Chapter 173: Caught in a Pincer Attack

Amidst the night's wind and rain, Xu Xuan and a group of cultivators quietly departed from Zhang Tieling along a concealed path.

The route they took was entirely calculated by Chu Dong, who had even provided contingency plans for several possible variables.

As they pressed forward, the storm intensified, reducing visibility to less than thirty feet. In such conditions, cultivators below the Spirit Condensation stage found it difficult even to fly.

Under these circumstances, no immortal arts could be displayed, and rainwater must not be allowed to seep into the skin.

Along the way, many cultivators felt the hardship not only because of the torrential rain and howling wind, but also due to the remote, steep, and craggy mountain paths they traversed.

Xu Xuan and his party of over fifty people faced a perilous journey. After about an hour, they entered a deep valley.

This was the destination Chu Dong had spoken of: the East Ridge Valley.

The valley was vast and deep. Under the cover of the storm, hiding fifty people in any random corner was completely unproblematic.

"Guest Minister Xu, will this really work? In such heavy rain, the Dongfang family's forces should be holding their ground as well," Zhang De asked with a hint of doubt.

"According to the map, this place is five or six miles from Zhang Tieling, seemingly on the flank of the Dongfang family's garrison, resting right at the triangulation point of both locations. Advance allows us to strike the enemy, while defense allows us to reinforce Zhang Tieling."

Xu Xuan, however, wore a calm expression. There had been no negligence along the way, and upon reaching the destination, his mind was firmly at ease.

"Brother Xu, what on earth is the plan? Can you share it with us?" Zhang Kuang asked, feeling an itch of curiosity.

Everyone had braved the storm all the way here, still suffering at the moment, yet completely in the dark about what was happening.

Before departure, the true plan had been revealed by Chu Dong only to Xu Xuan.

"In another half hour, the heavy rain will gradually clear up. That should be when the Dongfang family launches their counterattack. Let's wait!" Xu Xuan let out a long breath.

Time slipped away bit by bit. Sure enough, as the half-hour mark approached, the momentum of the heavy rain began to wane.

"Reporting to Immortal Master Xu, a few miles in the distance, enemy traces have been spotted—about a hundred people," reported a scouting cultivator.

Xu Xuan and the others poked their heads out to look, and sure enough, they spotted the figures of cultivators flying and weaving through the distant canyon.

Through the wind and rain, they were not entirely distinct, but the headcount could be roughly estimated.

"A hundred people? That scale is not small. It's time to implement Plan Number Two..." Xu Xuan pondered for a moment and immediately said, "Wait a moment longer."

After another half-cup of tea's time, the torrential downpour had turned into a light drizzle.

Xu Xuan felt a wave of internal emotion. An Immortal Diviner's mastery over celestial phenomena and climate had reached such a precise degree; everything was turning out precisely as Chu Dong had anticipated.

"What do we do next?" Zhang Kuang asked, burning with impatience.

"Kill our way back and give them no path of return." A cold gleam flashed in Xu Xuan's eyes.

"Everyone, move out together!"

At Xu Xuan's command, the crowd sprang to a standing position, soared out of the canyon, and slaughtered their way back toward Zhang Tieling.

Meanwhile, before the grand array of Zhang Tieling, over a hundred Dongfang family cultivators, accompanied by five or six Spirit Condensation immortal masters, approached with aggressive momentum and unleashed a fierce assault.

The number of cultivators guarding the front of Zhang Tieling's grand array was limited, and the situation was becoming precarious.

"Hahaha, the timing of this surprise attack is truly precise. We just arrived at Zhang Tieling as the torrential rain stopped, catching them completely off guard."

The tall, burly man at the lead was none other than Dongfang Lin, a fourth-layer Spirit Condensation martial cultivator who had once fought a brief skirmish with Xu Xuan.

Beside him was a dark-faced martial cultivator, also at the fourth-layer Spirit Condensation stage, who chuckled coldly, "Taking advantage of the favorable weather this time, our Dongfang family is launching a sweeping counterattack from three fronts. If just one side succeeds, it will destabilize the entire Zhang family and plunge them into crushing defeat."

The combined forces of six Spirit Condensation experts and the charge of over a hundred cultivators quickly tore open Zhang Tieling's grand array.

"The array is broken... Charge in and kill them!"

Dongfang Lin and the others were overjoyed, letting out a roar to the skies. Over a hundred cultivators surged forward in one breath, slaughtering their way into Zhang Tieling.

