"Hmm?"
Zhang Jian’s face was filled with surprise.
It was the first time he encountered animals with intelligence.
That should be a spirit monster.
He slightly sensed that the aura on those two eagles was very strange, with a very special flavor.
There was also a slight fluctuation.
A fluctuation of spiritual power.
But very faint.
Yet completely different from the few Outer Cultivators he had met before.
Zhang Jian instinctively remembered this peculiar flavor.
Then he fell into hesitation.
His entry into Phoenix Tail Mountain wasn’t just to eliminate bandits; he carried a hidden mission.
It was rumored that there might be an ancient tomb of a prince on Phoenix Tail Mountain, containing a wealth of burial items, and possibly a powerful legacy of Outer Cultivation Martial Arts; Zhang Yi had him make the trip.
This information came from Gu Xiu’Er’s mouth.
The main purpose of the two siblings entering Fengxi County was also for this ancient tomb, and they planned to borrow soldiers from Yang Qing to accomplish this.
They hadn’t expected to be trapped in the Zhang Family later.
Eventually, they had to rely on this information to protect themselves.
"Nephew, have you discovered anything?"
Next to him, seeing Zhang Jian suddenly stop, Zhang Kui immediately turned his gaze over. Despite his large and rough appearance, he was extremely attentive.
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Jian said, "Uncle, there might be changes in Phoenix Tail Mountain. I estimate that some Outer Cultivators have already arrived ahead of us!"
Zhang Kui’s expression changed upon hearing this, and he couldn’t help but frown, asking skeptically.
"Why would a ragtag group be able to attract Outer Cultivators? Moreover, if there were any high-level Outer Cultivators among them, wouldn’t they act by now? With these bandits’ nature, they would have swept through the rest of the bandit camps in the Shuangfeng Mountain Range long ago."
Zhang Jian’s eyes flickered. He also had doubts in his heart, but to confirm his suspicions, he had Zhang Kui send a few strong scouts to survey the situation from a distance without approaching the camp.
At the same time, he had five hundred soldiers hide to avoid detection by the Outer Cultivators in the mountains.
This was out of careful consideration.
Zhang Jian was not keen on taking risks.
After all, he had just entered the Cultivation Realm, with a bright future ahead.
As long as he acted with filial piety and stayed safe, his future was promising, and risking his precious self for some gold and silver wasn’t worth it.
However, Zhang Jian also had his own considerations.
He guessed that the Outer Cultivators might have been attracted by a rumor spread by the Shangyuan Sect, possibly just to annoy the Zhang Family.
Cultivators who coveted mundane wealth were probably not very strong, and if they were, those two little demons wouldn’t have escaped.
Soon, the scouts returned with news.
"The camp is still there, and people are still patrolling!"
This gave Zhang Jian a boost of spirit; his guess was correct.
The Outer Cultivators evidently still needed to use the gang in Phoenix Tail Mountain to help find the tomb.
This also indicated that the Outer Cultivators’ Dao practice wasn’t very high.
However, this was normal; Zhang Jian had previously gained some insight through a confrontation with the Gu Family, realizing that there weren’t many proper Cultivators with orthodox methods. Most probably just stumbled upon a couple of Heterodox Techniques.
Seeing the Gu Family’s stance proves it.
After learning that the Zhang Family might have extraordinary people, even at the cost of losing face, the Gu Family didn’t continue the dispute.
This indicated that they didn’t have any extraordinary individuals, or if they did, they were kept as a last resort, not used lightly.
Having recently learned the Wind Walking Technique and Thunder Walking Technique from the Small Wind and Thunder Technique, and beginning to understand the Soul Purification Spell, Zhang Jian felt somewhat confident.
As long as he didn’t encounter those who had truly mastered magical power, he could at least escape unscathed.
He had recently worked hard on his Wind Walking Technique...
Squinting his eyes, Zhang Jian directly said, "Uncle, I’ll go ahead and open the camp gate first; you bring the whole army forward. Even if there are one or two Heterodox Mages, it’s bound to work out!"
Despite his words, Zhang Jian felt a hint of regret.
The destruction of the House of Virtue’s archway was too unfortunate; otherwise, under such circumstances, carrying that archway over would scare off any Heterodox Mages!
However, the governmental official guard force in front of him, with Zhang Kui as the Fengxi County Captain, although only of Junior Ninth Grade, still had official status and possessed Dragon and Tiger Qi, which could intimidate Heterodox Sect members.
"Alright, we’ll follow with the army soon!"
Zhang Kui’s face was solemn as he slightly spurred his horse, immediately ordering his personal guard to prepare to advance into Phoenix Tail Mountain.
Meanwhile, clearing the obstacles.
In Phoenix Tail Mountain, Zhang Jian moved at an astonishing speed. Once he made up his mind, he chose to trust the truth he had inferred.
Along the way, Zhang Jian noticed there were almost no sentries, then he saw several corpses turned into mummified bodies in the dark forest.
