Chapter 245 - 243: Encirclement and Suppression

Chapter 245: Chapter 243: Encirclement and Suppression

Chen Yuan walked over to Xu Tianhong’s corpse and picked up the Demon-Drinking Saber.

The blade was pitch-black, like ink, and emanated a bone-chilling coldness.

Chen Yuan infused it with his Demonic Cultivation Technique and could even feel a trace of Demon Dao Origin power contained within.

Although the Power of Origin within it wasn’t particularly strong, it was still a rare find for an ordinary Martial Artist.

However, Chen Yuan already had the Blood Sea Listening Tide technique. His main source of power was the Seven Kills Stele, and Blood Sea Listening Tide gave him the greatest boost in strength.

Of course, that didn’t mean the Demon-Drinking Saber was useless.

Chen Yuan was also proficient in Demonic Cultivation Techniques. On a normal day, he could infuse the power of his Demonic Cultivation Technique into the Demon-Drinking Saber, letting it accumulate. Then, when a fierce battle began, he could switch to the Demon-Drinking Saber and unleash all that stored power in an instant, creating an incredibly formidable attack.

After stowing the Demon-Drinking Saber, Chen Yuan cut off Xu Tianhong’s head.

Aside from the usual Elixirs and other such items, there were no other treasures in his Qiankun Bag. Xu Baiwei hadn’t given him any other protective trump cards either.

After all, the Demon-Drinking Saber was powerful enough on its own. One could say it was his greatest trump card.

If even the Demon-Drinking Saber couldn’t stop an enemy, then any more trump cards would have been useless.

This Xu Tianhong was probably the most overrated and weakest Martial Artist of the younger generation that Chen Yuan had encountered since he first made it onto the Hidden Dragon Rankings.

The other young prodigies, whether they were Chen Yuan’s friends or foes, all honed their own strength.

Even when facing a desperate situation, they had the courage to fight to the death.

But eighty percent of Xu Tianhong’s Cultivation relied on the power of the Demon-Drinking Saber. His own mental state was that of a classic bully—preying on the weak and fearing the strong—and was utterly fragile.

He was vicious and sadistic toward Martial Artists weaker than himself, but the moment he was cornered, he only dared to use his parents as a threat. He didn’t have a shred of courage to fight to the death. Truly and utterly useless.

After taking Xu Tianhong’s head, Chen Yuan went straight to Li Tiancheng, Commander of the Celestial Martial Guard, and Yang Yanxing, Commander of the Po Jun Guard, to have them prepare a joint force to encircle and annihilate the Hu Yan Tribe.

A large part of the reason the Hu Yan Tribe dared to raid the borders of Ning Province was because Yang Lianzhenjia had sought aid from the Ten Thousand Demon Sect.

Now that Xu Tianhong was dead, given his special status, the Ten Thousand Demon Sect would definitely not dare to continue running rampant in Ning Province.

Although that Yin Kuang’s name meant "wild," according to Chu Hongshang, he was one of the few prudent people in the Ten Thousand Demon Sect.

With Xu Tianhong dead, he would certainly want to lead his people back to the Ten Thousand Demon Sect immediately to cut his losses.

After all, Xu Tianhong was already dead. If any more of the young disciples of the Ten Thousand Demon Sect under his command were to die, he would have no way to explain himself.

Therefore, to completely annihilate the Hu Yan Tribe, they had to be blocked at the Ning Province border the moment the Ten Thousand Demon Sect withdrew.

Meanwhile, in the Ten Thousand Demon Sect’s camp, when Yin Kuang learned of Xu Tianhong’s death, the news struck him like a bolt from the blue. It was as if the sky had fallen.

This was the number one disciple of the Ten Thousand Demon Sect’s younger generation, yet he had been killed under his watch.

Of course, that wasn’t the main problem. The main problem was that Xu Tianhong’s mother was that madwoman, Xu Baiwei!

That woman had always been domineering and unreasonable. She would one hundred percent come looking for trouble with him over Xu Tianhong’s death.

