickly moved deeper into the cave like a swift wind.

Chu Yunyun seemed to know this vast underground stone cave like the back of her hand, speeding forward with practiced ease.

Chu Xisheng gritted his teeth and did his best to keep up with Chu Yunyun’s pace.

Shortly thereafter, he heard faint human voices.

The voices, carried by the wind, came erratically from the east and west, left and right, making it hard to discern their direction.

Chu Xisheng could only feel that they were getting closer to that position.

Just then, Chu Yunyun’s expression lifted slightly as she spotted a group of horse bandits dressed in black leather armor running swiftly through the cave ahead.

With a sudden stomp, her figure flashed, and in an instant, she was amongst the group.

The speed of Chu Yunyun’s movements was still as fast as a flash.

Before these men could even make a sound, they collapsed to the ground one by one.

As usual, Chu Yunyun left one alive.

Chu Xisheng, gasping for breath, caught up and before he could catch his breath, he held his knife to the throat of the horse bandit.

“The girl you’re trying to kill, where is she now—”

Chu Xisheng’s words stopped abruptly because, from the corner of his eye, he saw two figures coming around the corner ahead.

They were members of the Blood Wind Thieves, clad in their signature Blood Clothes.

Chu Xisheng recognized one of them—it was the one-eyed man from the Library who had once tried to kill Lu Luanti.

He was also the second Fifth-grade Martial Cultivator of the Blood Wind Thieves, only inferior to Li Daogui.

As their gazes met, a fierce killing intent flashed through Chu Yunyun’s eyes.