Chapter 904: Fierce Bandits Attack the Mountain

Were they bandits?!

The people on the Fourth Dragon Vein were stunned by the Xu Gang's war cry.

They had heard that a troop from the Xu Gang in the Yunlun Mountain Range could sweep away thousands of soldiers.

However, after truly experiencing the aura of this bandit army, each of them was bewildered!

What on earth?!

Based on this slogan alone, did this team truly deserve the great name of "Xu Gang"?

The leader of the attacking side and Luo Yin of the defending side, each leading dozens to hundreds of people, were at a loss as to how to respond.

It was impossible to go down and challenge them.

They couldn't afford to lose face.

Moreover, while the other side looked like a bunch of hooligans, they truly had over a thousand people!

A report—

Before they could even react, another scout rushed up from the mountain, exclaiming in a panic, "The Xu Gang! The Xu Gang's people are attacking!"

Attacking?

Everyone's heart tightened.

Below, chaotic shouts and clashes of weapons could be heard incessantly, interspersed with mighty explosions.

Boom, boom, boom...

The entire Fourth Dragon Vein mountain began to shake violently, as if enduring an unbearable, frenzied assault.

"What's happening..."

Even Luo Yin was somewhat bewildered.

Even if a thousand people charged up the mountain at once, it wouldn't create such a sound, would it?

Were they attacking the mountain, or were they blowing it up?

A report—

At that critical moment, another scout ran up.

"B-boss, the spiritual array at the foot of the mountain has been dismantled by some traitor, and it didn't play any role at all."

"The Xu Gang has already breached the first line of defense and is pushing into the second line. Our people... can't stop them at all!"

Hearing this, Luo Yin stepped forward, grabbed the man's collar, and asked, "Who is leading the other side?"

He needed to confirm if the person leading the Xu Gang this time was the Young Master Xu he had encountered before.

"It's a young girl leading them! She's terrifying! Her spiritual energy seems endless. Wherever she goes, she just blasts everything. Our people were sent flying!"

A young girl?

Luo Yin was startled. The image of the wood-attribute girl he had faced during the Heavenly Net Battle came to his mind.

But that little girl didn't seem strong at all!

If Young Master Xu wasn't leading the team, why would the attacking side, with hundreds of people, be so utterly defeated?

"Useless!"

Luo Yin couldn't figure out the reason and could only curse under his breath.

He turned to face everyone on the attacking side and said gravely, "Gentlemen, as things stand, if you still want a share of the Fourth Dragon Vein, you must listen to me. Everyone, follow my command!"

"You?"

The people from the attacking side were immediately amused by his audacity.

Just a moment ago, they were still enemies.

Now that a greater enemy has appeared, you want to gather everyone and make them your own army?

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend!"

Luo Yin ignored the others and looked at the leader of the attacking side: "You shouldn't be foolish. You can see that the Xu Gang has no intention of sparing any of us. If we delay any longer, everyone will die!"

The leader of the attacking side paused, caught in a dilemma.

He didn't want to hand over his command to Luo Yin so easily.

But the Xu Gang's people were even more ruthless; if they stormed the mountain, everyone would die anyway.

What to do?

A report—

While they were still deliberating, another scout rushed up the mountain.

"The Xu Gang has broken through four layers of spiritual array defenses and has already reached halfway up the mountain! Their firepower is fierce, as if they're all on drugs..."

"No, that's wrong. They're just taking drugs and going crazy, directly overwhelming us with sheer numbers!"

"Our people are already in bad shape after fighting all night. We can't stop them at all..."

"Boss! What do we do?"

Upon hearing that the Fourth Dragon Vein had been captured up to halfway in such a short time, everyone panicked simultaneously.

What kind of speed is that?

It's only been a moment since the Xu Gang shouted their slogan, hasn't it?

Are our people really that bad?

Even 'sweeping away all obstacles' wouldn't describe this, would it?

"It's over..."

Upon hearing this news, Luo Yin knew that it was utterly hopeless.

The Xu Gang's army charging up the mountain was already an unstoppable tide. Even if Luo Yin possessed heavenly abilities, he couldn't turn the tide with these remnants of soldiers, who were barely 30% of their peak strength.

"You two, go now, immediately, and pull the Dragon Guard flags. I'll help you hold them off for a quarter of an hour!"

Luo Yin unceremoniously directed the leader of the attacking side. He showed his sincerity; two Dragon Guard positions could be given away.

But the precondition was that these people must obey.

The leader of the attacking side was still hesitating.

Luo Yin grew angry.

"Are you complaining that the time is too long? Is this how a leader acts, watching your own brothers sacrifice themselves while you hesitate here?"

"Go pull the Dragon Guard flags. I'll protect you for a quarter of an hour."

"Once all eight Dragon Guard flags are pulled, I'll go directly for the Dragon Lord flag. By using the power of the Fourth Dragon Vein, perhaps we'll still have a chance to survive."

Luo Yin gave these instructions methodically.

He was certain that since the Xu Gang had dispatched their entire army to only attack the Fourth Dragon Vein, then perhaps, they truly had been delayed by something last night.

