As Han Zheng and his companions were fully equipped and ready to depart, Xu Cunbao said to Wen Tingyun, "Little Wen, you must be extra careful on this trip."
Wen Tingyun let out a light laugh, "Elder Xu, are you worried about ?
Although the Blood Wolf Thieves are vicious, they have now been intimidated by the Sll Fragrance Sect; they are nothing more than a pack of defeated dogs."
Xu Cunbao shook his head, "It's not that I don't trust you, nor am I worried about the Blood Wolf Thieves, my concern lies with the Xuanyang Martial Sect and the West Ling Pang Family.
Right now, the Blood Wolf Thieves are holed up in Julong Cave, which is close to both the Xuanyang Martial Sect and the West Ling Pang Family. My fear is that they might interfere."
A sharp light flashed in Wen Tingyun's eyes, "The Xuanyang Martial Sect and the West Ling Pang Family do not know what the Blood Wolf Thieves have stolen from the Sll Fragrance Sect, so they definitely won't employ their full strength to compete with us.
If they don't co, so much the better, but if they do, we'll just have to show them our true abilities."
Xu Cunbao gently shook his head, "You, always so impetuous; when will you ever change?
If you hadn't been there advising Governor Chen Zhenfu all these years, his tactics wouldn't have been so sharp."
The mbers of the Demon Cleansing Bureau all assud Wen Tingyun specialized in dostic affairs, which is why she was stationed at the headquarters of the Southern Mountain Demon Cleansing Departnt year-round and not dispatched to garrison a region.
Only Xu Cunbao knew that if Wen Tingyun were truly sent to garrison a region with her temperant, she would surely stir up unrest.
The Demon Cleansing Bureau moved with incredible speed, assembling in less than a quarter of an hour. Led by Wen Tingyun, they rushed straight to Julong Cave where the Blood Wolf Thieves were entrenched.
Although the Blood Wolf Thieves had entered Southern Mountain from Huainan Road, they didn't take the main road through Black Stone County. Instead, they crossed the Tiancang Mountain Range directly into Southern Mountain.
Strictly speaking, the Blood Wolf Thieves were still on the edge of Southern Mountain, yet they had already brazenly looted a county town and annihilated several small family sects, seizing their elixir resources and other items to heal their wounds.
Backed by the Tiancang Mountain Range, Julong Cave consisted of over a thousand caves and was said to be the remnants of a top sect from ancient tis.
However, the place had been abandoned since ancient tis, and all valuables had long been looted, leaving only the nurous caves and broken walls.
But due to its multitude of interconnected caves, large and small, it was incredibly easy to hide in. In the early years, bandits had even used it as a stronghold.
However, with the Tiancang Mountain Range at its back, fearso demons could erge at any ti. Thus, the place was considered quite dangerous.
Eventually, even bandits dared not linger there for long, and the area had remained deserted until now.
Han Zheng was riding a horse while Ye Liuyun galloped alongside him.
"Brother Han, the artifact that the Blood Wolf Thieves have stolen from the Sll Fragrance Sect must be sothing extraordinary. Otherwise, Elder Wen wouldn't have taken half of Kai Ping Prefecture's strength at a ti like this," Ye Liuyun whispered.
Han Zheng nodded, "I guessed as much. The Blood Wolf Thieves aren't the Court, nor are they a force of the Martial World. The more chaotic Huainan Road is, the more opportunities they have to plunder. The Sll Fragrance Sect actually takes pleasure in seeing such forces causing mayhem in Huainan to add pressure on the Court.
Just because the Blood Wolf Thieves robbed the Sll Fragrance Sect, they were promptly defeated by them. Over a thousand elite cavalry and tens of thousands of hillfort ruffians reduced to a re hundred n. It's evident that they must have taken sothing incredibly valuable from the Sll Fragrance Sect—it's definitely no trivial matter."
Ironically, the Blood Wolf Thieves had been causing trouble in Huainan for so long, yet the Court had never succeeded in eradicating them.
Instead, by provoking the Sll Fragrance Sect, they were swiftly crushed, and the remaining mbers fled like holess dogs.
The efficiency of the Sll Fragrance Sect was far greater than that of the Court.
At that mont, Han Zheng took another look at Ye Liuyun and said in a low voice, "Brother Ye, you wouldn't happen to have any designs on that artifact, would you?
