Chapter 909: The Hundred Flowers Maze

You can run from the monks, but not from the temple.
Although Meng Yun managed to escape with the cover of her subordinates, Kai Xin pursued her all the way down from Songshan Mountain, leaving a trail of blood for miles. At least two thousand members of Yipin Tang lay dead.
These two thousand were elite fighters dispatched from over a dozen cities, accounting for seven or eight out of ten of Yipin Tang’s forces…
With their deaths, a significant gap in strength appeared in their core forces!
A large number of elite fighters lost their combat effectiveness…
Kai Xin continued his pursuit until the foot of Songshan Mountain before stopping. Behind him, countless Shaolin monks rushed out to join the chase.
These were all onlookers. The few Yipin Tang members who survived dared not stay any longer and quietly slipped away in the chaos. Watching the fleeing members of Yipin Tang like a defeated army, Kai Xin slowly lowered his Dragon-Slaying Sword. The blood-red glow faded, returning to its normal state, and his gaze gradually shed its cruel coldness.
“That’s enough.”
Kai Xin glanced back at the carnage he had wrought, then looked up at the sky, murmuring to himself…
“Are the casualty figures in?”
“Over two thousand one hundred dead—almost three-quarters of those we brought.”
After escaping, Meng Yun quickly obtained the casualty list. Upon seeing it, her expression darkened further—very few members of Yipin Tang had escaped with her.
“Damn it.”
“Order strict surveillance over Kai Xin’s every move, and that woman too…” Riding at full speed into the city, Meng Yun ordered loudly without pause, “Also, contact the Seer and ask for the whereabouts of the other groups from the Mu Family and the Xiyi Gate. This revenge must be taken from the Mu Family!!”
Losing two thousand ordinary members wouldn’t bother Meng Yun much—Yipin Tang’s substantial wealth and influence would allow them to recover quickly. But losing over two thousand elite fighters, the backbone of Yipin Tang’s middle ranks, dealt a severe blow.
If they couldn’t defeat Kai Xin, they could only regain their footing by fighting the elite of the Mu Family and restoring balance!
Just then, a homing pigeon landed on the shoulder of the Monk with Thick brows. After checking it, he finally delivered the only piece of news that eased Meng Yun’s frown.
“Headmaster, it worked over there. The more than four hundred led by Lei Zhan and Yin Hu have all been killed. They’re now trapped near the Wumiao Temple in the Weng City and dare not leave…”
“Well done.”
Meng Yun was overjoyed. The pain of losing over two thousand men was greatly reduced.

Although the Mu family lost not many people, Yin Hu and Lei Zhan held extremely important positions within it. The former was recognized as the second strongest fighter in the Mu family and could be counted among the top experts in the Central Plains; as for the latter, he was the nominal head of the Mu family and currently in charge of many aspects of its operations, serving as another spiritual pillar for the family. The influence of these two individuals was far greater than that of hundreds of other Mu family experts.

“Keep a close watch.”

Although they lost the battle at Songshan to Kai Xin, she felt she still had an advantage in her own territory—her “backyard.” Her elite fighters from the First-Class Hall conducted a thorough search and uncovered several groups of enemies. The troops from the Mu family and the Heroic Gate were forced to flee frantically in all directions. She believed that by the end of the day, not only would they recover all their losses from Songshan, but they might even gain a slight advantage.

“This… is!”

The Monk with Thick brows spoke hesitantly.

Meng Yun quickly noticed this and narrowed her eyes, seeing that his expression was not good. “What? Is there a problem?”

“Yes…”

The Monk with Thick brows hesitated before answering, “When surrounding Yin Hu and Lei Zhan, since they were hiding in mines, many of our men were killed during the assault. There might not be enough troops left to guard the weng city.”

“How many were lost?”

Meng Yun’s heart sank as she suddenly realized the situation was serious. After taking a deep breath, he gave a figure: “Over 2,300 people, almost half of the reinforcements sent to the weng city.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Meng Yun’s face turned icy cold, her voice like shards of ice: “Lost six times as many men as the Mu family? Who was in charge?”

The Monk with Thick brows showed hesitation again but finally explained under Meng Yun’s sharp gaze, “What was reported earlier was only the casualty count for dealing with Yin Hu’s group. The casualty ratio was almost one to ten. The losses on Lei Zhan’s side were slightly less—only over 1,500…”

By this point, the Monk with Thick brows could feel the intense anger radiating from Meng Yun. “According to the reports, the main reason was that the location chosen by Yin Hu and Lei Zhan was unsuitable for an attack, and we gave strict orders, so…”

“I understand.”

“…Hall Master.”

“I’m fine,” Meng Yun said coldly. “Continue to maintain contact with Zhi Zhi! Once we get their exact location, let Xue Yi, Huang Sha, and you personally take charge. If this continues, the losses in our First-Class Hall will soon exceed what we can bear.”

“Understood.”

