Chapter 115 – The Sudden Change in the Watch Post
Deer Mountain Range.
The hundred broken mountains.
Snow and wind fell incessantly. The hundred years of accumulated snow layer had turned the ground into a glacier. This was like a place where dragons and snakes crouched, one not able to see the end of this landscape through a glance.
The snowflakes in the air covered everything and completely filled the sky. Even for a Spirit spring expert, their line of sight would not exceed thirty or forty meters. The snowflakes and ice crystals were swept apart by the strong wind, sharp like a blade. If it struck upon armour, it would emit a series of sparks.
Such an environment was so terrible and dire that a normal person would have no chance of surviving.
Ye Qingyu’s group had six people in it, currently sitting at a sentry post several hundred meters high and located behind the icy cliff. They were reorganizing and resting.
Ye Qingyu had left Deer City the day before.
Because this was the army’s itinerary and route, it involved matters that had to be kept secret. Therefore, the path they took was different from the normal road that armed escort companies usually travelled by.
On the day that Ye Qingyu and his group left Deer City, they headed tens of kilometers north. In a concealed military sentry post, they activated the teleportation formation contained within and were transferred to another sentry post. They used another teleportation formation and headed to another sentry post… this continued on like so.
Ye Qingyu possessed a military position and therefore the route of his travel was even more secretive. All of the formations were located at places outsiders would definitely not be aware of.
Approximately a day later, Ye Qingyu had already travelled four or five thousand kilometers away from Deer City.
The further North they travelled, the colder and chiller the air became. The environment became harsher and harsher.
What the Snow Country was confronting in the Northern borders was the Snow Ground Demon Race. They were a race that was naturally born in the snow, and had already thoroughly adapted to the severe winter, holding an enormous threat. The location that Ye Qingyu and the others were in was already not an entirely safe area. Occasionally, they would be able to see the come and go of [Snow Ground Demon Beasts] passing by. [Snow Ground Demon Beasts] were the close relatives of Snow Ground Demon Race. They did not have high intelligence but possessed great destructive power. Even the sentry posts of the country would occasionally receive the attacks of these [Snow Ground Demon Beasts].
Therefore, this place could not be said to be an area devoid of danger.
“We are currently attempting to communicate with sixty seventh watch post. We need a little bit of time, please wait a while sir.”
The head guard of the watch post was an elite that had encountered a hundred battles. He was a veteran that the Youyan Pass had left behind. Seeming to be around thirty years of age, he possessed a well-built physique and sideburns on his face. Very enthusiastically, he came over and greeted Ye Qingyu.
“This doesn’t matter. thank you very much.” Ye Qingyu quickly rushed to express his thanks.
The sentries including the head did not number more than twenty people stationed here to defend. After observing in detail, Ye Qingyu discovered that the head of the guards was around the third Spirit spring of strength, but had suffered a hidden injury making his leg somewhat handicapped. His strength was greatly reduced. The other people were all between the fifth stages of the Ordinary martial level to having half a step in the Spirit spring stage. They were a well-trained and disciplined group albeit with their age slightly leaning towards the higher side.
It was a group of veterans.
A group of people that was worthy of respect.
The sentry post was extremely small scale and was hidden behind one of the ice cliffs. There were only five or six icy caves behind this cliff. It was hard to imagine just how boring and lonely it was to be stationed all year in a place where it was completely covered with ice and snow, with only the accompaniment of [Snow Ground Demon Beasts]. And for the old veterans stationed within this sentry post, this duty would keep them occupied for tens of years. There were times when the sentry post was completely broken through by the [Snow Ground Demon Beasts], and before any reinforcement could arrive, all contact would be lost. Their corpses were never ever able to be found again.
Accompanying Ye Qingyu heading towards Youyan Pass were four elite military officers of the [Breakthrough Barracks].
After bringing Ye Qingyu to his destination, they had to return and await further orders.
On the way here, Ye Qingyu had already familiarized himself with these four people, with talk and laughter between them.
The bonfire of the sentry post burned with a raging flame.
Outside, there were the whistle of strong winds and also the roars of the [Snow Ground Demon Beasts] sounding at all times.
