Chapter 27: Retreat

  Wang Shendu, a commoner by birth, was originally one of the most capable assistants under the Second Prince. Not only did he possess unparalleled military talent, but also had an extraordinary gift for cultivation that ordinary people could hardly match.

  Don't look at him being nearly thirty years old, he has the cultivation of Qi Dao Ba Zhong. In fact, if he were given a training environment like that of Second Prince Ning Tianqi or Young Master Gu Dingzhong, he would be able to advance to Qi Dao Jiu Zhong, and even reach a level comparable to Sword Saint Nian Wusheng!

  He was born with a natural talent and also as an ordinary person who had suffered hardships, which nurtured the ambition in his heart!

  After he received the order from Second Prince Ning Tianqi to rescue the Lord of Qingping, he sensed an opportunity at the first time. When he rescued the Lord of Qingping who had lost too much blood and fainted, he met Zhang Ziming who was protecting the Lord of Qingping. After learning about the whole story from him, a bold plan emerged in his mind!

  Gu Qing, this master of the Nine Heavens Qi Refining Technique, has already been injured. If he can take advantage of this opportunity to capture Gu Qing and even the entire Wu Wei Hou family, handing them over to the Qing Ping Jun for disposal, completing a task that not even the Blood Eagle Guard or the three great disciples of the Xian Men could accomplish, what a tremendous achievement it would be!

  If he really achieves this, the young master of Qingpings will definitely look at him with new eyes in the future!

  Even to the point of...

  He also made a small request, hoping to get an introduction from her sister, the true disciple of Xuan Yang Tian Zong!

  Once able to get the recommendation of this Xuan Yang Tian Zong true disciple, join Xuan Yang Tian Zong, he will have a breakthrough in his cultivation path and hope for advancement in Dan Dao...

  Promotion to Dan Dao...

  At the thought of these four provocative words, Wang Shen didn't care about the consequences and immediately dispatched 1,000 Blood Flame Iron Riders to escort the Qingping County Master out of the city. After returning to the Western side, he quickly assembled the remaining 2,000 Blood Flame Army and arrived at the Wuwei Marquis's mansion in no time, surrounding this ancient marquis's mansion with a hundred years of history in the imperial capital, sealing it off completely!

  With his order, the two thousand Blood Flame soldiers finally surged into the Hou Manor!

  The few dozen guards at the gate were indeed more formidable than any of the Flame Army's soldiers in a one-on-one fight, but two fists can't contend with four hands. Heroes can't withstand sheer numbers, and with a disparity of several dozen against two thousand, unless they were all masters with seven or higher levels of Qi cultivation, there was no chance of victory to speak of.

  Gu Qing looked at the rapidly retreating guards of Wu Wei Hou and swept a glance at Xu Bing who was somewhat at a loss behind him: "If you want to stay here, just wait for the Emperor to administer justice. I won't keep you company." As soon as he finished speaking, he directly carried Xu Xiaolin on his back, borrowed force from a wall, and suddenly rushed into the sky, trying to break out.

  However, Wang Shengdu knew more clearly than anyone else that the person Qingying County Master really wanted to capture was Gu Qing, whose importance even surpassed that of his love rival Xu Bingbing.

  So his gaze almost nine out of ten stayed on Gu Qing.

  Gu Qing wanted to break through, he immediately sensed it and shouted loudly: "Strong crossbow! Strong crossbow! Shoot him down for me!"

  With his order, twenty-six powerful crossbows at the three highest points simultaneously targeted Gu Qing, who was trying to climb over the wall and fall onto the street.

  "Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!"

  A deafening sonic boom suddenly shook the dark night!

  Twenty-six sharp arrows carrying a deadly chill shot directly towards him, and in the blink of an eye had already reached Gu Qing's front.

  Gu Qing's strength, when facing the four flying knives shot by the seven top masters of the Qi Dao, could easily catch them and counterattack. However, no matter how fast his reaction was, it was impossible to grab all twenty-six crossbow arrows that almost covered every part of his body, especially at this moment, being in mid-air, with nowhere to borrow strength or dodge!

  After withstanding part of the crossbow arrows, he had no choice but to fall from above.

  Seeing Gu Qing being forced back into the courtyard, a hint of cruelty flashed in Wang Shendu's eyes. He raised his right hand: "Archers, prepare! Fire!"

  "Launch!?" Wang Shentu's deputy hesitated for a moment: "General, launching can only be done in a range-based manner and cannot accurately target the exact target... there are still many innocent people in the mansion..."

  "Are you the general or am I the general? Execute the order!"

  "Yes!"

  With a single order from him, behind the great army, a hundred-man phalanx of archers suddenly shot out a hundred cold-glinting sharp arrows, carrying a wisp of eerie chill, like a dense and violent rainstorm, fiercely falling into the area where Gu Qing had just stood!

  "Ah!"

  A shrill cry suddenly came from that area, apparently many servants or underlings who thought they were safe hiding in the Hou Mansion had been caught.

  "Wang Shendu, you son of a bitch! If you have the guts, kill us all today. Otherwise, I will go to the Emperor and accuse you until you are dead without a whole corpse!"

  A furious roar suddenly came from the direction where Gu Ding was located.

  Wang Shen snorted coldly: "Wait until you can survive before talking!" As he spoke, his right hand lifted again: "Archers..."

