I proved immortality through the imperial examination.

Chapter 105 Gun

"No rush, I have my own plans."

Xue Xiang didn't want Liu Mei to worry.

Liu Mei quickly went into the main room, took out a map, and quickly marked it: "Within a radius of thirty li, there are six blacksmith shops and seven coal mines."

Only these places are suitable for smelting spirit ore.

Whether they were forging hollow spirit orbs or melting the stolen spirit ore into spirit stones, they needed to open a furnace to forge them without attracting attention.

The place I marked is the best place to sell stolen spirit ore.

"Once the spirit ore is refined into spirit stones, anyone can easily escape the encirclement."

"That's good. I'll be careful. At worst, I'll ask Magistrate Wei to help."

Xue Xiang offered a few words of comfort, then said he was hungry.

Liu Mei then realized that she hadn't cooked for many days.

Liu Mei hurriedly went into the kitchen to start cooking, while Xue Xiang ran out to the street to do some shopping.

Yunmeng has been a land of fish and rice since ancient times. Although the season for eating lotus root shoots has passed, tender lotus roots are now available.

Liu Mei was already skilled with her hands, and after becoming a cultivator, her movements became even more nimble.

In half an hour, four dishes and a soup, plus a large bowl of crispy rice, were ready.

Twice-cooked pork slices, braised duck with lettuce, stir-fried mugwort with cured pork, stir-fried crisp bamboo shoots, and a pot of pork rib and lotus root soup.

The food was delicious in color, aroma, and taste, and Xue Xiangxuan couldn't stop eating it.

After a hearty meal, Xue Xiang complained of being sleepy and went to his room to sleep.

Xue Xiang couldn't sleep, of course. The case had a breakthrough, and his heart was pounding.

Once the case is solved, the rewards will be immense.

He had identified the most likely place to sell the stolen goods as the Mianfeng Coal Yard on the left side of Yingchou Gorge.

Yingchou Gorge is the garrison of the Seventh Squadron of the Zhenjun Army. The Ninth Company, responsible for escorting the spirit ball, comes from the Seventh Squadron.

The military pay disappeared without a trace, brazenly impersonated by a thin-skinned spirit ball filled with stuffing. There must be a traitor within the Seventh Banner.

And just five miles away from the Seventh Squad's garrison, there was this Mianfeng Coal Mine.

He wondered whether he should go and investigate the Mianfeng Coal Mine at night.

He certainly considered asking Wei Yang and Xie Haiya for help, but making a big fuss would definitely attract attention from all sides.

Not only would we alert them, but with more people sniffing out the situation, they might try to seize control of the investigation and take back this big piece of the pie.

However, it would be quite risky for him to go and scout the location alone.

After all, someone capable of handling such a major case is no ordinary person.

After much deliberation, he decided that even with the risks, he had to take the plunge.

If we encounter danger, we can simply hide in Wenxu Blessed Land and come out again after things have calmed down. I don't think there will be any major problems.

Having made his decision, he waited quietly for Liu Mei to fall asleep.

He didn't want this girl to take risks with him.

When the fourth watch of the night approached, Xue Xiang stirred, knowing that Liu Mei must have been fast asleep.

He lightly leaped out of the courtyard, unleashed his Wind-Soothing Steps, and sped along, arriving at the Sleeping Wind Coal Yard half an incense stick later.

He activated his Dark Night Eyes and observed the coal yard for a long time, discovering three hidden sentries inside.

Why has such a small coal yard been turned into this?

Having seen this, Xue Xiang understood the situation and decided not to investigate further before returning.

Suddenly, a red cloud appeared more than ten feet away, hidden underground, drifting like mist.

"Oops!"

Xue Xiang was secretly alarmed. He activated his Wind-Stopping Steps, and his body moved like a floating leaf as he sped away from the coal yard.

Just then, the coal yard shone brightly.

Xue Xiang darted into a dense forest, the sound of something cutting through the air filling his ears. He dodged, and in front of him, two towering ancient trees were broken in two.

