Mu Yunji drew a folded map from his robes and spread it out upon the ground. “Mr. Teng, look at this!”
Teng Qingshan and Li Jun both leaned in to study it.
“A map of Ox-Head Mountain?” Teng Qingshan recognized it immediately.
“This is the Fiery Obsidian Gorge here,” Mu Yunji pointed to a spot. “The gorge runs east to west. There are low mountains on both the north and south sides. The North Low Mountain is about eighty zhang high, stretching for nearly four hundred zhang. The South Low Mountain is only thirty-some zhang high, but it runs for over three hundred zhang long... This means the Fiery Obsidian Gorge has two entrances: the East Entrance and the West Entrance.”
Teng Qingshan nodded. “Yunji, what do you need me to do?”
“Sir, look here!” Mu Yunji indicated the East Entrance of the gorge. “The Tantai Family, the Yan Family, the Xiahou Family, and others are all pressing near this side. I estimate there are quite a few troops already entering the gorge from the East Entrance. From inside the gorge... they will attempt to climb the North Low Mountain!”
To ascend the North Low Mountain, one could climb from the inner side or the outer side.
However, in terms of difficulty, the inner cliff face was nearly vertical and extremely steep, making the climb incredibly challenging. The outer face of the North Low Mountain, facing north, had a gentler slope, significantly reducing the difficulty. Back when Teng Qingshan held the North Low Mountain, the Yan Family and the Xiahou Family had attempted to climb from this outer face.
“Mr. Teng, I need you to push down massive boulders from the peak of the North Low Mountain! Block this!” Mu Yunji pointed emphatically at the East Entrance. “Block the entire East Entrance with a huge volume of boulders!!! Sir, is that feasible?”
Some of these enormous stones weighed hundreds of thousands of jin.
Lifting them required immense strength, but for Teng Qingshan, lifting was easy; moreover, he didn't need to lift them, only push them down.
“No problem,” Teng Qingshan affirmed.
“Good. Sir, this entrance must be sealed. It will require a massive amount of stone, so I must trouble you with this task,” Mu Yunji stated. With this plan... ordinary men, no matter how numerous, could not accomplish it in a short time. Only Teng Qingshan, possessing unmatched might and unafraid of the martial saints from the other families, could succeed!
After all, the Five Great Families—the Yan Family, the Xiahou Family, the Tantai Family, the Wu Family, and the Dong Family—all possessed Golden Core Martial Saints! For instance, the Iron Sword Martial Saint, the Female Martial Saint, along with other Martial Saint experts they had specifically invited!
A standard Golden Core Martial Saint would hardly dare to be so brazen as to seal an entrance.
“When should I act?” Teng Qingshan inquired.
“When the time comes, I will fire a signal rocket emitting a red flare! As soon as you see a signal rocket trailing dense red smoke, you may begin,” Mu Yunji explained. “There is no time to waste; Sir, you should proceed to the Fiery Obsidian Gorge and wait.”
Teng Qingshan nodded.
He then turned to Li Jun beside him, smiling as he instructed, “Xiao Jun, you go join A’Shou, Dongzi, Qingluan, and the others. Once this is settled, I will meet up with you all.”
“Mhm,” Li Jun nodded softly.
Shouldering the sheath containing the Reincarnation Spear and gripping a Black Flame Cudgel, Teng Qingshan strode out of the great tent.
...
It was now the dim break of dawn; the stars and moon were still faintly visible in the sky, yet the sounds of slaughter were growing louder. Teng Qingshan, wielding the Black Flame Cudgel, transformed into a blurred azure streak. With every step, he covered dozens of zhang, moving through the throngs of the army as if strolling through his own backyard garden.
In a short while, Teng Qingshan arrived at the Fiery Obsidian Gorge.
**
At this moment, the area around the Fiery Obsidian Gorge was teeming with people, especially the North Low Mountain, which was already stained red with blood. Soldiers were climbing up both the northern and southern slopes in large numbers.
