Chapter 394 - 284: Night of the Bloody Battle (Part 3)

On the mountain top, under the moonlit night, a person sat cross-legged on a massive rock.

"Yang Rong, Xi Peng, Cavalry Captains of the Huang Forbidden Army’s Third Banner?"

"Blood Fiend Cult, Cold Blade Blood General, Soul-devouring Blood General?"

Chu Ming’s eyes were profound, forgetting the night sky shrouded by dark clouds, and then he closed his eyes again.

Now, the Sword Gourd Spirit Sense’s coverage has reached twenty miles, and everything happening at the Changtai Post Station and beyond falls within his sight.

During the day, he had been pursuing the two Blood Fiend Cult members who came out of the Heavenly Inquiry Tower with treasures, but before taking action, the Sword Gourd Spirit Sense detected a dozen people following them.

Among those dozen people, Chu Ming recognized three — Guo Xiang, Han Yong, and... Zhuge Rui, whom he had encountered in Lindu County some time ago as a personal guard.

All three were martial artists of the Martial Immortal Alliance, suddenly gathering to track the Blood Fiend Cult members, indicating that the alliance also had its eyes on them.

Further probing revealed that the two leading figures were both as formidable as Jin Qi, the White Jade Sect Elder killed during the day, who were at the late stage of the Lower Meridian Unlocking Realm.

Apart from these people, there was Moo Jili, a Primordial Qi Warrior from Heavenly Inquiry Tower, who, however, didn’t follow them long before returning.

After some contemplation, he decided to continue the pursuit, hoping for some additional gains, hence he followed them here.

Chu Ming maintained the spreading of the Sword Gourd Spirit Sense, monitoring the activity at the post station.

Yang Rong, Cavalry Captain of the Third Banner of the Huang Forbidden Army, led Zhuge Rui, Guo Xiang, Han Yong, and two other Lower Meridian Unlocking Realm individuals into the post station, staying at the same inn as the two from the Blood Fiend Cult.

Meanwhile, Cavalry Captain Xi Peng led ten Lower Meridian Unlocking Realm members from the Martial Immortal Alliance to surround the post station.

Like this, about an hour passed, and the Sword Gourd Spirit Sense again detected a squad approaching from the north of the post station.

The two leading figures were also at the late stage of the Lower Meridian Unlocking Realm, exuding a thick Blood Evil Qi, presumably the Cold Blade Blood General and the Soul-devouring Blood General mentioned by the Blood Fiend Cult members.

The two Blood Generals brought along a significant number of men, over a dozen at the Meridian Unlocking Realm, and nearly a hundred at the Refining Organ Realm.

In comparison, with four major figures at the late stage of the Lower Meridian Unlocking Realm, the Blood Fiend Cult clearly held the advantage, while the Huang Forbidden Army’s side would likely face severe challenges.

Chu Ming, as a third-party observer, remained calm and unhurried.

After clarifying the situation of both sides, he even took out several items for meticulous inspection.

These items were obtained from killing the five members of the White Jade Sect during the day.

Five white jade swords, three books, over a dozen bottles of elixirs, five light blue discs, and a beast hide scroll.

He examined them one by one.

The five white jade swords were the sword artifacts of the White Jade Sect, among which one was exceptionally sharp and hard, surpassing the others, comparable to Lix Yan’s Great Derivation Sword from before, and was the sword used by Jin Qi.

The three books included one titled "White Jade Body Refining Technique" from the White Jade Sect, one "White Jade Sword Technique," and the last one was a Door Body Technique.

Quickly flipping through them, the contents of all three books turned into fragments within his Sea of Consciousness.

The "White Jade Body Refining Technique" was merely a cultivation technique that could be cultivated to achieve perfection in the Upper Meridian Unlocking Realm, not of much use. As for the Lower Realm techniques, Chu Ming found none.

It was unclear whether the "White Jade Body Refining Technique" lacked the Lower Realm part, or Jin Qi didn’t carry it on him.

According to Chu Ming’s understanding over this period, many martial artists from the Martial Arts Sects and Martial Arts Hall in Qin Capital would join the Huang Forbidden Army.

And joining the army serves various purposes, one of which is obtaining cultivation techniques.

Chu Ming speculated that, as his master had said, the Lower Realm cultivation techniques were strictly controlled by the royal court. The most direct way to acquire them would be by joining the Huang Forbidden Army.

In this way, the royal court could control over ninety percent of the top martial artists within its grasp.

After finishing the three volumes, he then checked several elixir bottles, finding them to be of decent quality, all for refining Qi and Blood.

Lastly, there were the five light blue discs, one slightly larger, with the other four smaller.

The beast scroll revealed that the five discs could form a formation called the Breaking Army Killing Array.

Four people held the Auxiliary Discs, injecting their own Qi and Blood, while one held the Main Disc, enhancing their Qi and Blood.

"Qi Blood Array Device..."

The Tiger Armor Army had many formations, but those were mostly coordinated between martial artists, forming arrays like the Long Snake Array or Fish Dragon Array, connecting through morale and killing intent, without linking Qi and Blood.

He had only seen formations that could connect Qi and Blood once, the Blood Evil Array!

The Blood Evil Sect frequently used the Blood Evil Array, which seemed able to connect Qi and Blood, but unlike the Breaking Army Killing Array, the Blood Evil Array apparently lacked such devices.

After spending a few breaths, Chu Ming completely grasped the method to utilize the Breaking Army Killing Array.

The array was excellent, but for him, its usefulness was limited, not as efficient as directly burning the Qi and Blood Power.

"It could be presented to Master, or given to the Wind Spirit Race."

"..."

Thinking this, Chu Ming’s eyes suddenly focused intensely.

Moments ago, an exceptionally strong presence appeared within the range of the Sword Gourd Spirit Sense.

The intensity of that presence was akin to that of Master Liu, the Guardian Master detected in Qin Capital!

"Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm!"

Such a being had appeared.

The Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm figure stopped about five miles away from the post station, concealing their presence, undiscoverable by anyone.

"Strange..."

By the order of Emperor Qin, the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm expert Tang Guang had just reached the vicinity of the post station, hiding in the darkness, inspecting the surroundings with slight suspicion.

He sensed a subtle, elusive surveillance, but no matter how he probed, he could not determine the source of this prying.

The sense of scrutiny was so faint that even he couldn’t confirm whether it was an illusion or an underlying apprehension about tonight’s mission.

In a moment, that peculiar feeling completely vanished.

Tang Guang relaxed his brow, gazing into the distance.