33: Xuan Wang comes

As time continued to pass, the situation outside Da Wu Mountain changed again. Xuan King completely took over the entire Qingzhou region after defeating the Yellow Heaven Great General's army.

However, this land, which had experienced many wars, did not become a paradise for peaceful living. On the contrary, problems such as war, famine, and drought intensified here.

A large number of common people who could no longer survive began to flee into the deep mountains, hoping to find a way to live there.

Under such circumstances, the scale of the valley where Gu Chang was located began to expand continuously, and the number of people gradually reached over a thousand, with the vast majority being able-bodied youths, considered high-quality population.

The scale of the troops under Gu Chang's command also gradually expanded to over a hundred, all of whom were able-bodied youths with good physical foundations.

According to Gu Chang's orders, they had to be proficient in using two weapons: long spears and bows and arrows. Li Ergou and the others also became squad leaders, turning into core combatants.

However, it was ultimately unsuitable for over a thousand people to be crowded into one valley. Therefore, after this troop formation and two months of training, Gu Chang personally led a team to begin sweeping Da Wu Mountain.

This time, his goal was to open up two other relatively safe mountain camps, so that these places could be used for farming, raising livestock, and supporting the livelihood of the people.

At the same time, sweeping the mountain forests also had a good training effect, allowing those soldiers who had just completed their training to experience bloodshed and build courage.

The area around the valley posed no threat to Gu Chang. Even if he encountered a Ferocious Tiger now, he could forcefully kill it.

Only when encountering a large, extremely violent, and thick-skinned wild ox would he need to expend some effort.

However, after he achieved Major Achievement in Refining Bone, his overall strength reached its Peak, allowing him to contend with a wild ox bare-handed!

At this time, he possessed Jade Skin and Steel Bones, with defensive power directly exceeding the limits of a Mortal. His strength was incredibly powerful, even surpassing that of Colonel Zhou Yun back then.

In this way, Gu Chang spent several months clearing out the dangers in the area around the valley and opened up two more camps. Adding the original valley, there were now three camps, forming a strategic triangular formation for mutual defense and production.

However, things could not always develop so smoothly. One day, while Gu Chang was still cultivating, he heard a rush of footsteps.

“Big brother! This is bad!”

Li Ergou's voice arrived before he did.

“Calm down! Speak slowly!”

Gu Chang immediately stopped his cultivation upon hearing this and then spoke to him in a calm tone.

During this period, as his strength continuously increased, he became more and more aware of the importance of controlling his own emotions.

The Xuanbing Blood Fiend Skill itself was quite violent; if one could not control the Cultivation Technique, one would inevitably be influenced by the Cultivation Technique in return.

“Yes, Big Brother!”

“Xuan King! Xuan King has sent someone over, saying he wants to see Your Excellency!”

Li Ergou immediately shed his nervous expression and then spoke to Gu Chang.

“Xuan King? It seems they have also noticed the situation in the mountains.”

Gu Chang immediately understood the whole story upon hearing him say that.

To put it bluntly, since Xuan King had already taken over the entire Qingzhou, the other party certainly would not allow their “hidden danger” to persist.

If there were only a few households, it might not be a big deal, but now the number of people who had fled into the mountains was several thousand, because besides the territory occupied by Gu Chang, there were other mountain strongholds and camps in Da Wu Mountain.

“Alright! I'll go take a look!”

Gu Chang understood that Xuan King sending people over this time was probably with the intention of subjugating them, but it would not be good if he did not even meet them. At the very least, he had to listen to their conditions, right?

Soon, Gu Chang met the people sent by Xuan King in a house built in the valley.

To his surprise, there were only three of them. The leader was clearly a middle-aged scholar, who looked quite cunning.

“It seems Your Excellency is the chieftain of this place?”

Upon seeing Gu Chang enter the room, the other party immediately stood up and said to him with certainty.

“That's right, it is I. May I ask what important matter brings Your Excellency here?”

Gu Chang did not care about these things. He casually sat on a chair and then inquired of the other party.

“The chieftain is indeed a straightforward person. I am Chang Daozhen, and this time I have come specifically to pay my respects at Xuan King's command.”

