Mu Qingyan knelt on the ground, looking at Qian Pangzi.
When he found Qian Pangzi unharmed, he suddenly sat back, put down his sword, closed his eyes, and began to recover.
It was finally over!
The Nine-tailed Owl, a spiritual beast equivalent to the Saint King realm, had finally been slain by their combined efforts!
Qian Pangzi struggled to his feet and met Qing Yu. The two men clasped hands tightly.
After fighting side by side, some words were no longer needed.
They smiled at each other and then sat on the ground to recover.
Half an hour later, the three of them opened their eyes simultaneously.
Just as the three were about to discuss their next steps, they saw a strange signal rise into the sky.
Not good!
This was a special signal from the King of Hell's Mansion!
Qing Yu stood up first and sped towards the direction where the signal had risen.
Mu Qingyan's face changed. He said to Qian Pangzi, "Let's go!"
Then, he chased after Qing Yu.
Qian Pangzi dared not delay. He got up to follow but suddenly remembered something.
He walked up to Chu Keren and said, "Many ferocious beasts and demonic beasts are interested in the smell of blood here. They should be on their way."
After speaking, Qian Pangzi "rolled" towards the direction where Qing Yu and Mu Qingyan had left.
Chu Keren, who had been playing dead on the ground, shivered at Qian Pangzi's words. She scrambled up and chased after him.
By the time the four of them reached the location where the signal originated, they saw Qing Feng and his men battling a group of figures in black.
It turned out that Qing Feng had received Qing Yu's special signal and had quickly brought his men to provide support. However, at the junction between the inner and outer perimeter, they encountered the figures in black who were lying in ambush and clashed with them.
However, there were too many figures in black. Even though Qing Feng and his men were all powerful, they were no match for the overwhelming numbers and suffered some minor losses.
When Mu Qingyan and Qing Yu arrived, they saw a chaotic battle scene.
The four of them broke through the encirclement and joined forces with Qing Feng and his men.
Mu Qingyan, being a former general, quickly deduced the identity of the figures in black based on the information provided by Qing Feng – they belonged to Emperor Ye Moyuan.
It was likely that Ye Moyuan had learned of Ye Lingyuan's entry into the Mist Forest and intended to ambush him here.
It was just that they did not know Ye Lingyuan had already entered the Ghost Altar, which was why they had clashed with the people from the King of Hell's Mansion.
Since Mu Qingyan had already guessed their intentions, he decided to eliminate this group of figures in black.
However, the number of figures in black was large, and everything needed to be planned carefully.
Under Mu Qingyan's leadership, the people from the King of Hell's Mansion fought their way out of the encirclement, retreating as they fought.
Then, they formulated a detailed plan to divide and conquer the group of figures in black.
The plan went smoothly.
But just as Mu Qingyan had dealt with half of the enemy forces, Chu Keren, that brainless princess, did something equally brainless.
After learning that the figures in black belonged to Emperor Tianqi, Ye Moyuan, she secretly went to find their leader.
Chu Keren revealed her identity and demanded that the leader of the figures in black send someone to escort her to Dark Night City.
The leader of the figures in black was named Mei Renxing, a personal guard secretly trained by Ye Moyuan.
He outwardly agreed to Chu Keren's request, but in reality, he used her as bait to set a trap, intending to lure out Mu Qingyan and his group and capture them all in one go.
Of course, this was also an order given by Ye Moyuan before he left.
Ye Moyuan's exact words were: "If there is an opportunity to eliminate Ye Lingyuan, eliminate him. If not, cripple his wings at all costs."
Therefore, Mei Renxing did not care about Chu Keren's life or death. If anything went wrong, Ye Moyuan would bear the responsibility.
If all else failed, he would shift all the blame to Ye Lingyuan. With Emperor Ye Moyuan's personality, he would definitely use this as an excuse to eliminate Ye Lingyuan.
Thus, after placating Chu Keren, Mei Renxing sent a message to Mu Qingyan, saying that Chu Keren was in his hands and that if Mu Qingyan and his group did not come out, he would kill Chu Keren.
Mu Qingyan was helpless and could only lead his men into the trap.
He knew that if anything happened to Chu Keren, Ye Moyuan would definitely blame the Prince and take the opportunity to eliminate him.
Therefore, even though Mu Qingyan knew it was a trap, he had no choice but to step into it.
The moment he saw Mu Qingyan appear, Mei Renxing was first surprised, then sneered.
It was truly a case of finding something without looking.
Killing Mu Qingyan and his men today would be equivalent to severing Ye Lingyuan's wings.
Of course, obtaining the Fengxuan Army's Tiger Tally from Mu Qingyan would be an even greater achievement.
"Where is she?"
Mu Qingyan looked at Mei Renxing and asked coldly.
Mei Renxing smiled sinisterly and said, "General Mu is quite the gallant knight!"
As he spoke, he beckoned to the figures in black behind him, and Chu Keren was brought out.
Mei Renxing continued, "She is here, but what will General Mu offer in exchange?"
If Chu Keren did not realize she had been tricked at this point, she would be utterly foolish.
She angrily cursed, "You scoundrel, how dare you deceive this princess!"
Mei Renxing's eyes turned cold. He pressed a dagger against Chu Keren's neck and said coldly, "I'd rather kill you than deceive you!"
Chu Keren's face turned pale with fear. "This princess is here on the emperor's decree for a marriage alliance. If you kill me, aren't you afraid of war between our two nations?"
Mei Renxing used the side of the dagger to pat her face and said, "Princess Qionghua, you are truly naive! If your marriage alliance was with another prince, I might hesitate. But who told you to choose Ye Lingyuan?"
Chu Keren asked, puzzled, "What does this have to do with whom I chose?"
"Of course, it has something to do with it. Since you chose Ye Lingyuan, you are destined for death."
Chu Keren was even more confused. Just as she was about to ask further, she was interrupted by a cold shout.
"Enough! What will it take for you to let her go?"
Mu Qingyan's icy voice carried a hint of disgust.
If it weren't for the fact that he didn't want the Prince to be framed, and also to extract information about the Qionghua nation's conspiracy from Chu Keren, he wouldn't have bothered with this brainless princess!
Mei Renxing withdrew his dagger and said with a wicked smile, "I need something from General Mu."
Mu Qingyan frowned and asked coldly, "What thing?"
Mei Renxing said with a sinister grin, "The Fengxuan Army's Tiger Tally!"
"Unacceptable!"
Before Mu Qingyan could speak, Qing Feng and the others behind him objected.
Qian Pangzi pointed at Chu Keren and cursed, "Chu Keren, calling you brainless is a compliment. I, Master Qian, have predicted your fate, and you are simply a rare brainless, idiotic, and ill-fated person!"
Qing Yu spat fiercely, "General Mu, Chu Keren is seeking her own death, why should we concern ourselves with her?"
Qing Feng and the others all looked at Chu Keren with anger, wishing they could kick this fool to death.
However, while they were indignant, Qing Dian quietly left.