Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 454 Blinded by lust, unaware of his own limitations, the border region changes hands, Cai Shiqi, his defenses breached, intimidates...
The four people at the table quickly noticed Cai Shiqing's gaze. Following the direction of his gaze, they also noticed the woman by the window in front of them.

But upon noticing this, they immediately frowned.

One of them spoke in a low voice, reminding Cai Shiqing, "Sir, that woman seems a bit strange!"

The other three did not speak, but they all nodded in agreement.

The four of them were all at the level of 40+, yet their opponent silently ascended to the top floor without them noticing. Furthermore, they couldn't discern any movement of her aura, which undoubtedly indicated that the woman's strength was extraordinary.

If the four of them were like this, then Cai Shiqing, the strongest among them, was even more so.

Given his usual temperament, he would have rushed forward by now. The fact that he has kept his gaze fixed on the woman for so long without making a move clearly proves that he has also recognized her extraordinary nature.

The wickedness in his eyes grew stronger, eventually overpowering his reason. He then gave a signal to the other four people with his eyes.

The four servants knew their master's temperament best. As soon as they received Cai Shiqing's look, they immediately understood and stood up.

The four of them left the table and walked straight toward the woman in white.

"May I ask, young lady..."

Cai Wan, the strongest of the four, walked to the table and spoke first.

Tap tap tap...

But he was interrupted by the sound of hurried footsteps going upstairs as soon as he opened his mouth.

Five burly generals, clad in black and gold armor, carrying powerful bows and wielding various sharp blades, rushed up from downstairs. When they saw Cai Wan and his three companions standing in front of the woman's table, their brows furrowed, but they said nothing and simply walked quickly to the woman.

"Meet Madam!"

The five men first bowed to the woman, and then the young man in the lead, who was holding a double-edged axe, stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your subordinate Yuan Cheng greets Madam. All fifteen soldiers scattered throughout the city have assembled and have surrounded the entire inner city area. We await Madam's command!"

"Alright, you all wait here for a while! Let the fighting at the military camp continue. I sent Xiang Fuhai to the Lord's Hall to scout out the situation. We'll talk again when he gets back. Strange, Duan Hong hasn't shown up yet..."

The woman in white lowered her head and pondered for a moment, then slightly raised her head. She first glanced expressionlessly at Cai Wan and the other three, then turned her gaze to Cai Shiqing behind them. A hint of coldness rose in her beautiful eyes behind her veil.

The expressions of Cai Wan and the other three, including Cai Shiqing sitting at the back, had long since frozen.

To be precise, the moment those five burly generals stepped upstairs, their expressions changed instantly.

The reason why Cai Wan and the other three changed their expressions was that, of the five people who had just come upstairs, the only one whose strength they could see through was the middle-aged general who was standing at the very back and holding a long staff.

Moreover, even the middle-aged general who could be seen through by them had a strength of 40, which was not much different from theirs.

This means that the other four are only stronger than them.

Crucially, all five of them bowed deeply to the woman in white!

what does this mean?
Cai Shiqing's expression was extremely solemn at this moment. With his strength of 48, he saw more than Cai Wan and the others.

Aside from the middle-aged man with a strength of 40 and wielding a long staff at the end, the strongest of the remaining four is Yuan Cheng, who looks to be in his early thirties but whose strength surpasses his own, estimated to be at least 50. The next two wield longswords and are around the same age as Yuan Cheng, with strengths of 48 and 45 respectively. The fourth person carries a longsword at his waist and looks even younger than the previous three, with a strength of 43.

Of course, strength was secondary. The biggest reason why Cai Shiqing's expression suddenly became serious was the respectful posture of the five people towards the woman in white, and the words that Yuan Cheng had just said.

All the soldiers of the 15th Army scattered throughout the city have assembled.

And it has already surrounded the entire inner city area;
We are just waiting for the lady's order...

What does it mean?
Cai Shiqing had too little information. Based on these few words, he couldn't deduce any useful information at all. He just vaguely felt that the coup arranged by the Crown Prince seemed to have encountered some new variables.

That's right, it's a new variable!

Cai Shiqing had participated in the entire coup orchestrated by Crown Prince Cai Shiqi, so he was very clear about the original plan.

The six thousand garrison troops just now were unplanned; Mu Qinghe hadn't told them beforehand. The appearance of Mu Longhe later was the same; and now this new army has appeared…

Cai Shiqing frowned, constantly reviewing and thinking in his mind. Just as he was about to come up with an answer, a figure quietly appeared on the top floor again.

It was an old man in black with gray hair, wielding a long silver staff with coiled dragon patterns.

