fifth form

Chapter 3371 Pathfinder

"The yellow sand has escaped!"

Within the Five Ghosts Yin Wind Formation, the new emperor's spare short sword severed the neck of the White Bone Venerable. The head held in Zhang Xuezhou's hand continuously turned into sand, and the swirling purple energy that resisted the sand-turning technique continued to dissipate. The two soul flames within the head gradually dimmed.

The White Bone Venerable did not beg for mercy from Zhang Xuezhou, nor did he reminisce about past ties, since the two indeed had no past affection for each other.

Just as Zhu Jiuyin and Daojun invited people to do things on an equal footing, neither side hesitated at all when they took action, nor did they allow any other thoughts.

"I didn't expect them to be even harder to kill than Dao Lords!"

The new emperor only had eyes for Daojun, the master of the Yeyue River Holy Land, but True Self Realm cultivators had little reputation; even the most inept spellcasters possessed top-tier skills.

In normal understanding, spellcasters are all fragile and not good at close combat, but both Black Mountain Venerable and White Bone Venerable have physical bodies so strong that the new emperor has no idea what to do.

Even the fastest-killing Venerable Yinghua is no less capable at close range. Without the aid of an array, the new emperor is very likely to end up with a one-for-one exchange.

After killing three Holy Land Venerables in succession, the new emperor's arrogance continued to decline.

When Zhang Xuezhou mentioned that Venerable Huangsha had escaped the formation by turning into sand, he showed no regret. The new emperor knew very well that the two had taken full advantage of the formation's terrain.

"Are you alright?" the new emperor asked.

“You’ll need to give me at least ten more protective talismans in the future,” Zhang Xuezhou said earnestly.

"Replenish, replenish as much as is used!"

The new emperor took a deep breath.

As long as there is something to gain from using it, all kinds of rare and precious materials and talismans are just disposable items, not to mention Zhang Xuezhou's behavior of getting on the bus first and then paying the fare later.

It is normal for the emperor to replenish the losses of his subjects in battle. After all, no emperor would allow his subjects to suffer losses in the process of fighting, or even to work at a loss.

The new emperor wouldn't do such a thing, so he quickly agreed to the compensation request.

After scanning Zhang Xuezhou's body back and forth with his gaze, he also calmed down.

Few cultivators could overpower a True Self Realm cultivator, even with the aid of an array. Zhang Xuezhou withstood the White Bone Venerable's attacks for an extremely long time until the White Bone Venerable finally collapsed.

It's normal for the formation to develop flaws under such a counterattack.

Venerable Huangsha swirled up the yellow sand and forcefully broke free, while Venerable Hongying, who had been promoted to the Hong generation, was still somewhat bewildered.

When Zhang Xuezhou pointed out the direction, the new emperor rushed over the wall with his short sword, and when he struck a seemingly empty spot, blood gushed out like a spring.

The corpse of a middle-aged woman holding a bottle-shaped ritual implement appeared, her body riddled with holes, lying on the ground like rotten wood.

It seems that because the death was too sudden and too rapid, the other party did not even have time to escape the body before falling into death.

"Our news will definitely leak out. What a waste of this formation!"

Zhang Xuezhou waved the battle flag, then reached out and rolled it up.

With the main formation flag blocked, the Five Ghosts Yin Wind Formation could no longer be maintained. Amidst the howling of the yin entities, streaks of black energy continuously retreated towards the four formation flags.

"It's not a pity!"

Seeing Zhang Xuezhou casually toss the locked array flags into the stone of the wall, the new emperor glanced around and looked into the distance.

Several screams came from afar, indicating that some of the pursuers who had passed through the formation had been killed.

This provides new directions.

The new emperor repeatedly drew his sword, yet patiently waited on.

"Don't you have any suitable magical treasures for practicing magic?"

Seeing that Zhang Xuezhou was also being cautious and did not rush over rashly, the new emperor couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

"I was just assisting you in controlling the Sky Shuttle; I never intended to fight," Zhang Xuezhou complained. "Besides, I'm terrible at fighting; all I know is head-on confrontation. Either I kill someone or they kill me!"