Xue Xiang sensed something was wrong and, with a thought, slipped into the Wenxu Blessed Land.

This was precisely his greatest asset in coming to explore.

After waiting for about an hour, he figured the danger had passed, and then, changing his mind, he returned to the forest.

Xue Xiang quickly left, intending to contact Wei Yang and dispatch the Yunmeng Guards to kill them.

He hadn't gone far when Xuan Yetong sensed the red clouds rapidly approaching from the ground.

Xue Xiang knew something was wrong and tried to escape into the Wenxu Blessed Land again, once more.

Unexpectedly, the red clouds trembled, and the aftershocks echoed in the air, as if locking up this entire world.

When Xue Xiang knocked on Wen Gong's door again, there was no response.

Xue Xiang sensed something was wrong, "Wind!"

A strong gust of wind swept him up and carried him away at breakneck speed.

He had already accelerated to his maximum speed, but the red cloud remained hidden underground, relentlessly pursuing him.

After running for about two miles, a small squad suddenly appeared ahead. The leader, a black-armored general, shouted, "Is that Chief Xue ahead? We are from the Seventh Squad, here to assist in the battle."

Xue Xiang frowned. "Could it be the Seventh Banner, who saw the commotion from across the river and came to lend a hand?"

No, they don't know what happened at the coal yard, this is terrible...

Whoosh, whoosh, the crossbow fired arrows one after another, leaving long trails of flame in the air. The arrows whistled through the sky, and the sonic booms were like waves.

"As expected, there's something wrong with the seventh flag."

Xue Xiang used the Wind-Stopping Step to easily dodge the rain of arrows.

Just as he dodged, Xuanjia General led his troops to form an encirclement.

"Those who come will leave their names."

Xue shouted.

Xuanjia did not answer, but his long sword slashed through the air, aiming straight for Xue Xiang's brow.

Before the blade arrives, the aura precedes it.

Xue Xiang patted his waist, and the Spirit Serpent Sword shot out. In just one exchange, Xuanjia's head was sent flying into the sky.

In close combat, the Wind-Slaying Sword is virtually invincible.

The dozen or so armored soldiers who had just surrounded them were shocked and quickly changed their encirclement into a formation.

Shields, crossbows, swordsmen, and knife-wielders quickly formed a protective formation.

Xue Xiang ignored the soldiers, activated his Wind-Stopping Step, and continued running.

After walking just over a mile, a massive wave of people appeared ahead.

When he turned around again, a large number of troops were also charging in from behind.

Ahead stood a group of men, all clad in armor, their faces contorted with madness—they were soldiers from the Seventh Small Banner of the Garrison.

Those who surrounded them from behind were all dressed as江湖客 (jianghu ke, meaning martial arts practitioners), clearly the forces hidden within the Mianfeng Coal Mine.

Soon, the army attacking from both sides was able to encircle the enemy from all four sides.

Xue Xiang had someone to rely on, so he wasn't worried at all.

From the southwest, three cloaked figures emerged. Although they were cloaked, they also wore masks.

The two figures in the center wear blue masks; the one on the left is a goat, and the one on the right is a raccoon dog.

The person in the center was wearing a white mask; he was a gray wolf.

"Everyone says you are Lord Xue, but I thought the rumors were exaggerated. You have been investigating so many important figures in the Imperial Guard for half a year, but you haven't found a single clue."

"You've found your way here in such a short time, impressive."

White Wolf said, "You can have the credit for the military pay case, and you can also get your military pay back, provided that you become one of us."

"But I don't know what kind of people you are?"

Xue Xiang quickly deduced the meaning behind his words, and after thinking about it carefully, he really didn't think that the white wolf was deceiving him.

This group went to great lengths to steal military funds.

Behind him, however, was the entire Suiyang Ferry.

What is the current situation at Suiyang Ferry?
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a treasure trove; they were willing to give up their military pay to gain merit, so their desires must be even greater.

"We are people who save the world and its people. In today's world, corrupt scholars run rampant and corrupt officials hold power. Shouldn't we get rid of them and restore the world to its former glory?"