Although the old man's hair was gray, his eyes were bright and his spirit was vigorous. Without making any move, he appeared in front of the white-clad woman's table in the next second, bowed down, and said respectfully, "This old man greets Madam. As you have predicted, Duan Hong has indeed been trapped by that Prince Cai Qiu. However, I believe that the golden shield will not last long. Duan Hong will be free in less than a quarter of an hour!"

"Who exactly are you people, daring to interfere in the affairs of Caiqiu?"

Upon hearing this, Cai Shiqing finally couldn't sit still any longer.

Even though he could tell that the old man in black had the cultivation level of Manifestation Yang, he had no respect whatsoever for a Manifestation Yang cultivator in such a remote and impoverished place as the Nine Towns Territory. He stood up and angrily questioned the other party.

This question immediately drew the attention of the woman in white, the old man in black, and the five armored generals, all of whom turned their heads and looked at him with unfriendly expressions.

"He's that Cai Qiu man who likes to go around choosing concubines, isn't he?"

Li Xuanling didn't come to this restaurant on purpose. She only glanced at Cai Shiqing before looking away and calmly inquired about the five people, including Yuan Cheng, standing next to her.

Although Yuan Cheng, Qiu Peng, Xu Ning, Liu Yuan, and Hou Quan had been lying in ambush in Chuishan Town for more than two months, Qiu Peng had been in charge of gathering information. Therefore, the four of them immediately focused their attention on Qiu Peng.

Qiu Peng turned his head and glanced at Cai Shiqing. He immediately realized that this fool must have offended Li Xuanling. He quickly nodded and cupped his hands, saying, "Reporting to Madam, this man is named Cai Shiqing. He is lewd by nature and has used force to coerce respectable women into serving him in many village camps in towns such as Jinshan and Wuchuan. The number of victims is as high as more than 300."

He is believed to be a member of the Cai clan, but likely a collateral branch. Since Cai Shiqi arrived last August, he has become somewhat more restrained. His status in Caiqiu is probably far inferior to that of Cai Shiqi…”

"You lowly bastard, you dare to say that..."

Having his underwear exposed, Cai Shiqing's face changed color rapidly, turning from pale to flushed. When he heard Qiu Peng say that his status was far inferior to Cai Shiqi's, he could no longer suppress his anger and suddenly drew his long sword, interrupting Qiu Peng.

call out…………

Unfortunately, before he could finish speaking, a chopstick flew out of Li Xuanling's hand and pierced his throat.

Cai Shiqing was completely stunned. His cold-resistant level of vitality prevented him from collapsing immediately. He looked at Li Xuanling, who had thrown the chopsticks at him, his face full of disbelief, and he couldn't help but point at Li Xuanling:
"You...how could you...how dare you..."

Kill yourself?

In such a remote and impoverished place as Jiuzhen, would anyone dare to kill me?

How is this possible...?

Even until the moment his life force was completely cut off, Cai Shiqing's eyes were still filled with incomprehension and confusion. He was a member of the Cai clan and had a bright future ahead of him. How could he possibly die in a place like Jiuzhen?
The four people, including Cai Wan, standing next to Li Xuanling were completely dumbfounded.

They did not expect that Li Xuanling would kill Cai Shiqing without even asking a question.

“Killing members of the Cai clan, killing members of the Cai clan, how dare you, how dare you…”

Cai Wan seemed to be too shocked by the scene before him. He rushed to Cai Shiqing's side and saw that the other man had completely lost his life. He immediately turned to look at Li Xuanling and kept asking questions.

"Killing a member of the Cai clan is a serious crime in Caiqiu. No matter where you come from, you're in deep trouble now, you're in big trouble..."

"Enough with the noise! ​​These four are accomplices to evil and are no good people either. Elder Xiang, kill them all and prepare their heads so that Prince Cai Qiu can have a good look at them later!"

Li Xuanling didn't bother listening to Cai Wan's nonsense and directly gave orders to Xiang Fuhai.

Upon hearing the sound, Xiang Fuhai moved swiftly. He didn't even bother to use his long staff against the four cold-resistant level warriors in their early forties. With a few quick movements, he killed Cai Wan and his three scattering men before they could even break the rooftop window.

Based solely on the look in Cai Shiqing's eyes when Li Xuanling appeared on the top floor, he had already sentenced these five people to death.

Cai Shiqing dared to harbor such lustful thoughts towards a woman whose strength surpassed his own, which almost confirmed the intelligence that Han Feng, Li Hu, and Yang Zhong had sent back from Jinshan Town.

This man was so lustful that he used his power to select concubines from various village camps. Even in the towns of Jinshan and Wuchuan, he did not forget to bully men and women because of his background. Last July, when he came to Muyin Town, he even tried to forcibly marry Murong Chui's granddaughter, Murong Yan, as his second wife. Murong Chui dealt with him for more than a month. In the end, it was only because Cai Shiqi came that Cai Shiqing had to restrain himself and temporarily gave up.