Chang Daozhen's expression remained unchanged, as if introducing his purpose.

“Hmm, well, Your Excellency has seen what you came to see. When will you be leaving? I'll arrange for someone to see you off, lest Your Excellency cannot find your way back.”

Gu Chang was completely uninterested in his evasive remarks and responded to him without ceremony.

“You… I, the chieftain is truly ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth, but the chieftain does not know, a great disaster is about to befall you!”

Chang Daozhen's face darkened upon hearing Gu Chang's words, and he immediately changed his demeanor, warning Gu Chang.

“Heh heh, trying that trick?”

“Crack!!”

“Swish swish swish!”

“Boom!”

However, upon hearing the other party's threat, Gu Chang suddenly sneered. Immediately, his entire being appeared before the other party like a ghost, and then he snapped the other party's neck.

The two guards accompanying the other party did not react at all, or rather, no one expected Gu Chang to suddenly go for the kill!

“You're courting death!!!”

By the time they reacted, Gu Chang had already launched his attack on them.

“Bang! Crack!”

“Ah!!”

“You've already reached Refining Bone Realm?”

“You know? Very good, you can die now!”

But as soon as the two sides clashed, these two were struck as if by lightning. The arm that confronted Gu Chang was directly broken. A moment later, their chests were shattered by Gu Chang, and they completely lost their lives.

“Two Iron Skin Realm guards, their strength is indeed not bad, but relying on this much strength to subjugate the entire Da Wu Mountain is far from enough!”

After dealing with these two, Gu Chang acted as if nothing had happened.

“B-big brother, w-will we be going too far by doing this?”

Li Ergou and the others were stunned by this scene. They could not understand why Gu Chang would suddenly go for the kill.

“Whether they die or not, we will still provoke Xuan King!”

“Moreover, if they leave alive, the arrangements in our mountain stronghold will certainly not be kept secret, and the situation will probably become even worse then.”

“Remember, no matter what King these people are, they are all guys who, for their own selfish reasons, have caused immense suffering to the living beings of the world!”

Gu Chang directly said a few words to them, and then he walked straight out of the valley.

“Oh! Yes, Big Brother!”

“Big Brother! Where are you going?”

Li Ergou responded somewhat blankly. Wang Da Niu, seeing the direction Gu Chang was walking was a bit off, immediately asked him.

“Naturally, I'm going to see what this Xuan King's plans are?”

Gu Chang said to them without looking back, and then his figure quickly disappeared into the distant mountain forest.

In reality, Gu Chang did this on purpose, because the time for his Reincarnation this time was already long enough, and he could end this Reincarnation.

So, next, he would just go and inquire about Xuan King's situation, and at the same time, use this opportunity to verify his own strength.

It took him about an hour to leave Da Wu Mountain at his current speed.

The area outside Da Wu Mountain was noticeably much more desolate than before. After all, the people outside the mountain had either died or fled, and a large number of fields were abandoned and houses collapsed.

Xuan King's army was not outside Da Wu Mountain. It seemed they were not planning to forcibly clear Da Wu Mountain with a large army.

Of course, this was also related to the rugged roads and dangerous terrain of Da Wu Mountain; the big mountain was simply not suitable for large-scale military operations.

“However, this does not mean that hiding in the mountains is absolutely safe. If Xuan King is willing to send powerful martial artists, such as experts in the Refining Bone Realm, or even Marrow Refining Realm, then it is likely that few of the camps in the mountains would be able to withstand them.”

Gu Chang continued to advance towards Yunshan City. Since the nearby villages and towns were already deserted, the main force of Xuan King's army must be stationed in the city.

This time, in order to conceal his identity, Gu Chang did not even carry a single weapon, and what he wore was just ordinary coarse linen clothing.

However, he himself was the most powerful weapon now, and not having weapons or armor would not affect his strength too much.

In the afternoon, Gu Chang arrived outside Yunshan City and then blended in with the people entering the city.

The whole process went relatively smoothly. The inspections of this era were just that; after not finding any weapons on him, he was directly allowed to pass.

After entering the city, Gu Chang did not immediately take action but first found an inn to stay at.