“That takes skill too,” the new emperor said. “You won’t stand a chance when you encounter a tough opponent!”

Zhang Xuezhou glanced at the source of the screams several times, but for a moment he didn't dare to approach the direction of the screams.

Being struck by the White Bone Venerable is one thing, but being hit by a flying knife from the Dao Lord is another.

Not to mention the many techniques Zhang Xuezhou cultivated, even Yang Jian, who had attained sainthood in his physical body, would not want to face the Dao Lord's flying knife.

As he and the new emperor hesitated, they heard the sound of horses' hooves echoing through the alleyway once more.

As he quickly retreated into the shadows, Zhang Xuezhou thought he could follow behind this group of people and see what was going on.

"Shut up!"

"Both man and horse fell dead. The thief's methods were ruthless. Who was behind this?"

"The deceased was Xia Ming, a Confucian scholar from Qi. He was quite skilled in magic, yet he died here bleeding from all seven orifices!"

"This man is Zhu Wen, and he died in the same way!"

"Lu Bushu, why didn't your teacher come to Chang'an?"

"My teacher has come to Chang'an, but I can't find him!"

"Master Dong has not come out of the palace since he entered it!"

"I heard that His Majesty was furious about the death of the King of Jiangdu and punished Dong Shi by dismissing him from his position as Chancellor!"

"Don't talk, be careful when you walk through here!"

……

Nearly ten Confucian scholars rode up on horseback, including Lü Bushu, a direct disciple of Dong Zhongshu.

Although he was a Confucian scholar, Lü Bushu did not look like a refined gentleman. Instead, he was carrying a long axe, which showed that he was quite strong.

After quickly assessing the situation, Lü Bushu spurred his horse and galloped ahead to clear the way for the group.

Among the scholars was Gongsun Hong, a renowned scholar who had previously resided at Zhang Xuezhou's residence.

Although he was the second greatest Confucian scholar after Dong Zhongshu, Gongsun Hong did not compete for the top spot. Instead, he prioritized Dong Zhongshu's abilities and promoted Lü Bushu as the leader of the group. Gongsun Hong himself rode at the rear, constantly scanning the surroundings to prevent any unexpected incidents.

When his gaze fell upon the two figures in the shadows, and then upon the inconspicuous corpse in the shadows, Gongsun Hong's heart skipped a beat, and he almost jumped off his horse.

Faces were difficult to discern in the shadows, and Gongsun Hong had no idea who the black-clad, white-robed corpse in the darkness was, but he was all too familiar with those two figures.

If it were just one of them standing here, he would have a hard time distinguishing them, since there are many people of this build and height in Chang'an City. But when the two are together, there is a reference point.

There are many people of similar height and build in Chang'an, but it is rare for two people to be together, especially in the imperial city, where there are even fewer people who meet the criteria.

After scanning the shadows for two seconds, Gongsun Hong quickly looked away.

"I'm doomed. I've become that little thief Dongfang Shuo's stepping stone again!"

Gongsun Hong's heart pounded, sensing that the danger ahead was unspeakable.

He and Zhang Xuezhou had explored the Mo Family's mechanical city, and he knew Zhang Xuezhou's character all too well.

Being a scout is a terrible job, and Gongsun Hong didn't want to be one either. But he was lucky today; there were eight people ahead of him, so at least Gongsun Hong wasn't directly dragged down with them.

A crucial point is that Gongsun Hong was able to determine that the new emperor was traveling with Zhang Xuezhou, which means that everything they did would be seen and observed by the new emperor.

Most importantly, Zhang Xuezhou and his accomplices may have made contact with the target that attacked Tian Fen.

If he had shown any ability, he wouldn't have been stuck waiting for orders at the Golden Horse Gate.

If one performs exceptionally well, a meteoric rise to success is not out of the question.

Gongsun Hong thought it through clearly, and kept chanting incantations in a low voice. The magic slowly condensed, and when he made up his mind, he gritted his teeth and followed.