Although he temporarily gave up, he still left Murong Chui with harsh words, stating that he would definitely marry Murong Yan. This left Murong Chui with no choice but to send his granddaughter, along with all the young women of his clan, to live in Xia City.

How could someone like that possibly survive if he encountered me?

Seeing that Yuan Cheng had already beheaded Cai Shiqing and the other four, Li Xuanling smiled coldly beneath her veil. Then, sensing something, she suddenly turned her head to look at the military camp outside the window.

"Stop! All of you, stop right now!"

Duan Hong's voice came from the direction of the Lord's Hall, and a cold glint immediately appeared in Li Xuanling's eyes.

"We're here. Elder Xiang, come with me. Liu Yuan and Hou Quan, you two lead the Yun Jiaolong and Wu armies directly into the rear of the city. Yuan Cheng, Xu Ning, and Qiu Peng, you lead the remaining troops to surround the entire inner city. No one is allowed to escape."

"I obey my orders!"

Yuan Cheng and his group of five were shocked and quickly bowed in response. When they looked up, they found that Li Xuanling and Xiang Fuhai had already disappeared.

Without any hesitation, they jumped down from the windowsills and dispersed to various parts of the inner city to direct their troops.

………………

When Duan Hong finally escaped from the side hall and flew into the air, he was completely stunned when he saw the situation of the military camp!
Originally, Mu Qinghe could only mobilize a maximum of more than 3,000 people for this mutiny; with the Yellow Armor First and Second Armies, plus his own clan members, the direct descendants of the Duan clan also numbered more than 3,000. Given that the numbers and cultivation levels were roughly equal, failure was impossible. Then, as soon as the 3,000 Northern Shuo soldiers from the Duan clan's territory were mobilized, the mutiny launched by the Mu clan would immediately fail.

But right now, even a rough estimate shows that there are nearly 20,000 people standing or lying in the military camp.

Twenty thousand people!
Where did all these cold-weather-level vehicles come from in Chuishan Town?

Upon seeing the soldiers of the Zhenyu Army, he immediately realized that these people had used special methods, but he had no time to think about what those methods were.

Because at this moment, far too many people have fallen in the military camp!
At a glance, there were at least six or seven thousand people lying on the ground.

Of the remaining 10,000 or so fighting, the Duan family and the Northern Shuo army combined numbered only about 5,000, while the Mu family had at least 7,000 or 8,000.

"Mu Longhe's injuries have long since healed, so in this mutiny, Mu Qinghe's greatest reliance is not Cai Shiqi, but Mu Longhe; Mu Qinghe recalled a portion of the garrison troops outside the town and then used special methods to enable them to operate during the day; the Northern Shuo army did not appear immediately to stop the mutiny, but only showed up and took action after the fighting broke out in the military camp..."

Duan Hong's expression changed repeatedly. In an instant, he deduced the whole story in his mind. Finally, he looked at Mu Longhe, his expression suddenly froze, and a look of horror appeared on his face.

The Great Xia also participated in this mutiny!

As the Lord of the Border Mountain, Duan Hong's words were quite intimidating. His roar had brought the fighting in the camp to a standstill, and everyone looked up at him after disengaging from the battle.

Only the battle between Yang Fa and Mu Longhe in mid-air continued.

"To seize power, you've caused internal strife and countless deaths. Mu Longhe, do you really intend to destroy my Chuishan's century-old foundation?"

Seeing the army below cease fighting, Duan Hong turned his attention to Mu Longhe in mid-air. After angrily questioning him, he continued before Mu Longhe could speak, "You've betrayed your master and surrendered to the enemy, utterly depraved! What benefits did Great Xia give you...?"

"I bother!"

Mu Longhe had been winning the battle against Yang Fa. When he heard Duan Hong accuse him, he suddenly retreated from the battle, stood in mid-air, and glared at Duan Hong, saying: "You brat, when your father and I joined forces to establish the foundation of Chuishan, you didn't even know where you were. Do you think you have the right to say the words 'a century-old foundation'?"

I have been away from the town for less than two years, and you have eliminated dissidents, suppressed the loyal Mu clan, arbitrarily changed the military system, and appointed relatives and friends, causing resentment throughout the entire Chuishan region. You have also allowed the Northern Shuo soldiers to secretly infiltrate the city and hide in your Duan clan's territory. If my elder brother Duan Zhao were alive in heaven and knew about all the stupid things you have done, he would probably be unable to resist striking you with lightning, you unfilial son!

I originally thought that your marriage alliance with the Yang family was just to leverage the strength of Beishuo and plan for the development of Chuishan. Now it seems that you, you fool, have no vision at all and only think about groveling to your master!

"I truly misjudged you. I shouldn't have agreed to help you ascend to the throne back then. You are utterly unworthy of the position of Lord of the Frontier Mountains!"

