Li Xian returned to the wooden house, grabbed the wooden bow and fitted a long knife. On several arrows, he smeared the "Blood Seal Throat" poison.

[Clear Wind Leg] reached Perfection, and at full speed, it was indeed fast. Moreover, navigating through the mountainous snowy terrain, it offered a unique advantage.

Li Xian immediately set off, heading east. The entrance of Black River Village was to the east. When he reached outside the village entrance, he saw many footprints on the ground.

By following the footprints, the route of travel could be discerned.

"Seven horse hoofprints, there are only seven mountain bandits."

"Though not many in number, if their Martial Arts Mastery is not lacking, they can still be very troublesome."

The mountain path was winding and twisting.

Li Xian, with high skill and courage, took unconventional paths to save time. Arriving at a steep terrain, there was a large tree at the bottom of the slope.

He leaped with all his might, jumping down from the slope, performing "Clear Wind Leg" mid-air, greatly slowing his descent speed. He seized the moment and grabbed a tree branch.

Then he slid down from the tree.

This jump saved several miles of journey.

With Qi Circulation and Blood Stabilization and Qi Locking, his stamina was sustained, allowing him to cover more than ten miles of mountain road without any sign of breathlessness.

The accumulation of long-term Martial Arts practice was fully displayed in its power at this moment.

"Over there!"

As he climbed a high slope and gazed into the distance, he finally spotted the figures of Black River Village's residents on a distant mountain path.

There were about hundreds of people.

Old, weak, women, and children, everyone was there.

They were tied together with hemp ropes. A mountain bandit led the rope at the front, with two mountain bandits patrolling on both sides, and three mountain bandits blocking the rear.

"Looking at this formation, Mountain Wind Stronghold intends not to spare a single one, truly ruthless."

"Is the fox fur man Aunt Zhang mentioned him?"

From such a distance, the figures appeared like black dots, making it extremely hard to see clearly. But the first mountain bandit, riding a brown horse, clad in fox fur, sparkling with jewels, distinguished in wealth and grandeur, could be easily distinguished at a glance.

Seeing the villagers temporarily unharmed, Li Xian breathed a sigh of relief. He pondered further:

"These people have decent martial arts and are all mounted. If I confront them head-on, it wouldn't be advantageous."

"Now the enemies are in the open and I'm in the dark; I should leverage my advantage, bypass them, and set an ambush ahead to increase my chances of winning!"

Immediately Li Xian devised a plan, using his elevated vantage point to understand the surrounding terrain and set the route. After eating a few pieces of jerky to restore his strength, he began running full speed along the detour.

"Without Clear Wind Leg, I wouldn't have been able to catch up here."

"This Light Word Mystery is truly useful."

Li Xian moved like the wind, becoming more agile. The challenging part of the mountain road was its muddy paths and multiple tree obstacles, making it difficult to find a foothold. Even when finding a foothold, it was difficult to exert force.

All these obstacles, however, Li Xian could easily overcome by combining his [Running] skill and his Martial Arts [Clear Wind Leg].

Although it wasn't actual lightweight skill, it seemed like lightweight skill.

At this moment…

Suddenly a strong wind blew.

Li Xian exclaimed with joy, "Excellent, the wind aids my momentum." Following the wind, the [Riding the Wind] characteristic was pushed to its limits, and he moved as light as a swallow, covering several feet in a single stride.

At this moment, he was several times faster than the horses.

He also easily crossed many terrains that were difficult to traverse.

A boundless feeling of pleasure welled up in his heart; it was for such experiences that he practiced Martial Arts diligently every day.

By now, he had moved ahead of the mountain bandits, selecting an appropriate place along the route for an ambush.

In front, there was a stretch of path flanked by dense wild grass, one side was a steep slope, the other a high mountain, and the narrow path was perfect for an ambush.

"I'll set the ambush here!"

Li Xian began arranging the traps, finally hiding behind a tree, quietly waiting for them to arrive.

...

After about half an hour.

The team hadn't yet arrived, but sounds could already be heard.

Pang Hu, leading at the front of the team, was conversing with another young mountain bandit.

The young mountain bandit said, "Third Chief, do you really think those troublemakers had the guts to attack our Mountain Wind Stronghold people?"

Pang Hu pondered, "Generally speaking, these lowly civilians wouldn't have the guts. There might be high-skilled individuals aiding them behind the scenes, perhaps Black Water Gang or someone else."

The young mountain bandit asked, "What do we do then?"

