Starting with Kengan beating up the Pirate King

Chapter 172 Ambush
Sichuan, Guangwu Mountain.

As its name suggests, this mountain is shrouded in mist all year round, with majestic peaks and lush vegetation that thrives thanks to abundant moisture and the earth's veins.

An ordinary person would lose their way within minutes of entering this mountain, but the ninjas of Mount Hiei have their own extraordinary abilities, allowing them to move through the mountains at high speed without ever deviating from their target.

"It should still be more than two hundred miles from here to the Tang Clan's mountain gate. After leaving this mountain and crossing two more peaks, we should arrive early tomorrow morning."

During a break, Ono Noriyoshi, the leader of the ninja group, was explaining to Shinmen Kyōichi, while also reminding his men: "We don't know how far that sorcerer can go, but the distance covered in a day is not far at all. From here on, we could be ambushed by the enemy at any time!"

He dispatched several Chunin to act as scouts, while the remaining ninja formed a distinct group and continued to advance in the most cautious manner.

After traveling for more than ten miles through the mountains, the ninjas entered a unique terrain.

This is a valley shaped like a pot, with sheer cliffs on three sides and a narrow, winding passage at the only spout, resembling a natural urn.

'No wonder the adults have coveted this land for so long. The magnificence of its mountains and rivers, the beauty of every natural landscape, far surpasses that of Bihe Mountain, which we have cultivated for centuries.'

Ren looked around and was amazed.

But... this is a natural ambush site!

Without him giving any orders, the ninjas had already taken precautions, keeping their center of gravity low and forming a protective ring around the ninja leader as they slowly made their way through.

It seems their vigilance was in vain, as nothing unusual occurred until they left the natural "urn"—were they still far away? Or perhaps the enemy couldn't accurately predict their location?
"Old man, how long are we going to be so suspicious? If they really dare to ambush us, wouldn't that be perfect? ​​It would save us from having to travel!" Eita said discontentedly.

Just as he finished speaking, and the ninjas relaxed slightly, Shinmen Kyōichi suddenly turned his head and looked up at a cliff in the urn-shaped valley behind him, where he saw a figure.

He was dressed in a blue robe, with a tall and straight figure, standing on the mountain peak, the hem of his robe swaying slightly, exuding an extraordinary air.

Their eyes met, and Shinmyo's gaze was as sharp as a hawk's: "Zhuge Yi?"

"...The target? It's appeared?!"

The ninjas had all seen the target, Guan Yi's, portrait, but when they turned around at Shinmen Kōichi's whisper and saw Guan Yi appear so lightly on the top of a cliff, right in front of them, the ninjas were all startled.

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation!
A trap? Where?!

The next instant, six Tang Clan experts appeared at the mouth of the lake they had just passed!

"Suppressing Qi Nail, activate!"

buzzing-

With their low shouts and the release of Qi.

From the valley, a dozen or so long nails that had been buried beforehand suddenly shot out. These nails had lead cores and were covered with clay that could absorb Qi. Their surfaces were engraved with reverse flow patterns, a unique method of concealing Qi in the Tang Clan's weapon-making techniques.

As they were pulled out, the poisonous miasma created by the Tang Clan, which had been prepared beforehand, immediately surged out along the earth's veins and mixed into the mist!
Poison? That looks dangerous. We just walked right through a trap?

But why didn't we launch it earlier? Now that we've left that valley, we can definitely retreat to a safe distance before the poison spreads.

Unless... this distance is not safe!
The leader of the ninja group had no idea what was about to happen, but a great unease welled up in his heart. He shouted sharply, "Everyone, stand back!"

Rumbling--

The urn-shaped valley in front of us suddenly emitted a rumbling, shaking sound!

Huge cracks spread from all directions toward the three cliffs. Ten elite members of the Lü family, who were lying in ambush nearby, simultaneously unleashed their Ruyi Force into the ground, channeling the wondrous energy into the valley!
With a crash, the earth collapsed, rocks tumbled, and the valley crumbled. Guan Yi, who was standing at the top of the valley, fell with a large rock. A powerful surge of Qi emerged from his pores, and a huge Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams array, covering an area of ​​hundreds of meters, appeared in mid-air!
The sorcerer controls the timing, location, and human factors.

This Hidden Dragon Abyss is indeed a good place for an ambush, possessing a natural advantage. But truly powerful sorcerers have the ability to alter the heavens and earth, creating even greater advantages in terrain!

There's no need to trap them like turtles in a jar.

If the turtle is elsewhere, he can throw the jar and deliberately trap the turtle inside!
“The character 乾 - reversed”.

"Kun character - flow stone."

As the Qi energy spread and the earth's veins were harnessed, the gravity in the collapsing valley immediately became abnormal. The falling boulders seemed to be lifted up by an invisible force, suspended in mid-air.

The next moment, they buzzed and spun, like cannonballs, bombarding the Hieiyama ninja!

"??!"

The two Chunin, caught off guard, only had time to show expressions of horror before being smashed to pieces by the massive boulder!

"How can this be?!"

"Damn it!" "Scatter!"

boom! boom! boom!
The screams of terror and disbelief echoed as the earth trembled as the boulders tore through the ground.

