Aoyama

Old Xianggen had just crossed the mountain when he saw a dark mass of armored soldiers pressing down on him, and he turned and ran in fright.

The Mo Dao Battalion and the elite troops of Tokyo Road were all clad in black armor. In the pure white snow-capped mountains and forests, they resembled two black dragons formed from iron sand, chasing after Lao Xianggen'er together.

The two black dragons drew closer and closer, and just as they were about to catch up with Lao Xianggen, they collided violently. The impact of their armor produced a metallic clang, and rows of armored soldiers fell to the ground.

Both the Mo Dao Battalion and the elite troops of Tokyo Road tacitly refrained from using weapons, as they were both legitimate members of the Jing Dynasty. If anyone were to draw their weapons first, it would be a serious crime of treason.

In less than ten breaths, the two sides separated, and the Tokyo Road armored soldiers had to work in pairs to barely restrain the Mo Dao soldiers. But the Tokyo Road armored soldiers were fearless and, after knocking over the heavily armored Mo Dao soldiers, they actually carried the Mo Dao soldiers down the mountain in their arms.

Even if the Mo Dao soldiers managed to shake them off, it would still take them some effort to get back up the mountain.

Yuan Hengli Zhen remained unmoved and led his Mo Dao soldiers forward, crashing into the armored soldiers of Tokyo Road, causing them to fall to their knees.

However, the elite troops of the Tokyo Circuit formed a human wall in front of them, linking arms to create an iron curtain. After Jiang Zhuang and the other vanguard elites passed through, they risked their lives to close in, blocking the entire Mo Dao Battalion in front of the iron curtain.

Yuan Hengli Zhen used brute force to break through the wall of men in front of him, but new armored soldiers were added to the front. After he broke through another layer, he was then grabbed by the legs of the elite soldiers of Tokyo Road who lay on the snow. With each step forward, he had to drag two burdens along.

"court death."

Just as Yuan Heng Lizhen was about to shatter the hearts and lungs of the soldiers of the Tokyo Circuit, he heard Jiang Zhuang shouting as he chased after Lao Xiang Gen: "Yuan Heng Lizhen, if any of my men from the Tokyo Circuit are crippled or die, my commander will definitely report you to His Majesty, and then you will lose your title!"

The force that Yuan Heng Li Zhen was about to unleash was suddenly withdrawn.

Jiang Zhuang glanced back and immediately focused all his efforts on capturing Lao Xianggen. The elite troops of Tokyo Road could not hold off Yuan Henglizhen for too long. Although the armored soldiers he brought were also elite, they were far inferior to the Mo Dao Camp. If they could fight freely, the elite troops of Tokyo Road would probably have already been defeated.

Old Xianggen was terrified.

His otter-ear warmer hat was askew, so he had to hold it down as he ran, leaving behind the Wenwang Drum and Wuwang Whip that he had just retrieved from the Martial Temple in the snow.

The apprentice turned around and saw that his master had lost the King Wen Drum. He immediately panicked and cried out, "Master, the drum! The drum!"

Old Xianggen panted, "What the hell are you talking about at a time like this? Do I look like the King Wen Drum?"

The Wenwang Drum and Wuwang Whip that were just discarded were the items passed down from our ancestors; the rest were all fakes.

Years ago, the Hu family committed a grave error, and these two items were taken away by the headmaster, Lu Yang. Without these two items, they could only seek divine intervention, not engage in combat through spirit possession, and thus could not even be considered proper officials.

Although the old items have been recovered, given the current situation, it would be a blessing to have a complete corpse. How could I care about the King Wen Drum and King Wu Whip?

The five of them ran down the mountain in a flash, but as Lao Xianggen watched his apprentices run further and further away, he ran slower and slower, and could only shout anxiously, "You little rascals, wait for me!"

The four middle-aged men turned around upon hearing this, only to find that their master had fallen behind.

The four men exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and ran up the mountain again. Two of them grabbed Lao Xianggen's arms, and two others grabbed his legs, hoisting him onto their shoulders as they rushed down the mountain.

Old Xianggen said emotionally, "It wasn't for nothing that I raised you all!"

A man glanced back at the dozens of elite Tokyo Road warriors who were hot on their heels and asked in bewilderment, "Master, have you broken a law?"

Old Xianggen said irritably, "I killed your father."