"What to do?" said Pang Hu with a smile. "Of course, severe punishment follows, to locate Fang Yaozi."

"Fang Yaozi is still alive?" the young mountain bandit asked.

"It would be surprising if he were," Pang Hu replied. "It's about finding where the body is buried, dig it out, and see who killed him and how, isn't that clear?"

"Third Chief's words are absolutely right," the young bandit admired.

The current scale of the Mountain Wind Stronghold owes much to Third Chief's efforts. The Stronghold had five leaders, sworn brothers, very close to one another. Although Third Chief's martial skills were the weakest, his strategic mind was the best, and all major matters in the stronghold were discussed with him.

"Third Chief…" the young mountain bandit chuckled, "I heard the Stronghold Chief isn't here recently. Is it because he's planning another feast?"

"What? Feeling itchy?" Pang Hu said. "Didn't I share a sip of the soup with you last time?"

"Last time was last time. I'm craving that taste," the young bandit said. "If I could get another sip, I'd be willing to go through fire and water."

Pang Hu replied, "You're the greediest. Alright, let me give you a hint, this time's Essence Food is not simple. It's being cooked at the 'Mountain Wind Pass,' near the river vein, with the Stronghold Chief personally guarding it, alongside the Second and Fifth Chiefs."

"With the three of them occupied with cooking, I, along with the Fourth Elder, attend to most matters in the stronghold. Although my Martial Arts Mastery isn't equal to the Fourth and Fifth, who can have a sip of the Essence Soup and taste the essence, that's still up to me."

The young bandit said, "Third Chief, please consider it, here's a token of respect." With that, he presented a cloth bag, full of valuables inside.

There was silver, jade, soft gold, treasure hairpins… indeed quite valuable.

Pang Hu raised an eyebrow, just reaching to accept it, when suddenly his horse was startled by a smell, began shaking wildly.

Not just his, all the horses were reacting similarly. "What is it?" Pang Hu clenched his thighs to steady his startled horse.

Seeing that his prey was already in the trap, Li Xian didn't delay, releasing a flying arrow. With a "boom" sound, the road ahead exploded, sending stones scattering.

Li Xian turned his arrows and shot at three more places, each causing an explosion.

"Brothers, attack! Capture these Mountain Wind Stronghold kids and return to claim our rewards from the chief!"

Li Xian pulled on the trigger line, causing the surrounding grass to sway as though many people were hiding in ambush.

"Mere trickery."

Pang Hu coldly sneered, stepping on his horse's back, leaping up, intending to capture Li Xian. But Li Xian pulled another trigger line, activating another trap.

A large mass of frost and snow was released from above, creating a blinding fog.

"Not good!" Pang Hu, to avoid risk, withdrew his force, landing back onto his horse.

While he figured out the trickery, knowing Li Xian was behind it, the other bandits, unable to see clearly with the sudden snow fog, immediately fell into disorder.

Li Xian nocked an arrow and shot down two men.

Sliding down from the slope, blending among the people, swiftly dealing with the mountain bandits at leisure.

Screams arose one after another, collapsing in an instant. In fact, though Li Xian's martial arts were good, facing five or six opponents at once wouldn't be easy.

But Li Xian played to his strengths.

Alone, he overwhelmed the mountain bandits who couldn't even fight back.

"Impressive courage!"

Pang Hu was furious, unable to find Li Xian's figure, he gathered Qi in his palm and struck upwards.

A wave of energy scattered a piece of snow fog, revealing Li Xian, with the bodies of several bandits in sight.

Pang Hu, enraged, said, "Little thief, watch my palm!" Leaping down from his horse, he performed the [Extreme Iron Palm], refining the Inner Qi into a dense layer in his palm, striking down from above!

Li Xian raised his palm to meet the attack, responding with a "Jade Palm."

The two met palm to palm.

Li Xian felt the opponent's palm power, like a piece of steel, solid and indestructible, extremely tough, forcing him to retreat several steps.

He snorted coldly, counterattacking with Qi force.

"Vast Green Waves!"

The Jade Palm unleashed fifteen waves of palm power.

Just like fifteen waves, each hitting one after the other, with the next wave following closely behind.

Although initially, the palm power wasn't as fierce as Pang Hu's [Extreme Iron Palm], it had unyielding waves that grew increasingly formidable.

Gradually, Li Xian turned the disadvantage, while Pang Hu's complexion changed suddenly, feeling overpowered and filled with shock in his eyes.

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