An ordinary sorcerer's Stone Stream spell would at most launch a rock weighing a dozen pounds. In contrast, Guan Yi, who was well-prepared, launched a stone weighing a hundred pounds!
With this level of power, only the Jonin among the ninjas who possess unique skills can withstand it; the rest of the ninjas are almost guaranteed to die upon contact.

In just a few seconds, the ninja had lost more than ten men. Their once intact formation was torn into chaos. Jonin Homer roared and smashed one of the boulders, shouting, "Get behind me!"

He was muscular and had bronze skin, but this bronze wasn't his natural skin color.

He was a master of alchemy, able to harden his skin to the hardness of steel and possess immense strength. Although the boulder had caused muscle damage and tremors, he could still barely withstand the impact!
But right after he shouted those words, he suddenly felt a buzzing in his brain, and his vision and hearing became confused and disoriented.

Poison? Damn it, when...

puff!
Just as his body swayed, a pitch-black dagger pierced his ear, shattering his brain!
"One!" Gao Yingcai retrieved his dagger, disappeared into the dust, and continued searching for his next target.

"Watch out for the poisonous miasma! The miasma is being carried over by those rocks!" The ninja leader sensed the potential danger and shouted a warning: "There are more enemies! Several Tang Clan assassins are coming! Jing! With Zuo Jin and You Jin here, I won't be killed so easily. Don't worry about me, focus on detoxifying everyone!"

As he shouted, he involuntarily inhaled some of the poisonous miasma and quickly held his breath and stepped back.

The woman he summoned, Lady Kyo, was also a Jonin among the Hieiyama ninja. She was skilled in the art of poison making and antidote. She quickly moved through the smoke and miasma, using her insect-like mouthparts to inject the ninjas with a liquid that made them immune to the miasma.

Just as she finished treating the three people, she suddenly caught sight of an unfamiliar figure out of the corner of her eye.

Tang Bingwen chuckled: "A good detoxification method, almost a nemesis of my Tang Clan. Try Dan Shi, you little Japanese devils!"

The same skill can be manifested in different ways by different people.

For example, the Tang Clan's eldest master's Pill Devouring technique requires a large concentration of pills, necessitating close proximity to activate it. In contrast, the Tang Clan leader Tang Bingwen's Pill Devouring technique, while having a lower concentration, requires a greater distance; he can successfully inject pills into Madam Jing's body from a distance of more than ten steps!
Because the concentration was low, it wasn't until he finished speaking that Madam Jing realized she had been affected and hurriedly tried to circulate her Qi to dispel it. However, as she circulated her Qi, a tremendous pain surged from her meridians.

"what--"

She screamed, her body cracking with fissures: "What is this?!"

Tang Wanru, Tang Shiying, Tang An...

Immediately, taking advantage of the boulders flying everywhere and the poisonous miasma, Tang Clan experts, based on the divination results, found their savage opponents and killed one Hiei Mountain ninja after another!

When the smoke cleared, only seven members of the original twenty-odd ninja group survived!
Ren Tou stared at the scene with bloodshot eyes. Although he knew this trip was fraught with danger, how could the elite troops he had painstakingly trained over the decades have been wiped out in a single encounter without achieving even the slightest result?!

So the sorcerer who can foresee the fate of a nation...did he really obtain our information in advance?!

Wait a minute? Where is Shinmyoji?
He couldn't have died in that attack, so why haven't we seen him?

There is only one possibility——

Swish!
In the distance, a sharp sword gleamed at the edge of the collapsed Calabash Valley. Shinmen Kyoichi, wielding a short sword in his left hand and a long sword in his right, moved like an arrow, piercing through all the rubble in his path. The sword light reflected in Guan Yi's eyes!

Just as he had gathered his strength and was about to strike Guan Yi, four figures suddenly darted out from the surrounding area!
Tang Jiaren, Tang Houren.

Tang Jianzhou, Tang Feng.

The first two were the only two in the Tang Clan besides the sect leader Tang Bingwen who could use the Pill Devouring Technique. The latter two were the only two to succeed among more than ten recent attempts after capturing Wugensheng and using the Divine Spirit to study it, confirming that failure to cultivate the Pill Devouring Technique would not result in death!
The four of them unleashed their Dan Shi attacks, surrounding and attacking Xin Mianxu from four directions!

Sensing the deadly danger, Shinmen Kōichi stopped his charge and lowered his body.

Ahead, as Shinmen Xuyi's initial sword strike was unleashed, Guan Yi's eyes already reflected what would happen in a few seconds.

If he succeeds, he will be struck by Dan Shi.

But apart from Master Tang Jiaren, the other three senior members of the Tang Clan will probably all die.

"Retreat!" Guan Yi shouted urgently.

Tang Jiaren and the other three stopped abruptly, stepped back, and stopped releasing the Dan Shi.

Before the operation, Guan Yi had already said: "I know that the predecessors of the Tang Clan are not afraid of death and are willing to sacrifice everything for their goal."

This time, however, we outnumber our opponents and are well-rested, so naturally we must defeat them with minimal losses. This war between our two nations has only just begun; full-scale war is not far off! Our predecessors, by preserving your lives, will be able to protect more of our compatriots in future battles!
When I sense something is amiss and ask you to leave, you must follow my instructions!

Is he Japan's number one extraordinary person? His swordsmanship has indeed reached its pinnacle; he's a grandmaster of martial arts. This guy, I'd better handle him myself.

　Sorry for the late updates... It's winter, and I can't get out of bed.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)