…………

After Mu Longhe's accusations, Duan Hong's face turned completely red, almost like a liver color. In particular, when he directly stated that Duan Hong was unworthy to be the lord of Chui Mountain, it was essentially equivalent to trampling his face on the ground.

He questioned what benefits the Great Xia had given Mu Longhe, intending to smear the other party, but he forgot that from the moment the Northern Shuo Army showed up, he, as the lord, along with the entire Duan family, had already been completely discredited.

Coupled with the series of perverse actions taken by Duan Hong and the Duan family over the past two years, Mu Longhe's words at this moment completely ignited the long-suppressed anger in the hearts of everyone in Xiachui Mountain.

They were already in the superior position. From the moment Mu Longhe appeared, they stopped attributing their actions to a treasonous mutiny and began to genuinely defend Chuishan.

At this moment, Mu Longhe's accusations against Lord Duan Hong undoubtedly reaffirmed the rationality and legitimacy of their defense of the border mountain.

Mu Qinghe and the other direct descendants of the Mu family instantly became excited again.

"The military leader is right, Duan Hong is not worthy of being the lord of my border mountains!"

"The three thousand Northern Shuo soldiers are hiding in the Duan clan's territory. Duan Hong and the Duan clan want to sell our Chuishan to Northern Shuo. They can't deny it. Brothers, the only way to defend Chuishan is for our commander and us. Kill!"

"Drive all the Northern Shuo troops out of Chuishan! Chuishan is ours!"

"Only the military leader is qualified to be the lord of the border mountains,"

"Brothers, keep killing!"

………………

The specific manifestation of heightened emotions is the battlefield situation.

As Duan Hong's face alternated between pale and flushed, still pondering how to refute Mu Longhe, Mu Qinghe below had already led his army to restart the battle. The already demoralized Duan family's direct descendants and the Beishuo army were being slaughtered one after another, retreating northward from the camp and moving towards the Lord's Hall.

"If this continues, defeat is inevitable!"

Duan Hong and Yang Fa exchanged a glance, quickly reaching a tacit understanding, and then both of their gazes turned to Mu Longhe.

"Hahaha, I never expected the Mu family to have such a hidden trick up their sleeve!"

Just as Duan Hongyang and Fa were about to make their move, a hearty laugh suddenly came from the top floor of a building on the ground.

The three looked down and discovered that on the top floor of a building on the outskirts of the military camp, there were more than forty people standing in a large group. The leader was Cai Shiqi, dressed in blue, who had just trapped Duan Hong in the side hall.

Cai Shiqi, who had just led everyone from the side hall, saw that the Mu family had the upper hand and was about to drive the Northern Shuo army and the Duan family's forces out of the camp. His laughter was full of smugness.

He noticed that the three people in the sky were looking at him. Without showing any fear, he first looked up and nodded slightly to Mu Longhe, his eyes revealing satisfaction and praise. Then he turned to look at Duan Hong and Yang Fa.

Seeing Cai Shiqi's gaze, Mu Longhe looked slightly puzzled, but he quickly understood and his expression immediately became strange.

However, he didn't say anything. He simply sheathed his swords slightly and looked at Cai Shiqi with interest, wanting to hear what he planned to say to Duan Hong.

Sure enough, Cai Shiqi spoke up soon after.

"Lord Duan, things have come to this point, and you are powerless to reverse the situation. You should agree to the conditions I proposed earlier as soon as possible. As long as Chuishan can sever ties with Beishuo, I guarantee that this mutiny will stop immediately!"

Upon hearing this, Duan Hong's brow twitched violently. Looking down at Cai Shiqi's confident face, he felt an indescribable sense of astonishment and absurdity.

Yang Fa, who had just fought with Mu Longhe for half a day, looked extremely helpless. He hadn't expected that even now, this heir from Caiqiu would still think that he was the one who caused this mutiny.

"Very well! I now agree to all the conditions that Prince Cai previously proposed. I implore you, Prince, to step in and end the conflict!"

"Hahaha, well said, Lord Duan is indeed sensible!"

Seeing that Duan Hong had finally given in, Cai Shiqi's smugness grew even stronger. After laughing twice, he turned to Mu Qinghe, who was about to fight his way out of the north side of the camp, and shouted an order: "Mu Qinghe, you can stop now."

Unfortunately, when he gave the order, Mu Qinghe, who was at the front, didn't even turn his head, let alone obey.

"Brothers, the Northern Frontier is on the verge of collapse, keep charging forward with me..."

Mu Qinghe even became more enthusiastic in killing.

"Mu Qinghe, what are you doing? Why aren't you stopping?"

"Mu Qinghe, Zhu Ziying, Helian Shan, have you all rebelled?"

………………

After being called out three or four times, even the dim-witted Cai Shiqi realized something was wrong.

