Chapter 2011: Strange Maze

Chapter 1992: The Strange Maze

General Chongwu swung his long spear, exclaiming, "Do you dare? Just you and me!"

His voice, amplified by his inner power, resounded like a clap of thunder.

He Lingchuan gave a slight sneer. It was true he had rescued the Three-Tailed Fox Demon to complete his mission for Spirit Mountain. However, at the time, King Yao suspected Chongwu of murdering Xue Zongwu. This wasn't a trap specifically set by He Lingchuan, but rather a consequence of Chongwu aligning himself with Qingyang and implicitly opposing King Yao.

He Lingchuan lightly pulled on the reins, and Black Speckled King crashed through two small trees, charging directly up the slope.

The Black-Armored Army followed closely behind.

With a roar from General Chongwu, the Pishai Knights galloped down from the hilltop, howling.

In the blink of an eye, the two forces collided.

General Chongwu still wielded his preferred long spear. From his previous encounters, He Lingchuan knew Chongwu favored an aggressive, fierce, and wide-open fighting style.

A mere saber would no longer suffice. With a flick of his wrist, He Lingchuan summoned a long halberd.

This halberd had three blades: a gleaming central blade, and two curved, crescent-like blades on either side. Its overall design was narrow at the top and wider at the bottom. This shape allowed for versatile attacks, not only chopping, slicing, and thrusting, but also lateral strikes and smashing, offering a multitude of variations.

It also had a unique origin: its predecessor was a broken halberd He Lingchuan had retrieved from the Azure Dragon's underground palace. Originally the life-bound artifact of the Nest Sea Yaksha King, it had been broken by the Azure Dragon. After recovering it, He Lingchuan gave it to Songyang Manor to be re-polished and re-joined, transforming it from a trident into a twin-crescent halberd.

The halberd's shaft was crafted from a wooden knot taken from the Azure Dragon's head, possessing astonishing hardness while retaining the resilience of wood.

The moment the halberd was drawn, the ambient temperature dropped by several degrees.

As General Chongwu began to fight, he discovered that the "Nine Nether Emperor's" power was truly terrifying. When he extended his spear, it felt less like challenging a person and more like confronting a giant elephant. Receiving the halberd's blows was a great struggle; his mount even neighed and almost buckled at the knees.

A chilling aura permeated from the halberd's shaft, causing immense discomfort.

He had seen He Xiao many times before; how had he not noticed this person's exceptional martial skill and cultivation?

As they fought, the Nine Nether Emperor's low voice echoed in his ear:

"Do you remember Qu Ruhai? You competed against him at King Yao's birthday banquet."

General Chongwu remained silent, as parrying the attacks was incredibly taxing.

"He lasted ten moves against me. Let's see how long you can endure."

At King Yao's birthday banquet, General Chongwu and Qu Ruhai hadn't fought to the death, but He Lingchuan could still discern that General Chongwu was slightly stronger.

After three more moves, General Chongwu's shoulder was grazed by the heavy halberd, sending both him and his horse back three steps.

His shoulder was throbbing with excruciating pain. Gritting his teeth, he feigned a spear thrust, clutched his shoulder, and turned his horse to flee.

He Lingchuan naturally led his army in relentless pursuit.

The trees in the forest ahead changed. No longer were they small, common shrubs, but tall, broad-crowned ancient trees, sheltering jagged rocks.

After pursuing for another two *li*, they reached a purely rocky mountain.

The path became increasingly narrow.

General Chongwu led over a hundred cavalry ahead.

This section of the mountain might have been over a hundred *zhang* long. The Black-Armored Army scouts went ahead to reconnoiter, found no ambush, and only then did He Lingchuan lead his forces in.

They had pursued too hastily, and coupled with the narrow mountain path, only two hundred elite cavalry were left behind him.

Behind this mountain screen lay a stone forest. From a high vantage point, the layered stone pillars resembled thousands of competing sails, forming countless diverging paths.

Luo Xie whispered, "Are they planning to play hide-and-seek with us here?"

He Lingchuan's gaze shifted slightly. "No pursuit. Let's go back."

Ahead, it looked like a trap, and he didn't want to step into it. Furthermore, the absence of human voices and horse hooves from behind also felt wrong to him.

Where had the other subordinates gone?

However, after taking a few steps back, everyone gasped in surprise.

The path back had changed.

They had come through a flat valley, but now, going back, they found the valley gone, replaced instead by layered stone pillars.

Situ He wondered, "Is it an illusion?"

He Lingchuan shook his head. "No, it's not an illusion."

Otherwise, he would have recognized it at a glance.

Only an extremely profound illusion could hope to deceive his primal power.

"Interesting."

They had indeed fallen into the enemy's trap. He pointed back. "Let's continue the pursuit then."

Since going forward and backward yielded the same result, it was better to continue the chase.

A Black-Armored soldier took out a fluorescent spore lamp. He Lingchuan lightly flicked the tip of his halberd, sending a drop of blood into the lamp.

It was General Chongwu's blood.

The fluorescent spore lamp itself had no temperature, but now it turned red.

This was a tracking ability. When the spore lamp was pointed in the correct direction, its light would be red; otherwise, it would revert to a pale white.

"Let's go," He Lingchuan warned everyone. "Stay vigilant."

They continued to pursue Chongwu, occasionally dispatching several Pishai, and engaging in several skirmishes. However, the terrain here was peculiar, allowing General Chongwu to narrowly escape multiple times.

But as they continued the chase, Luo Xie suddenly said,

"Emperor, it seems we're missing some men."

"Missing men?" He Lingchuan's heart tensed.

Casualties in battle were normal, but "the Wang brothers were always on my left. After the last fight, they just vanished."

Luo Xie added, "They weren't injured."

Just then, He Lingchuan also heard the Blood Fiend's voice in his ear:

"The blood essence here is very dense."

He Lingchuan stopped and looked around.

Dense blood essence? But he smelled nothing.

He Lingchuan took out the Soul-Devouring Mirror and fastened it to his arm. "Keep a close eye out."

After another thirty *zhang*, the Soul-Devouring Mirror suddenly cried out, "The stone slab behind the right flank of the formation moved!"

The passages within the stone forest were narrow. The group moved through layers of stone slabs and screens like fish swimming beneath lotus leaves, unable to stay tightly clumped together.

Upon hearing this, He Lingchuan dashed back, moving so fast that the Black-Armored soldiers only felt a faint breeze pass by. He aimed at the stone screen indicated by the mirror and, with two swift slashes, executed a cross cut!

The mirror cried out, "Gently, gently!"

Few stones could withstand the Floating Life Blade, and this one was naturally cleaved into four pieces. The attendants behind him quickly rushed forward to pry the pieces apart.

Inside the stone, to their astonishment, was a Black-Armored soldier, his eyes tightly closed, completely devoid of breath.

The others shook his shoulder, "Wake up!"

Only then did the soldier open his eyes, gasp for air, as if waking from a dream.

When questioned, he explained that he had been walking forward normally when, somehow, a stone wall appeared in front of him, blocking the path. He had naturally reached out to touch it twice, and then... then he knew nothing more.

When he opened his eyes again, it was to this moment.

He Lingchuan, meanwhile, stared at the stone slab he had cleaved. He extended the tip of his saber and poked at something.

The sensation when he had cleaved the stone earlier felt off; it seemed to have convulsed violently.

"Human blood, but not purely human blood! And not the blood of your wrapped subordinate either!" The Blood Fiend seemed to sniff twice, greatly intrigued. "It's like fresh blood infused with the scent of earth and metal. Interesting, very interesting!"