Chapter 1091: The Third Barrier
"Chen Tianlong, don’t let him get away!" the Red-eyed Eagle hurriedly shouted.
In just the blink of an eye, the person had already disappeared.
Chen Tianlong smiled wryly, realizing that he could no longer hide. He tore at his ear, revealing his true appearance. Lin Xiaoting, upon seeing this, forgot about guarding the mountain pass and ran over, throwing herself into Chen Tianlong’s arms.
"Oh my, senior sister, what are you doing?" Although they were about the same age, seniority couldn’t be ignored. Chen Tianlong quickly tried to push Lin Xiaoting away.
But this girl clung to Chen Tianlong like a monkey, holding him tightly, making it impossible for him to push her away.
"Hmph, Chen Tianlong, you scoundrel! You came and hid from me, and now you want to push me away. In your dreams." At this moment, Lin Xiaoting expressed her feelings vividly, making the Red-eyed Eagle feel a bit embarrassed.
So it turns out her best friend also liked Chen Tianlong, leaving her in a dilemma!
"Alright, senior sister, stop it. The question of whether we can get down the mountain alive is still pressing. That person just now was the Third Elder of the Celestial Pill Sect. Once he gets down to the mountainside and rejoins Hao Shuai and the others, he’ll quickly come back up. We best prepare to face them." Chen Tianlong did not push Lin Xiaoting away but spoke seriously.
Hearing this, Lin Xiaoting let go of Chen Tianlong and pouted, "You’ve got loads of ideas, come up with something."
"Yeah, Chen Tianlong, quickly think of a plan," the Red-eyed Eagle, surprisingly for once, didn’t swear but sounded like a little woman, relying on Chen Tianlong along with Lin Xiaoting.
At this time, Zhao Qing, who had been hiding behind a rock, couldn’t resist running out. This was the big hero in his heart returning in their time of crisis.
"Big brother, you’re here!" Zhao Qing saw Chen Tianlong, and immediately his fear subsided a lot. He rushed forward with a smile and asked.
"Yes, Zhao Qing, you don’t need to be afraid. Big brother will definitely get you down the mountain safely," Chen Tianlong assured.
"Hehe, alright, I believe you," Zhao Qing grinned sweetly, evidently already free from previous fear.
Meanwhile, on another part of the mountainside.
The Sword God, with his disciples, approached the third checkpoint slowly. He had scouted ahead and discovered that there were over three hundred people at the large checkpoint.
In fact, these two checkpoints were the most significant choke points on Qishan, due to a naturally formed gorge spanning over a hundred meters. The next checkpoint lay in a dense forest also over a hundred meters long.
The Sword God, along with Dao Feng, Quansheng, and Lu Botong, led their forces to the gorge.
Soon, they stood before the gorge, looking at the perilous stretch ahead, making the whole group shiver in fear.
"Everyone halt. This is one of Qishan’s most dangerous places. Do not proceed yet. I’ll go ahead to investigate," the Sword God commanded loudly, raising his hand.
The entire team halted, under the guidance of various squad leaders, while the Sword God ventured alone toward the gorge.
Going in with more people would only make it more dangerous, and escape would be even harder. The path was only three meters wide; if a group went and encountered danger, it would cause chaos and congestion.
So, after much consideration, the Sword God decided to go alone.
"Dad, I’ll go too!" Dao Feng, unwilling to let the Sword God take the risk alone, said excitedly.
"You stay put. I’m the team leader. Everyone must listen to me. Without my signal, no one is allowed to act rashly, understand?" The Sword God was very stern, exuding the authority of a leader.
"Yes, understood." Dao Feng realized that the message was directed at him, while the others remained still, obeying the Sword God’s order.
Seeing Dao Feng nod in agreement, the Sword God began to walk into the gorge alone.
Before long, he was inside the gorge, where an eerie silence prevailed. It was precisely this silence that made the Sword God feel uneasy, heightening his alertness.
Standing in the very center of the gorge, he perceived the presence of hurried breathing around him. With the strength of six stars in the Celestial Dao, his sensory power was extremely sharp.
Though not as heaven-defying as Chen Tianlong, Dao Feng was still a standout in the same league. Brought up in the Sword and Saber Family and having trained since childhood, his reflexes and physical condition far surpassed ordinary people.
However, he did not immediately display that he had detected the commotion; instead, he continued walking forward. Suddenly, countless stones fell from the mountain top with great force, surprising him.
He quickly dashed forward, rather than retreating, but having just run a couple of steps, countless arrows flew at him with a "swish" sound.
The Sword God had to lean back for a sliding maneuver to dodge. This posture was for observing and dodging falling rocks in time, as well as evading the oncoming arrows. After maintaining this pose for several seconds, enemies suddenly appeared at the gorge entrance and above.
Then, two generals in armor appeared, looking very similar, seemingly twins.
The Sword God’s guess was correct; they were the first and second disciples of the Martial Extreme Sect, twins named Xu Gao and Xu Shang.
They were elite among the elites of the Martial Extreme Sect, possessing five stars of Celestial Dao strength and were battle-hardened, matching up to the Sword God.
The two brothers dressed in one white and one black outfit, Xu Gao in white and Xu Shang in black. From a distance, they resembled Black and White Impermanence. Both were cold, expressionless swordmasters.
They held long swords, rushing in from another entrance to the gorge.
The Sword God frowned upon seeing them, feeling the situation was grim. Clearly, the enemy had dispatched generals to confront him first. Even though there were nearly two hundred troops behind him waiting, which relatively outnumbered the three hundred guarding this checkpoint, the gorge was a natural trap.
Without ensuring all ambushes were dismantled, entering would lead to utter defeat.
Such would spell nearly inevitable failure in this battle.
No matter if Chen Tianlong had settled things above, if they couldn’t hold here and lost, the enemy would then fully focus on the Red-eyed Eagle at Qishan Peak without hesitation.
Thus, the Sword God deemed this checkpoint incredibly crucial. Everything hinged on this battle, representing the enemy’s final defense.
The Red-eyed Eagle had the man bring up several hundred troops. Surely there was another plan, but what it was, the Sword God didn’t concern himself with. He trusted the Red-eyed Eagle.
Seeing the two expert foes charging at him, the Sword God took a deep breath. In any case, he had to find a way to eliminate the ambush on the mountain and couldn’t afford to get bogged down with these two people.