The man asked in surprise and doubt, "Really?"

Old Xianggen was furious: "If you can talk, then talk; if you can't, then shut your mouth."

The man asked in confusion, "...Then why are these people chasing us?"

Old Xianggen pondered, "Could it be that this sword heir has noble backing and wants to kill us to silence us? But Third Master Hu didn't say anything! Quick, run to the Martial Temple, if we get there we can live!"

The five people fled in a sorry state, not running downhill, but instead running uphill.

Jiang Zhuang watched their retreating figures from afar, feeling something was amiss: "Could these be the inheritors of the Sword Seed? With such audacity, they dare to steal the relics of the Lord of War?"

The elite Tokyo Road soldiers standing nearby were also somewhat puzzled: "These five people are moving like ants, which one is the true successor of the sword seed? Sir, we can't be mistaken, can we?"

Jiang Zhuang hesitated: "Could it be that the one who came out to help lied?"

He looked back and saw that the Mo Dao Battalion had broken through the iron curtain and was chasing after him. But amidst the forest of black armor, a flash of silver sword light passed through the gap in the armor of a Mo Dao soldier's neck, bringing out a handful of blood that splashed onto the snow.

The sky was already bright, and the sunlight reflected off the snow, making the patch of blood appear glaringly red.

Jiang Zhuang suddenly awoke with a start: "Sword Seed!"

Looking further ahead, he saw that Lao Xianggen and the others were running further and further away without looking back, clearly not the ones who controlled the sword seed.

Jiang Zhuang suddenly pulled the armored soldier beside him to a stop, no longer chasing after Lao Xianggen, and instead ran back the way they came: "Where are the boy and the old man we brought up the mountain?"

"I didn't see them! They're too busy fighting to care about them!"

Jiang Zhuang roared, "Seize them!"

……

……

At this moment, the swords flashing in the crowd did not linger in battle; they struck once and then retreated, disappearing behind a pine tree.

Just as everyone's gaze turned north with the sword, a wail came from the opposite direction. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a flash of sword light disappear.

Another soldier, clutching the gaps in his armor, slowly collapsed onto the snow. As his hand loosened, blood gushed from the gaps in his armor.

"How can the sword seed be so fast? It was just in the north, and now it's in the south?"

In the blink of an eye, another swordsman from the west took the life of a Mo Dao soldier as easily as cutting grass.

Yuan Hengli Zhen stepped forward to investigate, but before he could get close, another wail came from the east. He turned his head sharply and saw the sword light disappear into the forest. Everyone's attention was diverted by the wail and the sword light, and they turned to look east, south, west, and north, but could only see the last moment when the sword light disappeared.

Whenever a wail came from one place and drew their attention, a sword flashed in another place, but only one sword could appear at a time.

It was as if this sword seed could pierce through the void, reach anywhere, and be omnipresent.

It's as if a magician is hiding in the mountains, performing the Three Immortals Returning to the Cave. He hides a red ball in two bowls and keeps changing its position, and you can never guess which bowl it is.

I wonder where the sword light will appear next.

Suddenly, snow began to fall from the branches of a pine tree, falling in a soft, rustling motion without any wind.

Yuan Heng Lizhen bravely hurled his Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) at the pine tree. The Mo Dao whistled through the air, blasting the pine tree and the accumulated snow apart, and also striking the sword seed hidden behind the tree.

The sword flew backward as lightly as if it were nothing, and then disappeared into the mountains and forests.

Before Yuan Hengli could even breathe a sigh of relief, another cry of pain came from behind him.

Yuan Heng Lizhen frowned and looked back, only to see another Mo Dao soldier lying in a pool of blood. His pupils contracted slightly, and he said with certainty, "It's not just one sword type, and not just one sword type successor!"

Yuan Heng Li Zhen stood in place, clad in armor, his expression concealed by a black visor. He said in a deep voice, "Form ranks!"

The Mo Dao Battalion quickly regrouped, holding Mo Dao swords and forming a spear formation around Yuan Heng Li Zhen. Only then did everyone realize that the sword technique only killed Mo Dao soldiers and didn't touch a single Tokyo Dao soldier.

Yuan Hengli Zhen glared at Jiang Zhuang, who had rushed back: "What is the punishment for harboring a successor of the sword lineage in the Tokyo Circuit?"

