Chapter 17: Siege

Based on the current situation, if the other party is allowed to continue, I fear it won't be long before a great demonic figure with overwhelming poison arts emerges in the martial world.

Cang Yinyue hesitated, feeling she lacked the certainty to deal with such a person.

Furthermore, if they continued forward, the possibility of encountering them was undoubtedly immense.

Just then, Li Musheng's voice rang out from beside her. Sitting atop his horse, he looked at Yu Changlu and said

"Turning back is impossible. This horse worked itself to death just to climb this mountain path; if I make it walk back now, see if it doesn't give you a kick with its hoof."

As if in agreement, the mule beneath Li Musheng's buttocks seemed quite cooperative, snorting loudly while pawing at the ground with its hoof.

Hearing this, Cang Yinyue turned to glance at him, her mind involuntarily flashing back to the moment he had instantly struck her acupoints from a distance.

After a moment of thought, she voiced her suspicion and continued

"Continuing forward isn't impossible, but we will likely encounter that Grandmaster-level expert skilled in poison arts very soon."

"With your abilities, you should be able to protect yourself, and if I wish to leave, the opponent won't be able to stop me. However, what we must be wary of is the nature of that person's poison arts."

Li Musheng nodded and mused, "That person is indeed brutal, but they have invisibly cleared the obstacles of the Blood Bath Alliance for us along this road. In that sense, they've served a somewhat positive purpose."

With that, he raised an eyebrow and looked at Yu Changlu, who remained motionless in front of the mule. "What are you standing there for? Let's keep moving."

Upon hearing this, Yu Changlu's expression became incredibly grim.

Naturally, he had heard everything Cang Yinyue and Li Musheng just said.

*So, both of you have the ability to protect yourselves when encountering that poisonous demon, and you're just going to leave me to walk forward and die alone?*

Yu Changlu truly wanted to turn tail and flee immediately, but his strength was inferior to Cang Yinyue's, and he was not skilled in lightness kung fu; fleeing now would clearly be a death sentence.

Left with no choice, he could only brace himself, turn around, and continue along the mountain path.

In his heart, he prayed that the experts of the Alliance would do something useful—ideally, they would deal with that murderous demon ahead so he wouldn't have to worry about encountering them.

As they traveled, the frequency of corpses appearing on the road improved slightly, becoming less frequent than before.

However, it was likely because the number of Blood Bath Alliance members stationed here was limited and they were nearly all being slaughtered.

Thus, after walking for over an hour, the sky in the mountains began to dim.

They expected to exit this region after crossing one more peak, but as they passed through a mountain hollow, they discovered blazing fires ahead, with bursts of noisy human voices drifting toward them on the mountain wind.

Yu Changlu, walking in the lead, immediately stopped. He glanced back at Cang Yinyue, and seeing her nod, he continued toward the source of the light.

Before long, Yu Changlu reached a rocky outcrop, quietly concealed his presence, and peered toward the brightly lit valley ahead.

In the next instant, his face lit up with joy.

He saw nearly a hundred people in the valley, holding burning tung oil torches that illuminated the surrounding forest like daylight, effectively sealing the valley off completely.

More importantly, these people were all members of the Blood Bath Alliance!

Excited, Yu Changlu was just thinking of how to call out for help when Cang Yinyue's cold voice sounded behind him.

"Before you make a decision, you'd better consider: are you faster, or is my blade faster?"

Hearing this, Yu Changlu felt as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water. He immediately retreated two steps, not daring to move recklessly.

At this time, Cang Yinyue and Li Musheng dismounted and stepped forward, gazing into the valley to observe the situation.

The Blood Bath Alliance members had completely surrounded the valley, and in the center, four people sat cross-legged upon a massive green boulder.

Among them, Meng Shan and the other two were present, while the fourth person was a masked woman in gray clothing.

The Blood Bath Alliance was led by a middle-aged man in black robes and two white-haired elders, who stood in a triangular formation guarding the four in the center.

However, they did not take any further action; instead, they stared warily at the area within three feet of the four individuals, where wisps of blue-black mist were swirling.

"Just which sect of the martial world do you belong to? To strike so ruthlessly and kill so many of my Blood Bath Alliance brothers."

The middle-aged man's face appeared extremely grim under the firelight, his gaze toward the masked woman revealing undisguised killing intent.

Yet, the masked woman remained silent, sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed in meditation, showing no intention of acknowledging him.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man was incensed. His broad right palm, with its protruding knuckles, slowly twisted.

A sudden whirlwind erupted from the ground, sweeping up scattered dead leaves and swirling them toward his palm.

In the next moment, the man thrust his palm forward. A massive palm print formed from the condensed dead leaves materialized in the air and slammed down toward the four in the center.

Only then did the masked woman react. She snapped her eyes open, a ghostly light shimmering within them.

Her fingers, which had been hovering near her dantian, suddenly curled into claws and lunged toward the mid-air palm print.

Simultaneously, the blue-black mist within the three-foot radius was rapidly drawn in, transforming into a dark claw shadow that intercepted the palm print from below.

To the naked eye, the palm print composed of dead leaves was rapidly corroded by the mist, eventually dissolving into a puddle of black liquid that fell to the ground.

Watching this scene, Meng Shan and Yuan Mei couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts.

They did not know this masked woman at all.

Previously, they had been hunted by the Blood Bath Alliance and were nearly captured due to being outnumbered, but at the critical moment, this masked woman had suddenly appeared.

Her strength was profound, and she had easily repelled the experts of the Blood Bath Alliance. However, she was also extremely cruel, possessing a penchant for sadistic killing and wielding poison arts that made even them tremble with fear.

Meng Shan and Yuan Mei had seen the wretched state of those poisoned many times; it was a fate worse than death, a sight that made one's skin crawl.

Fortunately, the masked woman was helping them and had protected them throughout their escape, sparing them from facing her poisonous arts.

The only regret was that the Blood Bath Alliance's influence in this area was immense. Before they could escape the region, they were caught by reinforcements and trapped in this valley.

Of course, because the opposition feared the woman's poison, they did not dare to launch a full-scale assault, and both sides were currently in a state of standoff.

But Meng Shan knew this could not last forever.

"Senior, the longer we delay, the more experts they will likely send to support them. Should we find a way to break through now?"

Seeing the masked woman block the middle-aged man's attack, Meng Shan mustered the courage to speak.

However, when Meng Shan looked up, he saw a mocking smile curl at the corner of the masked woman's eyes. A voice as cold as a venomous snake whispered in his ear

"What is the rush? The longer it takes, the deeper the poison will seep into them, and the more miserably they will die."

(End of Chapter)