The group of Six Doors constables before them was peculiar.
Traveling by helicopter was a privilege reserved for marquises or military legions. Yet, these Six Doors constables shot down his helicopter without so much as a warning.
Chen Jiuyang felt wary of these individuals, and his cold words now were a probe to gauge their intentions.
The atmosphere in the immediate vicinity plummeted as dozens of firearms were trained on Chen Jiuyang. The dark muzzles of the guns exerted immense pressure on the helicopter pilot.
As an ordinary person, he only knew how to fly a plane and had never been pointed at with guns like this before. He was terrified to the point of his courage nearly shattering.
However, Chen Jiuyang’s expression remained calm, utterly fearless.
After a moment of tense standoff, the Six Doors constable in charge spoke coldly, "Is Marquis Xuanyang insistent on entering the Qinling Mountains?"
"I am approaching the Dragon Country Martial Rankings soon. As the champion of the Feng Province Martial Rankings, I feel my martial cultivation is insufficient. My esteemed master, the Sword Holder of Feng Province, specifically instructed me to temper my martial arts within the Qinling Mountains before preparing for the Dragon Country Martial Rankings," Chen Jiuyang said expressionlessly, leveraging his master's influence.
"I must enter the Qinling Mountains."
The Six Doors constable narrowed his eyes and said, "Since that is the case, Marquis Xuanyang, please proceed."
Chen Jiuyang’s invocation of the Feng Province Sword Holder had indeed managed to awe the Six Doors constables before him.
Chen Jiuyang then said, "He is an ordinary person. Please escort him back to Fengcheng by high-speed train."
He gestured towards the helicopter pilot and, after uttering these words, entered the Qinling Mountains on foot.
"Escort him out," the square-faced constable ordered.
The helicopter pilot was then led away.
One of the constables asked, "Constable Commander, why did you allow Marquis Xuanyang to enter the Qinling Mountains? If he ruins the Grand Constable's plans, we will all be in trouble."
The square-faced constable sneered, "The Qinling Mountains are currently in a state of bloodshed due to that Monk Puhui. We can stop ordinary people, but if Marquis Xuanyang invokes the Feng Province Sword Holder, do you dare to stop him?"
"No matter how powerful the Grand Constable is, he is not as powerful as the Sword Holder."
"Moreover, the Qinling Mountains are extremely dangerous. Countless martial artist factions have entered. Marquis Xuanyang does not even gauge his own strength. What harm is there in letting him go in alone to seek death?"
"Besides, he is here to temper his martial arts under the Sword Holder's instruction and has no connection with Monk Puhui."
"Allowing him in means we will not offend the Grand Constable, nor will we offend the Sword Holder. Furthermore, he is only one person, so it's not a problem."
"...That makes sense."
"This Marquis Xuanyang has no idea how deep the waters are within the Qinling Mountains. By letting him in, we offend neither party. The most we can do is help collect his corpse in a few days."
"Heh heh."
The group of Six Doors constables let out cold laughter.
...
Chen Jiuyang stepped into the Qinling Mountains. The surroundings were excellent, with towering ancient trees everywhere.
Chen Jiuyang fully unleashed his divine sense. He needed to search for any signs of human presence.
Monk Puhui was being cornered, and even the Six Doors were involved in keeping it secret. It seemed the clue Monk Puhui possessed was extremely enticing, stirring the desires of many.
A man is innocent, but his treasures can bring him guilt.
If Chen Jiuyang were to expose any of his secrets, his fate would likely be the same as Monk Puhui's.
Chen Jiuyang ran at full speed. After half an hour, he discovered traces of human activity.
Approximately twenty martial artists were gathered, setting up camp and cooking.
"Monk Puhui has been in hiding for ten years. It's been so long searching for him. We don't know where he's hiding, and we haven't been able to catch him for a decade."
"Monk Puhui secretly learned the Yi Jing, the Shaolin Temple's most treasured artifact. While his combat power isn't strong, his divination and deduction skills are formidable. If he hadn't shown himself and allowed us to track him this time, he would have slipped away again."
"I heard even the Grand Constable of Six Doors in Lingnan Province wants a piece of the pie. He's also brought Six Doors personnel to search for Monk Puhui's whereabouts."
"Heh, who doesn't want a share of the Tongtian Path ruins? The Heavenly King Alliance has been in Feng Province for ten years and discovered an ancient ruin. Hundreds of people died before even entering the ruin to obtain anything good, yet even so, many still go to try their luck."
"Success is built on the bones of the dead. To break through the blockade of Dragon Country's Heavenly Realm kings, we martial artists can only try our luck through these ruins if we want to advance to the Heavenly Realm."
"Monk Puhui's reappearance this time must be because he deduced a way to safely enter these ruins. That's why, upon his reappearance, he attracted our attention. This time, we must capture Monk Puhui!"
"With dozens of our factions joining forces, plus the Lingnan Six Doors, we have set up an inescapable net within the Qinling Mountains. Monk Puhui will have nowhere to fly."
"Hmm? Who are you?"
As these people were cooking and chatting, they suddenly saw a young man with hair like a waterfall, wearing expensive luxurious robes, handsome in appearance, slender in build, with a saber at his waist, slowly walking towards them.
They had never seen this person before. Their expressions became somewhat wary, and they immediately asked Chen Jiuyang for his identity.
Chen Jiuyang casually sat down, even picking up a skewer of roasted meat to eat. He then smiled and said, "I got lost in the Qinling Mountains and haven't seen any prey. I came here smelling the cooking. Don't be nervous."
Chen Jiuyang projected an image of a dissolute and ostentatious young master from a wealthy family. Furthermore, after carefully observing Chen Jiuyang, they noticed he had some martial aura, but his physique wasn't strong, and his hands had no calluses. This made the martial artists relax their vigilance slightly, assuming he was a young master from some faction who had gotten lost.
They did not associate him with Monk Puhui, as the Six Doors were guarding the Qinling Mountains' borders. If there were any other developments, they would have been notified.
Chen Jiuyang's appearance was truly deceptive. Moreover, there were twenty of them, and Chen Jiuyang was alone. They were not afraid at all.
Although these people had slightly lowered their guard, they continued to press Chen Jiuyang for his identity: "Young brother, who are you?"
After Chen Jiuyang had eaten his fill, he spoke, "Who am I? I have several identities. I am the young master of the Chen family of Shu Mountain, the Marquis Xuanyang of Feng Province, and the champion of this year's Feng Province Martial Rankings."
As soon as Chen Jiuyang spoke, the expressions of the twenty-odd martial artists changed several times. The accumulation of Chen Jiuyang's identities indicated that he was no ordinary martial artist. Moreover, the Chen family of Shu Mountain was not among the factions that had come to encircle and capture Monk Puhui.
One of the martial artists then asked Chen Jiuyang, "May I ask what Young Master Chen is doing in the Qinling Mountains at this time?"
Chen Jiuyang's voice was calm as he said, "I owe someone a favor, and I've come to repay it this time."
Upon hearing Chen Jiuyang's words, the martial artists' expressions slightly relaxed. Then, the martial artist spoke again, "May I ask, Young Master Chen, who is this person whose favor you've come to repay?"
Chen Jiuyang scanned them all and said word by word:
"It is Monk Puhui, the one you are trying to capture."
The next instant, the faces of the twenty martial artists changed drastically, and then they all erupted with their power, preparing to attack Chen Jiuyang!