The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 88 - 87: Feint to the East, Strike in the West_2

Chapter 88: Chapter 87: Feint to the East, Strike in the West_2

Li Yan only felt like he had encountered a fierce general from the military school. His opponent’s fists were like hammers, relentless and continuous, forcing him to retreat repeatedly.

The opponent’s attacks were not fast, and even showed some flaws.

However, Li Yan only dodged and did not rush to draw his blade.

His father had once mentioned that although Iron Wire Fist looked fierce, it was stronger in defense than offense, skilled in turning weakness into strength.

All these moves were like a bridge hand, the so-called "cross the bridge if there is one, inquire for a bridge if there isn’t," all those flaws were traps, in reality, the opponent was swift but not chaotic, slow but not slack.

Moreover, this man even used Iron Wire Fist, which, when used skillfully, could utilize the gap of iron rings to lock weapons within a flick of the hand.

As soon as he made a move, the opponent would seize the opportunity for a vicious strike.

He only needed to stall the opponent, there was no need to risk his life.

"Cunning brat!"

Seeing that Li Yan didn’t fall for the trick, the man spat and turned to run.

"Oh my, with such hard fists, why are you running?"

Li Yan sneered and once again stepped forward to unleash his blade.

His movement technique was fierce, and the Guanzhong Fast Blade was famed for its speed. In a breath, the blade edge had already reached the back of the opponent’s head.

But the man seemed to have anticipated this, twisting his body while raising his fists. It was a move called Tiger’s Stealth, the iron rings jingled, directly locking Li Yan’s blade.

He had feigned an escape upon seeing Li Yan dodge, using it to lure the enemy.

Now that he had locked the weapon, he could proceed to kill.

However, he underestimated Li Yan.

Li Yan might have slightly weaker power, but he had more cunning in mind.

When he wielded the blade, he had anticipated the opponent’s intended action, releasing the blade, sidestepping to switch shoulders, delivering a side kick.

Bang!

The kick unleashed Hidden Energy, sending the man flying.

He fell to the ground with a muffled groan, fresh blood oozing from the corner of his mouth.

This was the struggle of martial artists, life and death, victory or defeat, lay on a razor’s edge.

Li Yan’s power was slightly weaker, but his mind was sharp, his moves ruthless, and with the opponent eager to escape, he was at a disadvantage.

Swoosh!

Just at this moment, the flung Guan Mountain Blade flipped and then fell.

Without looking, Li Yan casually caught it and sheathed it.

His robust Hidden Energy kick had injured the opponent’s internal organs, there was no escaping far, and there was no opportunity.

Sure enough, the distant sound of horse hooves arose.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two wolf-teeth sharp arrows whistled through the air.

Two thuds, blood splattered, and they directly pierced the man’s legs.

Li Yan slightly furrowed his brows but said nothing.

The ones approaching were from the Captain Bureau; this was their style, to prevent escape by crippling legs first, whether the opponent would remain crippled afterward wasn’t their concern.

The man was tough, he couldn’t help but let out a scream, but then gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, ready to die.

Neigh!

The warhorses neighed, and several people dismounted and strode over.

Leading them was Hundred Households Captain Chang Xuan. He glanced indifferently and said calmly, "Drag him away for interrogation, take him farther, don’t disturb the Daoists."

"Hold on!"

At this moment, a Daoist hurried over. It was a person from the Law Enforcement Hall, and he said with a grim face, "The hidden weapon is poisoned, very potent."

Even before he finished speaking, he squatted down and searched the man’s body.

"Don’t bother, I have no antidote."

The man was in so much pain that sweat trickled down his forehead, his lips turned white, yet he sneered, "If you have the skills, detoxify me. If not, speak nicely to me!"

The Daoist from the Law Enforcement Hall said with piercing eyes, "Ignorant and fearless, isn’t it just Corpse Gu Poison, after the ritual, someone will be able to detoxify it."

The man laughed heartily, "Just afraid you won’t live to see it!"

At this moment, Guan Wanche suddenly said coldly, "True, you are a fanatic of the Maitreya Sect, just not sure if your mouth is tougher than the Captain Bureau’s methods."

"Maitreya Sect?"

The man was clearly taken aback, hurriedly shaking his head, "Don’t falsely accuse me, I am just doing someone’s bidding, it has nothing to do with the Maitreya Sect."

Guan Wanche and Chang Xuan immediately exchanged a glance.

Chang Xuan said calmly, "Whether it’s the Maitreya Sect or not doesn’t matter anymore, using gunpowder is already a capital crime, speak clearly and I can let you die quickly."

The man took a deep breath and laughed, "Stop scaring me, having fallen into your hands, whether to kill or cut, I, who ask for mercy, would be your child."

"However, someone asked me to convey a message, he has no intention of opposing the Taixuan Orthodox Sect, but he must take the things in the mountain."