I advise you to give up that notion. Even if you really could get your hands on that artifact, you wouldn't be able to use it.
Elder Xu bluntly ntioned that the Blood Wolf Thieves have an artifact highly valued by the Sll Fragrance Sect. It's clear that even if we were to obtain it, we wouldn't be capable of using it. It would be better to hand it over in exchange for rit."
Ye Liuyun quickly shook his head, "I wouldn't dare covet sothing that the higher-ups desire. Being caught would lead to more loss than gain.
And you're right, Elder Xu has already made it quite clear - the artifact is beyond our realm of existence, and we wouldn't be able to wield it if we got it.
What worries is that our opponents on this trip might not be limited to just the Blood Wolf Thieves."
"Who else could there be?"
"The martial arts forces around Julong Cave!"
Ye Liuyun said in a deep voice, "The news that the Blood Wolf Thieves are entrenched in Julong Cave can't be hidden. I'm afraid that the martial arts forces nearby will also get the news and compete with us.
In short, the opponents we're facing this ti are rather complex, Brother Han, please be extra careful."
Ye Liuyun also ca from a prestigious family; he knew all too well the nature of these martial arts forces.
Without any benefits, they would stay put, but the mont they sniffed out any advantage, they would all swarm in.
To put it bluntly, these people are the type who would stop a dung cart passing by their door just to taste its saltiness.
Wen Tingyun led Han Zheng and the others, hastening their horses without rest for three days, running one horse to death before directly changing it for another at the station. Finally, after three days, they arrived in front of Julong Cave.
The first impression that Julong Cave gave Han Zheng was one of grandeur, extre grandeur.
Nurous caves were built into the mountain; so naturally ford and others excavated postnatally.
The entrances were of various sizes, densely packed like a beehive.
Above, there were many carvings based directly on the mountain itself, featuring ferocious demons, primordial evil deities, and a variety of martial artists overturning seas, capturing dragons, and slaying demons.
However, after who knew how many years of weathering, most of them were already damaged, so even weathered to the point where details were no longer recognizable.
But a massive dragon sculpture was coiled around the periter of Julong Cave, extraordinarily magnificent, even lending its na to the cave.
Julong Cave looked enormous from the outside, but the inside was actually even larger.
It was said that the combined number of caves in Julong Cave was over a thousand, with the smaller ones being as big as a hall, and the larger ones big enough to accommodate an entire village, making it possible for thousands of people to live within.
Moreover, each cave had several passageways connected to it, intertwined like a spider's web, making it extrely easy to get lost.
Wen Tingyun looked at Julong Cave in front of her and said, "There are too many caves in Julong Cave; let's split up and search together.
However, if you encounter anyone from the Blood Wolf Thieves, try not to be alone. Signal others to converge before taking action."
As Wen Tingyun was about to give the order for everyone to enter Julong Cave together, two groups of people arrived from two different sides.
On one side was a group of martial artists dressed in bright and dazzling red, about a hundred strong, led by a burly man in fiery red armor.
On the other side was a smaller group, only thirty or forty people, led by an old man in golden robes.
Seeing these two groups, Wen Tingyun's expression remained unchanged.
She had already guessed that there would definitely be others trying to get involved.
Han Zheng asked Ye Liuyun in a low voice, "Are the arrivals all martial arts forces from around Julong Cave?"
Ye Liuyun nodded and said, "Correct, and they're the two biggest ones.
The ones in red are from the Xuanyang Martial Sect, led by the Inner Door instructor 'Purple Sun Hand' Ding Yuan.
The tall young man behind Ding Yuan is Guan Hongtu, the most outstanding disciple of the younger generation within the Xuanyang Martial Sect.
The other side is from the Pang Family of Xiling, led by the Pang Family Elder, Pang Songyuan. Though old, he was once a figure that almost reached the Dan Sea Realm at his peak.
The young man behind him is Pang Wanchun, the direct heir of the Pang Family, also a distinguished young figure in the martial arts world of Southern Mountain.
Although the two families didn't send their top fighters, the elites they sent are among the best of the best.
Our opponents this ti are going to be tough to handle."
Both Xuanyang Martial Sect and the Pang Family of Xiling were among the Five Families and Seven Sects, their strength and influence in Southern Mountain were top-notch.
Just as Wen Tingyun had anticipated, being close and hearing the rumors, these two families wouldn't mobilize their full strength, but they were certainly going to get involved.
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