Chapter Sixty-Two: Battle Royale of the Transmigrators (Part Three)

Elder Wen dared to endorse Gan Zhixuan's proposal naturally because he had a trump card of his own.

Having been through numerous secret realms, all four of them had reaped significant benefits.

Take Elder Wen, for instance. One of the benefits he gained was formidable perceptual ability, which bore a striking resemblance to the Six Supernatural Powers in Buddhism.

Currently, Elder Wen had skillfully mastered the Divine Eye and the Divine Ear. As a result, he could frequently perceive things invisible to ordinary mortal eyes and detect sounds imperceptible to ordinary ears.

With such an ability, it was as if his spiritual eyes had been opened; many operations that seemed perilous to outsiders were, in reality, completely safe and devoid of surprises for him.

Elder Wen had a premonition that upon completing this secret realm, he was likely to take another step forward and cross the initial threshold of reading others' minds. By then, he would possess a certain degree of telepathic ability in this world.

*(That bastard has no idea that our trump cards in this realm are practically inexhaustible, and she still thinks she can play us in the palm of her hand with her stealth skills. Huh, when did I start getting assimilated by Ms. Gan?)*

Pointing with his finger toward a small cabin in the distance, Elder Wen said, "An Miaotong should be hiding right in there."

Cautiously yet swiftly, the four of them dashed toward the area pointed out by Elder Wen.

The very instant they were merely ten paces away from the cabin, the window was violently pushed open, and a graceful figure leaped out lightly from within.

A cold smirk curled the corners of Gan Zhixuan's mouth as she swiftly drew an exquisite Zhuge repeating crossbow. Almost in the blink of an eye, a barrage of arrows tore through the air, shooting darting towards that figure.

The figure paused slightly in mid-air, and faintly, the four of them even heard a familiar muffled groan.

Immediately following that, a dense cloud of smoke abruptly burst forth on the spot, and the next moment, the figure vanished from everyone's sight.

Cui Xuanliang grinned broadly, "When did Miss An Miaotong learn the escape techniques of Japanese ninja?"

Even though Shuixi was divided into multiple branches with different surnames, the Four Elites of Shuixi, as the cream of the crop, inevitably knew several young ladies who shared the same surname as An Miaotong, forcing them to mention both given and family names to tell them apart.

"Mere parlor tricks, nothing more. Before these piercing eyes of mine, all concealment is entirely futile," Elder Wen said, pointing toward the direction of the plaza. "Over there."

Following the sound, Cui Xuanliang and Gan Zhixuan looked over and indeed saw An Miaotong fleeting toward the plaza. Her footsteps were so light that had Elder Wen not pointed out her location, the three of them might not have noticed her whereabouts at all.

Elder Wen the Second remarked, "This chick is probably badly injured by now."

Cui Xuanliang observed, "Did she realize so quickly that the dense cluster of houses not only failed to hide her whereabouts but would actually hinder her swift movements? Miss An Miaotong's combat intuition remains as sharp as ever."

"What a pity, even when chased across the plaza, the speed she takes such pride in is simply no match for ours."

The four of them rapidly closed in on the plaza, splitting into four directions to surround An Miaotong completely.

Gan Zhixuan glared at An Miaotong with venomous eyes, noticing that the other woman was indeed seriously injured. One of the arrows had pierced precisely through her collar and driven deep into her abdomen, the clothing around the wound shocking and stained with fresh blood.

Yet, there was not the slightest trace of panic on An Miaotong's face, and her eyes still held a hint of detachment.

"Such a seductress, death is at hand and she still hasn't forgotten how to lure men," Gan Zhixuan said, her tone dripping with jealousy. "I really want to skin you alive."

Elder Wen the Second also began to speak crudely, "Miss Miaotong, my brother and I have admired you for a long time. If you are willing to submit to us both, I might intercede with Ms. Gan and spare you an intact corpse."

Cui Xuanliang grew displeased at this, "Am I not worthy to be your brother?"

Just at that moment, a sudden change occurred. Accompanied by a sharp, piercing whistle tearing through the air, several trails of fire slashed across the sky, hurtling toward the plaza like shooting stars.

With his astonishing eyesight, Elder Wen instantly recognized these incoming projectiles as winged flying objects with fire breathing from their tails.

"It's Divine Fire Crows!" Elder Wen warned the others hurriedly, his expression remaining nonchalant.

The "Divine Fire Crow" was a unique firearm from the Ming Dynasty, shaped like a crow and woven from thin bamboo or reeds. With outstretched wings and gunpowder packed inside, it could fly a certain distance in the air after being ignited before exploding with immense destructive power.

However, this so-called "immense power" was only relative to ordinary martial arts masters. In the eyes of the four from Shuixi, there was virtually no firearm in the twenty-sixth year of Wanli that could harm them. This was not the Red Barbarian Cannon of the second year of Chongzhen, so there was nothing to make a fuss about.

Having survived the chaotic rebellion of She and An, they knew even better that compared to directly inflicting casualties on personnel, the Divine Fire Crow—functioning as a type of rocket—was far more useful for burning grain supplies and military baggage. Not only did the Ming army use them, but they had also deployed them against the Ming forces themselves.

Sure enough, the faces of the remaining three were equally serene. Gan Zhixuan even looked at An Miaotong with a mocking gaze, as if to say, "Is this truly the extent of your trump card?"

Yet, the four of them had no idea that they were not the targets of these Divine Fire Crows.

Like firebirds charging toward death, these Divine Fire Crows swooped down toward the plaza at a staggering speed.

The very moment they made contact with the ground, dazzling flashes of fire erupted amidst violent explosions.

The flames merged with the air currents, awakening countless silent killers.

These were the grand gifts that Yun Zheng had prepared for these old friends who had traveled thousands of miles to pay a visit.

Elder Wen, whose perception was the sharpest, suddenly experienced a drastic change in complexion.

Through the realm of past lives and future destinies that he had vaguely touched upon, he seemed to see a slumbering behemoth awakened from deep beneath the earth, roaring as it swallowed him whole.

With thoughts flashing like lightning, he grabbed Elder Wen the Second's hand and leaped rapidly out of the plaza.

The next moment, the entire plaza erupted into a towering inferno of fire, flying debris, and billowing smoke.

A rapid succession of explosions reverberated endlessly, resembling thunder from the bowels of the earth.

Cui Xuanliang and Gan Zhixuan, having no time to evade, were instantly swallowed by the flames and smoke.

Monstrous billows surged in Elder Wen's heart. "Landmines! Yun Zheng has buried countless landmines beneath this ground!"

Elder Wen was not surprised by the existence of landmines; the Ming Dynasty possessed them, having invented them as early as the early Ming period.

Such landmines were generally referred to as "stone explosive cannons," consisting of an outer shell, explosives, and an ignition device. The outer shell was made of stone and was spherical, filled with explosives inside, fitted with a small bamboo tube, threaded with a fuse, and buried underground. They could be detonated by pulling, tripping, or burning, shattering upon fiery explosion to kill enemies.

What shocked Elder Wen was that Yun Zheng had deployed such a massive quantity of stone explosive cannons. Was he trying to hunt down a legendary Western dragon?

*(Could it be that Yun Zheng guessed we might gain power enhancements within the illusion realm, and therefore made such a ruthless arrangement? But how could that even be possible?)*