"Either you stop the ritual and save people, and the antidote will be presented."

"Or, a few people die with me!"

Meanwhile, Luo Mingzi had also returned, seeing the situation, he said in a deep voice, "More than one group of people acted, they’re all distractions. Someone took advantage of the explosion and infiltrated the mountain during the opening in the defense."

Guan Wanche nodded, "Seems like an experienced old thief!"

Listening to their conversation, Li Yan pieced together the whole picture.

The opponent’s methods were indeed extraordinary, from the start they didn’t intend to forcibly rush in, but sent people to use explosions to distract and Gu Poison to harm and threaten.

Once the ceremony to enshrine the Mountain God began, it couldn’t be stopped.

If the Taixuan Orthodox Sect stopped the ritual to save people, then their treasure retrieval wouldn’t be affected. If they didn’t stop, they would still have to waste most of their encircling force, creating opportunities for escape.

Moreover, from Guan Wanche’s tone, did people from the Maitreya Sect also come?

Beside him, Luo Mingzi said in a deep voice, "The ritual will not stop, if I’m not mistaken, once you compromise, they will only push further, making more demands."

Seeing that they couldn’t negotiate, the man fell silent.

Chang Xuan said coldly, "Are you aware this is a serious crime of exterminating a clan’s family!"

The man chuckled, "Having no attachments, it doesn’t matter."

Chang Xuan said, "The pugilistic world is nothing more than survival, is it worth it?"

The man’s face was calm, "A life-saving grace, repaid with life!"

With that said, he closed his eyes.

Chang Xuan nodded, "What a pity."

Poof!

Someone stepped forward, directly stabbing through his heart.

The person was already resolved to die, further interrogation would only waste time.

Everyone returned to the altar, indeed, the ritual to enshrine was still ongoing, Qingyangzi and several elder Daoists were on the altar, their expressions solemn, conducting the ritual meticulously.

Beside, all those injured had been moved back into the tents.

Each person’s complexion was grayish, eyes shut, breathing weak, within a short time, a stench of corpses permeated their bodies.

Among them was Sha Lifei.

Everyone had a Lotus Lamp lit beside them, a talisman pasted on their chest, and an unusual incense was burning inside the tent.

Li Yan smelled the incense, it continuously suppressed the corpse stench on their bodies.

"This is Corpse Gu Poison."

Luo Mingzi said in a deep voice, "Only those evil mages who have dealt with corpses for a long time possess such means, and the solution varies according to the burial conditions of the corpses."

"Only Master Qingyangzi can perform spells to forcefully dispel the poison, but only one person at a time can be treated, we should be able to last till tomorrow by suppressing with spells..."

"Fellow Daoists, rest assured."

Chang Xuan suddenly spoke, "Since they have already entered the mountain, let us catch them as if they are turtles in a jar, catch them, and we’ll have the antidote."

Li Yan looked at the unconscious Sha Lifei and said gravely, "I will go too."

With the urgency of the situation, Luo Mingzi did not stand on ceremony, "Very well, since a fellow Taoist who specializes in Divine Skills has been poisoned, with Li’s little friend assisting, we are sure to catch these people."

At this time, a small flag of the Captain Bureau rushed in, bowing, "Reporting, sir, we have captured three living ones!"

Everyone exited the tent, seeing three people thrown on the ground, all of them shot in the leg, bleeding non-stop, full of fear.

These three weren’t as tough as the previous man, they confessed tremblingly without needing to be coerced, "Spare us, we were merely coerced."

"I was poisoned by Old Wai."

"Who is he?"

"An old thief specialized in tomb robbing."

"I was coerced by Beggar Leader Mountain Lord."

It turned out that these people were also decoys.

They were poisoned and drew the Captain Bureau away from all directions.

According to them, there were mainly two groups, one was a notorious tomb robber from Guanzhong, the other was the escaped Beggar Leader Mountain Lord.

Both parties originally had conflicts, but upon seeing the strict defense of the Chaotic Burial Mound, they temporarily teamed up to enter the mountain to retrieve treasure, relying on their own luck.

The one who poisoned was none other than the tomb robber Old Wai.

Upon hearing about these two individuals, a trace of disappointment flashed through Chang Xuan’s eyes.

Li Yan, on the other hand, suddenly remembered the black-clad elder he encountered when looking for Zhao Lvzi, and said gravely, "That man is of the Hidden Treasure Man lineage of Xun You, I have a friend, a Hidden Treasure Man who lives in seclusion in the Mountain God Temple in Shangyi Village, he may be able to detoxify."

"Xun You lineage, no wonder..."

Luo Mingzi nodded at the person beside him, immediately a Daoist boy mounted a horse and left.

After arranging everything, everyone headed towards the Chaotic Burial Mound...