After a short while, the head of the guards rushed over with sweat covering his face. “I don’t know what’s happening, but the sixty seventh sentry post has no way of being contacted. My superiors, perhaps you have to wait for another few hours…”
Ye Qingyu brows furrowed. “Has there been such a thing that has occurred before?”
“It has happened a few times before. It’s not very common. Sometimes when the weather is particularly terrible, it will affect the normal fluctuation of the yuan qi in Heaven and Earth and there is no way to communicate using formations. But after a few attempts, it has always been fixed. We are in the midst of attempting to keep doing so. I am really sorry, please just wait patiently…” The head of the guards explained with a red face.
“Since it is like this, then it does not matter if we wait a little. There is no need to hurry.” Ye Qingyu comforted him with a smile.
The head of the sentries answered with a sound, quickly rushing off again.
Ye Qingyu looked towards the darkening colour of sky. Without knowing why, he suddenly had a feeling that this formation would not be fixed before tomorrow.
As expected, until the time of midnight, the formation was still in the state where contact could not be made.
Ye Qingyu and the other four could only rest, patiently waiting.
The conditions of the watch post was limited so Ye Qingyu and the other four officers of the [Breakthrough Barracks] had been arranged to sleep in the same room.
Time passed on.
The four military officers slept on four separate ice beds, closing their eyes and recuperating. Blades were still in their embrace, evidently not asleep. The four appeared very vigilant, their position just so that they were defending against the doors and windows. The four protected and watched over Ye Qingyu, displaying a very high level of military training.
Ye Qingyu was in the middle of the ice bed, sleeping in his clothes.
In his mind, he thought back to the night before he left, to the wooden box that Li Shizen instructed Qingqing to hand to him.
Inside the wooden box, was a tangerine yellow piece of fur. Ye Qingyu did not know just what kind of creature it came from. It had strands of silky hair, exceedingly tough and durable and brought with it a faint yuan qi fluctuation. The fur emitted with a pale yellow light, and on it was some strange characters written on it. Ye Qingyu was stunned in his first glance, because these characters were from the God and Devil Age.
After he carefully translated these letters, he discovered it was an ancient pill formula.
Ye Qingyu’s foundation and knowledge in pills and medicine was not very great. But even he was able to discern that this should be a formula for creating a pill that condensed inner yuan and drew energy from Heaven and Earth. It was named the [Mysterious Heaven Pellet]. According to this formula, if you managed to successfully create this pill, then one [Mysterious Heaven Pellet] was able to cause an increase in your inner yuan. It was comparable to one or two months of the normal training of a Spirit spring expert.
After Ye Qingyu read this, he was exceedingly shaken.
The value of this [Mysterious Heaven Pellet] was hard to imagine.
If this fur pill formula was circulated, it was enough for all the major factions of Deer Mountain Range to bleed over this. Between martial artists, it was enough to set off foul wind and bloody rain.
He could not comprehend how this pill formula had arrived in Li Shizen’s hands.
It was a heavy present.
Ye Qingyu read it tens of times, etching the contents of the pill formula deep into his heart. Afterwards, he kept the pill formula beside his body at all times. As for the wooden box that held the pill formula, Ye Qingyu left it behind in the Ye residence.
Outside the ice doors, cold air whistled pass.
Ye Qingyu planned, after he had arrived within Youyan Pass, to think of a plan to train in the concoction of pills. The best result would be that he would be able to produce the [Mysterious Heaven Pellet] by himself. With such a method, his rate of training would be even faster.
The night darkened.
Ye Qingyu lay down on the ice bed, practicing according to the nameless breathing technique. Gradually, he entered into a blank state of mind, as if he was in the depths of his sleep.
Very quickly, the sounds of the snores of the four military officers around him was able to be heard too.
It became chillier and chillier all around.
Without knowing just how long had passed.
Suddenly, a change occurred—
The Ye Qingyu who had entered into a state of blankness, without any reason a spell of palpitation came over him, goosebumps rising. This type of sensation, was like a wild beast feeling the arrival of danger. In this instant, Ye Qingyu’s instinctive reaction was quicker than his thoughts. Nearly subconsciously, he rolled over to the left…
Ding!
A streak of cold sword descended on the ice bed that he was just lying on.
The bed of ice exploded into four or five pieces.
