Martial Dao: Peace by Force

Chapter 163: Chapter 127: Exorcism! Coordinating from Within and Without

"Alright, old friend. You stay put. I have to go."

...

The scene faded to black.

Wan Ze snapped back to his senses.

He was a little stunned.

That wasn’t the Martial Dao. It was more like something... older.

He looked again.

...

[Stealing Celestial Secret: Exorcism 30%]

...

"Exorcism?"

Wan Ze raised an eyebrow slightly.

He suppressed the strange feeling in his heart.

Zhai Jia suddenly whispered, "Ah Ze, something’s not right."

Wan Ze looked away and quickly touched a few more items. After accumulating some more Tiger and Wolf Momentum, he lowered his voice and asked, "Have you contacted Brother Yu?"

"I did," Zhai Jia said, hesitating. "But since we got in here, the signal has been completely blocked. It’ll probably take Brother Yu some time to get in."

"He should... be here soon," Wan Ze said in a low voice.

Zhai Jia couldn’t help but ask, "Why do you think the Secret Palace is collecting all this stuff? Is there really some secret hidden behind these old artifacts?"

But before Wan Ze could answer, he answered his own question. "Qi Refiners... But do they really exist? These guys are searching for them like madmen."

"Maybe... they really do exist?" Wan Ze said uncertainly.

’He felt that after activating his Spiritual Form, he had indeed descended into a higher-dimensional world.’

’That place... was very likely the world where Qi Refiners lived.’

’He just wasn’t sure. Did all Qi Refiners have to be in that world... to become Qi Refiners?’

’If that were true, then what was the point of being a Qi Refiner?’

Wan Ze took a deep breath, pushing aside his speculations.

’Regardless of whether Qi Refiners possessed immense combat power in the real world, at least cultivating the Taiyin Breathing Technique in that other world had miraculous effects!’

...

「Meanwhile.」

Night had fallen over the Saint City East District.

The car’s interior lights were off. The only illumination came from the city lights outside, which cast a dim, silvery glow across the windows.

Zhai Yu sat in the driver’s seat, an encrypted communicator placed in front of him.

He stared at the coded address Zhai Jia had sent, his gaze lingering for a full ten seconds.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t understand it.

On the contrary, he understood it at a glance.

’An abandoned mine... in the mountains... a hundred meters underground... a special stronghold of the Secret Palace.’

He just needed to think through a few key points.

A soft knock came from the car door.

Then, a trusted subordinate, lean and capable, quickly got into the passenger seat. He had been with Zhai Yu for six years.

The young man reported in a low voice, "Captain, we’ve confirmed the address. It’s an abandoned mine pit, thirty kilometers northwest of the Holy City. It was originally a state-owned lead-zinc mine that was shut down thirty-four years ago. On the surface, there’s nothing but a rusted derrick, but we set up surveillance within a three-kilometer radius and found a number of things."

"Such as?" Zhai Yu asked.

"Eight hidden sentries, deployed in three groups. Two men behind the bushes on the hill to the north of the mine, equipped with night-vision goggles. Three men behind the waste rock pile to the southeast, carrying walkie-talkies and short-barreled assault rifles... And three more inside the abandoned work shed to the west, standing guard in shifts...

Besides the main shaft elevator, we found a suspected emergency exit. It’s located about two hundred meters northeast of the mine pit, disguised as an abandoned ventilation shaft. The opening is covered by a camouflaged rebar mesh, but the soil underneath shows recent signs of disturbance.

These guys have a predictable guard rotation. The sentries change shifts every two hours. During the changeover, there’s a three-minute communications blackout... They confirm via walkie-talkie, but there’s a brief overlap between the outgoing and incoming guards. That overlap period is our exact window to make a move."

Having finished his report, the young man quietly awaited his next orders.

Zhai Yu didn’t respond immediately.

He was thinking...

’What exactly are Wan Ze and Zhai Jia up to?’

’Are they just infiltrating to scout the place out, or have they already gotten to the core information?’

’Knowing that kid Zhai Jia’s personality, the fact that he was calm enough to send a coded message means they probably haven’t been exposed yet.’

’But the security at a Secret Palace stronghold is far tighter than normal.’

’Those eight sentries are just the perimeter. Who knows how many more pairs of eyes are watching from underground.’

’But what if they’ve been exposed?’

Zhai Yu’s gaze darkened.

’I have to prepare for the worst.’

’If Wan Ze and Zhai Jia have been captured, but the Secret Palace hasn’t killed them immediately...’

’...that means they want to extract more information, or use them as hostages.’

’At that point, a direct assault would be unavoidable.’

’But what would be the cost of an assault?’

’Those eight sentries are just the appetizer.’

’How many guards are actually underground?’

’What’s their firepower?’

’Is there a Martial Dao master on site?’

’If we storm the place, will the Secret Palace act out of desperation, kill Wan Ze and Zhai Jia, and then try to break out?’

These were questions he needed answers to.

But that required more information.

He needed to know what exactly was happening underground.

Just as that thought crossed his mind...

The radio suddenly crackled to life.

The voice on the other end was grim. "Captain, latest intel... Something seems to have happened inside the Secret Palace stronghold!"

Zhai Yu’s head snapped up, his decision made. "Give the order. Everyone, prepare for assault!"

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