books44 Chapter 316 Siege
Chapter 316 Siege
Chapter 316 Siege
The Blood Wolf Hall's actions have seriously affected the interests of the Qiu family. After understanding the Blood Wolf Hall's sinister intentions, the Qiu family's stewards have been declaring war on the Blood Wolf Hall.
However, it was clear that the Blood Wolf Hall did not take the Qiu family's decision seriously at all, and continued to escalate the situation. As a result, rumors began to spread throughout Tianxin City, claiming that Shi Potian and others had secretly colluded with the Qiu family to kill those who participated in the gambling and make huge profits. In addition to winning tens of thousands of gold coins from the gambling, they also took treasures worth hundreds of thousands of gold coins from the dead.
The spread of rumors thwarted Shi Potian and his group's plans, making them the target of public criticism. Many suspicious individuals appeared around the Fuyuan Hotel where Shi Potian was staying. These included not only the Shadow Assassins of the Blood Wolf Hall, but also many uninformed people blinded by greed, and others looking to take advantage of the chaos. Their presence undoubtedly provided the Blood Wolf Hall with free thugs, putting Shi Potian and his group in a very passive position. Meanwhile, the members of the Blood Wolf Hall became even more deeply hidden and difficult to detect.
However, Shi Potian and the others consciously pretended not to know each other from the beginning, so at most these people could only find out that Shi Potian and Mo Wen were together.
Fortunately, the restaurants that were set up in various locations were originally intended to gather intelligence from all over the country, so all the staff in the restaurants were specially trained intelligence personnel. Therefore, Shi Potian and his team were able to clearly understand every move in Tianxin City. In order to send the treasure away as soon as possible, Mo Wen handed over nine boxes of unmarked Earth Flame Crystals to Master Fu, who then sent someone to secretly deliver these treasures to Qing Xiuniang and her companion at the Wushuang Restaurant, instructing them to take the treasures and leave immediately. Mo Wen, on the other hand, kept the box with the hidden mark with him to mislead the Blood Wolf Hall.
The turmoil in Tianxin City drew everyone's attention to the Qiu family and Shi Potian, reducing focus on Qing Xiuniang and her companion. Their quiet departure went largely unnoticed. The Thunder Concealing Stone that Xiuniang had photographed had already been cleaned; all the markings on it had been burned away with her spiritual fire. The Blood Wolf Hall members could no longer rely on tracking treasures for surveillance. Xiuniang and her companion left Tianxin City smoothly, heading towards Liang Kingdom as planned.
Fifteen minutes after the two embroiderers left Tianxin City in their carriage, Liu Nianlin and Xiao Bohong, who were waiting outside the city, immediately disguised themselves as tourists and followed them. According to the plan, the two of them kept a distance of about two miles. This way, even if the Blood Wolf Hall people were following them, they would not be able to find the person waiting for them. If a fight broke out, the person waiting for them would catch up in less than half a cup of tea's time.
Gan Ran and his companion followed Liu Xiao and his companion out of Tianxin City a quarter of an hour after they left.
The plan proceeded smoothly, and Shi Potian and Mo Wen walked out of Fuyuan Restaurant. The two rode their horses towards the city gate. Not long after they left the restaurant, some reckless people came to assassinate them.
But these people forgot that this was Qiu family territory, and forgot the Qiu family's rules, especially at this sensitive time. Before Shi Potian could even make a move, the people blocking his way were shot to death by a hail of arrows from the Qiu family members who were watching nearby.
Shi Potian was treated as a VIP by Steward Yu of the Qiu family. In the eyes of the Qiu family, anyone who wanted to touch Shi Potian in Tianxin City was an enemy of the Qiu family and would be regarded as a member of the Blood Wolf Hall.
Shi Potian was somewhat surprised to see this scene; he hadn't expected the Qiu family to protect him afterward.
"Master Shi, you've been frightened!" The Qiu family warrior leading the group walked over from a distance and greeted Shi Potian.
"It's alright, a petty thief can't hurt me!"
Shi Potian returned the greeting.
"Is the hero leaving? Recently, the Blood Wolf Hall has been spreading many rumors in the martial world, which may cause trouble for your trip. The steward hopes you will be careful. Better safe than sorry!"
"Hehe, please thank the steward for me. I've traveled all over the country and I've never been afraid of anyone. Let those blind fools come at me! I'm afraid the journey will be too boring."
"Since you have already made your plans, then I won't say any more. We'll escort you out of the city right away!" With a wave of his hand, the Qiu family warrior immediately sent over a dozen warriors on horseback to clear the way for Shi Potian and his companion.
