Exposure

Han Wang was sent to the rear to recover from his injuries, leaving only Yang Guanfeng and Yingxuan in the squad. After some adjustments, the two of them were reassigned to an eight-person roving squad.

Roving squads did not belong to any encampment. They answered directly to the frontline generals and went wherever they were needed.

Yang Guanfeng and Yingxuan had just recovered from their injuries. Before they could even rest for a single day, they received orders to rush across a vast distance to support a retreating northern force.

The squad set out overnight, heading straight north along the eastern border.

"Squad Leader, why are they transferring us? The journey alone will take over ten days. Are there no roving squads left in the north?"

A young cultivator who had only been at the border for a year asked.

He had spent this entire year in the central region with the main Zhuhu forces, so he was not very familiar with the situation in the north and south.

"The northern border sits right against the territories of the Seventh Prince and the Third Prince of Donghuang, and it is entirely flat plains. Because of that, both the pressure to hold the line and the sheer brutality of the battles far exceed the central and southern sections."

Because the Black Tiger Battalion was permanently stationed in the north, Yang Guanfeng was very clear on the situation there.

He continued to explain, "Moreover, the northern forces also face periodic harassment from Tianyou. Being attacked from both the front and back is the norm. Because of that, the roving squads up there are never enough, no matter the time."

"Hiss-so that is how it is. I took things for granted."

After learning about the northern situation from Yang Guanfeng, the squad quickened their pace.

Following eight days and nights of continuous travel, they finally reached a riverbank at midnight on the eighth day. There, they encountered the main force crossing the river under the cover of darkness.

Not far behind the troops, flashes of magical light flickered constantly.

Two of the Zhuhu army's accompanying cultivators were being pincered by three enemies.

Yang Guanfeng and the others immediately crossed the river to assist. Seeing that the situation had turned against them, the three Donghuang cultivators turned and fled, but they were still caught by Yang Guanfeng's group.

Two of the Donghuang cultivators were slain on the spot, while the last one chose to surrender.

Having resolved the pursuers, and with the help of the eight cultivators from the roving squad, the retreating forces finished their night crossing before dawn.

"Many thanks for your assistance, Fellow Daoists! When we return, I will definitely report your merits!"

The leading general looked at the main force that had retreated to the Safe Zone and finally breathed a sigh of relief, expressing his gratitude to Yang Guanfeng and the others.

Yang Guanfeng waved his hand. "We are all family, there is no need for such words. Where are the remaining accompanying cultivators?"

"They stayed behind in the war zone to act as the rearguard, drawing the enemy's attention to buy time for the troops to cross the river."

As the general spoke, he took out a map and pointed out the rough location of the rearguard cultivators to Yang Guanfeng.

Yang Guanfeng left four people behind to protect the retreating troops, then took Yingxuan and the other two across the river to receive the remaining four accompanying cultivators who had stayed behind.

Following the direction indicated on the map, they sensed faint fluctuations of Spiritual Qi around dusk. Continuing their search, they found the four individuals in a hidden basin.

Their armor was already tattered and stained with blood, indicating that they were heavily injured.

As Yang Guanfeng and the others approached, they immediately reacted, spreading out into a formation and raising their guard.

Seeing the four from afar, Yang Guanfeng ordered the others to slow down. Keeping one hand behind his back, he made a gesture.

Seeing this, Yingxuan and the others felt a chill in their hearts and quietly gathered the spiritual power in their bodies.

They had never seen portraits of these four accompanying cultivators; they only knew their realms and genders. Therefore, they could not rule out the possibility that these were enemies in disguise.

Yang Guanfeng's group of four slowly approached, stopping at a distance of about ten zhang.

"Did it snow in Qiulu this year?"

"It snowed early this year. There have already been three snowfalls."

Upon matching the secret phrase, the four accompanying cultivators seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, withdrawing their outward spiritual power.

Just as Yingxuan and the other two were about to lower their guard, they suddenly saw Yang Guanfeng make another gesture that only they understood, and their hearts tightened once more.

These four were actually Donghuang cultivators!

The three were somewhat astonished. They had not noticed anything wrong with these four people, and they had even matched the secret phrase.

This was the gap in experience. The three of them had been on the front lines for too short a time, and they had never paid attention to many minute details.

In truth, the moment Yang Guanfeng first laid eyes on the four, he was already seventy to eighty percent suspicious.

Because the shoulder and leg guards on two of their armors did not fit quite right.

The armor and defensive gear of the Zhuhu frontline cultivators were entirely custom-made, so such a thing was impossible.

Of course, he could not rule out the possibility that their armor had been deformed in battle, or that their own gear had broken and they were temporarily wearing someone else's.