His expression suddenly froze. He turned his head to look at Mu Longhe in mid-air, thinking he had found the crux of the problem. He said in a deep voice, "Mu Longhe, tell them to stop!"

"Ignorant brat, you don't know the immensity of heaven and earth. Do you really think that just because you have the title of Prince Caiqiu and more than fifty Cold-resistant level cultivators, you can make so many people lose their lives for you? Foolish!"

Mu Longhe was over 130 years old. It was bad enough that Cai Shiqi, a junior, addressed him by his given name, but even more so that he used a commanding tone. Today's Chuishan mutiny had already put him in a very low mood, and now that his emotions were running high, he naturally shouted back angrily.

Cai Shiqi's expression froze instantly when he was reprimanded like that.

After a moment of stunned silence, his expression gradually turned astonished, even incredulous.

"How dare you talk to me like that..."

"Someone!"

Before Cai Shiqi could finish speaking, a dramatic change occurred in the sky.

The dramatic turn of events began with Duan Hong's startled cry.

A silver sword blade, tens of meters long, suddenly rose from the ground, almost in sync with Duan Hong's scream. The fierce sword light instantly reached Duan Hong's face.

Yang Fa's brow twitched suddenly. He realized something in an instant and quickly picked up his long spear, trying to help Duan Hong block the sword light.

However, before he could even raise his spear, two swords attacked him from the front. It was Mu Longhe, who had just been talking to Cai Shiqi.

"Great Xia wants to kill Duan Hong!" Helpless, Yang Fa had no choice but to abandon his attempt to rescue Duan Hong. He hurriedly used his long spear to block Mu Longhe's twin swords. Then, the thought that Great Xia wanted to kill Duan Hong flashed through his mind, and a look of surprise appeared in his pupils.

If you were to ask who was the most panicked person at that moment, it would undoubtedly be Duan Hong.

The silver sword light was aimed at him, so he was the first to sense it. There is a gap between sensing the problem and reacting to it. The strength of the sword light's owner was obviously far superior to his. Apart from drawing his sword to block, he couldn't do anything to dodge.

If an opponent far surpasses you in strength, and attacks suddenly while you are caught off guard, and you can only raise your knife to block without dodging, you have already lost half the battle.

After all, he didn't know exactly how much stronger his opponent was than him.

Clang...

"19 jun, that's almost twice my weight, I'm doomed!"

Soon, as his broadsword was struck by the sword light, Duan Hong instantly sensed the opponent's power, and his pupils were filled with horror and terror.

He only possessed the strength of 10 jun (a unit of weight), and this sword light almost completely overwhelmed him; he simply couldn't withstand it.

Of course, the moment he caught the sword light, he also saw the person behind it.

She was a woman dressed in a white palace gown and wearing a silk veil.

The woman's long black hair was coiled at the back of her head and secured with three silver hairpins. Three vertical blood-red cloud-like markings were visible on her smooth forehead. Her sharp, beautiful eyes were now filled with overwhelming killing intent.

woman?

Where did such a strong woman come from in Jiuzhen?
Duan Hong's mind was filled with countless thoughts, but his strong will to survive compelled him to keep his hands still. After the opponent's sword severed his broadsword, it went straight into his neck.

A sense of death rushed into Duan Hong's nostrils, and he abruptly pulled back, letting the sword blade slice from his jaw to his forehead. Even his facial features, skin, flesh, and blood were all cut open by the sword blade, revealing the white bones inside.

He had no choice but to do this to survive.

However, Li Xuanling's long-planned killing move would not be so simple!
The instant Duan Hong dodged, Li Xuanling leaped forward, her wrist flicking slightly, and the Heavenly Transformation Sword instantly changed direction. At the same time, a nine-hundred-foot-tall phantom of Xuanbing Bone suddenly appeared behind her, making the same move as her.

Whoosh...whoosh...whoosh...

Li Xuanling flicked his wrist, and the Heavenly Transformation Sword danced and twirled in his hand, unleashing nineteen sword beams in succession, each aimed at a different part of Duan Hong's body, leaving him no room to dodge.

Pfft...

The first sword beam pierced through his chest, and Duan Hong's already terrified expression instantly intensified. Especially after realizing that his ribcage had been pierced by the opponent's sword, and sensing the approach of death, he could no longer suppress his fear and quickly looked up and shouted:
"Brother Yang, save me!"

Yang Fa was right next to him, being tightly suppressed by Mu Longhe. Duan Hong must have known this, so when he called out "Brother Yang," he was clearly not referring to him.

Besides Yang Fa, there was only one other person whom he could address as Brother Yang.

The answer is self-evident: the person he is calling for help at this moment is Yang Zun.

"No one can save you now!"

Li Xuanling's cold laugh was the final death knell for Duan Hong.