Since the war began, this was the first time the Dongfang family had successfully breached a vital stronghold of Qingmu Town—an unprecedented breakthrough.

The cultivators inside Zhang Tieling fell into utter panic. After holding out for a brief moment, they abandoned the grand array and fled toward the depths of the ridge.

"Wait! This place is a vital stronghold of Qingmu Town. How could the Zhang family not defend it to the death and run away so easily?"

The expression of the dark-faced martial cultivator suddenly shifted.

It was simply too abnormal!

Charge――

At that very moment, outside Zhang Tieling, a force of over fifty cultivators came roaring over in a majestic wave of slaughter.

What?!

Dongfang Lin and the others turned ashen-faced, a chilling sensation creeping through their entire bodies.

By this moment, they had already penetrated deep into Zhang Tieling, yet enemy forces were suddenly attacking from their rear. Evidently, they had fallen into a trap.

Who could have anticipated that amidst the violent storm, the Zhang family would dispatch a force to lay an ambush on their flank?

The leader of this cultivator detachment was none other than Xu Xuan. Treading upon a black flying carpet, with dark bronze and crimson radiance flashing over his body, he spearheaded the charge.

Slaughter――

Right at that moment, the garrison cultivators who had previously fled into the depths of Zhang Tieling turned back to counterattack, forming a two-pronged pincer movement.

"Break through and kill our way out!" Dongfang Lin roared in panicked fury, his voice tearing to its limits.

Swish, swish, swish――

Amidst the chaos, a dozen immortal arts within the Dongfang family's cultivator ranks blanketed toward Xu Xuan.

Thud!

Xu Xuan stomped fiercely on the black flying carpet, leveraging the initial momentum of the flying spiritual artifact. His body vaulted forward, abruptly doubling in speed to evade the majority of the attacks. Like a sharp blade, he instantly plunged into the ranks of the Dongfang family cultivators.

"Ah, ah..."

Screams rang out continuously. Every cultivator in his path had their bones shattered to death upon impact.

Xu Xuan completely ignored all obstacles, using his physical body to brutally "ram" open a path.

Having reached a physical strength nearing the Silver-Gale Body, his power was terrifyingly immense. Even if ordinary cultivators were merely grazed by him, their bodies would be sent flying, a massive force shattering their bones. They would either die or be left half-crippled, devoid of combat capability.

Caught in a pincer attack and further ravaged by a fiend like Xu Xuan, the Dongfang family's cultivators dissolved into wails of ghosts and howls of wolves, plunging into deeper chaos and despair.

Upon charging into the crowd, Xu Xuan's primary target was the pursuit of the Spirit Condensation immortal masters.

Naturally, those immortal masters already harbored deep fear of him and scattered in all directions.

Yet Xu Xuan ignored all obstructions, his body barrelling forward like a wild bull. Along the way, spell radiance, magical artifacts, and even stone walls were directly pierced through.

The simplest method was also the most direct and effective.

Empowered by the dark night cloak on his back, his speed increased by twenty to thirty percent. He quickly closed in on a second-layer Spirit Condensation cultivator. Red radiance flickered abruptly, and with a single punch, he shattered the defensive barrier, punched through the cultivator's body, and snatched the storage pouch.

Presently, Xu Xuan could kill a first-layer Spirit Condensation cultivator purely through raw physical strength. If he incorporated the explosive force of his primal energy, he could instantly obliterate first and second-layer Spirit Condensation cultivators in a single move. Even a third-layer Spirit Condensation cultivator could not withstand more than a few blows, regardless of their full defensive efforts.

Trapped between the pincer attack, Xu Xuan harbored no worries about how many Dongfang family cultivators could escape, indulging freely in the massacre and slaughter.

In just a short moment, the two Zhang family forces converged, sandwiching the Dongfang family in the middle like the fillings of a pastry, and clashed in fierce combat.

Zhang Kuang and Zhang De, who arrived soon after, led the rest of the cultivators to charge into the enemy ranks.

Xu Xuan's pressure instantly lightened. His figure transformed into a pale red afterimage, speeding toward Dongfang Lin, who possessed the highest strength.

Previously, he had exchanged blows with Dongfang Lin, and this man's combat prowess was somewhat stronger than the average fourth-layer Spirit Condensation cultivator.

Meeting him head-on, the two engaged in a soul-stirring collision before both blasting backward.

Knowing that fighting Xu Xuan alone was exceedingly dangerous, Dongfang Lin immediately accelerated and attempted to blast his way outward, only to be intercepted by Zhang Kuang.

