Green Mountain
Chapter 413 - 327. The path disputes, leading to death without life.

Chapter 413: 327. The path disputes, leading to death without life.

Chen Wenren immediately recognized Qi Zhenzhuo and coldly sneered, "Coward, get lost already!"

Instinctively, Qi Zhenzhuo shrank back, prompting Duobao to angrily scold him, "Damn it, stab him! What are you scared of? You cowered back in Guyuan too, how long are you gonna keep hiding?"

Suddenly, Chen Ji’s voice came from behind Qi Zhenzhuo, "Attack his lower left flank."

Hearing this, Qi Zhenzhuo felt a rush of spirit and finally thrust his spear at Chen Wenren’s left knee. As Chen Wenren swung his spear to block, he heard Chen Ji again, "Withdraw and aim at his right knee."

Qi Zhenzhuo pulled back his spear, causing Chen Wenren’s sweeping spear to miss its mark. As he exerted force, a sharp pain came from his right knee, and his body tilted to one side.

Before he could react, another voice came from behind Qi Zhenzhuo, "Swipe at his head."

Chen Wenren heard the whistle of the incoming strike, but luckily Wang Fang behind him grabbed his collar and yanked him back into the formation. Qi Zhenzhuo’s spear barely missed his nose.

If it weren’t for Wang Fang, that strike might have knocked him out cold.

From the opposite Mandarin Duck Formation came Qi Zhenzhuo’s excited shout, "Did you see that? Did you see that? I almost knocked out that bastard with one swing!"

Chen Wenren was fuming, just as he was about to rise and fight again, Wang Fang whispered, "Sir, you hold the line at the back, we’ll handle them."

Chen Wenren snarled, "Beat them, and I’ll get you a Deputy Commander position to fill Zhao Zhuofan’s vacancy!"

Wang Fang clasped his fists, "Understood."

With that, he pointed at two people, "You guys, step up."

Wang Fang himself stayed within the formation, keeping a fixed gaze on Li Xuan, moving only if Li Xuan moved. Yet, Li Xuan’s eyes, too, locked onto him through the crowd.

Amid the fierce melee, two Seeking Dao Realm Executive Officers stood, their eyes impervious to everything else.

In the next moment, Li Xuan moved forward through the crowd towards the front of the formation, and Wang Fang lifted his long spear to meet him. As the two reached the front, everyone subconsciously held back, avoiding their confrontation.

Li Xuan and Wang Fang thrust their long spears simultaneously, aiming directly at the other’s chest and abdomen without any embellishment. As their spear tails brushed past each other and they were about to mutually injure each other, Wang Fang suddenly roared. Behind him, a white giant serpent Dharma appeared, moving even faster than Li Xuan.

Yet, Li Xuan remained undeterred, seemingly set on mutual destruction.

At the critical moment before contact, Wang Fang’s pupils contracted. He abruptly withdrew his spear and retreated, leaving both uninjured, yet his momentum diminished considerably.

On the second floor of Chunfeng Courtyard, a young man smiled and clapped, "It’s clear at once who has been to the battlefield! I can roughly guess where these people popped up from. Didn’t a Yulin Army just return from Guyuan recently? Left with only thirty-seven out of five hundred, it was indeed tragic."

Zhou Kuang chuckled, "No room for fancy moves on the battlefield. Only those unafraid to die can survive. You’re right, these thirty-something folks have seen battle and have taken many lives. I thought they’d be stuck in this alley, but now... those eighty Dandy Army men likely can’t stop them."

The young man rubbed the stubble on his chin, "There’s also a fierce man in the reports, killed hundreds of Heavenly Strategy Army soldiers. Who could it be?"

In the alley, Wang Fang and Li Xuan exchanged more than ten rounds. Though Wang Fang’s skills were slightly superior and Li Xuan wielded a spear instead of his favored sword, Li Xuan still dominated him at every turn, even causing the Dharma behind Wang Fang to gradually dim.

The green brick walls on both sides of the alley collapsed, creating an open space from their fierce battle.

During the twentieth round, Li Xuan’s sweeping spear struck hard on Wang Fang’s back, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood.

At that moment, a court official who had been guarding the red lantern suddenly struck. Someone dropped from above, heading straight for Li Xuan’s back.

This court official, while in mid-air, rubbed his cheek, morphing from a plain face into a fierce red face with long whiskers. But before he could fall, someone in the formation shouted, "Hold fast."

Chen Ji jumped up, stepping on Li Xuan’s shoulder, then soared into the air, heading straight for the descending court official.