And since this was their first time attacking the mountain, it was highly likely that these Xu Gang members had no idea about the Dragon Guard flags, the Dragon Lord flag, or the "Dragon Vein Power" obtained after successfully taking the mountain.

An information gap!

Luo Yin was racing against time, precisely to exploit this information gap.

Faced with such pressure, the leader of the attacking side had to lower his head. He felt that Luo Yin made sense; currently, there was indeed no more practical method than utilizing the "Dragon Vein Power."

"Two of you, go!"

The leader of the attacking side turned and shouted, "For a quarter of an hour, no one will disturb you. You must pull out the Dragon Guard flags!"

Mid-mountain.

"Wah-ga-ga..."

"Little tree, blast, blast, blast!"

The trees were detonated, and the exploding wood seeds landed, transforming into towering ancient trees, joining the torrent of explosions, cycling endlessly.

Xu Xiaoshou, transformed into Wood Xiaogong, seemed to have inexhaustible spiritual energy. He completely disregarded consumption, taking pills while frantically blasting everything in sight.

In reality, Xu Xiaoshou's spiritual energy was indeed inexhaustible; taking pills was merely a cover.

He had 'Full of Vigor.'

And this was the first time 'Full of Vigor' had unleashed its full power, due to acquiring an attribute.

The Imitator was too powerful!

After transforming into Wood Xiaogong, Xu Xiaoshou truly experienced the terrifying power of a wood-attribute spirit refiner in mountain combat.

His mastery of the wood attribute was quite superficial, limited only to the first stage of summoning and detonating ancient trees.

But it was enough!

For a Grandmaster realm, understanding of the Dao principles was probably just like this.

From marching in the morning to the Fourth Dragon Vein, by Young Master Xu's order, Xu Xiaoshou, in his Wood Xiaogong form, took on the role of vanguard for the mountain assault.

He led seven hundred Xu Gang members, truly overwhelming and conquering the mountain with irresistible force.

The defending forces were like paper, incredibly weak and completely out of condition.

In contrast, every member of the Xu Gang army led by Xu Xiaoshou was well-fed and in peak condition.

In no time...

They were utterly routed!

"This is amazing."

Stepping out of the battle, Xu Xiaoshou surveyed his surroundings.

For the first time, he felt the Imitator was so perfectly suited to him.

As one of the Ten Great Psychic Weapons of the continent, the true purpose of the Imitator might be far more than just the myriad transformations displayed by Yi.

Its most powerful aspect should be in helping the host gain a deep understanding and thorough comprehension of the various attributes acquired during imitation.

Perhaps Yi didn't fully grasp this point, or perhaps he did, but was powerless to utilize it.

Because Yi only possessed his innate attribute power, which was mental, so understanding other attribute Dao principles would be useless to him.

But Xu Xiaoshou was different.

He was all-attribute.

The Imitator's effectiveness in his hands was far greater than it had been in Yi's!

Just like now.

After transforming into Mu Zixi, Xu Xiaoshou could feel his spiritual energy transforming into the wood attribute due to the Imitator's effect.

He could sense that the nature of his spiritual energy had changed, transforming from powers like Blazing Light and Sword Will into a strange, special power with endless vitality.

This was the power of the wood attribute!

By calling upon wood-attribute spiritual energy, subtly manipulating wood-attribute elements, and combining it with the spiritual skills he had previously witnessed his junior sister perform, Xu Xiaoshou could instantly imitate 70% of her abilities.

He now understood why Yi possessed such myriad abilities.

The Imitator could truly change a person's characteristics from the root!

"If I want to cultivate the space attribute, the best way now is to imitate Ye Xiaotian, combine it with the space source stone, and personally experience his abilities, using both methods simultaneously..."

Xu Xiaoshou felt he had found another shortcut to understanding Dao principles.

Yi, this treasure-offering boy, had truly arrived at the perfect time, right when he was in the Grandmaster realm and needed to comprehend the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.

"Also, with the Imitator, as long as I can fight the leader of Yama and witness his abilities..."

Xu Xiaoshou had another audacious idea.

He felt that in time, he might truly be able to master the 'time' attribute.

The only pity was that the time attribute was too rare.

Not a single person among the younger generation had mastered it.

This led him to idly fantasize about fighting Huang Quan, the leader of Yama, and thereby imitating his abilities through combat.

That was too dangerous...

"Wait!"

A flash of inspiration struck Xu Xiaoshou, and he recalled the Imitator's unique characteristics.

Did he really need to fight Huang Quan himself?

Not necessarily!

What if he used a scheme to create a feud between Bazun An and Huang Quan, let them fight, and observed from the sidelines?

That way, he could witness Bazun An's other abilities, and Huang Quan's techniques would also be fully observed.

Imitate both!

Brilliant!

"Leader Mu, Leader Mu!"

While Xu Xiaoshou was still indulging in his fantasies, at mid-mountain, Xu Gang members had already rushed over to report the battle situation.

"What's wrong?" Xu Xiaoshou snapped back to reality. "Is everyone dead?"

At his words, the gang members trembled with fear.

How ruthless!