“Kill!”
“Slaughter them all!”
Soldiers, driven to the brink between life and death, had eyes burning red. If they recognized the opponent’s uniform as foreign, they immediately swung their blades at necks and heads, or thrust their spears forward. Blood sprayed like water; shattered bones, severed limbs, and mangled flesh were scattered everywhere in a frenzy of savage combat.
Among the troops, Yan Baishou, Xiahou An, and the Iron Sword Martial Saint were gathered together.
These three were the highest commanders on their side.
“They’ve gone mad, all of them,” Yan Baishou’s eyes were faintly bloodshot. “I never expected Wu Baiwei and that old villain from the Dong Family, along with the third, to team up. If we hadn’t reacted quickly enough, many more would have died.”
“The situation is grim,” Xiahou An’s single eye flashed with cold light. “The Tantai Family, the Wu Family, and the Dong Family—those three must have planned this long in advance, choosing the deepest darkness before dawn to strike! Moreover, they committed nearly all their forces in this assault. They truly intend to wipe us out in one go.”
The Iron Sword Martial Saint’s expression was grave.
Although this conflict was ostensibly over the Fiery Obsidian Ore veins involving seven families, the Fu Family was actually the weakest. It was more accurate to call it six major families and one minor one.
The combined forces of the Tantai Family, the Wu Family, and the Dong Family accounted for nearly half of the total troops!
Combined with the sudden, fierce nature of the attack, where the aggressors were coordinated and the Iron Sword Martial Saint’s side was caught completely unprepared... even after fighting fiercely for over half an hour, the Iron Sword Martial Saint’s faction was at a clear disadvantage, having already lost much of their initial edge.
“No matter what, the North Low Mountain must be taken!” The Iron Sword Martial Saint’s face was ashen. “At any cost, secure it for me!” The forces of the Iron Sword Martial Saint’s side, having managed to establish a foothold, now began a desperate struggle to seize complete control of the North Low Mountain.
...
Currently, both the three-family coalition (Tantai et al.) and the Iron Sword Martial Saint’s faction were vying for the North Low Mountain. However... the Duan Family remained utterly inactive. Of course, neither the Iron Sword Martial Saint’s side nor the Tantai coalition were overly concerned... after all, the Duan Family was only one family.
If they could secure the North Low Mountain, victory was theirs.
...
Whoosh!
A signal rocket trailing dense red smoke soared into the sky. Teng Qingshan turned his head, a slight smile touching his lips. “It begins.”
Clutching the Black Flame Cudgel, Teng Qingshan charged directly toward the North Low Mountain in the Fiery Obsidian Gorge.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Teng Qingshan moved like a humanoid grasshopper, lightly pushing off the cliff face twice before landing atop the North Low Mountain summit. Following the ridge line of the peak, he headed straight toward the east.
“Kill! Brothers, kill them!”
“Die!”
“Go to hell!”
Soldiers with eyes blazing red hacked desperately at their foes. Several thousand people had already gathered on the summit of the North Low Mountain, clearly divided into two opposing factions... Simultaneously, on both mountain walls, soldiers from both sides continued to scramble upward, both determined to drive the other entirely off the mountain and claim the North Low Mountain.
Teng Qingshan shook his head, his movements strangely fluid as he advanced.
Quite a few soldiers spotted Teng Qingshan and, momentarily stunned, tried to hack at him, yet they couldn't even brush against his clothes.
“Hmm?” As he walked toward the eastern end of the summit, Teng Qingshan’s gaze suddenly swept across a distance of two or three li and spotted a conspicuous figure amidst the crowds of soldiers—the Female Martial Saint!
“It’s her,” Teng Qingshan murmured with a slight smile.
Seeing the Female Martial Saint, perhaps because her demeanor and appearance vaguely recalled his past life's wife, 'Little Cat,' gave Teng Qingshan a slightly peculiar feeling toward her.