Shi Potian didn't refuse, cupping his hands in thanks before following the warrior out of the city. With the Qiu family warriors escorting them, no one in Tianxin City dared to disturb them. Those who were watching could only follow in secret. Shi Potian and his companion naturally knew who was following them; with their current cultivation levels, none of them could escape their senses. However, they pretended not to know. These people, whose strength wasn't even at the early stage of the Heavenly Rank, were simply not taken seriously.
Soon, the two of them successfully left Tianxin City and rode their horses towards the planned route. Gan Ran and his companion were walking leisurely about ten miles ahead of them.
It was nearly noon, and Shi Potian and his companion had been out of the city for more than half an hour. They were already dozens of miles away from Tianxin City and on their way to Qingling City. Their route this time was to detour through Qingling City and then head to Hexuan City. Qingling City and Runze City were adjacent and both bordered Tianxin City. However, traveling through Qingling City to Hexuan City was more than 800 miles longer than traveling through Runze City, which would take them at least a day longer at their mounts' speed.
The road ahead was becoming increasingly deserted; apart from the occasional hurried traveler on the post road, there were no other people to be seen. Gan Ran sent word that they were resting at a small post station a dozen miles ahead, and the area around the station seemed relatively normal. Xiu Niang and Liu Xiao had already left. The two of them were also preparing to depart soon, and before leaving, they inquired about the two's situation.
"You should wait a bit before you leave, we already have guests!" Shi Potian replied to Gan Ran.
"Just state your names. If you're not Blood Wolf Fiend, I advise you not to throw your lives away! After all, it wasn't easy for your parents to raise you!"
Shi Potian looked at the seven or eight masked men who had surrounded him and said sarcastically.
These individuals are all Earth-rank martial artists, with the highest cultivation level being the peak of the Earth rank and the lowest only the mid-Earth rank.
“We are here to avenge the gamblers you murdered. You colluded with the Qiu family to lure them into a trap, then stormed in to share the spoils and gain ill-gotten gains. You hypocrites who murder for money deserve to be killed by everyone!”
"I advise you to obediently hand over your ill-gotten gains, lest you bring about your own demise!" the masked leader shouted.
"Heh, only you could utter such idiotic words. Since you won't reveal your identity, I'll say it for you! Haha!"
Mo Wen stretched out his hand, and a green vine as thick as a thumb immediately grew in front of the masked man. The green vine, like a long snake, quickly wrapped around the man's feet and then climbed upwards. By the time the man tried to resist, the green vine had already bound him tightly and made him unable to move. Then, a thin branch of the green vine passed through the man's sleeve and lifted his left arm.
'laugh……'
The man's sleeve was torn by the thorns of the green vines, revealing his entire arm. A bright red wolf's head tattoo was exposed to everyone.
"Those with this tattoo on their shoulder, stay here; those without, disappear immediately! Otherwise, we'll all die!"
Shi Potian suddenly roared.
They had originally hoped to try their luck by outnumbering their opponents, but little did they know that in the face of absolute power, their numbers made them nothing more than ants. The most powerful among them didn't even have a chance to fight before being easily manipulated like clay. The rest of them were even less of a threat.
The masked men who had been tricked immediately dropped their weapons and fled. The remaining three stood trembling, weapons in hand, at a loss. They had only heard that the pursuer had a large sum of money, but no one had told them how powerful this person was.
"Since the three of you aren't leaving, it seems you must be members of the Blood Wolf Gang! Then die with him!"
Just as Shi Potian raised his hand, ready to strike, a masked man suddenly cried out:
"We are not members of the Blood Wolf Gang!"
"Why aren't you from the Blood Wolf Gang leaving? Do you think you can kill me?"
Mo Wen was amused by the man's expression.
"Our brothers were killed in the Qiu family mansion, and we've come to avenge them!"
"If you want revenge, you should go after the Blood Wolf Gang. They're the ones who caused all this trouble. Why are you coming to me? You should kill him! He's a member of the Blood Wolf Gang! Instead of finding the real culprit, you're teaming up with him to kill me! You're all fucking insane!"
Shi Potian pointed at the masked man bound by green vines and roared angrily.
"I……"
The three men were speechless.
"Now I'm giving you two choices: either kill him and you leave, or you both die! I'll give you ten counts to decide! Ten, nine, eight, seven..."
"Do you think you can just kill the people of the Blood Wolf Hall as you please?"
At this moment, four people emerged from the woods a dozen or so feet ahead. The leader was a tall, thin, masked man wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat. The three behind him were also dressed in black and masked. All four were Heaven-rank experts, with the leader exuding an extremely strong, fierce, and malevolent aura. The moment the four appeared, the three who had been hesitating were immediately overwhelmed by their imposing presence, their faces turning ashen as they collapsed to the ground, retreating in terror.
