71: Chapter 71 Encirclement and Suppression of Longhu Mountain

The Ye Family residence.

There was a gentle knock on the door, and the visitor was a soldier dressed in black. With an arrogant expression, he stepped directly into the courtyard.

It was the first time an armored soldier had suddenly arrived at their doorstep.

Ye Jing hurriedly went out to meet him, cupping his hands to ask the reason for his visit.

The official didn't beat around the bush, shouting in his official voice, "Tomorrow, the Ye Family must send a Martial Artist to join the team going to the county seat to participate in the siege of the Longhu Mountain bandit threat. There must be no mistake!"

As soon as those words landed, Ye Jing understood immediately.

It must be that the Immortal invited by the imperial court had arrived, which was why they were in a hurry to gather local Martial Artists to serve as helpers.

His expression remained calm, but he secretly took out a heavy piece of gold and quietly slipped it into the soldier's hand, maintaining perfect etiquette.

The soldier felt the weight of the gold with his fingertips, and the tension at the corners of his mouth instantly relaxed. He beamed with joy as he tucked it into his sleeve.

When Ye Jing spoke again to inquire, the man lost all his arrogance and told him everything he knew without reservation.

"The Immortal who came this time has a cultivation of the Qi Refining Sixth Layer!" The soldier lowered his voice, his tone filled with a bit of awe.

Ye Jing was also startled upon hearing this.

He had heard that the cultivation of the Blood Lotus Sect Altar Master entrenched on Longhu Mountain was only at Qi Refining Level 5.

From the looks of it, this siege was most likely a sure thing.

But as soon as he finished speaking, a look of contempt appeared on the soldier's face. He curled his lip and added, "What a waste of such cultivation! Since that Immortal entered Yanggu County, he only briefly gave a few instructions for attacking the mountain before diving headlong into the County Magistrate's residence. Every day he forces the Magistrate to present beautiful women, spending every night in song and dance, living in a dream of wine and death."

Such behavior was truly contemptible.

Ye Jing just nodded slightly after hearing this, acknowledging the information.

After seeing off the soldier from the county seat, Ye Yi stepped forward and said, "Father, for this siege of the Red Lotus Cult, I should be the one to go."

At home, Ye Xuan and his two children still needed to Cultivate in peace, so Ye Yi decisively proposed to go out and participate in the siege of Longhu Mountain.

"Yier, I will go with you,"

Ye Jing said.

This Red Lotus Cult might not only have the Red Lotus Cult Altar Master as an Immortal, and he had also contacted bandits, making this trip to Longhu Mountain extremely dangerous.

Currently, Ye Jing was about to step into the first layer of Qi Refining, so staying by his son's side would allow him to look after him.

Ye Yi's face was full of surprise, and then his brow furrowed: "Father! This trip is too dangerous. You haven't truly stepped into Qi Refining yet. If we encounter a Cultivator of the Blood Lotus Sect, your life might be in danger!"

Ye Jing waved his hand, his gaze firm: "It is precisely because it's dangerous that I must go with you. Although you are a First-Stage Martial Artist, you lack actual combat experience. I have spent many years drifting through the Jianghu, so I am more than capable of handling these situations."

Hearing this, Ye Yi had no choice but to agree. He knew his father's methods, so he first accepted.

Ye Jing took the golden light bowl he had with him, an artifact he had kept at home; this was a Magic Treasure contracted to him that could block the attacks of a Corpse Person when necessary, so Ye Jing planned to carry it with him just in case.

He could now control this golden light bowl. Although it would consume a lot of his Spiritual Qi, it would ultimately provide some protection.

Afterward, Ye Jing did not forget to instruct his eldest daughter-in-law, Wu Guiyun, to take good care of the house.

The next morning.

Ye Jing and Ye Yi changed into their martial attire, shouldered their weapons, and quietly left the Ye Family home.

At this time, dozens of Martial Artists had already gathered outside Yanggu County. They were all dressed in brocade clothes and looked wealthy or noble.

Among them were one or two First-Stage Martial Artists who seemed to be the leaders of the group.

None of their expressions were very good; they had all been forced to come, so it would be strange if they were in a good mood.

These Martial Artists were all crowding around en own, as if en own was their leader.

This wasn't surprising, though. Although the Tang Family was somewhat in decline now, as a large Family with a background as high-ranking military officials, they naturally had a lot of say.

en own stood tall; he was wearing black martial attire, his skin was very pale, and blue-black veins could be faintly seen. His body had also become quite hunched.

He looked quite frail.

He stared fixedly at Ye Jing, a poisonous smile appearing at the corner of his mouth, before turning his head away disdainfully.

Ye Jing frowned. For en own to have become like this and still come to participate in the bandit suppression, he seemed even more vigorous than an eighty-year-old man.

However, Ye Jing noticed that Guo Zhengning was not there. After asking a nearby Martial Artist, he learned that Guo Zhengning had gone to another area to deliver a shipment.