White Wolf said loudly, "If you want to know who we are, join us and you'll find out."

Now is not the time for idle chatter; your answer is either yes or no.

Xue Xiang said, "With such a good thing, I naturally have no reason to refuse. I just don't know what conditions you have?"

Bai Canglang revealed a black porcelain bottle. "Leaving aside other matters, you should drink this bottle of rootless water first."

From that time on, we were as close as family.

As he spoke, he tossed the porcelain bottle to Xue Xiang.

Xue Xiang held the porcelain bottle, gently shaking it. He was pondering a way to escape.

The blue cat said, "This thief is cunning and treacherous. We must not give him any chance, or we will regret it."

White Wolf nodded, "Alright, let's catch them first."

With a whoosh, the Green Goat charged straight at Xue Xiang.

Xue cursed under his breath, then unleashed his Wind-Stopping Steps and headed straight north.

Two hundred steps ahead is the Xiang River; once he enters the Xiang River, he will be free.

As Xue Xiang moved, the protective formation to the north rapidly thickened.

The pursuer, Qingyang, was in no hurry. Qinglimao had already clearly explained Xue Xiang's background: at most, he was at the fifth or sixth level of Qi Refining, with a little bit of literary Qi.

With his Qi Refining Perfection cultivation, dealing with Xue Xianglai would be a piece of cake.

Whoosh! In the time it takes to breathe, Xue Xiang was only fifty steps away from the great formation to the north, and he had not slowed down.

The green goat chasing behind him also became curious. If Xue Xiang charged forward again, he would crash into the formation and throw himself into the dead, without even having to lift a finger.

Forty steps, thirty steps, twenty steps...

Just then, Xue Xiang suddenly shouted, "Gun!"

Suddenly, a strong wind arose in the air, with gusts of air surging.

A ball of words flew from his palm, merging with the shimmering spirit of the soil, which was enveloped in literary energy.

"not good!"

Qingyang exclaimed in surprise.

A "gun" that no one had ever seen before appeared in Xue Xiang's hand.

The heavy, matte black gun body has sharp, angular lines, with a robust water-cooled heat sink running through the front like a steel pipe. The cast iron receiver is square and cold, exuding mechanical strength.

What's most intimidating is its thick barrel and deep muzzle, pointing straight ahead. The whole gun is like a lurking steel behemoth, exuding a cold and oppressive aura.

Xue Xiang pulled the trigger, and a torrent of bullets whistled out.

This Gatling heavy machine gun, with a terrifying rate of fire of up to 6000 rounds per minute, could cut down the blocking army like wheat in a single volley.

Its terrifying power shocked everyone.

After just one round of firing, Xue Xiang's spiritual energy was almost completely exhausted.

Having anticipated this, he popped a Rejuvenation Pill into his mouth, and instantly, gushing spiritual energy flowed from his limbs and bones.

He swept past the fallen formation like the wind and rushed towards the riverbank.

Before long, all those he had shot down got up, all of them suffering injuries of varying degrees. Except for a few unlucky souls who were hit in vital areas and died.

"It's a pity that the bullet couldn't be solidified and the spiritual energy wasn't enough; otherwise, it would have been a super weapon of mass destruction."

While sighing with admiration, Xue Xiang couldn't help but feel a sense of pride.

He's only at the sixth stage of Qi Refining, yet he can achieve such destructive power; it's already quite astonishing.

"A literary and divine weapon, excellent indeed."

The familiar voice of the white wolf suddenly came from not far behind him, and Xue Xiang was terrified.

The surging Xiang River was already three zhang in front of him when he suddenly turned around. The white wolf, like a hawk, was circling above him.

As he slapped down with both palms, bursts of flames fell, forcing Xue Xiang to dodge left and right, gradually being forced away from the Xiang River.

Not far away, the pursuers did not quickly close in, as if trouble had broken out behind them again.

As Xue Xiang summoned the Gatling gun, preparing for a desperate fight, he strained his eyes to look behind him.