Therefore, Yang Guanfeng only signaled them to be vigilant at first.

But the moment the other party dropped their stance, Yang Guanfeng caught another crucial detail.

These people were far too casual in releasing and retracting their spiritual power. They lacked the specialized control of frontline soldiers-this was a habit unique to Sect disciples.

Realizing this, he was absolutely certain of their identities.

As a princess of the Wangchao, Yingxuan had grown up in the palace and concealed her emotional fluctuations perfectly, revealing no flaws.

However, the shift in expressions on the other two was noticed by the four people opposite them.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoists, for coming to our aid."

"We are just following orders. You have all worked hard."

Yang Guanfeng and the leading cultivator walked toward each other, face-to-face.

When the distance between the two sides closed to within three zhang, Yang Guanfeng and the leading cultivator struck at almost the exact same time.

The leading cultivator opened his mouth and spat out a blood arrow that had been brewing for a long time.

Yang Guanfeng circulated the Brute Force Art. Martial Qi instantly steamed from his body, and he threw a punch from afar, knocking the blood arrow out of the air using nothing but the raw force of the strike.

"An expert!"

A sliver of shock flashed deep in the Donghuang leading cultivator's eyes. Then, revealing his true skill, he summoned his blood Qi and engaged in a fierce clash with Yang Guanfeng.

The remaining three, including Yingxuan, each met an opponent of their own.

In terms of realm alone, all six shared the same cultivation, and their battle prowess should have been evenly matched.

But Yingxuan practiced Spirit Communion arts. Its might was far beyond what ordinary frontline cultivators could compare to.

Thus, in merely a single exchange, her opponent was utterly overwhelmed, forced to awkwardly fight while retreating.

"Senior Brother! There is something wrong with this woman!"

Hearing this, the leading cultivator looked over. When he saw that Yingxuan was unleashing Gold-path offensive arts that manifested as golden threads, a brilliant flash of excitement instantly burst from his eyes.

"What luck! What tremendous luck! To think I would actually run into her!"

After the massive battle between the two sides last month, they had received a secret letter and a specially crafted intent-transmitting Dharma Treasure from their Sect.

The secret letter detailed a specific cultivator and ordered them to transmit their intent the moment they spotted this person.

Female, around seventeen years old, five feet tall, cultivates Gold-path arts, manifests as golden threads, excels at cutting and severing!

The woman before him was an exact match!

Realizing this, the man completely lost all desire to tangle with Yang Guanfeng. He decisively unleashed his final hidden move, a Bloodburst Art.

While Yang Guanfeng was forced to dodge and retreat, the man crushed a jade pendant on his body.

"Transmitting intent to call for aid?"

Yang Guanfeng froze for a second. He sensed a strand of spiritual thought fly away, but he was somewhat confused.

If the enemy reinforcements were nearby, whether they set an ambush in the basin from the start or attacked from behind when the battle broke out, both would have been excellent choices. Why go through this extra trouble?

If it was a sudden call for aid, sending a transmission now was completely pointless. Given the travel speed of Qi Gathering cultivators, they could never arrive in time.

Mid-thought, Yang Guanfeng turned his head to look at Yingxuan not far away. After a brief second, his gaze sharpened.

"Not good!"

A realization suddenly exploded in his mind. He immediately flashed forward, kicked away the man fighting Yingxuan, hoisted her onto his shoulder, and sprinted wildly toward the Zhuhu border.

He had a profound premonition that Yingxuan's identity had been exposed to Donghuang.

It was likely that the life-saving Dharma Treasure triggered during the grand battle last month had been captured by several Sects in Donghuang.

So this man shattering the jade to transmit his intent was not a call for aid at all-he was calling for someone to capture her!

"Heh. Run? Can you run?"

The leading Sect cultivator let out a cold sneer.

Within a few breaths, a streak of black Qi tore through the sky behind him, aiming directly at Yang Guanfeng and Yingxuan.

A massive pressure crashed into his mind, nearly causing Yang Guanfeng to faint as his heart-soul wavered.

In this critical moment, the Heart-Soul Stabilizing and Nurturing Method that Chen Yang had imparted to him played a vital role.

Yang Guanfeng rapidly chanted its incantations in his heart, forcefully pulling his consciousness back from the brink.

"Oh?"

A soft sound of surprise drifted from the black Qi. But in the next instant, the Zhuhu Condensed Origin cultivator who had been hiding in the dark all along finally acted.

With a slash of True Essence, he severed the Donghuang Condensed Origin cultivator's influence over the two's heart-souls, stepping out from a cloud of mist.

"Fellow Daoist, let us stop here. If you push any further, things will turn ugly."

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