The subsequent eighteen sword beams, nearly half of them, pierced through Duan Hong's body with perfect accuracy, feeling like an instant, yet also like an eternity.

Before anyone on the ground could react, Duan Hong, who was in mid-air, was covered with more than a dozen bloody holes. There were so many holes that the blood dried up completely after only three or four breaths, leaving only the stark white sword holes.

Duan Hong didn't even let out a scream. The sword light disappeared, and his body was completely frozen in mid-air. He was held up by Li Xuanling's long sword, his face still showing the last fear and horror before his death.

As the ruler of Chuishan for decades and a renowned figure in the Nine Towns region, Duan Hong was practically at the top of the southern slope of Mo'ao. The fact that such a great man was killed in front of so many people in the sky above his own town caused a tremendous psychological shock to everyone.

The fighting in the military camp below came to a complete halt because of his death.

With Duan Hong dead, Mu Longhe lost all desire to continue fighting and quickly distanced himself from Yang Fa. Looking at his nephew, his eyes held little joy, only a deep sense of complexity.

Although Yang Fa was furious, he immediately turned his head to look at the Duan clan's territory. He quickly noticed something, his expression froze, and he then flew towards the territory.

Deep within the Duan clan's territory, on the top floor of a building.

There were twenty-two people standing there, nineteen of whom were on the left side, and the one in the lead was none other than Yang Zun.

Beside Yang Zun stood a young girl in the same position as him. The girl was dressed in a blue and white brocade dress, with a finely carved silver band around her forehead, two hairpins, one silver and one jade, in her hair. She wore a blood-red jade ring around her neck and two milky-white jade pendants around her waist.

Her appearance was already exceptional, and her brows exuded an air of arrogance. The addition of numerous ornaments further enhanced her noble aura. Moreover, her position alongside Yang Zun clearly demonstrated that her identity was not so simple.

The dozen or so people behind the girl were dressed in the same style as her, but their accessories were obviously not as exquisite and luxurious as hers, and their temperament was also much inferior to hers.

If Xia Hong were here, he would definitely recognize at a glance that this woman was none other than Chu Yan'er, whom he had driven out of Xia City in October of the year before last.

Chu Yan'er's expression was extremely unpleasant at this moment.

Of course, Yang Zun, who was standing next to him, was the same.

The reason why the two looked so unwell was on the right side.

There were twenty-two people standing on the roof, nineteen of them on the left and only three on the right.

Of the three, two were elderly men with gray hair. One wore a black summer outfit and held a silver, coiled dragon-patterned staff; the other wore a red robe and had a long sword at his waist; the third was dressed in a golden brocade robe, appeared to be middle-aged, and carried a jet-black, twelve-holed silver ringed broadsword in his left hand.

Seeing Duan Hong killed by the newly appeared woman in white in mid-air on the south side, Yang Zun's expression immediately turned furious. He turned to look at Xiang Fuhai and the other two, and couldn't help but speak with a mocking tone:
"Xiang Fuhai, Murong Chui, Xiahou Zhang, the three of you are all town lords, yet you are all willing to bow down and be Xia Hong's dogs, humph!"

"You dare to mock me? If it weren't for the scheming of the Three Towns, how could my Ba Shang have been destroyed by Dajue Temple? Yang Zun, Chui Mountain does not belong to you. No matter whose hand you use, it's useless. Take your brother Yang Fa and get back to Bei Shuo!"

Murong Chui and Xiahou Zhang were alright, but Xiang Fuhai hated Yang Zun to the bone and was not so good-tempered. Now that Bei Shuo's plot to seize Chui Mountain had been completely thwarted, he was naturally extremely happy and directly told the Yang brothers to go back to Bei Shuo.

Yang Zun's eyes turned slightly cold, and a murderous intent immediately rose in his pupils.

However, this murderous intent only rose for a moment before he quickly suppressed it. After all, standing in front of him at this moment was not only Xiang Fuhai, but also Murong Chui and Xiahou Zhang.

He wasn't actually afraid of the three of them joining forces. Even if he couldn't defeat them, he could still hold his own for a while.

What he feared was that person!
Yang Zun turned his head and looked around, his vigilance reaching its peak.

When that white sword light appeared just now, he thought it was Xia Hong.

"The Great Xia has produced another new Manifestation Yang level cultivator, and she's a woman! She has at least 19 jun of strength, on par with me. No, no, this can't be a new breakthrough. The Great Xia has been hiding this for so long..."

While Yang Zun's thoughts were racing, some new developments occurred over Duan Hong's death.

"This lord promises to spare no one except the ringleader, the Duan family. Anyone who participated in the rebellion today, as long as they lay down their weapons and surrender, will be forgiven!"