Then a figure appeared, riding alone and leaving everyone else in the dust, charging into the formation.

The man was covered in blood, a sword in hand, as sharp as a god of death.

Whether it's a group attacking or a powerful individual taking down a single target, that person always manages to find a perfect opening.

"Sister Mei."

Xue Xiang was terrified and dared not muster his strength. Rat-a-tat-tat, the Gatling gun unleashed its power once more. Although this weapon, imbued with scholarly energy, was far from being fully developed, he was far from being able to unleash its true power.

But the impact was already exaggerated enough.

The troops blocking Liu Mei's path fell like wheat being harvested.

Liu Mei quickly leaped forward and hugged Xue Xiang tightly. Before she could speak, she was already sobbing uncontrollably.

She was trembling all over, clearly terrified.

Xue Xiang gently patted her back, unable to utter any more complaints.

"Xue Xiang, don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. I'm saving face for you."

High in the sky, the white wolf roared.

Xue Xiang put another Rejuvenation Pill into his mouth, secretly slipped one to Liu Mei, and whispered, "Go over the wall of fire and into the water."

Liu Mei swallowed the pill, nodded vigorously, and whispered, "Before I came, I wrote to Brother Xun, asking him to gather the people of the Eleventh Chamber and set off as soon as possible. As long as we reach Suiyang territory, we will be safe."

"Are you scared?"

"I'm not afraid. I'm with my beloved, I'm not afraid of death."

"go!"

Xue Xiang hadn't finished speaking.

The white wolf seemed to be enraged, but when he let out a howl, he clasped his hands together, and a fireball rapidly grew in his palms. The surging heat caused the surrounding air to emit a blue halo.

Just then, a voice was heard reciting: "A straw raincoat, a bamboo hat, a small boat; a ten-foot fishing line, a one-inch hook. Up and down, back and forth, a lone fisherman on an autumn river."

Xue Xiang was startled. The voice came from the river, and the person was reciting one of his two fishing poems.

"Young friend, please come aboard."

As soon as the chant ended, several water dragons suddenly emerged from the Xiang River. The water dragons roared past, quickly extinguished the wall of fire, and surged towards the pursuers.

"Spiritual power shaping, mid-stage Foundation Establishment."

The white wolf cried out in alarm as a water dragon suddenly surged into the sky, forcing him to retreat repeatedly.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Xue Xiang summoned a gust of wind, grabbed Liu Mei, and leaped onto the water, landing on a bamboo raft.

On the bamboo raft, an elderly man with white hair and beard sat in a bamboo chair, casting his line to fish.

"Is it you?"

Liu Mei exclaimed in surprise that she had seen this old man before. He had set up a fortune-telling stall on Tongluo Street near the Zhangyin Family Compound and had even asked her for food before, for which she had given him one hundred (spiritual silk).

"It is I. Young Master Liu is kind-hearted, and Young Master Xue is blessed. You two need not be surprised. I am simply fulfilling a request."

The old man said with a smile, "I thought I would have to leap ashore to bring you two out."

Unexpectedly, the two young people had already mastered such amazing skills at such a young age. While Xue was indeed exceptional, Liu was clearly even better.

Using the same set of techniques, Friend Liu displayed extraordinary combat power; such terrifying spiritual effects were simply unheard of.

As for young friend Xue, the literary weapon he cultivated is quite interesting.

Could it be that young friend Xue, at such a young age, has already entered the Transcendent Realm, the third level of the Word Realm, and is therefore able to summon imagined objects?

"I am only at the mid-level of the Word Realm. As for that gun, it was made with the help of an old friend."

He couldn't explain that he possessed memories that didn't belong to this world, so he could only attribute it to an all-powerful old friend, "May I ask, senior, who entrusted you with this task?"

"My Yuanjun."

"I see, I am deeply grateful."

Xue Xiang was deeply moved. The woman in the yellow dress had already gone far away, yet she had specially asked someone to take care of him. This kindness was truly difficult to repay.

As the two were talking, the bamboo raft started moving on its own without any wind, and it went very fast.

