All of us are one

Chapter 73 Ambush and Hidden Power

Twenty days later, at dusk.

As the sun sets, the fleet of ships of the Dajiang Alliance, flying black flags with white lettering, sails upstream on the wide river, the flags fluttering in the river wind.

Jiang Yanming stood on the deck, gazing at the fiery clouds on the horizon. Ling Heng stood beside him, and Leng Tong and Wang Chen stood behind him.

"Junior brother, the fleet will enter the territory of the Four Rivers Gang tonight," Ling Heng said softly. "Although the major forces in the Great River Basin have a tacit understanding not to interfere with ships sailing on the Great River, the Four Rivers Gang is ultimately an enemy force of our Great River Alliance."

"What does Senior Brother Ling mean?" Jiang Yanming turned to ask.

"I suggest you stay in your room for the next few days and avoid showing your face on the ship," Ling Heng said.

"Is it because the Four Rivers Gang might target me?" Jiang Yanming asked, showing a hint of doubt.

"It doesn't necessarily have to be the Four Rivers Gang. If any force wants to stir up trouble, taking action within the Four Rivers Gang's territory is undoubtedly the best option," Ling Heng said with certainty.

"Since Senior Brother Ling is so certain, then I will not show myself for the next few days," Jiang Yanming agreed.

It's true that he has ways to protect himself, but all of them come from his status as a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator. Moreover, those methods are becoming increasingly rare with each use, so he tries to conserve them as much as possible.

"Thank you for your understanding, Junior Brother." Ling Heng nodded slightly, his face showing nothing, but he felt much more relaxed. He could now explain things to Hall Master Ji and the others.

"Senior Brother Ling, you're too kind. You're doing this for my own good," Jiang Yanming said with a smile, then walked towards the cabin at the back of the ship.

"Protect the young leader during this time," Ling Heng instructed Leng Tong and Wang Chen.

"Yes." Leng Tong and Wang Chen bowed in response, then followed closely behind Jiang Yanming.

Ling Heng watched the three leave before going to meet up with Master Ji and the others.

……

night.

The temperature on the Yangtze River dropped sharply, a light mist rose, and visibility decreased slightly.

One by one, lights appeared on the river, and the fleet sailed on the river by the dim light. Stargazers used the constellations in the sky to determine the direction and relied on their experience to guide the fleet forward.

Many small boats are hidden among the reeds on both sides of the river, while others drift and observe along the riverbank.

Inside the cabin of a fishing boat moored on the shore, the dim light of an oil lamp illuminated the figures of several masked men dressed in black sitting cross-legged, their eyes closed in meditation.

beep, beep...

Suddenly, one of the men in black unconsciously tapped the scabbard lightly with his fingers, making a series of soft sounds, which immediately drew the attention of the other men in black.

"The target has arrived."

The man in black stepped out of the cabin and made a sound like a bird's call. Immediately, similar sounds echoed around him, with calls rising and falling in succession.

Soon, the man in black untied the boat ropes and poled the boat into the dense reeds. There was no sound from inside the cabin.

One after another, small boats emerged from the reeds along the riverbank and headed towards the center of the river. A rough count revealed that there were over a hundred of them!

On the river, a long dragon made of lights could be vaguely seen swimming upstream, which was quite eye-catching.

In the darkness, with the thin mist covering the river, hundreds of small boats either drifted downstream or were propelled by boatmen, all heading towards the brightly lit dragon.

That brightly lit long line was a fleet of more than twenty large ships, each with many oil lamps hanging on it, with the outermost ships having the most oil lamps.

A crew member would stand on the lookout tower above the sails, observing the surroundings with the naked eye for a while before using binoculars hanging around his neck to look into the distance.

call out!

As the crew member was observing the distant situation through his binoculars, an arrow suddenly shot from the shadows. Before the arrow even made a slight whooshing sound, the arrowhead had already pierced his head, and he fell onto the watchtower.

Whoosh...

Multiple dark figures darted and scaled the ship's walls, quickly invading every part of it.

Waaah—!

Suddenly, a deep horn sounded from one of the ships, the deep sound echoing continuously until everyone in the fleet could hear it.

"Ships are approaching! Enemy forces have infiltrated the outer fleet!"

Someone shouted a warning, so loudly that it reached the ears of most of the fleet.

Jiang Yanming, who was on a ship in the center of the fleet, also heard the sound and immediately sat up in bed.

"They really do have the power to make a move..."

Jiang Yanming murmured to himself, and without making a sound, took out two protective jade talismans he had made himself from his storage ring and held them in his hand.

After thinking about it, he felt that this was not safe enough. The protective jade talisman made by a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator was clearly insufficient to deal with the experts of the third or fourth stage of the Condensation Realm in the Divine Martial Kingdom.

So he took out a Foundation Establishment stage robe, looked down at the pattern-like runes on the robe, and felt at ease after putting it on.

"Senior Brother Ling warned me, so I suppose Hall Master Ji is also aware of this matter and should have made contingency plans to prevent attacks. I can just wait for news."

Jiang Yanming did not rush out to investigate. If Master Ji and the others were prepared, the forces attacking the fleet would not be able to get close to him and would be intercepted or even wiped out by Master Ji and the others.

On the ship in the center of the fleet.

Ji Fan stood on the top floor of the ship, observing the scene of constant shouts of battle around him, and even the ships with flames rising. His pale red aura was faintly visible around him.

Suddenly, a person leaped from a nearby ship. Before he even landed, a voice came out: "Brother Ji, the attackers don't seem to be from the Four Rivers Gang or other forces. The killers were swift and clean. Many of our disciples were assassinated."

"Although Killing Pavilion is an assassin organization, most of its powerful assassins are experts from various major forces, yet their actions lack any assassin style," Ji Fan said calmly. "In that case, it seems that only a bloodbath will ensue."

"Blood Rain is extremely well hidden. Although our Great River Alliance has spies infiltrated Blood Rain, they have never been able to enter its core layer." The newcomer landed beside Ji Fan; he was a refined middle-aged man in white.

The white-robed man looked puzzled: "I don't understand. Is Blood Rain really willing to fight to the death with my Great River Alliance for a thousand Blood Refining Herb Pills?"

"Regardless of Blood Rain's true purpose, if they dare to plot against my Great River Alliance, they should be prepared to suffer heavy losses!" Ji Fan said coldly. "Let Hall Master Chen and the others take action."

"Brother Ji, Master Chen and his men secretly infiltrated the fleet. They should be a hidden force that will act at a crucial moment. Why are you letting them make their move?" The man in white frowned slightly.

"If Blood Rain dares to carry out an assassination so openly, there must be quite a few Earth-level assassins coming. If we allow Hall Master Chen and the others to continue to hide, our four branch hall disciples will suffer heavy losses."

Ji Fan calmly explained, "I know the young leader, so I'm more suitable to be responsible for protecting him. Hall Master Chen has never met the young leader, so approaching him rashly would only lead to misunderstandings."

"Indeed." The man in white nodded slightly, then leaped off the ship's deck, leaving behind only one sentence: "I will inform Hall Master Chen immediately."

soon.

The man in white went to the cabin of another ship and truthfully told everyone in the cabin what Ji Fan had said.

"Hmph, Ji Fan is just distressed about the deaths and injuries of his disciples." A middle-aged man dressed in black and white clothes said coldly, "If it weren't for Brother Jiang's personal letter, I wouldn't recognize that so-called Young Alliance Leader."