Mu Longhe immediately declared himself lord, and the soldiers of Chuishan who were resisting alongside the Beishuo army below immediately had their eyes gleaming upon hearing this.

Of course, those whose minds were shaken were not from the Duan family; they only accounted for a very small portion.

The problem is that emotions on the battlefield are contagious.

This small group of people lost the will to resist and surrendered, which immediately triggered a chain reaction. Many people gradually relaxed their guard and began to scatter and flee.

Even the Northern Shuo Army, which put up the fiercest resistance, began to be affected.

"Northern Shuo Army, do not panic! Assemble on the spot!"

Yang Fa's expression was already ashen. The three thousand Northern Shuo soldiers who had been transferred in batches since the beginning of the year were originally planning to take over Chuishan Town. Now, not only did they fail to capture the town, they also lost nearly a thousand soldiers. The remaining two thousand men could not afford to have any more problems.

He first ordered the remaining Northern Shuo army to quickly assemble, then turned to Mu Longhe and said in a deep voice, "Lord Mu, now that Duan Hong is dead and you have recaptured Chuishan Town, my Northern Shuo army will withdraw from here and cease fighting!"

"Cease the war?"

Mu Longhe didn't say a word. Li Xuanling sheathed his sword, letting Duan Hong's body fall to the ground. Then he turned to look at Yang Fa, a strange look in his eyes.

"It seems that not only is this Prince Caiqiu naive, but you're not much better!"

Li Xuanling chuckled softly, deliberately teasing Cai Shiqi, then tilted his head back and gestured to Yang Fa, saying, "Look behind you!"

Yang Fa was stunned for a moment, then turned his head to look in the direction Li Xuanling indicated. When he saw the situation outside the inner city, his pupils suddenly contracted sharply.

Outside the inner city, more than ten golden lights suddenly appeared. Although they were three or four kilometers away, Yang Fa could see them clearly at a glance.

That wasn't some golden light, but rather the visual effect created by a large group of soldiers clad in pale gold armor walking together.

"The five armies of Cloud Dragon, Dragon Warrior, Dragon Slayer, Tiger Leopard, and Black Arrow advance at full speed!"

"The ten armies of Xuanwu, Shenwu, Longyuan, Yingwu, Zhaolong, Feipeng, Shanhe, Lieying, Xiongwu, and Beizhao will set up checkpoints in a dispersed manner. Anyone who dares to break through the checkpoints will be killed on the spot. No one will be allowed to escape."

"I obey my orders!"

"I obey my orders!"

………………

Fifteen large armies surged in from the outer perimeter, quickly surrounding the entire inner city. Yuan Cheng, on the north side, leaped onto a rooftop and swiftly issued several orders. The five leading armies then surged towards the Duan clan's territory like a torrent, instantly encircling the soldiers who had retreated to the lord's hall.

"Xia Army? How can there be so many Xia Army soldiers?"

"Gulp... Look closely, it seems that all of Xia's soldiers are at the Cold Resistance level?"

"Fifteen large armies, fifteen thousand men, all of them at the Cold-Resistant level?"

"How can this be!"

"When did they infiltrate the town?"

“It must be Deputy Commander Mu Qinghe. I remember now, for the past few months, didn’t the Duan family keep sending the Yellow Armor Army to guard the city gates? They must have cooperated to let them in.”

“I remember now. In the past few months, many people of the Cold-resistant level have been quietly sneaking into the city. Weren’t they all from Beishuo?”

"Hahaha, it's all a mix of truth and lies. Deputy Commander Mu, he took advantage of the Duan family's decision to let the Northern Shuo Yuhan-class troops into the city to let the Xia army into the city."

………………

The Duan family members below instantly turned ashen-faced.

The eyes of the Yang brothers, Zun and Fa, were extremely gloomy.

If they still can't react by now, they'd be incredibly stupid.

This army of 15,000 may not have been gradually deployed into Chuishan Town by the Great Xia, but it at least demonstrates that the Great Xia's infiltration of Chuishan Town was much deeper than they had originally imagined.

This mutiny has ultimately benefited the Great Xia Dynasty!

With Duan Hong dead, Xiang Fuhai and the other two no longer tried to restrain Yang Zun and the others.

Yang Zun flew directly to the Duan clan's territory and stood with the Northern Shuo army;
Chu Yan'er, leading Chen Cang and his group, also approached. Her expression shifted rapidly as she quickly grasped the whole story. After forcing a smile a few times, she finally raised her head, looked directly at Li Xuanling in mid-air, and greeted him with a smile and a cupped-hands gesture:

"Great Xia is quite cunning, quite cunning. This princess admits defeat this time. May I ask your esteemed name and what position you hold in Great Xia?"

Li Xuanling, who was in mid-air, glanced down at Chu Yan'er, then immediately looked away, showing no intention of paying attention to her.