The white wolf soared into the air, relentlessly pursuing the prey while howling incessantly.

Just then, two more figures flew in from the northwest and southeast, both wearing white masks—one a tiger, the other a leopard.

"Baili Bing Shuang Tu Su Nan, do you really want to get involved in this matter?"

The white tiger roared loudly.

Before the whistle had even faded, he pressed down with both palms, pouring a torrent of spiritual energy into the Xiang River.

The surging Xiang River has frozen over.

The bamboo rafts were frozen into ice sculptures.

The white tiger, white leopard, and white wolf instantly formed an encirclement.

Not far away, more than a hundred pursuers leaped onto the ice and surrounded the three.

Xue Xiang repeatedly inquired of the Wen Palace, but still could not summon the Wenxu Blessed Land.

The red cloud, as if clinging to a precipice, actually swam below the water's surface.

Xue Xiang knew that as long as this ghostly thing was there, he would not be able to enter the Wenxu Blessed Land.

"I can hold off two, the rest are yours?"

Tu Sunan said, "In addition, they are members of the Witch God Cult, and the red light underwater is the breath of the Earth Witch."

This is sufficient proof that a local sorcerer is hiding nearby.

Do you see those soldiers of the garrison? They have all been corrupted by the breath of the earth sorcerer, and are like walking corpses.

They stole military funds, and 99% of it was used to resurrect this earth sorcerer.

Now that things have come to this, they certainly won't let us leave.

The best course of action now...

As Tu Sunan was analyzing the situation, attacks from both the sky and the ground were launched.

Tu Sunan waved his hand rapidly, and countless ice spikes and ice walls suddenly rose from the frozen river surface, blocking all kinds of fierce attacks.

"The only way now is to escape separately. You two will definitely not want to be separated. I will do my best to send you on your way. Whether you can escape or not depends on your fate. Hold on tight."

After Tu Sunan finished drinking, he pointed with both hands.

The ice beneath Xue Xiang and Liu Mei's feet suddenly came to life.

The two stood still, but the ice blocks beneath their feet kept shifting and changing positions, and in the blink of an eye, they were sent more than ten feet away.

Wherever the two passed, countless ice spikes rose from the ground, helping them to block the surging attacks.

In an instant, the two had disappeared to a distance of several hundred feet. The Xiang River in front of them was no longer a world of ice and snow, but had turned into a raging torrent.

After witnessing the ability of the Witch God Cult members to freeze the Xiang River, Xue Xiang no longer regarded the Xiang River as an escape route.

He and Liu Mei quickly ran ashore, summoned a gust of wind, and were about to escape.

A figure descended from the sky, blocking their path; it was White Wolf.

He carried a slender sword on his shoulder and said with a smile, "A grown man is not as good as a woman."

"Xue Xiang, it's not too late for you to beg for mercy."

Xue Xiang and Liu Mei rushed toward the white wolf without saying a word.

They were both intelligent people and saw through the White Wolf's purpose at a glance: to stall the two of them and wait for the pursuers to get closer.

"court death!"

Enraged, the white wolf charged forward instead of retreating, heading straight for the two.

He was a Foundation Establishment stage expert, even though Xue Xiang and Liu Mei were both top experts in the Qi Refining stage.

But with a vast difference in their levels of understanding, he was confident.

With each swing of the sword in White Wolf's hand, a surge of powerful and sharp sword energy shot out.

Xue Xiang and Liu Mei relied entirely on their incredibly agile Wind-Soothing Steps to dodge the sword strikes.

However, when the two of them unleash the Wind-Slaying Sword simultaneously, its power is also immense.

If it weren't for the fact that the white wolf could always activate its spiritual energy to protect itself at crucial moments, it would have been pierced by the two men's swords long ago.

“My lord, you must hurry. In another ten miles or so, we will reach the territory of Suiyang. We must not let him drag us here alone.”

Liu Mei said urgently.

Her swordplay was dense and powerful, like a hurricane, several times more powerful than Xue Xiang's Wind-Slaying Sword.

