Chapter 79: Repelling the Yue Tribes

Fires had already started in Lichuankou. Scattered village guards confronted the Shanyue in the alleys and streets, protecting their wives and daughters behind them. More people had already dispersed, leaving themselves to be plundered by the Shanyue.

By the time Li Xiangping arrived with his clan soldiers, the Shanyue had completely scattered into the village, looting everywhere, with no formation whatsoever. He could only frown and lead his troops first along the flagstone path towards the spiritual field courtyard.

A dozen or so Shanyue soldiers surrounded the small courtyard, muttering in their dialect and trying to smash a large bluestone into the yard. Fortunately, a formation array had been set up inside the courtyard. The large bluestone tumbled in the air for a moment before falling back outside the courtyard with a thud.

“It's good the spiritual field is unharmed. This Wan Tianchou probably knows a few more formations. I should find an opportunity to have him write them down for me to examine.” Li Xiangping arrived with his troops, nodded at the sight, and waved for his clan soldiers to advance. The Shanyue scattered and fled in fright, and were captured within moments.

“Patriarch!” Wan Tianchou, seeing clearly from within the formation, quickly and somewhat awkwardly opened the array upon seeing Li Xiangping arrive as reinforcements.

The Wan family was destroyed overnight. Wan Xiaohua had destroyed all their legacies on Mount Huaqian, and the promised formation teachings were nowhere to be found. Wan Tianchou, who escaped, only managed to bring out a few array disks. Furthermore, he was not proficient in his studies; of the ten Embryo Respiration Realm formations, he had only learned three. Fortunately, he still knew how to deploy the formations, preventing the spiritual field from being harmed.

“Ooooh…” Just as he was about to order a scattered pursuit, Li Xiangping heard a deep horn sound. The Shanyue soldiers in the village receded like a tide. He raised an eyebrow, lightly drew his Dark Raven Bow, notched an arrow, listened carefully for a few breaths, then released the arrow, sending a white streak flying towards the mountains.

“Let's pursue them for a while.” Li Xiangping waved his hand, and the clan soldiers behind him sprang into action, heading in the direction the Shanyue forces had fled.

————

“How did they get here so fast!” Ahuila sat in the forest, watching lines of clan soldiers enter the village, and quickly stood up, shouting: “Retreat! Retreat! Don’t fight them to the death; grab enough loot and leave!”

His few hundred remnants of defeated soldiers were only fit for raiding; they had no intention of engaging these clan soldiers further. Preserving his followers was key. As long as he had these followers, Ahuila could find a living in any tribe. If they were all lost here, his power and value would be greatly diminished, reducing him to a mere thug.

The tribal shaman beside him quickly pulled out a horn and blew it with a mournful sound. Seeing his followers retreating towards the mountains, Ahuila breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down by the tree.

Just as he relaxed, Ahuila saw a white streak flying swiftly towards him. The head of the tribal shaman, who was blowing the horn beside him, exploded with a loud bang, scattering blood like a burst watermelon. Ahuila’s face and head were splattered with red and white.

“You scared the living daylights out of me!” Staring in horror at the long arrow embedded in the tree, its fletching still trembling, Ahuila swallowed, slowly retreated a few steps, and whispered: “Retreat, retreat into the forest!”

Immediately, another tribal shaman nervously picked up the horn and blew it twice, then quickly squatted down, clutching his head. Ahuila gnashed his teeth in frustration but dared not take the horn himself.

Hiding behind a large tree, Ahuila looked into the distance. With his Embryo Respiration Realm eyesight, he clearly saw the situation below and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

The clan soldiers at the foot of the mountain clung to the rear of his forces, capturing nearly a hundred people, which triggered a chorus of curses and pleas for mercy. Using these hundred people as a hindrance, the Shanyue forces finally entered the forest.

The clan soldiers' morale soared, and they seemed poised to pursue into the forest. However, the sound of gongs and drums also rang out from the village, and the clan soldiers hesitantly stopped their pursuit, returning to the village with their captives.

“They're truly cowardly bastards!” Ahuila cursed under his breath, then turned and led his men deeper into the mountain forest.

————

After driving his troops to kill for a while, seeing that all the Shanyue had entered the forest, Li Xiangping immediately sounded the gongs to recall his forces. Looking at the dozens of captured Shanyue, some of the anger in his heart subsided.

Watching Chen Erniu slowly walk back from the front of the village, covered in blood, Li Xiangping cupped his hands slightly and said solemnly: “You've worked hard, Steward Chen.”

“Cough, cough… I wouldn’t dare…” Chen Erniu coughed twice and repeatedly declined. Li Xuanxuan, clad in armor, came forward, followed by a string of bound Shanyue. Li Xiangping nodded and said in a low voice: “Xuan’er, you take your men and rest here. This matter cannot be simply left at that. We cannot let a few hundred Shanyue casually loot Lichuankou’s wealth and children.”

With a raised hand gesture, Li Yesheng, along with village guards from several villages, had already arrived at Lichuankou and quickly came closer.

“I will return to Lijing Mountain. You organize the troops. There’s no need for grudges to linger overnight here.”

Everyone responded and departed. After speaking, Li Xiangping immediately turned back. Upon reaching Lijing Mountain, he saw Li Tongya, who had just emerged from secluded cultivation, his spiritual energy complete, already at the peak of Embryo Respiration.

“Since Second Brother has finished his secluded cultivation, we have even more confidence in this matter.” Li Xiangping smiled through gritted teeth, a hint of anger in his eyes. He changed his clothes, entered the ancestral hall, performed three bows and nine kowtows, passed the altar laden with offerings of fruits, gourds, and incense candles, and respectfully bowed to the stone platform, requesting the Jianzi.

“Proceed with caution.” He unexpectedly heard an old voice; it was his father, Li Mutian. Li Mutian was emaciated beyond recognition, sitting quietly in the courtyard. He spoke in a hoarse voice, then took a deep, gasping breath.

The old man often dozed off in the courtyard, not lucid for long periods. He would frequently forget to go to the main courtyard for meals and needed Li Xuanfeng to call him. However, he was exceptionally sensitive to footsteps, and Li Xiangping’s entry into the courtyard immediately roused him.

“Yes.” Li Xiangping responded, and seeing Li Mutian’s appearance, a hint of worry rose in his heart. He wondered how much longer his father could last, and a trace of reluctance involuntarily appeared on his face.

Gritting his teeth, Li Xiangping turned and exited the back courtyard, saying to Li Tongya: “There’s no need to use the Taiyin Profound Light. Just the Jianzi's ability to perceive near and far distances will suffice to catch the Shanyue off guard. With the Jianzi, even if there are Qi Refinement cultivators, we can retreat safely.”

“Agreed.” Li Tongya followed Li Xiangping down the mountain, listening thoughtfully as his younger brother, with a grim expression, recounted the events of the past few days, then nodded in contemplation.

The two hurried without rest to the encampment. The night was still deep, and the village guards and clan soldiers were vaguely sleeping, their faces covered.

Two loud gongs rang out, and everyone jumped up. They donned their armor, held their sabers and shields, took out horizontal bits to clench in their mouths, and tightly bound their faces with cloths to prevent them from falling out, then gathered together.

While waiting for Li Xuanxuan and Li Qiuyang to fully assemble their troops, Li Xiangping closed his eyes and quietly touched the Jianzi, scanning the entire mountain's situation with crystal clarity.

With a swift movement, he drew his Dark Raven Bow. Several streaks of light flew into the mountains, picking off the Shanyue sentries left to monitor the forest one by one. Only then did Li Xiangping sling the bow behind his back and declare loudly: “Let’s go!”