Green bricks, gray tiles, red lanterns.

The hidden onlookers opened their mouths wide as the masked court official rose in the air; his long spear spun a full circle in the air, bringing down a thunderous strike.

The court official from Furui Xiang hastily changed faces, turning from red face and whiskers to a black face with tangled whiskers and blocked the "stick" with his bare arms!

Bang!

The long spear exploded into countless wooden fragments in the air, and the court official plunged straight into the alley, as the iron spear tip flew high into the air.

Seeing their kin struck down, another court official rushed towards Chen Ji.

Just as he moved, the iron spear tip, from amidst the falling wooden fragments, landed in front of Chen Ji. In mid-air, Chen Ji twisted his waist, kicking the falling spear tip towards the approaching opponent.

The spear tip screeched sharply. Alarmed, the court official hastily switched to a black face to defend, but the spear tip was unlike any he had encountered before; it pierced through his invulnerable defense, embedding deep into his abdomen.

The youth in Chunfeng Courtyard exclaimed, "Brilliant!"

In just that fleeting moment, Chen Ji and Li Xuan together incapacitated both Wang Fang and the two Furui Xiang court officials.

The young man turned with interest to Zhou Kuang, "Pour me some tea... no, pour wine!"

Zhou Kuang mused, "Looking at his form, he resembles that lad you watched wrestling with at Tianqiao Tavern."

The youth paused, "It’s him? Didn’t realize his skills were this formidable then. Find a way for me to meet him."

Zhou Kuang reminded, "Sir, he’s injured some of our people."

The youth came back to his senses, "Oh, right..."

Just as Chen Ji was about to further pursue the two court officials, the youth spoke out loudly through the window gap, "Hey boy, didn’t I treat you to tea once? Do me a favor and let them go."

Chen Ji paused, looking up at Chunfeng Courtyard, "You treated me to tea once, so I’ll spare one."

The youth thought for a while, "Spare both, and I’ll owe you a favor."

Chen Ji agreed, "Alright."

The youth looked down at the Zuo Family Brothers, "You always boast to the skies, hurry up and get lost."

The Zuo Family Brothers rose, supporting each other, wiped their cheeks, and transformed back to plain faces with sharp eyes, jumping up again.

Before they could step onto the lantern and stand firm, in Dengxian Building, a shadow swiftly dashed out as the window shattered.

The solitary guest who had been hiding for ages in Dengxian Building broke through the window, flying gracefully to the Zuo Family Brothers and seized them by the necks, standing on a red lantern as if holding chicks.

Chen Ji stared in astonishment, "Treasure Monkey!"

Why is Treasure Monkey guarding here?

Above the alley, Treasure Monkey wore a wooden monkey mask, holding the Zuo Family Brothers, laughing heartily, "I wondered why my cultivation speed couldn’t match Xuan Snake; hahaha, turns out it’s you two!"

The Zuo Family Brothers hung limply in his grasp, their masks peeling off to reveal their true faces — twins.

Treasure Monkey acted as if no one else was around and asked, "Where is your master? Anyone else cultivating this path?"

The Zuo Family Brothers struggled, "We have no master, the legacy came to us by accident."

Treasure Monkey replied casually, "No wonder your cultivation is flawed!"

Taking advantage of a short pause, the Zuo Family Brothers mustered their final bit of strength, simultaneously striking toward Treasure Monkey’s face. Treasure Monkey neither dodged nor flinched, letting them crush the monkey mask on his face.

The mask shattered into pieces, falling into the alley, revealing the strange face beneath.

This face had a golden base with fiery patterns on the left, and a silver-gray web on the right, bisected down the center with red lines drawn with human blood, dividing it in two, each temple adorned with three hanging ear flaps.

The Zuo Family Brothers stared in astonishment, "Six-Eared Macaque?"

Treasure Monkey laughed heartily, "You fools can’t even manifest your natal masks, don’t come out to show off!"

With that, he snapped their necks and tossed them into the air, smearing his hands across their faces before turning and leaping into the dark distance.

As the bodies of the Zuo Family Brothers fell among the Yulin Army ranks, the soldiers instinctively stepped back, and saw their flayed faces with exposed, bloodied muscle — a chilling sight.

Li Xuan murmured, "This is the path of contention, only death prevails."

"Ugh!" The Yulin Army opposite retched, bending over.

Distant footsteps echoed closer, prompting Chen Ji to shout, "Don’t cling to the battle, break through while you can, Furui Xiang’s ruffians are coming."