Yin Kuang paced back and forth in the cave, cursing Xu Tianhong endlessly in his heart. ’I never wanted Xu Tianhong to come in the first place. But not only did he show up, he insisted on going out to stir up trouble, venturing deep into Zhenwu Hall’s territory all by himself.’

’Even if he hadn’t been killed by that Chen Jiutian, he could have easily run into trouble if he’d encountered a Grandmaster from Zhenwu Hall.’

Just then, Yin Kuang turned his head and saw Chu Hongshang, who was sitting quietly in a corner of the cave, meditating and cultivating.

He had previously thought Chu Hongshang was difficult to handle, but now he felt she was far more reliable than Xu Tianhong.

’Xu Tianhong is dead, but Chu Hongshang has now made it onto the Hidden Dragon Rankings. When you look at it that way, maybe it’s not such a huge loss?’

Yin Kuang calculated in his mind. A moment later, he made his decision and immediately recalled the disciples of the Ten Thousand Demon Sect to leave Ning Province and return to the sect.

Just as Chu Hongshang had said, he was a prudent man.

Right now, he only had two paths: one was to kill Chen Jiutian to avenge Xu Tianhong, and the other was to leave immediately.

But the problem was, even if he killed Chen Jiutian, Xu Tianhong would still be dead, and Xu Baiwei might not spare him anyway.

Besides, Zhenwu Hall’s reinforcements had already arrived. It was uncertain whether he could even kill Chen Jiutian, so why take the risk? It was better to just leave.

However, Yin Kuang kept an ace up his sleeve. He planned to build a good relationship with Chu Hongshang on the way back.

Chu Hongshang’s master was Shi Xueyan, and it was common knowledge within the Ten Thousand Demon Sect that the two women did not get along.

When the time came, as long as Shi Xueyan was willing to say a word in his defense, he would be safe.

As soon as the Ten Thousand Demon Sect began to withdraw, the Hu Yan Tribe noticed.

Yang Lianzhenjia’s expression changed drastically. He said anxiously, "Chief! The Ten Thousand Demon Sect is pulling out because of Xu Tianhong’s death! We must evacuate Ning Province immediately!"

Nihachu looked astonished. "They’re pulling out just because one young disciple died? Isn’t the Ten Thousand Demon Sect a Central Plains Demon Major Sect? How can they be so unable to handle a setback?"

’Frog in a well!’

Yang Lianzhenjia cursed him as an idiot under his breath and explained, "That Xu Tianhong’s status was special. He was the number one disciple of the Ten Thousand Demon Sect’s younger generation, and also the biological son of a Divine Platform Realm Elder."

"His life alone was more precious than all the other young disciples of the Ten Thousand Demon Sect combined. Now that he’s dead, the Ten Thousand Demon Sect will naturally withdraw."

"Zhenwu Hall’s counterattack has already begun. Without the support of the Ten Thousand Demon Sect, we won’t be able to hold on. We must retreat at once."

"Some of our Thousand-Household Commanders are still in the field. How can we contact them in such a short time?"

The Hu Yan Tribe came from humble origins and had little foundation to speak of.

Naturally, they had no Secret Treasures or Secret Techniques for long-distance communication; they could only rely on fast horses to deliver messages.

"This is no time to worry about them! We need to retreat now!"

Yang Lianzhenjia was also reluctant to leave.

The population on the Grassland was sparse. He needed virgin girls born in yin hours and virgin boys born in yang hours to serve as Furnace Cauldrons, and it was often hard to find even a few in a month.

But in just a few short days in Ning Province, he had already gathered over a hundred people. If he had a little more time, he could capture even more.

But the situation was critical now, and he couldn’t afford to be concerned with that.

Nihachu hesitated for a moment but had no choice but to gather his tribesmen and retreat.

However, he still had some conscience and dispatched a few scouts to carry messages to the Thousand-Household Commanders in the field, telling them to retreat in time.

The Hu Yan Tribe began a large-scale withdrawal from Ning Province, taking the route that led toward Celestial Star Ranch.