There was a strange spiritual mechanism on them that made him nauseous.
This further corroborated Zhang Jian’s suspicions.
At Phoenix Tail Stockade, Zhang Jian’s figure soared into the air, with several yellow talismans attached to his legs and feet. In an instant, he seemed to be able to ride an invisible layer of air, his keen innate spiritual sense gradually found the rhythm of the wind flowing in the void.
The Wind Walking Technique had already been cultivated to a proficient level by him.
However, due to a lack of enough practice data, Zhang Jian could not break through this barrier in a short period.
Relying on the Wind Walking Technique, he easily bypassed the high walls of the stockade and knocked unconscious the bandits who were on lookout in the arrow slits.
After dealing with the outer bandits, Zhang Jian did not rush to act.
His extremely keen spiritual sense had already faintly detected a dense and chilling spiritual mechanism flowing deep within the bandit stronghold. This spiritual mechanism was extremely intense.
But it didn’t seem like the kind of magical power mentioned in the "Nine Chapters of Pure Tongshan," which made Zhang Jian feel somewhat more confident.
However, being a cautious person, he didn’t choose to rush in; with a thought, he immediately sealed his own spiritual mechanism and hid instead.
Not long after, he heard the sounds of fighting and killing coming from below the battlements, Zhang Kui led a squad that had successfully charged up to the stockade and opened the gates.
"It’s bad, big brother, the soldiers have stormed the mountain!"
When Third Leader Zhang Bao, his face covered in blood, rushed into the back mountain, the First Leader was leading a group of fierce bandits sweating profusely, digging up earth and moving rocks.
Hearing this, he was quite surprised.
Beside him, the black-clad divination master on the rock opened his eyes, his expression grim, and cursed.
"A bunch of useless fools, can’t even defend a stockade!"
There was a bit of rage on his grim face. The one who informed him of the Mian King’s Tomb had long mentioned that several others were aware of the matter, the closest being the prominent Zhang Family in Fengxi County. He purposely left these bandits as a preparation.
Unexpectedly, these notorious bandits were so useless.
Seeing Song Heihu still in a daze, he immediately urged him:
"Hurry and face the enemy, do you expect me to exert myself?"
At this moment, Song Heihu quickly called on several dozen bandits around him to quickly pick up their weapons and head to the stockade gates, while Zhang Kang surrounded himself with a layer of black aura and quietly followed.
He had long received news that the Zhang Family might also have extraordinary individuals. To ensure safety, he planned to hide first and wait for the right moment to launch a surprise attack on the opponent.
At the same time, he instinctively stopped and habitually pulled out a turtle shell from his sleeve to divinate for himself.
Only to see copper coins falling, scattered in all directions.
"A dire portent, a sign of great disaster!"
Witnessing this scene, Zhang Kang’s face darkened.
A trace of hesitation flashed in his eyes, but soon the malice in his heart took over, deciding to first catch up and see the situation.
When he arrived at the stockade gates, he saw volleys of arrows raining down from the stockade’s arrow slits. Many bandits, including Song Heihu, fell after just one volley, and if this continued, he would soon be all alone.
This made Zhang Kang frown.
These bandits couldn’t just die like that.
Faced with such an organized army, even though he possessed heterodox techniques, he remained cautious. This army was not like mountain bandits, as it was backed by the authority of the court, led by an official holding Dragon and Tiger Qi, making them hard to deal with.
He still needed to rely on Song Heihu.
He glanced around, seeing no outsider mages, which made him speculate.
Could this assault not involve the Zhang Family, but simply be the Fengxi County Government’s operation to eliminate bandits?
But the prior divination emerged in his mind, a flicker of doubt crossed his eyes as he looked at Song Heihu and the others, deeply contemplating with some hesitation.
Meanwhile, in the shadows, Zhang Jian, with his sensitive spiritual sense, had already locked onto the black-clad divination master.
In his spiritual sense, the aura emitting from Zhang Kang was extremely chilling.
Although it was slightly stronger than his own, it wasn’t overwhelmingly so.
"The advantage is mine!"
Upon seeing Zhang Kang dawdling, he immediately guessed Zhang Kang’s intentions.
"Afraid and planning to flee?"
Zhang Jian’s eyes brightened, stealthily closing the distance. In an instant, he produced six Wind Travel Talismans, his body turning into a breeze that reached Zhang Kang almost instantaneously.
At the moment Zhang Jian closed in, Zhang Kang instinctively sensed something and looked in his direction.
What greeted this heterodox warlock was Zhang Jian’s meticulously planned full-force ambush. Six yellow Thunder Talismans were activated with spiritual power, and instantly, scarlet lightning bolts shot out from the talismans, enveloping the divination master.
BOOM!!!
A series of scarlet lightning bolts fiercely erupted, echoing through the forest.
Hesitation leads to defeat, decisiveness goes unrewarded!