"Another Earth-level Blood Wolf Demon has come to its death. Heh, it seems the people of your Blood Wolf Hall are truly fearless!"
Shi Potian gave Mo Wen a look, and Mo Wen smiled and flicked his finger. The green vine covering the masked man suddenly sprang up from the ground and lashed out at the four of them like a whip. The man on the vine was thrown at the four of them like a stone. Just as the man was thrown away, a thin vine strangled his neck.
With a 'thud,' the masked man's head was severed. The headless corpse crashed down on the four men.
Upon seeing this, the leader of the Blood Fiends roared angrily, intending to slap the corpse away with his palm. However, to his surprise, many tiny spikes shot out from the headless corpse, densely packed towards the leader of the Blood Fiends. This tall, thin, masked man was careless and fell into Mo Wen's trap. Although he reacted in time, it was still too late, and two spikes pierced his palm.
However, this external injury was nothing to him. This tall, thin, masked man's cultivation was already at the fourth level of the Heavenly Rank, slightly higher than the burly man killed by Shi Potian on the arena, and almost on par with Shi Potian. The reason he was able to be injured by Mo Wen, who was only at the second level of the Heavenly Rank, was because he underestimated his opponent and was careless for a moment.
Enraged, the man immediately swung his palm at Mo Wen. At that moment, Shi Potian drew his Ghost King Blade and immediately met the attack head-on, blocking Mo Wen's path and confronting the man.
Fire overcomes metal. This man practiced fire-based martial arts, wielding a pair of flaming ghost claws. Although weaker than Shi Potian, the elemental advantage held Shi Potian back, resulting in a stalemate. The moment they clashed, flames soared, and sand and stones flew. The man's soul-iron artifacts were of high quality; each claw strike generated a blazing aura over ten feet long, leaving scorched earth in its wake. The area around their battle was littered with shattered, burning trees.
Although Shi Potian's Ghost King Blade was also a high-quality treasure, the blade aura it could generate was only a few feet long, almost half the length of his opponent's. If it weren't for his superior cultivation level, he would have already lost in terms of momentum.
At this moment, the other three opponents also surrounded Mo Wen. Among these three, the one with the highest cultivation level was at the peak of the second level of the Heavenly Rank, while the other two were at the early stage of the second level of the Heavenly Rank and the peak of the first level of the Heavenly Rank, respectively.
Mo Wen's wood-based profound skills were not suited for close combat, so he took the initiative to attack before the three even got close. Suddenly, countless leaves fell from the trees on both sides of the road, turning into flying willow leaf knives as they flew into the air, shooting towards the three. The tree branches also turned into spikes, stabbing at the three. Furthermore, many green vines covered with poisonous thorns sprouted from the ground and wrapped around the three.
Mo Wen launched a full-range attack, which simultaneously entangled the three of them, forcing them to frantically deal with attacks from all directions. However, this kind of attack also consumed Mo Wen's physical strength. Fighting the enemy in the forest full of trees, Mo Wen had the advantage of terrain, but his cultivation was only at the peak of the second level of the Heaven Rank. He might have some advantage when fighting an enemy of equal strength alone, but there were three of them, so he quickly became somewhat exhausted.
The full-range attack only caused minor injuries to the first-level Heavenly Rank cultivator; the other two were merely temporarily bound. Mo Wen had no choice but to fight and retreat, fleeing along the official road.
The masked man, a peak level two Heaven Rank cultivator, was forcing Mo Wen to retreat repeatedly. This man possessed earth-elemental profound arts, and he had conjured a stone shield in front of him, making him appear like a moving stone giant. All of Mo Wen's attacks were ineffective against him. Mo Wen could only entangle him with green vines, using the opportunity to attack. However, with two other people attacking from the side, Mo Wen was unable to fully utilize his abilities.
The Blood Wolf Gang was clearly well-prepared this time; someone in Tianxin City must have specifically assessed the strength of Mo Wen and Shi Potian beforehand. Four against two, barring any unforeseen circumstances, victory was practically assured.
Mo Wen had been relentlessly pursued and attacked by the three men, retreating several hundred feet and circling around another bend in the road. He was in a terrible state, with several pieces of his clothing torn and his arm pierced by the sword light of the early stage of the second level of the Heavenly Rank, bleeding profusely. Fortunately, Mo Wen cultivated a wood-attribute profound art and was also a master of medicine, so his minor injury was quickly healed and the bleeding stopped.
"Trying to run away? Heh, where did your earlier arrogance go? Do you think the Blood Wolf Gang members are so easy to mess with?"