Jiang Zhuang was puzzled: "What are you mumbling about?"

Yuan Hengli Zhen calmly said, "This man only killed my Mo Dao Battalion, but not your Tokyo Circuit soldiers. Why is that? No wonder your Tokyo Circuit came to get involved in this mess. You're probably here to help him."

Jiang Zhuang looked around and saw that more than ten of the Mo Dao soldiers were dead, while none of his own armored soldiers had died.

His trusted aide asked cautiously, "My lord, did the commander mention this to you?"

Jiang Zhuang laughed angrily: "Get out of here."

He ignored Yuan Henglizhen and instead wandered through the mountains and forests searching for traces of the past and the figure of Old Ear, occasionally helping up the fallen Tokyo Road soldiers.

But after looking around, he still couldn't find Chen Ji or Old Ears.

Jiang Zhuang stood there, looking troubled. His confidant approached and asked, "Sir, what are you thinking about?"

Jiang Zhuang sighed, "When we get back, the General will laugh us to death..."

At this moment, a soldier shouted loudly, "There are footprints leading down the mountain!"

Jiang Zhuang set off to investigate. Since none of the Tokyo Road soldiers or the Mo Dao Battalion had come down the mountain, the footprints must have been left by the old man and the young man: "Chase them!"

This time, Yuan Heng Li Zhen was even faster than him, carrying a huge Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword), shaking off everyone and taking the lead in the chase.

Yuan Heng Li Zhen followed the footprints down the mountain, removing his armor as he ran. If he were to fight an ordinary officer, the armor would protect his entire body, and even swords and axes might not be able to cut through it.

However, since the swords are different, the inconspicuous gaps on the armor are full of flaws, and the armor, weighing dozens of kilograms, becomes a burden.

Just as he was passing a pine tree, a flash of sword light suddenly appeared from his left.

Yuan Heng Lizhen raised his hand and swung the Mo Dao upwards. The sound of metal clashing rang out, and the sword was actually knocked more than ten zhang away by this strike, with spider web-like cracks blooming on the blade.

But the ambush hadn't stopped when another flash of sword light appeared on the right.

Yuan Heng Lizhen turned and kicked out, pinning the ambushing sword seed to a pine tree in the distance. He stood calmly in the empty forest and said, "Too slow, too slow. You dare to ambush me even though you're not even at the Dao Seeking Realm?"

However, at that moment, Jiang Zhuang, who had followed, looked at Yuan Heng Lizhen's feet and his expression changed.

Yuan Heng Lizhen noticed something was wrong when he saw his expression and instinctively raised his foot to dodge. A sword seed, dormant in the snow, aimed at Yuan Heng Lizhen's Achilles tendon, but missed its target.

Yuan Heng Li Zhen was filled with doubt and surprise; this was already the third sword type!

Before he could think it through, the fourth sword seed fell from the snow on the pine needles, just like a fallen leaf.

By the time Yuan Henglizhen realized what was happening, it was too late. He dodged by looking up, but saw the sword slice across his mask, just like the day at Chongli Pass. The sharp sword slice cut through his mask in one stroke.

What was different was that this sword left a deep bloodstain on Yuan Hengli Zhenjun's handsome face.

Yuan Heng Lizhen wiped the blood from his face and muttered to himself, "Chongli Pass..."

At this moment, four sword seeds flew down the mountain together. Yuan Heng Li Zhen looked in the direction the sword seeds left and saw a masked person standing a hundred paces away, quietly watching him.

The man was thin, dressed in coarse gray clothes, and had messy hair; he didn't look like a high-ranking official who cultivated a sword technique at all.

Yuan Heng Lizhen questioned from afar: "Is Chongli outside the pass also yours?"

Chen Ji did not answer, and turned to disappear into the mountains and forests.

Yuan Heng Lizhen hesitated, unsure whether this was a trap to lure the enemy in. He waited until the entire Mo Dao Battalion arrived before being escorted down the mountain by the Mo Dao soldiers to pursue them.

Jiang Zhuang stood still and did not give chase. His trusted aide arrived and asked in a low voice, "Sir, should we give chase or not?"

After pondering for a long time, Jiang Zhuang said, "Let's not pursue them. Let's return to Huanglong Prefecture and immediately report this matter to the commander!"

……

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