  ……

  "No, this won't do! Fall back, first fall back to the backyard!" Gu Dingzhong shouted loudly while scanning the crowd, as if searching for something.

  When he sensed Gu Qing's presence, he immediately ran over in big strides, shouting: "Seventh brother, seventh brother, it's all up to you now! You're a master of the Nine Heavens Airway, you can break through and rush out right away, go to the Imperial Palace, tell Emperor Your Majesty about what's happening here, let Emperor Your Majesty personally send someone to stop them! Otherwise, our Wu Wei Marquis Manor is really going to be finished!"

  Gu Qing furrowed his brow: "To the imperial palace..."

  "Yes, so many Blood Flame Army troops. Even a master at the 9th level of Qi Refining can't hold out against them. Seventh Brother, don't worry about this for now, quickly break through and go to His Majesty the Emperor to request reinforcements!"

  "It's too late! From the imperial palace to here, it takes at least twenty minutes by road. If there are any delays during the meeting with the emperor, it will waste at least half an hour. Do you think that with just a few guards, we can hold out for half an hour?"

  "We will hold on even if we can't, and we will persist until you arrive."

  Gu Qing shook his head: "Even if I went to the imperial palace, it's not necessarily possible to bring rescue troops!"

  "Even if we go to the imperial palace, it's not necessarily possible to bring reinforcements!" Gu Dingzhong was taken aback for a moment.

  "This city is under the imperial family's jurisdiction. The king and gods have brought troops all the way from Beicheng to here, do you think the emperor wouldn't receive any news?"

  As soon as this was said, Gu Dingzhong's face suddenly turned somewhat pale: "You're saying..."

  "Holding out is no solution, break through!"

  "But..."

  Gu Qing's idea was a bit over the top, but it wasn't much different from Emperor Ning Tianchi's decision.

  When the Emperor learned that Wang Shendu wanted to use force against the Wuwei Hou Mansion, His Majesty's first thought was to issue an order to stop him, so as not to provoke the displeasure of Gu Qing, the "Dan Dao Master" in the mansion. However, at this time, Ning Tianqi's arrival made him understand the irreconcilable enmity between Gu Qing and the Qingping Junzhu, as well as Gu Qing's actual strength that had not truly reached the Dan Dao realm.

  Taoist alchemy and Qigong's nine-layered peak are two completely different realms.

  Although a master of the Nine Heavens is the most powerful force in a dynasty, with sufficient preparation, thousands of ordinary troops can kill a master of the Nine Heavens!

  It's not worth it for a master of the ninth level of the airway and the King of Western Town to formally break their faces.

  As a result, the idea of stopping Wang Shendu was naturally shelved.

  Of course, Wu Weihou and Xu Jiangjun are also high-ranking officials in the court. He naturally cannot have no action at all... An imperial edict to stop Wang Shendu has already been issued, as for when this imperial edict can reach Wang Shendu's hands, only the person who delivered the imperial edict knows.

  Just as the battle between humans and demons was intense in the ancient city, some were hesitant when Xue Bing suddenly said: "Ancient Ding Zhong, if I'm not mistaken, your Hou Mansion should have a secret passage to leave the mansion, right?"

  "How did you know..."

  "I inadvertently heard Master Hou mention it before, but I don't know specifically where."

  Without waiting for the others to speak, Qing waved his hand and said: "Since there is a secret passage out of the Hou Mansion, it's much easier. If I'm not mistaken, Wang Shendu's primary target should be me. I'll stay here to attract his attention and hold back their attack, you all leave first!"

  "You..."

  "These so-called Blood Flame Army, although they have undergone rigorous training, but if I were to go alone, they wouldn't be able to stop me!" As he said this, he put down Xu Xiaolin who was on his back and said: "I only have one request, no matter what, protect her safety."

  "Is this... Is this the maid beside Miss Hsu?"

  Gu Qing nodded: "You two, one is a master of the eighth level of Qi Gong, and the other is a cultivator at the peak of the seventh level of Qi Gong. Even if you encounter hundreds of scattered soldiers, you can handle it. Moreover, you are taking a secret path that no one knows about, so this task should not be difficult for you!"

  Although Gu Dingzhong didn't know why he was being so cautious about a maid, he also knew that this wasn't the time to talk nonsense. He nodded vigorously: "Seventh brother, rest assured! Unless I die, I absolutely won't let anyone harm him!"

  Xu Bingning also nodded under Gu Qing's gaze and took Xu Xiaolin from his hands.

  Gu Dingzhong looked back at the already breached Houfu gate, his heart filled with resentment and anger, but in front of the two thousand elite Blood Flame Army, unless he could break through the airway, advance to the physical transformation by the power of heaven and earth, and reach the realm of alchemy where energy was boundless, otherwise, the current situation would not have any chance of turning around.

  Xu Bingning knew the pain in Guding's heart, and let out a slightly guilty sigh: "Let's meet at the Suffering Bamboo Forest ten miles outside the city later, Gu Qing, take care of yourself."

  "Good!"

  The two responded in unison, taking Xu Xiaolin with them, and quickly called out some key members of the family, rushing towards the backyard.

  When fighting, there is no need to worry about protecting Xu Xiaolin behind him, Gu Qing suddenly felt a lot lighter on his body.

  He shook the sharp Xuanjin sword in his hand, and his gaze immediately pierced through hundreds of meters of space, falling on Wang Shendu who was protected by layers of human walls.