Yang Guo: I'm invincible in the opening battle against Aunt Guo!

It was dusk outside Wuguan City.

The setting sun dyed the western sky orange-red, the distant mountains were like dark eyebrows, and the official road meandered into the depths of twilight.

When Xiaolongnu and Zhou Botong came out of the north gate of Wuguan City, it was already around five o'clock in the afternoon.

The two hid in the City God Temple for most of the day, and only continued their journey after confirming that the Golden Wheel Monk and Ouyang Feng had not found them.

"Little Dragon Girl, at this rate, when will we reach Xiangyang?"

Zhou Botong kicked at the pebbles on the road, looking distressed. "I'm hungry again..."

The Little Dragon Girl, dressed in flowing white robes and moving with light steps, said calmly upon hearing this, "Senior, please bear with it. We'll arrive in two days."

As they were talking, the sound of rapid hoofbeats suddenly came from the official road behind them.

Dede dede—dede dede—

As they approached, dust billowed up.

Zhou Botong looked back and saw three riders galloping towards him from the direction of the city gate.

The first rider was a monk in red robes, none other than the Golden Wheel Dharma King.

The two riders behind were Hordu and Darba.

"Hey!" Zhou Botong's eyes lit up. "We'll be there in no time!"

Little Dragon Girl also stopped, her cool eyes looking at the approaching rider: "They're here."

"Perfect timing!" Zhou Botong rubbed his hands together and chuckled. "Little Dragon Girl, look at their horses! They're strong and healthy, they'll definitely run fast! Let's steal two, and we can reach Xiangyang in a day!"

Little Dragon Girl pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Okay."

She didn't want to cause any more trouble, but walking was indeed too slow.

If we could have horses to travel by, we could reach Xiangyang sooner.

Not to mention, the Golden Wheel Monk has a grudge against her, and now that Ouyang Feng is not around, she naturally won't let this opportunity pass!

The two stood side by side in the middle of the official road, blocking the way.

The Golden Wheel Monk saw the two figures in front of him from afar.

The little dragon girl in white, the old man in tattered clothes—who else could they be but the little dragon girl and Zhou Botong?

He pulled on the reins, and the horse reared up, neighing as it came to a stop.

Huo Du and Darba quickly reined in their horses, and the three riders lined up on the official road.

"Zhou Botong, Little Dragon Girl," the Golden Wheel Monk said in a deep voice, "you two know how to dodge. But since we've run into each other, hand over the Nine Yin Manual."

Zhou Botong, hands on his hips, laughed loudly: "Old monk, you've been chasing us all day, aren't you tired? Besides, we don't even have that lousy scripture!"

"Stop making excuses!" Huo Du shouted. "If you didn't have the Nine Yin Manual, why were you running away?"

"Nonsense!" Zhou Botong rolled his eyes. "You guys chase us, and we don't run? Are we just going to stand here and wait to be hacked to pieces?"

The Golden Wheel Monk's eyes turned cold: "Since that's the case, let's see who's truly capable. Darba, Huodu, attack!"

"yes!"

Huo Du and Darba dismounted and took their positions, one on the left and one on the right.

Darba held a vajra, while Huodu unfolded a folding fan, its ribs gleaming with a cold light, clearly concealing a hidden mechanism.

Zhou Botong ignored them, focusing only on the three horses, and said to Xiaolongnu:

"Little Dragon Girl, you deal with the two younger ones, I'll handle the older ones!"

Little Dragon Girl nodded and took out two jade bee needles from her sleeve.

"Let's do it!"

With a loud shout, Zhou Botong moved like lightning, rushing straight at Jinlun Fawang!

The Golden Wheel Monk was prepared. He leaped from his horse and unleashed both palms simultaneously. He channeled his Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill to the eighth level, and his palm winds pressed down on Zhou Botong like raging waves.

"Well done!" Zhou Botong laughed, unleashing his Empty Fist, his fist intent ethereal, his moves seemingly casual, yet always able to attack from unbelievable angles.

The two instantly clashed, their palm strikes and fist punches crisscrossing, sending dust billowing up from the official road.

On the other side, Xiaolongnu faced off against Huodu and Darba.

Huo Du unfolded his folding fan, and several poisoned needles shot out, aiming straight for Xiaolongnu's face.

Darba then wielded his vajra, smashing it down with tremendous force, as if splitting a mountain, accompanied by a whistling sound.

The little dragon goddess remained calm, her figure moving like a ghost as she retreated three zhang, avoiding the poison needles and the vajra.

