Emperor of the Mysterious Heavens

Chapter 81: Chapter 053 Capturing the Assassin

"Whoosh!"

Four sword-wielding knights landed beside Yan Chuan.

"Uncle Master! Brother!" they called out.

Their arrival caught the attention of the eight hundred cultivators nearby. Was someone here to challenge Yan Chuan? This was a different situation from before.

"It's good that you've come," Yan Chuan said with a glimmer of relief in his eyes.

"You've found the place, right? Don't tell me you've forgotten the way back?" the third knight joked.

"Of course we know the way. Just follow us later," the fourth knight replied with a grin.

But before his words fully settled, the surrounding noise of birds, beasts, and insects abruptly ceased. The murmuring of the eight hundred cultivators also fell into an eerie silence.

Suddenly, every mind sharpened.

A place? What place?

"The woman in white with the azure luan pulling her chariot—did Yan Chuan send these four to find her?"

"Our guess was right; sticking with Yan Chuan will surely lead us to that heaven-tier technique!"

"All this waiting hasn't been in vain!"

The crowd erupted into murmurs once more, their eyes gleaming with hope as though seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

The abrupt change in atmosphere made the four knights pause, momentarily confused.

"Did I say something wrong?" the fourth knight asked, bewildered.

"No, you didn't," Yan Chuan said with a smile.

Suddenly, with a thunderous splash, a towering, three-meter-long green crocodile burst from the lake, a spear lodged through its belly. Huo Guang, slightly wounded, emerged from the water alongside it.

"Thud!"

The green crocodile crashed onto the shore, followed by Huo Guang, who leaped onto the bank first.

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

One by one, more crocodiles were pulled from the water, and the elite soldiers of the Jin Yi Army emerged, each carrying their spoils.

In no time, five hundred crocodile corpses lay scattered along the shore.

"King, the mission is complete!" Huo Guang exclaimed, excitement in his voice.

"Set up camp and prepare the meal," Yan Chuan commanded with a nod.

"Yes, sir!"

The three thousand soldiers swiftly set about their tasks. Meanwhile, the eight hundred cultivators watching from a distance were left frozen in disbelief. They were stopping to eat and rest? Weren't they supposed to know where the woman in white was? What if she left? Why weren't they going after her?

Though frustrated, the cultivators could do nothing. After all, to retrieve a heaven-tier technique, Yan Chuan himself would have to negotiate, leaving them with no choice but to wait.

Soon, the camp was set up, and the soldiers began preparing their meal. Inside the central command tent, Yan Chuan sat with Huo Guang, Liu Jin, Jiu Jian Sheng, and the Seven Sword Knights, enjoying the feast.

"Uncle Master, there are over eight hundred cultivators out there. Aren't you worried at all?" the sixth knight asked curiously.

"Worried about what?" Yan Chuan replied with a smile.

"That they might turn on you," the sixth knight said, puzzled.

"Why would they?"

"Why wouldn't they?" the sixth knight pressed.

"Because they're not united. That's why I'm safer," Yan Chuan explained with a grin.

"Mutual restraint?" the third knight asked, intrigued.

"Exactly."

"And if danger arises, these eight hundred cultivators will be the first to help," Huo Guang added with a laugh.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, in the middle of their conversation, a small stone shot into the tent with a loud thud, landing on Yan Chuan's table.

"Shing!"

All the sword knights unsheathed their weapons, staring in surprise at the stone that had just flown in.

Yan Chuan glanced at it, a cold smile forming at the corner of his lips. "It seems someone is trying to assassinate me."

"Whoosh!"

Huo Guang immediately stood up.

Yan Chuan gave a nod, and Huo Guang, feigning calm, picked up a cup of wine and stepped out of the tent.

Outside, soldiers were busy eating crocodile meat.

"Brothers, the King asked me to offer you all a toast! We may be far from home and short on wine, but let's raise our meat in its place! Haha!" Huo Guang announced with a grin.

"Sir!" the soldiers cheered, rising to their feet.

Holding his cup in one hand, Huo Guang made a subtle gesture with the other—a seemingly ordinary sign, but one that made the soldiers' eyes narrow in understanding.

