Chapter 1 The Crimson Moonlight

In the night sky, draped with cascading crimson moonlight.

A group of people made their unhurried way towards the Xia Yi Gate, some tens of miles distant.

"Halt!"

Upon his sturdy black Jiao dragon horse, Fang Yuhong suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.

"Brother Fang, have you discovered something again?"

Yang Ling forcefully suppressed his emotions, though his tone couldn't help but carry a hint of mockery.

What was his status?

The Deputy Commander of the Brocade Guards. With Yang Lin in perennial seclusion, he was the uncrowned king of the Brocade Guards, holding true power in his hands.

Fang Yuhong had led them in circles through the Liang Province mountains for days, exhausting the little patience he had left. A fire had been building within him, and he was close to losing control.

Hearing Fang Yuhong's voice now, he couldn't help but feel agitated.

"Brother Fang, what have you found?"

After days of travel, Zhao Changying was also growing impatient.

The others looked at Fang Yuhong, their expressions varied.

"There's a scent of blood..."

Fang Yuhong's face was also quite unsightly, but he forced himself to remain calm, gritting his teeth as he said, "A very strong scent of blood. Hundreds of auras are mixed together. A bloody battle has occurred ahead."

"Ahead..."

Yang Ling's heart stirred. He took a map from his chest and unfolded it.

The territory of Da Feng was vast, and the mountains and forests were ever-changing. No one could recognize every route. Yang Ling didn't travel the martial world much, and after wandering in circles in the mountains for days, he hadn't bothered to check where they were.

Now, as he looked, his expression changed.

"Ahead is...the Xia Yi Gate...Could it be Feng Qingxuan?!"

"The Xia Yi Gate?"

"Feng Qingxuan has already reached the Xia Yi Gate? Then this bloody aura must be from a battle between him and those martial artists?"

"I wonder what the casualties are?"

The others were also startled.

"I'm afraid so...I smell hundreds of different auras. At least hundreds of people have died ahead. Blood has flowed like a river, a river of blood!"

Fang Yuhong focused his senses, first with some doubt, then with a nod.

"In that case, we can wait for a while."

Zhao Changying's eyes flickered. "None of them are good people. We'll clean up the mess after they've mostly killed each other off."

People of the martial world had a very poor impression of the Six Doors, the Eastern Depot, and the Brocade Guards. Conversely, they also had a very poor impression of the martial artists.

In their eyes, the Demonic Sect wasn't a good thing, and neither were these martial artists.

If the two sides fought, the more people who died, the better for them.

The others nodded in agreement.

"The Xia Yi Gate..."

Only Yang Ling's eyes flickered as he remained silent.

He dismounted and gazed at the night sky in the distance. He had neither the art of qi observation nor a sense of smell as sharp as Fang Yuhong's, but with the reminder, he focused his senses and could vaguely feel that something was wrong.

The night sky was too quiet.

So quiet that it seemed even the birds, beasts, and insects were gone. This was clearly abnormal.

Zhao Changying's senses weren't as good as Yang Ling's, but he was very perceptive.

When Yang Ling mentioned the Xia Yi Gate, his expression didn't change much.

A thought flashed through his mind. He turned his gaze to Yang Ling and asked tentatively, "Lord Yang seems to be hiding something from us!"

"Some things are better known by fewer people," Yang Ling said.

To his surprise, Yang Ling didn't seem to want to hide it. He simply stood with his hands behind his back and replied indifferently.

"Brother Yang is hiding something from us?"

Tong Luyang frowned. "Are even we not qualified to know?"

Only Xue Tinglin and Mu Qianren, who belonged to the Brocade Guards, remained silent. Even if they had doubts, they wouldn't speak easily.

"Now that things have come to this, there's no need to hide it."

Yang Ling brushed his sleeves, swept the ground, and sat down, saying calmly, "Do you all know why the Brocade Guards and the Six Doors haven't taken action despite Feng Qingxuan's major moves several months ago?"

"Is there some hidden reason?"

Tong Luyang's pupils constricted.

He had suspected this since Feng Qingxuan first appeared several months ago, but he had no answer.

Now it seemed that Yang Ling knew something.

"You few, go and investigate. If something's wrong, report back immediately," Yang Ling said.

Yang Ling looked at his subordinates and gave an order.

"Yes!"

Dozens of Brocade Guards experts in the True Qi Realm responded, dismounted, and darted into the mountains. They disappeared in a few moments.