Ye Jing understood. He was delivering a shipment for the Ye Family and hadn't returned yet, which was equivalent to escaping this ordeal.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew from above. A man in a green robe, riding a sword, slowly descended under the astonished gazes of everyone. His face was handsome, but his eyes clearly held a hint of frivolity.

This was the Qi Refining Sixth Layer Cultivator, Chen Mingyuan.

Chen Mingyuan glanced at the Martial Artists below, his tone carrying a trace of impatience: "Listen up, everyone. For this siege of the Red Lotus Cult, you are only responsible for clearing out the bandits on the periphery. I will personally handle the leader. Understood?"

As an Immortal, he naturally carried an air of looking down on these Martial Artists, making those below feel angry but unable to speak out.

After all, in the eyes of an Immortal, no matter how powerful or influential a Martial Artist was, they were nothing more than a humble ant.

Among these Martial Artists, Ye Jing looked with great curiosity at the Immortal sword used by this Immortal. It turned out that Immortals really could fly on swords.

Chen Mingyuan led the way, flying forward on his Flying Sword, while the Martial Artists followed behind the soldiers on horseback, setting off in a grand procession.

Longhu Mountain was steep and the mountain roads were rugged and difficult to traverse.

The horses' hooves made a crisp sound on the gravel, echoing through the empty valley along with the steady footsteps of the soldiers.

Ye Jing and Ye Yi rode side by side, both father and son looking solemn, their eyes alertly scanning the surrounding mountain forests.

"Father, bandits have been entrenched on Longhu Mountain for years. I'm afraid they've already laid traps. We must be careful."

Ye Yi said in a low voice, his grip on his long saber tightening.

Although he was a First-Stage Martial Artist and his strength was outstanding among the Martial Artists who had come, he did not dare to be the least bit careless when facing unknown dangers.

Just then, the group in front suddenly stopped. Chen Mingyuan hovered in mid-air on his Flying Sword, his brow furrowed.

The mountain road, which had been relatively clear, was now blocked by countless massive logs. The logs were wrapped with sharp iron spikes, clearly a man-made roadblock.

What was even more horrifying was that bloody corpses were impaled on these wooden spikes, people who looked like they had died not long ago.

These corpses included men, women, and even children.

This scene made Ye Jing curse on the spot, "Those sons of bitches!"

These Red Lotus Cult members claimed to be a Rebel Army, but in reality, the things they did were no different from bandits!

"Humph!"

Chen Mingyuan let out a cold snort, his tone full of disdain. With a casual wave of his hand, a streak of green Spiritual Qi shot out from his fingertip.

It accurately struck the frontmost log. With a loud "crack," the thick log was instantly split in half.

Along with the corpses tied to the logs, they were all snapped in two.

Seeing this, the Martial Artists below all showed expressions of awe. Although they knew Immortals were powerful, seeing a Cultivator split a giant log so easily made them feel a sense of longing for the Immortal path.

The accompanying Martial Artists didn't even look twice at the corpses on the ground, continuing forward as they stepped over the blood-stained earth.

The procession continued. The villages they saw along the way were already deserted, with only patches of dried, dark red blood left on the ground.

A lingering smell of blood hung in the air.

But after walking for a long time, they hadn't seen a single bandit, which made Ye Jing feel a sense of strangeness.

Ancient trees reached for the sky all around, blotting out the sun. There was only the smell of blood, and not a soul in sight.

Chen Mingyuan waved his hand to signal the team to stop and shouted harshly, "Red Lotus Demonic Cult! Come out for this Immortal! Otherwise, I will surely level your Longhu Mountain!"

"Heh... Such big words. A mere Qi Refining Cultivator bringing a group of Mortals here—do you want to become my corpse puppets?"

A mocking voice came from the forest. It was a blood-colored skeleton, cackling with green light shining from its eyes.

Beneath the red skeleton, countless bandits on horseback charged toward them with battle cries.

Chen Mingyuan was instantly enraged. The long sword in his hand flew out and pierced into the blood-colored skeleton: "Evil path! Die!"

When the blood-colored skeleton touched the long sword, it instantly exploded, forming a mist of blood that drifted toward everyone.

Ye Jing sensed something was wrong. He looked up and saw that the blood mist was composed of tiny blood-red insects, sweeping toward them like a gale.

Chen Mingyuan chanted an incantation and waved his long sword behind him. Suddenly, a green light appeared, and countless sword lights burst from the blade, rushing toward those tiny blood-red insects.

In just a moment, the blood insects were extinguished.

"Demonic Path that doesn't know its place." Chen Mingyuan hovered in mid-air, staring at the bandits below, and said coldly, "You all just need to clear out these dregs. Leave the Red Lotus Cult Altar Master to me!"

He didn't care about the bandits at all.

Seeing this, Ye Jing said to Ye Yi, "Yier! Let's deal with these bandits first!"

"Yes, Father!"

Most of these Martial Artists had been forced to come, but now, faced with the bandits' attack, they could only fight for their lives.