Shennong Dao Master
Chapter 389 - 29: Sneaking into Fire Dragon Pass, How Are You So Skilled? (8K)_3

Chapter 389: Chapter 29: Sneaking into Fire Dragon Pass, How Are You So Skilled? (8K)_3

The hidden pathways at this level were numerous, and there was an eighty-percent chance that a powerful magician was stationed here.

Elite boss, avoid if possible; there’s no need to lose health here.

.....

After traveling another five miles, it was Chen Shijie who stopped first to give a heads-up: "Ahead is another powerful magician. There is also an underground cave nearby with many barbarian soldiers. We need to take a detour."

"Wait." Zhao Xing stopped Old Chen, then carefully sensed.

They waited for twenty breaths.

Zhao Xing said: "No need to detour. It’s fake. There’s a Four Symbols Earth Vein Pearl placed there, creating the illusion of an expert’s presence."

"Look carefully at the changes in the fire veins at the Kun Position and Kan Position and compare them to the fire veins we’ve encountered so far, and you can see the difference."

Chen Shijie said: "Sorry, I can’t tell."

Old Chen was experienced in countless battles, but he had never encountered this before.

"Then look closely to see if the Zhen Position and Li Position are concealing the powers of gold, water, and wood earth veins, circulating among Refulgence, Illustrious Yang, and Shang Zhang positions."

Chen Shijie: "..."

Seeing Chen Shijie’s non-response, Zhao Xing exclaimed: "Brother, you didn’t take the formation course from the Mechanical School, did you?"

"Just go your own way!" Chen Shijie gritted his teeth.

Long Xiao covered his mouth and laughed silently.

Damn it, you always said I didn’t study enough, well now you understand how it feels, don’t you?!

The way of heaven has its cycles, mercy to no one!

What a relief!

Yu Ziqi, a martial artist, didn’t understand the exchange between Chen Shijie and Zhao Xing, as Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie were communicating through earth vein waves.

But Long Xiao, standing in the octagonal cage, heard Zhao Xing’s habitual verbal communication.

Yu Ziqi only saw Chen Shijie stopping and walking alternately, completely following Zhao Xing’s steps.

Who was the commander, Old Chen or that kid?

....

The four of them walked another three miles forward. Sure enough, the place was empty, with only a crystal-clear pearl inside the cave.

In the nearby cave, there were indeed some barbarian soldiers taking turns standing guard, along with a network of interconnected underground paths.

Zhao Xing was indeed correct.

Chen Shijie began to doubt himself.

Why did it feel like he was the seventh-rank and Zhao Xing the sixth-rank?

"Should I go back to the Ten Suns Cave Heaven for further training?" Chen Shijie thought to himself.

As a Military Minister of Agriculture Officer, he had never trained in the Ten Suns Cave Heaven.

When he became the Military Minister of Agriculture Officer, the Ten Suns Cave Heaven hadn’t opened yet; his training was completed outside.

The training courses were naturally less meticulous and comprehensive than those in the Ten Suns Cave Heaven.

.....

Although the journey was only thirty miles, it took Zhao Xing and the others six hours underground.

The Fire Dragon Pass had a singular vulnerability: the underground, with natural advantages in both the sky and the ground.

Therefore, infiltrating from underground was exceptionally difficult.

The underground was filled with formations and labyrinths, and many seventh-rank and even sixth-rank guards.

They paid no attention to things above ground.

Even if the heavens were falling above, those underground wouldn’t budge.

The battlefield was stratified; they only concerned themselves with underground matters.

Zhao Xing found an abandoned earth cave, where the four of them gathered.

"This underground defense line outside Fire Dragon Pass has only one final challenge left," Zhao Xing stated, "and that is the underground cave space below us."

"The top layer has been covered with thirty meters of Break-Hiding Pins by the craftsmen of Fire Dragon Pass. If we sneak through the top layer, even a perfected High-level Escape Technique would be discovered."

"With our escape skills, after crossing, our bodies would be filled with pins; we’d be gravely injured if not dead."

"Incidentally, this arrangement was set up with the help of craftsmen from Great Zhou. Now it’s truly..."

Chen Shijie didn’t know what to say.

Some of the repairs at Fire Dragon Pass were done with the help of Great Zhou’s craftsmen during the era of Emperor Wen, when relations were ’friendly,’ and supportive policies were frequent.

The Break-Hiding Pins would leave no secret entrances; if you couldn’t get through, you simply couldn’t get through.

"Then we have no choice but to go through the underground cave," Yu Ziqi said, "We have to take out four Fire Demon Clan soldiers silently and then impersonate them, is that right?"

"Correct." Zhao Xing nodded, "Taking out soldiers isn’t enough; they have to be commander-level. Only by disguising as Fire Demon Clan commanders will we have some degree of mobility."

Some places were accessible only to commanders.

Disguising as barbarian soldiers would immediately raise suspicion.

This area had been entirely hollowed out by the Fire Demon Clan, making it impossible to sneak through.

"Leave it to Ziqi, I’m too noisy," Long Xiao said.

When it came to killing, a sword cultivator was the fastest and cleanest.

However, Long Xiao specialized in powerful swordsmanship, with his sword movements making significant noise due to his use of large swords.

Yu Ziqi, on the other hand, opened the sword box from his bosom, which contained small, less-than-one-foot-long swords.

With a slight flick of his finger, four small swords flew out, circling around him.

"When should I strike? Who should I eliminate?"

Chen Shijie said: "Wait until they’re about to change shifts before striking. This way, we avoid staying below for too long and risking exposure."

Zhao Xing nodded: "Correct. Additionally, we need to destroy the bodies immediately post-strike. Any way to achieve that?"

Yu Ziqi glanced at Chen Shijie, who immediately understood, brushing his hand over the four swords.

The gray-black swords gained a tint of dark red.

"Once they pierce the body, the physical body will turn to ashes," Chen Shijie explained.

Long Xiao and Yu Ziqi were accustomed to this, evidently often borrowing fire from Old Chen.

Killing was easy, disposing of the bodies was even simpler.

...

The four of them stayed in that spot for six hours, during which Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie scouted for suitable targets and observed their every move.