As members of the Brocade Guards, they had always known that some things could get you killed if you knew them.

In an instant, only Yang Ling, Zhao Changying, Tong Luyang, and the other three remained.

And the dozens of horses, even with their masters gone, stood quietly in the night without making a sound, showing they had received strict training.

"Sit," Yang Ling said with a wave of his hand.

The others exchanged glances and found a place to sit on the ground.

Zhao Changying was somewhat surprised.

They had been chasing for more than half a month without resting for a moment. Now that they were about to catch up, they suddenly wanted to rest?

What was Yang Ling up to?

"The source of this matter goes back to a year ago..."

Yang Ling's body trembled slightly, and an invisible aura spread out, enveloping the surroundings.

"A year ago..."

Fang Yuhong's eyes flickered slightly. He suddenly remembered something.

A year ago, Han Changgong, the Chief of the Imperial Observatory, who was second only to the king in the Da Feng court, suddenly went into seclusion and had not come out since.

It was after that that the king suddenly changed. He not only prepared his troops to go to war with the Golden Wolf Royal Court, but he also wanted the Brocade Guards to monitor the world internally, wanting to collect all the weapons of the world.

The Six Doors had also become much more tyrannical, even doing things like destroying mountains and destroying sects.

Because of this, countless assassins had tried to assassinate the king in the past year.

The others exchanged glances and thought of this at the same time.

Over the past year or so, countless people had speculated about what had caused such a big change in the king.

"Lord Han's art of qi observation is superb, and his predictions of military trends and national fortunes are always accurate. Could it be that he told the king something?"

Mu Qianren said in a hoarse voice.

"No one knows what Lord Han said except the king."

Yang Ling knew in his heart that it wasn't that no one knew, but that even he wasn't qualified to know.

After all, he hadn't yet broken through that threshold and couldn't truly enter that core.

Zhao Changying vaguely guessed something, but didn't dare to think too much about it. Instead, he asked, "Does the Brocade Guards have other arrangements for the Xia Yi Gate?"

The others tacitly didn't ask any further.

"That's right. Commander Yang Lin personally gave the order."

Yang Ling nodded and said, "You don't need to know much. You just need to know that Feng Qingxuan won't be our enemy."

Won't be our enemy?

Zhao Changying and the others were shocked, understanding the meaning of Yang Ling's words.

Immediately, they were horrified.

"That's all. There's no need to say anything else."

Yang Ling lowered his eyes and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. "If that An Qisheng runs into Feng Qingxuan, perhaps it will save us some trouble..."

Yang Ling didn't speak, and the others remained silent as well.

They were still digesting the news from Yang Ling.

If things were as they imagined, what exactly had Han Changgong seen?

Whoosh, whoosh...

After a moment of silence, several sounds of air being torn apart suddenly came from the mountains in the night sky.

Yang Ling and the others raised their eyebrows and looked over.

They saw a figure darting out of the mountains in a few moments, landing directly on a steed.

"Brother Wang, Brother Li, come quickly! There are dozens of top-grade steeds here!"

"Brother Zhou, don't cause trouble. Why bother with mere horses? So many fellow martial artists have died in front of the Xia Yi Gate. We should go quickly to prevent others from seizing their wealth!"

"That's right, that's right! The wealth accumulated by our fellow martial artists throughout their lives is worth a hundred times more than these horses!"

Two figures turned from the mountains and spoke from afar.

But the man sitting on the horse didn't say anything.

Because he saw the six great experts sitting on the ground beside the road, looking at him with cold eyes.

"A great red python robe, carrying a long saber..."

On the steed, the man surnamed Zhou felt a chill and cold sweat dripped from his forehead.

Da Feng honored gold and red, and valued dragons and pythons.

Except for the king, who could wear a golden dragon robe, other high officials, even the Chief of the Imperial Observatory Han Changgong and Brocade Guards Commander Yang Lin, only wore golden python robes.

Beyond that, a scarlet python robe was something that only the most powerful and influential people in Da Feng could wear.

Those who wore this robe were bound to be great experts of high status and power.

And looking at the people around him, their auras and status seemed to be similar.

How had he delivered himself to their doorstep?

For a moment, the Zhou-surnamed man couldn't help but want to slap himself.

"Lords...I'm just passing by," said the Zhou-surnamed man.

The Zhou-surnamed man dismounted and said weakly.

