A cursory glance would reveal that only the third task is difficult. Unexpectedly, this is where the danger lies. Tsk, tsk. A good plot! If I were to die after getting besieged by the bandits here, I would have died attempting to complete a task. Even my master would have no excuse to avenge me. Besides, if I am already dead, what is the point in avenging me? Chen Feng sneered.

“Chen Feng, what are you thinking about?” Mo Ji said.

“All right! I am willing to cooperate with you. What is your plan?” Chen Feng said, his face suddenly breaking into a smile.

“What? Are you not afraid that I am also trying to use you this time?” Mo Ji said derisively.

“He he! My objective is also Blackwind Mountain. Since we both have the same objective, let’s not talk about who is trying to use who.” Chen Feng snickered.

“Let’s leave this place first and have a detailed discussion on how to deal with the Blackwind Mountain bandits,” Mo Ji said.

Chen Feng nodded. Then, he followed Mo Ji’s group, flying far into the distance. Not long after their departure, hundreds of black-clad bandits charged out from Blackwind Mountain. All of them were riding on magic treasures and they soared through the sky. It did not take them long to arrive at the earlier battle site.

“Where are they?”

“They must have fled!”

“Chase them! They dare cause trouble in our Blackwind Mountain? They must be tired of living! When we capture them later, we must put them through a hellish torture!”

“These bandits sure are fast. I had originally assumed that they are just some ordinary Concealed stage cultivators. Now, though, it seems that is not the case. Amongst those chasing us, there are at least 10 at the domain power realm and at least 30 at the condensed Soulflame realm. This level of power is the equivalent of a small immortal dao sect. No wonder the two empires did not send out their soldiers to deal with these bandits,” Chen Feng said with a wry smile.

“Yes. If a Sky Human stage cultivator ends up getting besieged by those fellows, even that Sky Human stage cultivator would find it hard to escape,” Mo Ji said.

Chen Feng and Mo Ji’s group flew over several hundred li before stopping at a valley.

“There are people inside the valley!” Chen Feng’s eyes lit up.

“Don’t be nervous. They are my men,” Mo Ji said coolly.

Chen Feng and Mo Ji landed inside the valley, followed by the eight blade-wielding bodyguards. As for the elder, he had already hidden himself up again. Chen Feng knew that the old man was constantly staying beside Mo Ji to protect her.

Immediately after their arrival, 200 cultivators marched forward in a uniform manner to stand before Mo Ji.

100 sword cultivators and 100 blade cultivators.

The sword cultivators displayed upright statures and sword energies flowed within their bodies. They were like sharp arrows thrust into the ground.

The blade cultivators breathed steadily and their bodies were like mountains. Astral blade energies churned within their bodies, ready to erupt outwards at any given moment.

Seeing the 200 cultivators shocked Chen Feng. They did not consist of loose cultivators, temporarily gathered for one job. Neither were they a motley crew. Judging by the atmosphere they gave off, Chen Feng felt that they were even stronger than cultivators from Extreme Celestial Sect.

These people must have been trained together, Chen Feng immediately thought.

“Chen Feng, what do you think about these subordinates of mine?” Mo Ji asked, a smile appearing on her face.

“Not bad. They are well-trained, possessing dextrous responsiveness, sturdy fleshly bodies, high amounts of primary energies and honed souls. More importantly, all of them have condensed out their domain powers. Tsk, tsk. Add their ability to complement one another into the mix and it wouldn’t be an issue for them to kill off some Sky Human stage cultivators.” Chen Feng could not stop himself from giving them praise.

Chen Feng’s words were his heartfelt assessment. All of them were indeed not to be underestimated. Every single one of them was a match for an elite disciple from the great immortal orthodox dao sects.

Is Mo Ji also from a large immortal dao sect? However, these sword and blade cultivators do not look like cultivators. They feel more like soldiers. Tsk, tsk. Just what kind of background does Mo Ji have? Chen Feng pondered.

“He he! How unexpected! You have quite the discerning eyes.” Mo Ji laughed. She was very satisfied with Chen Feng’s assessment.

“Assume formation immediately! Prepare to face the enemy!” Mo Ji gave a simple command and the 200 cultivators moved rapidly. They did not exchange any words with one another, showed no hesitation and swiftly dispersed before setting up layer after layer of magic arrays around the valley. At the same time, they grouped up into threes and fives to form battle formations.

Although Chen Feng could not identify the principles involved, he could still sense the sharp killing intent contained within the battle formations.

“Looks like the Blackwind Mountain bandits have finally caught up,” Chen Feng said with a smile, both his eyes gazing into the distance.

“There is no need for either of us to make a move. I will let you experience the combat prowess of my subordinates,” Mo Ji said smilingly.

Chen Feng nodded his head. It was good that he did not need to attack. He had wanted to observe the strength of these cultivators as well.

In just one joss stick’s worth of time, the bandit army finally arrived. Several hundred black-clad cultivators covered the sky. Next, a thick and formidable killing intent charged into the valley beneath them.

“There is a total of 300 bandits. 13 of them have already condensed out their domain powers, 35 of them have already condensed out their Soulflames and the rest are ordinary Concealed stage cultivators. Eh? There is also a Sky Human stage cultivator. However, he has only overcome 1 Lightning Tribulation. Nothing to worry about,” Chen Feng said with a smile.

“Oh? Your soul power is formidable!” Mo Ji cast a surprised look at Chen Feng.

