The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 114 - 100 Night Duel

Chapter 114: Chapter 100 Night Duel

Pfft!

In the darkness, blood splattered everywhere.

An arrow-shooting bandit clutched his neck and fell to the ground, legs twitching violently, throat making gurgling sounds, and soon there was no more movement.

Beside him, three other arrow-shooting bandits were already dead.

Li Yan didn’t even glance at them, gripping his blade and lowering his body, his footsteps silent yet swift as he sprinted towards another area.

To the merchants and pugilistic world travelers, the surroundings were pitch black, bandits hidden in the shadows, arrows flying everywhere, caught in a ten-sided ambush.

But with Li Yan’s divine skills, the scene was crystal clear.

In truth, not many bandits had come, fewer than two hundred, over fifty divided into ten small teams, five in each group, hiding in various areas.

The inn’s teams were scattered, each with a campfire burning, making them obvious targets, while the enemy hid in the dark, creating such a scene.

In fact, there weren’t few pugilistic world travelers blocked on the road.

The bandits couldn’t tackle them head-on, only employing this strategy.

In a short time, Li Yan had already killed three small teams.

Not because he was meddlesome, but allowing the bandits to attack would eventually lead to the collapse of most teams. Once scattered, the bandits lying in ambush would pounce like a wolf pack, leaving no one unscathed.

Yet there was something that puzzled him.

According to the intelligence, there were at least seven to eight hundred bandits from the mountain, already united and quite formidable, with the retreat routes cut off. If not, why else would they be trapped here?

But now, fewer than two hundred had come...

Li Yan could not afford to think more about whatever was happening.

He needed to break the siege quickly.

Soon, he sneaked behind another team.

Swish! Swish!

Flying blades whizzed out, and two bandits fell clutching their necks.

"Watch out for hidden ones!"

The remaining three bandits hurriedly dodged.

However, facing Li Yan also in the dark, they had no advantage, only hearing the wind by their ears, screams, the sound of blades cutting into flesh, then everything went black, and life slipped away.

After four teams were slaughtered, the number of secret arrows shooting out suddenly dwindled. The pugilistic world travelers carrying wooden planks realized and shouted: "There aren’t many of them, everyone stay calm, don’t be fooled to run!"

The bandits, on the other side, naturally sensed it early.

"Village chief, over there!"

A hoarse voice rose among the bandit teams, followed by several fire arrows whistling through the air.

Li Yan swiftly dodged away.

Thud, thud, thud!

Fire arrows pierced into the ground, igniting the dry grass instantly.

But Li Yan had already slipped into the darkness, approaching another team.

Yet, midway, he leaped, hiding behind a nearby tree trunk.

Thud, thud, thud!

Again, three fire arrows embedded themselves in the ground.

The opponent had a magician!

Li Yan immediately deduced.

Eye power, ear power, nose power.

Any one of them could detect his position.

It wasn’t his carelessness, but upon leaving Xianyang City and Zhongnan Mountain, he realized how rare magicians were. Along the way, besides him and Wang Daoxuan, he hadn’t encountered another.

This was the real situation of the Mystical Sect.

There were indeed many in the Mystical Sect, but among the general populace, they were scarce.

Most Mystical Sect members either secluded themselves in mountains for cultivation or lived in major cities for livelihood; even the weakest witches and wizards were considered capable within a ten-mile radius.

In some places, a magician had never even appeared, like at Li Family Castle. Had he not experienced it firsthand, he might not have known about the Mystical Sect.

Even in the pugilistic world, not everyone could come into contact with the Mystical Sect.

There was actually a magician among these mountain bandits?

If a magician were helping,

Why would they be scared into running by the Old Dragon Village’s techniques?

Li Yan was bewildered but acted swiftly, blowing the whistle in his mouth immediately while running quickly to avoid being pinpointed by the magician.

Whew! Whew-whew!

The long and short whistle tones echoed through the night sky.

This was their unique signal, known only to Wang Daoxuan and Sha Lifei.