The Monk with Thick Eyebrows finally breathed a sigh of relief.
To be honest, he was quite worried—after successive setbacks, the sect leader might punish those brothers in anger. This was precisely the time when manpower was needed.
But… things weren’t that simple.
“Is there anything else?”
Meng Yun noticed the Monk with Thick Eyebrows hesitating and felt a chill in her heart. “What bad news? Just say it outright—don’t be vague.”
“The news isn’t that bad, but… people from Wengcheng and Little Town of Tomah have reported that they lack enough troops.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Mu family’s residence is now under surveillance.”
“There are over seven hundred people from the Mu family and the Xiyimen sect under surveillance right now. But most of the brothers from Wengcheng and Little Town of Tomah are still recovering from internal injuries and not at full strength, so they’re not suitable for surveillance… The rest have been sent to search for enemies outside the city. It’s difficult to monitor over seven hundred people alone.”
“It’s just surveillance—have those injured brothers do it. We can’t spare more people for this at a time like this.”
After a pause, Meng Yun instructed, “Of course, Yin Hu and Lei Zhan must be on high alert for surveillance. Select a group of elite unharmed brothers to focus on monitoring them.”
“By the way, where’s Dao Zhen?”
Meng Yun suddenly remembered that she hadn’t seen Dao Zhen since they fled back—he seemed to have disappeared.
“I didn’t notice.”
The Monk with Thick Eyebrows looked around and shook his head. “He must have lost confidence after the defeat and left.”
Meng Yun understood this.
Dao Zhen was very proud. Having been easily defeated by Kai Xin using the “Qiankun Bagua Youhun Palm” in front of so many people, he must have secretly left in the chaos to save face.
Although it was a pity to lose such a capable ally, Meng Yun knew it was unrealistic to expect Dao Zhen to stay and help her fight against Kai Xin. Since Kai Xin had already achieved his goal and lost, he would surely return to his country to practice hard rather than stay to face hardships with the First-Class Hall.
“What about Hua Yu?”
“He stayed in Wengcheng after killing Yin Hu.”
“It’s good that he’s there.”
Meng Yun breathed a sigh of relief again.
She knew very well that Yin Hu had been the most aggressive in dealing with the Three Dragons Society, and even the Lingxiao Palace was destroyed because of him.
Hua Yu from Fusang also volunteered to help after hearing about Yin Hu’s situation.
Having a top-notch swordsman at their side meant they still had some cards to play.
“Send orders to all branches to prepare for battle. Stay online as long as possible, ready to launch an attack on the Mu family and Xiyimen sect at any time!”
“Understood!”
…

Xuancheng.
A frontline city where the forces of the Mu Family and Yipin Hall converge; it is also the forefront where Yipin Hall’s branches are stationed, and the region with the largest number of Yipin Hall members.
There are over five thousand people here, active in various cultivation sites in the vicinity. While cultivating, they are also responsible for surveillance tasks across different areas.
Since last night’s incident, the Yipin Hall disciples in Xuancheng’s branch have been cursed by countless members from deeper within the organization.
The reason? The successful infiltration of nearly two thousand Mu Family members managed to slip past the eyes of tens of thousands of people at the border—something truly unbelievable.
So, after orders were issued from above, panic ensued. Thousands of people were deployed to closely monitor the main roads and paths, determined not to let even a fly from south of the Yangtze River cross!
In the woods, a group of thirteen or fourteen people was slowly exchanging challenges with the female disciples of the Baihua Palace outside its gates.
Suddenly, one of the female players who had already defeated her opponent stopped and glanced doubtfully in the direction outside the palace…
“What’s wrong?”
The person next to her quickly noticed the strange look in her companion’s eyes as she stared fixedly at the Baihua Maze behind them and asked casually.
The latter frowned:
“I think I heard some noise inside.”
Her tone was serious and solemn.
But the others paid no attention:
“Could it be those scholars who came in?”
The female player shook her head:
“No, it sounded like someone’s scream, just for a moment…”
“A scream?”
The others said they hadn’t heard anything:
“Maybe you’re mistaken.”
“There’s no one in the Baihua Maze.”
The female player’s expression didn’t relax at all as she continued to stare intently at the blooming, spring-like Baihua Maze ahead.
“Alright, you’ve been acting weird since yesterday…”
“That’s right. There are several groups practicing outside. If anything really happened, someone would send us word by pigeon.”
“Exactly. Hurry up and cultivate. I heard that several top experts from the Mu Family have now surpassed 550 in internal strength and will soon reach the Liberation Realm. If we don’t hurry, Yipin Hall’s territory in the north will eventually be taken over by the Mu Family.”
“True enough. I really envy the Mu Family now… Before, I thought Yipin Hall was amazing and dominated the martial world, while the Mu Family was just a nouveau riche with nothing but showiness. Now, seeing their Branch Strength Ranking Plan mature day by day and more experts emerging, it scares me every day.”
Unconsciously, the group started talking about the Mu Family.

Yet they noticed that the female player, who had shown signs of wariness earlier, now had an even more solemn expression in her eyes:
“Those hiding inside the formation, come out…”
A sudden shout startled everyone around.
They looked around, but there wasn’t a single person in sight.
Just as they were about to complain, suddenly, appreciative laughter came from within the Flower Maze ahead: “I didn’t expect to encounter remnants of the First-Class Hall who are experts in formations here.”
The faces of the group changed drastically as they quickly subdued their opponents and stared over.
The scenes created by the illusionary formation twisted and fluctuated, and a dozen men and women with the character “Mu” embroidered on their chests seemed to emerge from the painting, appearing neatly in front of the disciples of the First-Class Hall.