Xu Xuan flicked one hand, and the black flying carpet floating in the distance transformed into a giant net flickering with dark red peculiar light, descending directly to envelop Dongfang Lin.

Dongfang Lin was no pushover either; he cleaved a sharp blade radiance with the saber in his hand, slicing the black flying carpet apart.

However, after being refined anew by Xu Xuan, the quality of the black flying carpet had ascended to a higher tier, leaving it completely undamaged.

Zhang Kuang was no slacker either. Seizing this opportunity, two snake-like electric arcs grazed across his fingertips, swiftly entangling Dongfang Lin's legs.

Dongfang Lin felt a numbness in his feet, his speed lagging as he was forced to rely on true energy for defense. Although Zhang Kuang's attacks could not inflict severe injury upon him, they managed to slightly delay and obstruct him.

Taking advantage of this gap, Xu Xuan's internal primal energy erupted, generating astonishing speed as he swooped in from behind. Amidst the dark red blazing fire in his hand, a peerless blue-ghostly radiance swept across, transforming into a flaming venomous snake that lashed out with a sharp "crack" against Dongfang Lin's back.

"Not good!"

Dongfang Lin was horrified, feeling a suffocating, oppressive crisis wash over him. It was already too late to dodge.

He knew well that Xu Xuan's raw strength alone was insufficient to kill a fourth-layer Spirit Condensation cultivator, but the trump-card secret art in his hands possessed precisely that capability.

Puff-hiss~

Dongfang Lin spat out a mouthful of blood. The high-temperature scorching flame on his back penetrated his true energy layer, and a venomous fire invaded his body, subjecting him to internal and external torment. If this were any ordinary immortal cultivator, one foot would already have crossed into the gates of hell.

"Scram――!"

Dongfang Lin roared furiously. Utilizing some unknown secret art, the true energy within his body surged violently, blasting outward several yards to blow Xu Xuan and Zhang Kuang away. He also forcefully dispersed most of the flames clinging to his body, suppressed the blazing poison within, and forged straight ahead to break out of Zhang Tieling.

Xu Xuan sighed inwardly. Utilizing his natal blazing fire to slay a fourth-layer Spirit Condensation cultivator consumed at least half of it and drained a massive amount of vital energy. This man possessed extraordinary strength; since he had already broken free, pursuing him further would prove difficult.

He needed to preserve more vital energy to deal with any other unforeseen emergencies.

However, just as Dongfang Lin fled to the entrance of Zhang Tieling—

Swish, swish!

From the side mountain wall, two Spirit Condensation cultivators suddenly leaped out. With a single swing of their arms, two profound iron chains swiftly entangled Dongfang Lin's legs.

"Oh?"

Xu Xuan was slightly startled, but he quickly pointed a finger, causing the black flying carpet to shoot forward at high speed.

Clack, clack!

Dongfang Lin's legs trembled as he forcefully channeled his true energy, shattering the iron chains directly.

Whoosh-swish――

Yet right at that moment, a giant black net descended from the skies, capturing him within its bounds. No matter how he struggled, he could not break free.

Having undergone Xu Xuan's refinement, that black flying carpet was exceptionally tenacious, and as a flying spiritual artifact, its speed was naturally swift.

"Ah..."

Dongfang Lin let out a howl. With his internal vital energy heavily depleted, he was counter-assailed and incinerated by the lingering blazing fire and poison.

By the time Xu Xuan sped over, Dongfang Lin had already been burned half to death, entangled within the giant black net. Xu Xuan immediately shattered him with a single palm strike, seized his storage pouch, and asked in confusion, "Who are you?"

"We were arranged by Master Chu to ambush this mountain wall and hunt down any high-cultivation stragglers."

One of them replied with a hint of excitement, casting a glance at the storage pouch in Xu Xuan's hand.

"Chu Dong?"

Xu Xuan smiled faintly, tossing each of them a spiritual artifact while keeping the remaining materials and spirit stones for himself. The two were content; after all, the majority of the credit for slaying Dongfang Lin rightfully belonged to him.

Following that, Xu Xuan simply guarded the vicinity of the entrance. Whenever stragglers charged over, he raised his hand and dropped his blade, resolving them with a clean crack.

Those battle-crazed cultivators, covered in scars and wounds, having finally fought their way to the entrance of the ridge, were plunged into absolute despair upon suddenly laying eyes on this fiend named Xu Xuan.