After signaling, Li Yan put away the whistle, taking out a mugwort stalk, winding it around his left hand, forming a hand seal, stepping in Astral Steps, and murmuring softly, "Nuogao, open to the descendants of Wang Jia, Six Jia Azure Dragon, Six Yi Encounter Star, Six Bing Bright Hall, Six Ding in Yin..."

With the Baopu Mountain Climbing Skill executed, his aura quickly concealed.

Li Yan had long mastered this technique.

Although Luo Mingzi called it a Mountain Climbing Skill, and the so-called invisibility was only concealing oneself in Yin Fog, Li Yan discovered many more applications.

For example, by suppressing his aura, the opposing magician couldn’t sense him.

Yet he could still smell his opponent’s scent.

The teams at the inn had raised their guards. As the bandits’ strategy unraveled, Li Yan bothered no more with those shooting secret arrows, choosing instead to hide cautiously.

He was waiting for an opportunity to eliminate the opposing magician first.

He knew this chance would inevitably arise...

...

"There’s a magician among the bandits!"

On the other side, hearing the whistles in the dark, Wang Daoxuan’s face turned solemn, speaking in a deep voice: "Brother Sha, help me set up the platform for protection!"

"Will do!"

Sha Lifei responded quickly, sheathing his knife, swiftly helping Wang Daoxuan arrange a simple magic platform, all the while discreetly shielding him from behind.

After several battles, the three had developed a tacit understanding.

Sha Lifei knew exactly what to do.

Martial escort Wu Mao beside them widened his eyes. He had heard of Li Yan being both a bladesman and a Mystical Sect member, accompanied by a Daoist.

But witnessing this situation, were they about to engage in a magic duel on the spot?

Well, it was Wu Mao’s first time witnessing this.

Didn’t magicians only curse people from behind...

Wang Daoxuan couldn’t bother explaining to him, addressing the person nearby with a serious expression: "Captain Zhou, I’m afraid we’ll have to trouble you a bit."

"Of course."

Captain Zhou understood instantly, respectfully bringing out a shrine from a wooden box, draped in red cloth, it was the soldier spirit invited from the Chaotic Burial Mound earlier.

Wang Daoxuan placed it on the magic platform, first lighting three incense sticks, circling the shrine three times, then carefully inserted the incense, finally lifting the red cloth.

Immediately, a chilling murderous aura wafted, making the surrounding candlelight flicker.

Unable to hold back, Wang Daoxuan praised, "Captain Zhou, you’ve done well."

He knew the Spring Breeze Class had worshiped this one excellently.

If no incident occurred, it would provide protection for a long time without causing disturbances.

"The master seems to favor listening to opera..."

Captain Zhou beamed happily, nodding promptly.

People from Guanzhong typically addressed deities as masters.

Though this one was a soldier spirit turned Yin God, possessing heavy killing intent, it appeared to very much enjoy opera, quite docile. Because of it, they’ve steadied their footing, performing two ghost plays to mark their name.

"Opera itself originated from Nuoxi for entertaining deities..."

Wang Daoxuan casually replied, then his expression grew earnest, as the Peach Wood Sword in his hand tapped the ground, beginning Step Gang Stepping, spitting water to activate the magic platform.

"Decree!"

Wang Daoxuan took the decree, pointing to the air, then swiftly turned sideways, striking the magic platform thrice, lifting the Peach Wood Sword, breaking the black pot and Yellow Talisman atop the platform.

Instantly, the Yin Wind surged around.

The porters and people of the Spring Breeze Class swallowed hard, not daring to speak. They vaguely understood that this was about commanding soldiers.

Of course, they were unaware that without magic veins support and with low Dao proficiency, Wang Daoxuan merely commanded a pitiful little yin soldier.

The only thing he could manage was scouting.

Hence, he asked for assistance from the soldier spirit of the Spring Breeze Class.

The Peach Wood Sword in Wang Daoxuan’s hand quivered slightly as he rapidly chanted spells, so fast that no one could comprehend what he was saying, then abruptly pointed to the night sky.