"Long live the King!" they shouted, raising their meat in salute.

Meanwhile, back in the tent...

"Assassination? Uncle Master, how did you know?" Jiu Jian Sheng asked, astonished.

"Someone among those eight hundred cultivators gave me a heads-up," Yan Chuan replied, smiling as he looked at the stone on the table.

"Huh? Who?" Jiu Jian Sheng asked curiously.

"Who? I have no idea. They've done their part by alerting me. We just need to stay cautious," Yan Chuan said with a smile.

"Assassins? What should we do?" the third knight asked, concerned.

"What's there to worry about? Huo Guang's already handling it. Let's keep eating!" Yan Chuan laughed.

"Uh..." The group was left speechless. Their Uncle Master was incredibly nonchalant, even in the face of an assassination attempt!

While they continued their meal, Huo Guang moved through the ranks of soldiers, cup in hand. Unbeknownst to many, some soldiers quietly disappeared.

Meanwhile, halfway up a nearby hillside, twenty assassins from the Wei Sect lay in wait, their eyes fixed on the central command tent.

"I've got eyes on him. Yan Chuan is definitely in that tent," one of the assassins whispered coldly.

"There are eight cultivators from the Great River Sect inside, but the real problem is the eight hundred cultivators outside. If we attack now, won't we provoke them?"

"Provoke them? Doesn't matter. The alliance leader gave us our orders. We'll storm the tent, you eight will keep the Great River Sect's cultivators busy, and the rest of us will take out Yan Chuan in a single strike. Once he's dead, we retreat immediately. The others won't be able to react in time," the leader of the assassins said gravely.

"Boss, that's brilliant. Kill Yan Chuan and escape before anyone can stop us."

"Right. Let's move. On my count: one... two... three!"

"Whoosh!"

In an instant, twenty shadows shot toward the command tent, their speed too swift for anyone to react.

Just as they reached the entrance, five hundred arrows suddenly rained down upon them.

"What?" The assassins' faces twisted in shock.

Boom!

The assassins hastily summoned Qi walls, their powerful auras radiating outward.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

The arrows clashed against the Qi walls, their force so immense that it halted the assassins' momentum, pushing some of them back.

"Not good!" the leader muttered, his expression darkening.

"Fire!"

Before they could recover, a second volley of two thousand arrows was unleashed, streaking through the sky like a meteor shower.

Boom!

Boom!

Each assassin was forced to fend off a hundred arrows—an overwhelming force. Though they were Qi cultivators, the sheer number of arrows, coupled with the power of the enchanted Sun-shooting Arrows, was more than they could handle. Their Qi walls trembled violently, on the verge of collapse.

"We've been discovered! Retreat!" one of the assassins yelled.

"Retreat? Not so fast. Fire!" Huo Guang ordered.

A third wave of three thousand arrows surged forth with devastating power.

The assassins, once dismissive of the soldiers, now found themselves overrun by an onslaught of golden arrows.

Boom!

"Ahh!"

The Qi walls shattered, and the arrows struck the assassins mercilessly.

Thud!

Thud!

The remaining assassins crashed to the ground, writhing in pain. Of the twenty, five were dead, while the other fifteen were riddled with arrows, staring in disbelief at the soldiers.

"Impossible! Impossible!" the leader wailed, unable to comprehend their defeat. They were Qi cultivators, yet they had been brought down so swiftly by mere soldiers?

The eight hundred surrounding cultivators, though furious, made no move to intervene. Instead, they watched in astonishment, finally realizing the true strength of the Jin Yi Army.

"Pierce their pipa bones and bind them," Huo Guang commanded.

"Yes, sir!" the soldiers responded, quickly tying up the surviving assassins and dragging them into the command tent.

Inside the tent, Yan Chuan continued his meal, unaffected. Jiu Jian Sheng and the Seven Sword Knights, however, stared in bewilderment at the kneeling assassins.

"Boss, hit me," the third knight muttered, still in shock.

Smack!

The first knight slapped him hard across the face.

"Ouch! You really