And at this moment, the Female Martial Saint was standing with her husband, Wu Baiwei.
...
Currently, within the Wu Family’s army contingent.
The Female Martial Saint stood clad in battle armor, observing the progress of the fight for the North Low Mountain. Nearby, Wu Baiwei laughed heartily. “Madam, look... with the combined forces of my Wu Family and the other two families, we have forced the Yan Family and the others into a continuous retreat. Right now, our side clearly holds the advantage on that North Low Mountain.”
“Hmph. Don't look at their struggle; it won’t be long before the North Low Mountain is ours,” Wu Baiwei sounded quite exhilarated.
“Madam...” Wu Baiwei looked at the Female Martial Saint in confusion, wondering why she wasn't speaking.
“We have a problem,” the Female Martial Saint gazed toward the eastern peak of the North Low Mountain. “Look there!”
The Female Martial Saint pointed her finger toward the eastern summit of the North Low Mountain.
Wu Baiwei followed the direction she indicated...
“Mmm?” Wu Baiwei’s expression shifted drastically.
That tall, imposing figure in the azure leather coat, and that dark-red long cudgel, allowed Wu Baiwei to instantly recognize who that person was.
...
On the easternmost peak of the North Low Mountain.
“Hahaha...” Teng Qingshan laughed loudly, kicking large boulders one by one. With a terrifying rumble of ‘hong long long,’ these massive stones began rolling down from the mountain peak. Instantly, a large number of soldiers in the gorge below paled with fright, all scrambling to avoid them.
“Get out of the way!”
“Run!”
“Move aside!”
Amidst shouts of panic and terror, the troops belonging to the three families allied with Tantai watched in horror as stones weighing tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of jin, tumbled down. They dodged and fled wildly.
Rumble, rumble, rumble~~~
The succession of giant boulders, falling like meteors, instantly shattered the morale of the army, which had been soaring high. At this point, who cared about climbing the North Low Mountain to support comrades above? All they needed to do was retreat! Retreat quickly, escape this nightmarish gorge!
“There aren’t many scattered boulders left,” Teng Qingshan said, as if he were casually kicking a soccer ball, having directed the bulk of the massive stones toward roughly the same direction. He noted that there were no more truly large stones around.
Shouts echoed from below.
“Quickly! Climb the North Low Mountain! There are no more boulders up there, don't be afraid, climb up!”
“Everyone hurry up!”
The officers of the three families, including the Tantai Family, were whipping and commanding their soldiers to charge forward again. This was a crucial moment; if they hesitated, the North Low Mountain would be seized by the other side. If that happened, all their efforts to this point would be for naught.
“Hmph!”
Teng Qingshan’s right leg subtly thickened, bulging his trousers like an elephant’s leg. He brought his foot down with sudden force! Teng Qingshan, possessing a perfect physique, stomped down as if the wrath of the gods had descended!
Boom!
The mountain beneath Teng Qingshan’s feet cracked open. Accompanied by a sound like ten thousand crashing thunderclaps, massive stones and countless fragments tumbled down the mountain as if the peak itself were collapsing. The soldiers of the Tantai coalition were terrified, howling and fleeing in disarray.
This torrent of rock instantly sealed the East Entrance completely.
The high command of the Wu, Tantai, and Dong families were instantly struck with utter dread.
“No, how could this be... no...” Wu Baiwei’s face contorted in shock.
With the East Entrance sealed, the soldiers on the North Low Mountain would receive no reinforcements. Their efforts up until now had been utterly wasted.
“Teng Qingshan!”
The Female Martial Saint looked toward the towering figure on the summit.
The sheer force unleashed by a single stomp was so terrifying... The Female Martial Saint finally understood the vast gulf in power separating her from that man.
“Kill!!!” At that exact moment, a heaven-shaking roar of battle suddenly erupted from the west side of the North Low Mountain!