Yang Ling glanced at the mountains indifferently. Mu Qianren nodded and disappeared without any visible movement.

Tong Luyang frowned slightly but didn't say anything.

"You said many people died in front of the Xia Yi Gate?" Yang Ling asked.

Yang Ling slowly looked at the big man, asking indifferently.

His tone was empty, and his words gave people a sense of superiority, causing the big man to tremble and lose control of himself.

"Replying to my Lord," said the Zhou-surnamed man, cupping his hands: "It was a tragedy! The blood flowed like a river in front of the Xia Yi Gate. That demon slaughtered hundreds of fellow martial artists in one breath, and even three great Innate experts, Han Feng, Li Ming, and others, were killed. The blood flowed like a river, a river of blood!"

As he spoke, his body shuddered again. Recalling the previous scene, his heart turned cold.

"Is that so?"

Zhao Changying raised his eyebrows slightly. "Is that demon's martial arts so powerful?"

"Answering this Great, Miss."

When the Zhou-surnamed man saw Zhao Changying, his breathing couldn't help but stagnate, and the flattering smile on his face became more obvious: "That demon's martial arts are superb. With just one move, three great Land Ranking experts were all killed, and in just over a dozen breaths, he killed hundreds of martial artists..."

"Killed three Land Ranking experts with one move?"

Yang Ling's gaze sharpened, piercing the man like a sword: "Are you telling the truth?"

Under Yang Ling's imposing aura, a gust of wind swept through the mountains, and countless fallen leaves moved with the dust.

The man was even more frightened, gritting his teeth as he replied: "Every, every word is true."

Has Feng Qingxuan's martial arts reached this level?

Yang Ling's eyes narrowed. Compared to when he fought him a year ago, Feng Qingxuan was even more powerful now.

Not only Yang Ling, but Zhao Changying and the others were also shocked.

Although they hadn't made it onto the Land Ranking, it was actually because the Brocade Guards had been hiding their strength. They thought that they wouldn't be inferior to the experts on the Land Ranking.

Naturally, they knew what kind of martial arts it would take to kill three Land Ranking experts with one move.

Even Yang Ling, the strongest among them, might not be able to do it.

Whoosh~

In the breeze, Mu Qianren, with a trace of blood on his body, returned to his place and bowed slightly: "There were seven people behind those two. I killed them all."

"You, you are so cruel!"

The Zhou-surnamed man's heart jumped wildly. He dodged and tried to escape.

But before he could get up, a majestic zhenqi had descended from the sky, stepping him heavily on the ground. It was Tong Luyang.

"Have you seen an old Taoist in a white robe, about seventy or eighty years old?"

Looking at the man struggling under his feet, Tong Luyang asked indifferently: "Answer me and I'll let you go!"

The man's spine was almost broken by the stomp, and his face was twitching in pain. Hearing this, he endured the pain and replied: "The demon I'm talking about is him, is the Blood Demon An Qisheng!"

"It was him, he killed Feng Qingxuan, killed Han Feng, killed many fellow martial artists. Now, now he's still at the Xia Yi Gate, still at the Xia Yi Gate!

Lords, I've told you everything I know. Let me go, please let me go!"

"What?"

"How is that possible?!"

"You said An Qisheng killed Feng Qingxuan?!"

Yang Ling and the others changed their expressions drastically, losing all their composure and calmness.

Especially Yang Ling, who had fought Feng Qingxuan, felt a huge wave in his heart.

He had met Feng Qingxuan once a year ago, and they had exchanged blows once. Although it was only a brief exchange, he knew that Feng Qingxuan's strength a year ago was no less than his own.

Tong Luyang lost control for a moment, almost stomping the man to death.

"Ah!"

The man screamed, his body twitching in pain. Tong Luyang's stomp had broken his spine!

"Ha! Haha!"

His face was twisted in pain, but suddenly he laughed miserably: "You, you are doomed!"

He laughed until tears flowed out, and his snot and tears almost filled his mouth.

"The person you are chasing is here!"

"An Qisheng?!"

Their hearts jumped wildly. They stood up at the same time, and their sabers and swords leaped into their hands, their hairs standing on end.

Looking back, they saw an old Taoist in a white robe, walking unhurriedly in the crimson night under the gentle night breeze.

The world, at this moment, seemed to become darker.

The night wind seemed to become even colder.

Until it was bone-chilling.