Beyond Celestial Star Ranch lay the border between Ning Province and the Grassland. Once they crossed it, the vast world would be open to them. Given the immensity of the Grassland, even if Zhenwu Hall wanted revenge, they would have no way of finding them.

Just as they were about to leave the prairie, Yang Lianzhenjia suddenly said, "Halt!"

Nihachu asked in surprise, "What is it?"

"Something’s not right up ahead. My Corpse Puppet has sensed an unusual aura."

Yang Lianzhenjia was holding a chain, but at the end of that chain was a monster.

The monster was part human, part beast. It had no fur, its entire body covered in rotting, bluish-black flesh. Its torso was human-like, but it walked on all fours. Its face was utterly terrifying; it resembled a human head, but its only facial feature was a massive, fang-filled mouth that took up more than half its face.

Normally, just looking at the thing made Nihachu’s skin crawl, but Yang Lianzhenjia kept it by his side at all times, even having it guard his tent at night.

"It should be fine. I’ve already sent scouts ahead and to the flanks to check the path."

Nihachu was being reasonably cautious, still deploying scouts even during the retreat.

"And what if your scouts don’t even have a chance to return?"

Yang Lianzhenjia said coldly.

Compared to Nihachu’s scouts, he was more willing to trust the senses of his Corpse Puppet.

Just then, the deafening sound of galloping hooves thundered from far to near. Two torrents, one black and one red, came charging down from a nearby mountain, plunging straight into the Hu Yan Tribe’s army.

These two forces were none other than the Celestial Martial Guard and the Po Jun Guard, who had been lying in ambush for a long time.

Movement came from the rear as well—the pursuing White Tiger Guards, along with the local Jianghu Forces from Celestial Star Ranch and other areas who had been forced to flee by the Hu Yan Tribe.

Chen Yuan had anticipated that the Hu Yan Tribe would definitely retreat as soon as the Ten Thousand Demon Sect pulled out, so he had arranged for the Celestial Martial Guard and the Po Jun Guard to ambush them on their escape route.

Yang Yanxing thought it was a sound plan, while Li Tiancheng simply didn’t want to take responsibility.

In any case, he would get credit for annihilating the Hu Yan Tribe, but if some escaped, Chen Yuan would be the one to take the blame. So, he had no objections and agreed. And now, it seemed things were unfolding just as planned.

"Damn it!"

Yang Lianzhenjia frowned slightly but did not panic.

He didn’t actually care much whether the Hu Yan Tribe lived or died. He wandered among the various Grassland Tribes only to find one that would support him and help him increase his strength.

However, the Hu Yan Tribe had supported him for a long time, and he had advised them and helped them grow stronger. He was a little reluctant to see the tribe destroyed just like that.

"Chief, the enemy was prepared! Now, we just have to fight our way out—save as many as we can!"

Nihachu nodded, picked up a massive crescent glaive, and raised it to the sky. He roared in the Grassland tongue, "Tribesmen! Charge with me! Let’s bring our spoils back to the Grassland!"

A Grassland Tribe like the Hu Yan had little in the way of tactics. However, from their constant battles with other tribes on the Grassland, they had honed a fighting prowess and bloody courage that was in no way inferior to the White Tiger Guards and the Martial Artists of Ning Province—in fact, they were even stronger.

Only the Po Jun Guard, long-seasoned in battle arrays, could match them.

The two sides collided. Swords and sabers clashed, True Qi shrieked, and a fierce slaughter instantly erupted.

Li Tiancheng of the Celestial Martial Guard faced off against the Hu Yan Tribe’s chief, Nihachu, while Yang Yanxing of the Po Jun Guard made a beeline for Yang Lianzhenjia.

With these two powerhouses, whose strength was comparable to the Primordial Pill Realm, taking action, Chen Yuan’s job naturally became easier.

The Blood Sea Listening Tide was unsheathed. With saber in hand, Chen Yuan charged alone into the heart of the Hu Yan Tribe’s forces. In an instant, the center of the area became a veritable meat grinder, where men and horses were torn to shreds and flesh and blood flew everywhere!