Xue Xiang's expression was stern; he knew Liu Mei was right, now was not the time for sentimentality.

Only if I escape will the white wolf be distracted.

He unleashed a series of attacks, slightly forcing the white wolf back, and quickly disengaged from the battle.

Enraged, the white wolf wanted to abandon Liu Mei and chase after Xue Xiang, but Liu Mei held him back tightly.

Just as he was enraged, two more figures arrived, namely Qingyang and Qinglimao.

The Green Sheep charged ahead, followed by the Green Fox several feet behind, and behind them were a large number of Qi Refining minions.

"Come die!"

Qingyang sneered and pounced forward, his longsword moving as nimbly as a snake, just about to unleash its sword energy.

Instead of retreating, Xue Xiang advanced, rushing forward and shouting, "Light!"

A blinding light shot out, piercing Qingyang's eyes. Xue Xiang's Serpent Sword flashed like lightning, sending Qingyang's head flying into the air.

The blue raccoon, which was speeding ahead, immediately braked and turned around to leave.

Xue Xiang made a run for his life and fled.

"Shuzi!"

With a muffled roar, the white wolf unleashed a surge of spiritual energy from both hands, transforming it into a spiritual wall that forcefully pushed aside Liu Mei.

With a twist of his body, like a hawk, he blocked Xue Xiang's path once again.

He roared again, and soon three more people in white masks came hurtling towards him.

A monkey, a lion, and an eagle.

"Does a Foundation Establishment cultivator need help to fight a Qi Refining cultivator? Old Wolf, you have no shame."

The white ape sneered.

White Wolf said coldly, "This woman is incredibly strong, her swordsmanship is sharp, and her sword speed is so fast that it seems she doesn't need to use her spiritual energy to unleash her power."

If you've got guts, go fight her.

At the seventh level of Qi Refining, such power is unimaginable. If it is not eliminated now, it will surely bring disaster to the world in the future.

Xue Xiang was even more cunning and treacherous, and he even created a magical weapon.

"If you're not convinced, then come and try."

The white ape laughed loudly, "Let's give it a try."

Having said that, she slid down to her willow-leaf eyebrows like a willow catkin.

Xue Xiang held his gun in his hand. Before the white wolf could even cry out, a torrent of bullets struck the white ape.

In the rush, he had no time to build a spiritual energy wall for defense, and in an instant, he was beaten until he spat out blood.

If the white horse and white elephant hadn't intervened simultaneously to block the bullets, the white ape would have already lost his life.

"A divine weapon of literary spirit!"

Bai Ying said solemnly, "I have never seen such a literary and divine weapon, yet it is so fierce."

"This little brat is very difficult to deal with, so everyone must be extremely careful."

The white wolf shouted loudly.

Seeing that the white ape had been nearly killed, he was still shaken.

If I hadn't known that Xue Xiang had this backup plan, and had been careless, I might have ended up like the white ape.

He felt that what he had experienced today was simply bizarre.

The couple I encountered were both incredibly bizarre.

In a traditional Chinese storybook, he would definitely be the main character.

Even a grain of rice can shine brightly.

The white lion, following at the rear, held a red bow and arrow in its paw, drawing the bow and nocking the arrow.

With a soft pop, a hundred-foot-long vortex of profound energy rippled through the air, and the silver arrow flew like a shooting star, heading straight for Xue Xiang's brow.

He had only swallowed one Rejuvenation Pill, and his spiritual power had only recovered to about 10%.

"shield!"

A shield was blocking Liu Mei's way.

Because Liu Mei had already blocked his way.

With a whoosh, the shield was torn apart by the silver arrow after only a tenth of a breath of delay.

In the span of a tenth of a breath, Xue Xiang pushed Liu Mei away.

With a soft thud, a silver arrow pierced through his left shoulder, exited his body, and disappeared into the ground.

Xue Xiang coughed up a mouthful of blood, and a palm-sized transparent wound appeared on his shoulder.

Blood and organ tissue dripped profusely from the wound.

(End of this chapter)