Whoosh~

The Yin Wind intensified, and everyone felt a chill run through them, only for the cold sensation to vanish abruptly.

In the woods, Li Yan tightly clutched the hand seal, not letting a trace of aura slip out.

The magician among the bandits must not have had profound Dao, failing to notice even his most basic Invisibility Technique.

By now, he had approached the main bandit force, within a hundred meters.

Suddenly, he glanced toward the sky, a faint smile gracing his lips.

He could easily recognize the scent of Wang Daoxuan’s yin soldier.

Once finding the bandit magician’s whereabouts, amidst the chaos of their attack, he planned to slip in and eliminate him, averting future troubles.

Many magicians were indeed not skilled in martial techniques; once cornered by experts, it was often a dead end.

Yet having truly entered the Mystical Sect, he realized if magicians had protection, setting the platform and casting spells, they could be terrifyingly lethal.

"Humph, daring to cast spells for spying!"

An icy voice emerged within the bandit crowd.

Immediately, Li Yan’s expression shifted slightly.

He sensed three distinct chilling murderous auras.

Among the mass of bandits, there was one person, hair disheveled, with a Tai Chi Diagram painted in vermillion on his forehead. It was Jiang Zuo’s magician, Yousi, once offered to the Iron Blade Gang.

He had hidden within the Iron Blade Gang, partly to gather wealth through Zheng Hebei’s power, partly to scheme for the soon-to-be-formed Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasure of the Longchang Opera Troupe.

That Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasure was indeed the Divine Statue itself.

Crafted from extraordinary materials, the Divine Statue had been worshiped for a century by the Longchang Opera Troupe. Moreover, situated at a Fengshui spiritual acupoint in a Yang residence, it had absorbed the ancient charm of Xianyang City, listening to the joys and sorrows of the opera troupe, becoming a treasure.

Had he not fortuitously heard the operas, he wouldn’t have discovered this strange thing.

Eventually, the deity’s spirit even concealed its spiritual charm, unknown to anyone.

If he acquired this artifact and refined it using an Evil Technique, he could get a powerful protective yin general. Therefore, for this, he had not hesitated to wait for years in Xianyang City.

Unfortunately, the Living Yin Messenger leaked the news to Luo Shihai.

Raging with humiliation, Luo Shihai went personally to capture him in the Iron Blade Gang.

Yousi had narrowly escaped disaster using a Secret Technique, yet knowing the treasure was no longer attainable, and without Iron Blade Gang’s cover, fearing the Law Enforcement Hall might find him, he fled Xianyang City overnight.

His skill was the ear divine power, hence, he sensed the attack that evening early on, and as for Li Yan’s position, it was also he who revealed it.

Wang Daoxuan’s dispatched yin soldiers were naturally undetectable to him.

Yousi similarly set up a magic platform, but upon the platform lay straw men, a blood bowl, corpse rice, bone powder, and even a child’s skull—at a glance, it was not an orthodox method.

Sensing the yin soldiers in the night sky, Yousi’s eyes filled with contempt, a sinister smile curling his lips as he took the straw man, bowed three times to the sky, then casually picked up a Yellow Talisman, pressing it onto the straw man.

Instantly, the straw man became cold, exuding the aura of a yin soldier.

Yousi placed the straw man on the magic platform.

Beside the straw man, three small arrows lay, their shafts covered in blood-colored talismans.

He picked up one charm arrow, forming a hand seal, gripping it while chanting, "The sky is dark, the earth is dark, the deity commands me to fetch souls, calling Six Jia on the left, Six Ding on the right, Emperor deity ahead, Yue Zhang deity behind, Heaven locks soul, Earth locks spirit, carry out as per orders!"

With that, he thrust the arrow into the straw man.

Li Yan glanced at the sky in stupefaction.

The yin soldier hovering above vanished in an instant.

Simultaneously, the Wandering Soul Vase on Wang Daoxuan’s magic platform shattered with a crack...