Earlier, Mo Ji had also been checking out the charging bandits, but she had not sensed Chen Feng’s soul power. To suddenly hear Chen Feng state out the bandits’ level of strength caused Mo Ji to instinctively become wary of Chen Feng.

In truth, Tower was the one who had sensed all that and informed Chen Feng. Even though Chen Feng’s soul power was very strong, it was not actually so outrageously strong. Naturally, Mo Ji did not know about that. She had simply assumed that it was due to Chen Feng’s formidable soul power. As a result, her impression towards Chen Feng rose by a notch.

“By the way, Miss Mo Ji. Since you know so much about these Blackwind Mountain bandits, do you know exactly how many of them there are?” Chen Feng suddenly asked.

Mo Ji considered for a moment before answering, “Over 3,000. I would say it is closer to 4,000. There are around 2,000 within the Concealed stage while the others are just ordinary cultivators.”

Hey, 2,000 Concealed stage cultivators? That’s double the number I received. Heh! When I return, I will not let those three task-issuing fellows go! Chen Feng’s heart was beginning to rage. By now, Chen Feng was certain that those fellows were attempting to kill him.

“Ha ha ha ha! We found them! They are hiding inside this valley!”

“Eh? Why are there so many cultivators? Is this an ambush?”

“Where is the female cultivator?”

“There!”

“Hurry, charge! Capture that female cultivator!”

“No! The cultivators here are very strong. It has to be a trap! Hurry, retreat!”

“What are you afraid of? They are just a bunch of Concealed stage cultivators. Everyone, follow me. Charge!” The Sky Human stage bandit spoke up.

However, before the bandits could make their move, Mo Ji’s subordinates had unleashed their attacks.

Countless sword beams and astral blades soared into the sky like fireworks. They abruptly exploded in the sky and sharp sword beams and astral blades scattered all over the place.

Wretched cries filled the sky. Under the onslaught of sword beams and astral blades, one bandit after another were killed, their blood scattering across the sky as their bodies were mutilated. The entire sky was dyed red. Looking at the valley from afar, one would mistake it for a battlefield of the Asuras.

With that one wave of attacks, nearly 100 bandits were killed. Many others were wounded.

Sou! Sou! Sou! Sou! Sou! Sou!

Immediately after that, the magic arrays that the sword and blade cultivators had set up beforehand activated. A massive sword and a massive blade abruptly shot into the sky and they began slaughtering the confused bandits up in the sky.

The sword and blade were condensed out using their sword-type and blade-type cultivation bases. The two weapons became like two wyrms, majestic and agile, and they rampaged unchallenged within the sky. One by one, the bandits were cleaved into two.

After the sword and blade disappeared, nearly one hundred more of the bandits had been killed.

In the end, the sword and blade cultivators leapt into the sky at the same time in threes and fives. Forming small battle formations, they began attacking the remaining bandits.

By then, Chen Feng was already dumbfounded by the spectacle. He had not expected such a formidable show of strength from Mo Ji’s subordinates. They were killing off the bandits as easily as one would chop vegetables. If he were to encounter such an attack, he would have instantly fled.

“How is it?” Mo Ji, who felt very satisfied with the expression on Chen Feng’s face, put on a smug smile.

“The bandits are done. Even the Sky Human stage bandit is no exception,” Chen Feng said, sighing.

By then, almost all of the 300 bandits had been killed off. The few survivors fought desperately in an attempt to escape. Funnily enough, the first to escape was the Sky Human stage bandit.

However, Mo Ji’s subordinates had been keeping an eye on the Sky Human stage bandit. After fleeing some distance away, the Sky Human stage bandit found himself surrounded by five blade cultivators. One astral blade after another slashed towards him.

“You fellows have a death wish!”

As expected, the desperate struggle from the Sky Human stage bandit was beyond ordinary. Not only did he succeed in breaking the astral blades coming at him, he even managed to send one of the blade cultivators flying, creating a gap in their encirclement. Charging through the gap, he fled again.

However, after just tens of metres, he was surrounded by five sword cultivators. At the same time, more sword and blade cultivators were rushing forward to surround him.

With the other bandits dealt with, more and more of the sword and blade cultivators rushed forward to surround the Sky Human stage bandit.

A total of 36 cultivators besieged the bandit. Blades and swords intersected each other, their figures flitting back and forth. In just a few breaths’ worth of time, they had hacked the Sky Human stage bandit into pieces, killing him with absolute certainty.

“What kind of formation is that?” Chen Feng asked, his voice containing shock.

“Great Swordblade Array,” Mo Ji replied coolly.

“Truly impressive. They killed off 300 enemies and yet, only one of them was injured in the process. Not a single casualty. It must have taken a great deal of resources to nurture these cultivators,” Chen Feng praised.

“Naturally.” Mo Ji nodded. She was very satisfied with the result.

The 300 bandits had been killed. Next, the 200 cultivators began cleaning up the battlefield silently. Not a single one of them spoke. They wore cold and aloof expressions on their faces while exuding thick killing intent. They were like a group of Killer Gods that had broken out from Hell.

However, Chen Feng did not like this feeling. He kept getting the feeling that these fellows’ propensity towards killing was too strong. They felt more like killing machines.

“Right, I have a question. I am here for the sake of completing a task, but what is Miss Mo Ji here for? Surely, you are not going to tell me you are here to train your soldiers?” Chen Feng suddenly said, a grin on his face.

1 li = 0.5 km