Chu Yan'er's expression froze, and she naturally felt a little embarrassed.

Several people behind her reacted even more strongly than she did, and couldn't help but stand up, clearly wanting to say something, but unfortunately, Chu Yan'er stopped them all.

"Great Xia, Great Xia, what a Great Xia! You've even used me, the young master! You've got guts, you've got guts..."

Cai Shiqi, who had been completely relegated to a supporting role today, finally couldn't hold back any longer.

His mind was clearly not as sharp as Chu Yan'er's, and it wasn't until this moment that he finally understood the whole story of the mutiny.

Throughout this coup, Mu Qinghe relied not on him at all, but on Mu Longhe, or rather, on the Great Xia hidden behind the scenes.

Of course, this doesn't mean he didn't play a role; it just means that the role he actually played was completely different from what he imagined.

His role as heir apparent was to mislead Duan Hong and Bei Shuo, making them believe that Mu Qinghe's backer in launching this coup was himself, thus concealing the true mastermind behind the Great Xia.

In other words, he was used!

He thought he was using Mu Qinghe, but in reality he was being used by Mu Qinghe, or rather, by the Great Xia behind Mu Qinghe.

“Ignorant barbarians, lowly ants, how dare you humiliate this young master like this! How dare you…”

No one expected that Cai Shiqi would break down completely after he understood the whole story!
His tone was extremely angry, his face turned a deep purplish-red, and he pointed at Li Xuanling and the others in mid-air, repeatedly saying, "How dare you!" as if his emotions were on the verge of spiraling out of control.

"This Cai Shiqi is notoriously petty; this is going to be interesting!"

When Chu Yan'er saw Cai Shiqi's expression, a hint of schadenfreude rose in her pupils.

However, the schadenfreude on her face quickly froze.

call out…………

Li Xuanling, who was in mid-air, swung his sword directly at Cai Shiqi.

The physical strength of a Xianyang-level person is measured in jun (a unit of weight). This impact force, which is often in the tens of millions, is enough to split gold and shatter stone, even if it is just a sword swing from a distance.

At that moment, Cai Shiqi was pointing his finger at Li Xuanling.

Li Xuanling's swordsmanship follows a gentle approach, so her control over the force is extremely exquisite. When this sword slash came down, it precisely severed Cai Shiqi's index finger that was pointing at her.

"what…………"

The pampered Cai Shiqi had clearly never suffered such a serious injury before, and immediately let out a miserable howl.

"Sir!"

"Your Highness, are you alright?"

"Sir!"

…………

His many servants and young men of Caiqiu, who were his age, immediately rushed forward to support him with expressions of fear.

"You're insane! You're insane! How dare you hurt this young master! Great Xia is finished! Your Great Xia is finished! You lowly..."

"If you dare utter that last word, I'll kill you right now!"

Cai Shiqi opened his mouth hysterically, but was stunned by Li Xuanling's extremely calm voice. He looked at the long sword that Li Xuanling had slightly raised, and the hysteria in his pupils instantly subsided and was replaced by fear.

“Senior, Great Xia has some strength, but at most it can only dominate the Nine Towns region. Compared to me, Cai Qiu…”

Cai Shiqi's forty-odd servants were not all incompetent.

Soon a middle-aged man stepped forward. He looked at Li Xuanling, cupped his hands, and respectfully addressed him as "senior." His subsequent words were clearly intended to save face for Cai Shiqi.

"Is Cai Qiu the one who gets to decide?"

Unfortunately, he was interrupted impatiently by Li Xuanling before he could finish speaking.

Upon hearing Li Xuanling's question, the middle-aged man paused for a moment, then continued in a deep voice, "Senior may not know the significance of the title of Heir Apparent. In a prefecture-level city, there are only five Heir Apparents. My Heir Apparent's grandfather is none other than Cai Qiuhong, the Prefect of Baishui County, Caiqiu..."

"So, is Cai Qiu's decision made by his grandfather?"

The middle-aged man was interrupted again, and this time he was speechless.

"If even his grandfather's word doesn't count, then what is he in Caiqiu?"

Li Xuanling sneered and turned to Yuan Cheng on the north side.

Yuan Cheng was standing not far from Cai Shiqi when he threw the sack in his hand towards Cai Shiqi and the others.

boom…………

Five human heads fell out and rolled right in front of Cai Shiqi.

Those five heads belonged to Cai Shiqing and the others who had just been killed in the restaurant.

Upon seeing the five human heads on the ground, Cai Shiqi's body jerked violently, and the fear in his pupils rapidly widened. Realizing that Da Xia was truly capable of killing, he dared not show the slightest arrogance on his face, and his body trembled slightly with fear.

Not to mention him, even Chu Yan'er's originally frozen expression was now tinged with fear.

This woman in white really dares to kill them!
(End of this chapter)