55: Chapter 55 The Pursuit

After receiving the letter, Chen Yuanba also regained his calm.

Evening soon arrived.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled across the horizon like residual snow, dyeing the distant, rolling mountains a deep, flushed red.

At the gates of Nanling Town, the city guards began preparing to close the heavy gates, the creaking sounds piercingly loud in the silence.

When the last trace of light in the sky was swallowed, the lights of ten thousand homes began to flicker on one by one.

Nanling Town, Autumn Water Manor.

"My lord, everything is ready; we are just waiting for your command." The man in white knelt before Ling Ziwen, his eyes revealing a trace of fanaticism.

"Very good, it is time to collect some interest." Ling Ziwen stood up from his chair, a flash of killing intent crossing his eyes.

"Pass on my order: act immediately. I want to turn Nanling Town into a dead town."

"As you command." The man in white bowed slightly and quickly left toward the manor.

Watching the man in white's departing back, Ling Ziwen vanished in a flash, also leaving the manor.

In Ling Ziwen's view, whether this operation could succeed depended on whether Chen Yuanba could arrive within an hour after receiving the message.

The area of Nanling Town was not small; it ranked third among the many towns in Wuyang County and had a population of tens of thousands.

Looking at the numbers, tens of thousands did not seem like much, equivalent to the number of students on a university campus in his past life.

However, if these tens of thousands of people were arranged over land spanning dozens of miles, their distribution would be quite scattered.

Although Ling Ziwen had dozens of men cooperating in the operation, and the Blood Sacrifice Array, wanting to kill tens of thousands of people in a short time was still not a simple matter.

People were not wood; they would not stand still and let you hack them. Not to mention, Nanling Town also had more than a dozen Divine Strength Martial Artists.

In this way, the time for Ling Ziwen's operation was actually very tight.

One hour was not much time.

...

Deep in the night, on the dozens of streets of Nanling Town, apart from the sound of the night watchmen walking, it was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

Soon, the time reached the first watch of the Xu hour, and the sounds of the night watchmen rang out on the streets.

"The weather is dry, beware of fire."

The melodious voice echoed in the air, extending to the end of the street, as if this were the only sound left in the world.

Suddenly.

Dozens of figures wearing black robes and black scarves emerged from the dark alleys.

The next moment, the sound of the watchman's clapper stopped abruptly, and a bloodstain appeared on the neck of the night watchman.

Thud!

As the night watchman fell, a large amount of blood sprayed from the wound on his neck. The originally dim street was stained with an eerie red.

However.

The dozens of men in black did not stop. After killing the night watchman, the dozens of people split into four teams and rushed toward the night watchmen on other streets.

Yunlai Inn, Heaven-grade room.

"Reporting to the Old Ancestor, just a moment ago, the Shadow Guards discovered a group of unidentified men in black launching surprise attacks on the night watchmen on the major streets. As of now, more than one-third of the night watchmen have been killed." Jiu sat upright before Pei Qingyun and said respectfully.

"Very good, the fish is finally about to take the bait; it was worth waiting here for nearly two days." Hearing this, a smile appeared on Pei Qingyun's face.

"Then, what should this subordinate do next?" Jiu asked.

"Everyone is to remain still. Wait until the night watchmen are all taken care of, then you act according to my instructions. Presumably, by that time, Ling Ziwen should also make an appearance." Pei Qingyun suppressed the emotions in his heart, deciding to play it safe to avoid alerting the enemy.

As for allowing the sacrifice of the night watchmen, he could not be blamed for being cruel.

To capture Ling Ziwen, the necessary sacrifices were worth it.

On the street, after the dozens of men in black finished dealing with all the night watchmen, they did not gather together.

Instead, they maintained the formation of the four teams from before and ran toward the four directions of the Blood Sacrifice Array.

Immediately, Jiu transmitted this intelligence to Pei Qingyun.

"Jiu, you immediately go and arrange for the other Shadow Guards, divide them into four groups, and track these four teams respectively. If there is an emergency, you may use your own judgment." Pei Qingyun looked out the window and immediately ordered.

"Yes." The next second, Jiu jumped out of the window and disappeared into the night.

"It is time to act."

No sooner had Jiu left than Pei Qingyun left the Yunlai Inn.

Reflected in the moonlight, Pei Qingyun was like a ghost blending into the darkness, weaving back and forth through the streets, rushing toward the center of Nanling Town at high speed.

A moment later, Pei Qingyun arrived at the center of Nanling Town.

Just as he was about to look for a hiding spot, Ling Ziwen's figure appeared on the roof of a large courtyard.

Illuminated by the moonlight, Ling Ziwen's appearance seemed extremely abrupt.

Pei Qingyun could not care about that much anymore; since Ling Ziwen had appeared, he could take advantage of this opportunity to capture him.

"Whoosh!"

Pei Qingyun stepped into the air, and his whole body rushed out like a hunting leopard.

With a few leaps, he reached the roof, closing the distance between himself and Ling Ziwen.

"Not good, I've been discovered." Ling Ziwen's face was gloomy. When he saw Pei Qingyun's face clearly, he knew he had fallen into a trap.

Ling Ziwen's reaction was extremely fast. He no longer dwelled on whether the Blood Sacrifice Array was activated; he turned and fled rapidly in one direction, not wanting to entangle with Pei Qingyun at all.

But at this moment, how could Pei Qingyun let Ling Ziwen have his way?

The meat that had reached his mouth was running away like this; he would absolutely not allow it.

In an instant, Ling Ziwen condensed a large amount of Qi and blood onto his legs.

Although his Cultivation Technique did not have leg-specific characteristics, under the infusion of a large amount of Qi and blood, his speed still climbed to an astonishing level.

In every instant, he could leap several yards, his whole body looking as if he were flying over eaves and walking on walls.

In less than ten breaths, he caught up to Ling Ziwen.

"Why is his speed so fast? He caught up to me so quickly." Ling Ziwen could not believe it, but the sense of crisis coming from behind forced him to accept this fact.

"Ling Ziwen, you are at death's door, where else do you want to run?" Pei Qingyun roared, and the long saber at his waist left its sheath.

A cold light flashed, and the long saber in his hand had already slashed toward Ling Ziwen's head.

At the critical moment, Ling Ziwen had no time to look back; he could only rely on instinct to control his body. He saw his legs stomp hard against the wall, and with the power of his legs, he not only dodged this fatal saber strike but also put a body's length of distance between himself and Pei Qingyun.

"Boom!"

The next second, the wall Ling Ziwen had originally stepped on, unable to withstand this terrifyingly immense force, collapsed with a booming sound.

Such a huge commotion startled the owner of the house, who was still fast asleep.

Looking at the collapsed wall, a trace of confusion appeared in the house owner's eyes.

But the next moment, this confusion turned into deep fear.