Ye Qingyu’s inner yuan activated, his palm striking out with force. Using the force of the rebound, he sent himself flying six or seven meters back, using the corner of the room to stabilize himself.
Opposite him.
The military officer who had launched a sneak attack had astonishment on his face.
The one who had ambushed him was one of the four military officers that had guarded and led Ye Qingyu to Youyan Pass.
He had not considered that this blade he had calculated many times over would miss. In the instant it was about to chop Ye Qingyu apart, it was evaded. A person that was in the depths of their sleep could really have such a quick reaction.
“Why would you do this?” Ye Qingyu’s face began to become icy.
The military officer calmed down, and displayed a sinister smile upon hearing this. “Someone wants your life.”
After this, the long blade shook, yuan qi surging. The sword light was like a shooting star that struck to kill.
Ye Qingyu’s heart shivered.
This military officer was not weak. He was at least an expert of three Spirit springs.
Previously, he had pretended he was only at the sixth stage of the ordinary martial level. Ye Qingyu’s experience was lacking, so he could not discern this fact.
Ye Qingyu moved, not counter attacking at first. Inner yuan activating, he flashed to the other side of this icy cave and evaded that malicious strike.
The military officer gave a low shout, his blades incessant and unending. Like autumn waters flowing back into the sky, it was packed with cold. Another blade hacked towards Ye Qingyu.
Ye Qingyu was about to strike back when something outside of his expectations happened yet again—
Xiu!Xiu!
It was two rays of sword light that were enough to seep into ones marrows. Without any omen from it, it exploded from the other two beds of ice. Quick as lightning, one left and one right, it attacked from behind Ye Qingyu. In an instant, the tips of the blade had already descended on Ye Qingyu, the clothes being sliced apart by the blades…
It was yet another sneak attack.
The two military officers lying on the ice bed in the depths of sleep were also assassins.
In an instant, an absolute killing situation was created.
Ye Qingyu faced three opponents.
It could be said this was a situation of absolute death.
“Die!” The first military officer who attacked first laughed maliciously, his blades surging.
Ye Qingyu’s lips suddenly fiercely curled in an arc.
Silver light began to abruptly converge in the ice room.
A sword like autumn waters appeared in Ye Qingyu’s hands.
[Little Shang sword]!
This Spirit weapon that had already been submerged and nourished within Ye Qingyu’s dantian desert world for months appeared for the first time. The moment that Ye Qingyu grasped the sword, it was as if the [Little Shang sword] had gained intelligence. It emitted clear humming sounds, vibrating slightly, the crystal clear light radiating all around the entire ice room.
The autumn water sword was radiant like jade or bone!
The sword that was born to shed blood for a just cause!
The glow of the light exploded.
Chi!Chi!Chi!
The light sounds of three pairs of clothes being ripped and sliced apart was heard.
The three long blades advanced and stabbed towards Ye Qingyu. When the tip of the blades reached Ye Qingyu’s body, they suddenly froze at that very moment. As if it were three poisonous snakes that had lost their lives, they could not advance an inch further.
Ye Qingyu was like a gust of wind, already two meters away.
The three military officers widened their eyes, their faces covered with shock and disbelief.
And in this instant, the [Little Shang sword] flickered. Like a sword hurricane, it passed by their bodies, reaping away their life. The speed of the sword was far too quick. Even though at this moment they could not see any wounds on their bodies, but the three military officers could clearly sense that their bodies had already been sliced deeply at the waist.
“Why… is it… like this…” the leading military officer asked with great difficult. “How did you know…
He did not understand why Ye Qingyu had such good fortune. He evaded his first strike then managed to dodged the confrontation of certain death.
After thinking it over, there was only one explanation—
That Ye Qingyu already knew long ago that he and the others wanted to assassinate him. He had long made precautions.
This was the only logical explanation
Today’s assassination had been in the making for a very long time.
According to the most optimistic evaluation of Ye Qingyu’s strength, he was only at the peak of the second Spirit spring stage. Any one of these three had the ability to kill Ye Qingyu one on one. Why was it that the three of them teaming up was instead slaughtered by Ye Qingyu?
Could it be that the previous reports and information gleaned was wrong?
“Speak, who instructed you to kill me?” Ye Qingyu’s long sword pointed at the ground, his aura ferocious. He advanced forward step by step.