She held a jade bee needle in each hand, and with her left hand she used the Jade Maiden Sword Technique, the needle tips flashing like cold stars as she pierced Huo Du's vital points.

With his right hand, he used the Quanzhen sword technique, drawing a powerful arc with the needle to meet Darba's vajra.

One person, two needles, two sword techniques, all used simultaneously!

Huo Du's expression changed drastically.

He had already witnessed Xiaolongnu's ambidextrous fighting technique.

The two needles, one light and one heavy, one skillful and one clumsy, worked together perfectly, making him and Darba's combined attack difficult to counter.

"Senior brother, be careful!" Huo Du shouted urgently, "This demoness's needlework is bizarre!"

Darba roared and swung his vajra with great force, trying to overcome skill with brute force.

However, Xiaolongnu's movements were too agile, always managing to dodge heavy blows at the last second before the arrows could be released, while the Jade Bee Needles clung to him like a bone-deep infection, never leaving his vital acupoints.

"laugh--"

A soft sound.

Darba received a needle in his shoulder.

The needle was as thin as a cow's hair, and there was almost no sensation when it pierced the wound, but the next moment, a numbing sensation spread from the wound.

"Poisonous!" Darba's expression changed, and he quickly circulated his internal energy to expel the poison.

Taking advantage of his distraction, Xiaolongnu used her left hand to stab Huo Du's wrist with her jade bee needle, like a venomous snake spitting its tongue.

Huo Du hurriedly blocked with his folding fan, but he was a step too slow.

"what!"

He screamed as his wrist was pierced, and the folding fan flew out of his hand.

The bee venom on the jade bee needle instantly invaded the meridians, causing numbness throughout the entire arm.

"Senior brother!" Seeing this, Darba ignored the numbness in his shoulder and swung his vajra pestle to attack desperately, trying to help Huo Du out of the predicament.

Little Dragon Girl no longer wanted to fight.

She flashed to the side of the two horses, and her jade bee needle pierced their rumps.

"Hissing sound—"

The two horses, in pain, reared up and threw off their saddles.

Taking advantage of the moment, Xiaolongnu leaped onto one of the horses, grasped the reins, and turned to look at Zhou Botong: "Senior, we succeeded!"

Zhou Botong was locked in a fierce battle with Jinlun Fawang.

Hearing this, he laughed heartily: "Old monk, I'm not playing with you anymore!"

He suddenly changed his move, pushing the "emptiness" technique of the Empty Fist to its limit. His body drifted away like a willow catkin, avoiding a heavy palm strike from the Golden Wheel Monk. At the same time, he kicked up a pebble with his right foot, aiming it directly at the eye of the Golden Wheel Monk's horse.

The horse was startled, and its front hooves reared up, nearly throwing the Golden Wheel Monk off its back.

Zhou Botong seized the opportunity to leap and land steadily on the back of another horse, snatching the reins.

"Walk!"

He spurred the horse, and the horse neighed as it charged toward Xiaolongnu.

The Golden Wheel Monk steadied his mount, his face ashen: "Chase!"

But his horse was still startled and moved a beat too slowly.

By the time he spurred his horse to give chase, Zhou Botong and Xiaolongnu had already rushed more than ten zhang away.

"Old monk, thank you for the horse!" Zhou Botong turned around and laughed. "I like it very much. No need to see me off, farewell!"

After saying this, the two men flicked the reins, and the two horses shot off into the distance like arrows released from a bow.

Huo Du and Darba staggered to their feet, one clutching his wrist and the other pressing his shoulder, both looking extremely pale.

"Master..." Huo Du was overwhelmed with shame, "This disciple is incompetent..."

The Golden Wheel Monk stared at the direction the two had disappeared, his eyes flashing with cold light: "It's not your fault. That Little Dragon Girl's Ambidextrous Technique was indeed strange, coupled with the poison of the jade bees... You were careless and didn't dodge."

"But Master, they stole the horse..." Darba said in a simple voice.

"It's alright." The Golden Wheel Monk took a deep breath, suppressing his anger. "They're heading towards Xiangyang. We'll go to Xiangyang too—the Heroes' Gathering is approaching, and Guo Jing and Huang Rong are extending invitations to heroes from all over the land; they'll definitely be there. Then, we'll settle all our old scores!"

He turned his horse around—there was only one horse left.

"Dalba, you walk back to the city and buy two fast horses," the Golden Wheel Dharma King instructed. "Huodu, you ride with me and chase after them for a while."

"yes!"

The three of them set off again, but their momentum was far from what it used to be.