Leader Mu, compared to his previous cunning in battle, now had an added touch of ferocity.

Was it because Young Master Xu was personally overseeing from the rear, allowing Leader Mu to act completely without restraint?

This demon...

The gang members muttered in their hearts but dared not hesitate to speak.

"Leader Mu, we're almost at the summit! These people must have just gone through an all-night battle and are in poor condition. The leaders' decision to rest last night was indeed correct!"

The gang member first flattered him slightly, then solemnly reported: "Other gang members secretly sneaked up to the summit and immediately retreated after being discovered by the people on the mountain. However, his trial jade pendant received several new messages."

"Messages? What messages?" Xu Xiaoshou wondered. Were these messages location-triggered?

"Here they are. He's already transcribed them. He asks Leader Mu to quickly reach the summit; this opportunity cannot be missed." The gang member handed over a jade slip.

Xu Xiaoshou took it and swept his spiritual sense over it.

The jade slip contained the notification from the trial jade pendant, word for word.

"Beep."

"Congratulations, trial participant 'Zhao Xiaoxiao,' for reaching the summit of the Fourth Dragon Vein and triggering the core mission of the Nine Dragon Veins Competition."

"The Nine Dragon Veins Competition is divided into two roles: 'attacking side' and 'defending side.' Either side can completely control the Dragon Vein simply by capturing the 'Dragon Guard flags' and the 'Dragon Lord flag' at the Dragon Vein's summit."

"There are eight Dragon Guard flags. The flag-pulling time is a quarter of an hour. During this period, spiritual energy must be continuously injected. Due to the restrictions of the Dragon Vein Power, the flag-puller cannot perform any other actions while pulling the flag."

"There is one Dragon Lord flag. Only after all Dragon Guard flags have been pulled can a trial participant pull the Dragon Lord flag and claim the title of 'Dragon Lord.'"

"Once the Dragon Lord flag is pulled, the trial participant's identity automatically converts to 'defending side.' They can then unlock the 'Grand Dragon Vein Array' to defend against all 'attacking side' trial participants, and also assign the titles of eight Dragon Guards under their command."

"Trial participant Zhao Xiaoxiao, your identity is: attacking side."

"Current progress of the Fourth Dragon Vein Competition: Dragon Lord: 0/1, Dragon Guard: 6/8."

"Keep going, attacker! You are just one step away from becoming the Dragon Lord!"

After reading the message, Xu Xiaoshou's eyebrow twitched.

This thing was even instigating its own people to seize the Dragon Lord position?

But he quickly calmed down, realizing this wasn't the main point.

The key was that the current flag-pulling progress for the Fourth Dragon Vein was already '6/8.' This meant that the people on the mountain would only need two more quarters of an hour to unlock the 'Grand Dragon Vein Array'?

Or perhaps just one quarter of an hour!

The Dragon Guard flags—it didn't say they couldn't be pulled simultaneously, did it?

Xu Xiaoshou realized time was pressing. He didn't want the people on the mountain to gain control of the 'Grand Dragon Vein Array.'

Although he didn't know how powerful the 'Grand Dragon Vein Array' was, if it served as the defending side's defensive basis, even if it was weak, it would still need the ability to defend against multiple attacks simultaneously, right?

"No time to delay!"

Xu Xiaoshou, as Wood Xiaogong, immediately soared into the air, his green robes fluttering. He shouted, "Everyone, stop fighting and follow me immediately to the summit... Wait, no, everyone come to my side."

The young girl beckoned with a hand.

Many Xu Gang members were stunned.

No more fighting?

What for, at your side?

But Leader Mu had given the command, and no one dared to disobey. So, they all put down what they were doing and scurried over.

The Xu Gang members hadn't actually had much to do; battles erupted in an instant and were resolved in a single move.

The other side was simply in terrible condition: those without spiritual energy had none, and those heavily injured were heavily injured, like an army of the old, weak, and sick.

The Xu Gang's battle felt like bullying.

Soon, everyone gathered around Leader Mu, looking on expectantly.

Xu Xiaoshou flicked his sleeve, scattering a large handful of high-strength mutated spiritual medicine poisonous seeds he had taken from his Yuanfu world, sending them one by one towards the heads of the numerous gang members.

"Each of you take a handful! The battle situation has changed. Later, you will follow me up the mountain, and once we reach the summit, the first thing you do is plant these seeds for me."

Plant seeds?

Everyone froze upon receiving the seeds.

The gang members were quite familiar with tactical arrangements, but...

Didn't they used to receive only a few seeds each? Why is it a large handful per person now? Leader Mu, are you planning to blow up the entire Fourth Dragon Vein?

Before anyone could ask, the flamboyant Leader Mu flicked his sleeve again, and this time, many pill bottles flew out.

"These are antidote pills. I don't know if they're effective... *cough cough*, anyway, when you plant the seeds, just run down the mountain. Nothing will happen. If you accidentally get poisoned, then take an antidote pill."

Xu Gang members: ???

This time, everyone's heart skipped a beat.

Good heavens, Leader Mu, what are you trying to do?

With this battle, the enemies haven't even feared yet, but we ourselves are already terrified!