If he wasn't driven to the absolute brink, Fan Xian would never have considered using the black box. When he initially accompanied the Emperor to Mount Da Dong for the Heaven Sacrifice, he assumed the Emperor was setting a trap, so he had the box placed on the ship.

The box remained on the ship, constantly surrounded by those 130,000 taels of silver, openly displayed in the main hall of the Hua Garden in Suzhou, greeting the gazes of the passing crowds. The Emperor and Chen Pingping were nearly losing sleep over the box, but it never occurred to anyone that Fan Xian would be so brazen as to choose such a location.

The most dangerous place is the safest place, and this held true for the box.

His reason for going up the mountain now was his clear understanding that his greatest advantage in this unequal ambush lay in the fact that Yan Xiaoyi had no idea what kind of weapon he possessed, lacking any knowledge of terrifying firearms.

At a distance of five hundred meters, Yan Xiaoyi could only be shot by him, but if Yan Xiaoyi broke within three hundred meters, with the speed and power of Yan Xiaoyi's archery, Fan Xian feared he wouldn't even be able to lift his head, let alone aim. Therefore, he had to keep his distance from Yan Xiaoyi while waiting for him to appear in his sight.

The reason Fan Xian didn't immediately seek an opportunity to retaliate after retrieving the box from the ship was that he knew Yan Xiaoyi didn't need to aim to fire thirteen arrows in a second, while he needed to aim for a long time to... barely get off one shot. If he fired randomly on the coast, he would surely become the most pathetic transmigrator in history.

Heavy sniper rifles aren't toys… This was something Fifth Bamboo Uncle never forgot to remind him when teaching him how to use a gun: wind speed, temperature, refraction of light… The saying "a miss is as good as a mile" describes exactly this.

Fan Xian didn't want to aim haphazardly, fire a shot, and end up hitting a large tree fifty meters away from Yan Xiaoyi.

If a strong opponent like Yan Xiaoyi experienced the power of a bullet, and knew he possessed such a terrifying long-range weapon, he would certainly find a way to get close, greatly reducing the effectiveness of the heavy sniper.

Therefore, Fan Xian only allowed himself one shot.

————————————————————————

Fan Xian's caution and the importance he placed on Yan Xiaoyi were for good reason. Under Fei Jie's tutelage since childhood, he mastered all the tracking, concealing, and assassination techniques of the Supervisory Council before the age of sixteen. His assassination of Xiao En by the North Sea had already proven his strength.

However, after venturing deep into the mountains north of Danzhou, Fan Xian laid traps along the way, eliminated traces, and with the help of dense forests and steep, slippery foliage, tried to escape Yan Xiaoyi's pursuit, but failed. Yan Xiaoyi and his group consistently maintained a distance of about a hundred zhang.

Only then did Fan Xian realize that Yan Xiaoyi had been a hunter in the mountains, seemingly possessing an innate sense of prey. Since he was Yan Xiaoyi's prey, it would naturally be difficult to escape. As for those traps, they probably weren't much in Yan Xiaoyi's eyes.

As Fan Xian secretly admired Yan Xiaoyi on the high mountain, he heard muffled groans and screams coming from the large tree where he had previously rested.

…

…

Yan Xiaoyi coldly watched the personal guards who had been impaled by wooden stakes, showing no signs of sorrow in his eyes. Instead, a wild fire began to burn fiercely. Since abandoning their horses and entering the mountains north of Danzhou, three of his five personal guards had died because of Fan Xian's tricks and traps, and the one dying before him now was the fourth.

Having tracked him this far, Yan Xiaoyi, as a peerless expert of the ninth rank upper level, approaching the Grandmaster realm, shared similar thoughts with Fan Xian, feeling some respect for his opponent.

Yan Xiaoyi knew the extent of the damage that his arrow on the cliff, especially Lord Ye Liuyun's sword strike, had caused Fan Xian. If Fan Xian's skill level had been fluctuating around the ninth rank middle level, then after sustaining serious injuries and running all night, Fan Xian was at best an eighth-rank expert.

He had thought that personally hunting down a wounded Fan Xian would be an easy task… But even in his injured state, Fan Xian was still able to set up so many traps in the mountains. Some of these traps were so cleverly concealed that even Yan Xiaoyi himself couldn't fully detect them, resulting in the deaths of his subordinates and hindering his progress.

The mountain forest was filled with a decaying odor. The primeval forest north of Danzhou was untouched for thousands of miles, with swamps and rocky mountains adjacent to each other, wild beasts fighting with vines. Close to the sea, strong, humid winds blew, fostering the densest vegetation in the world. The denser the vegetation, the more dangers it concealed.

This decaying smell, whether it was the scent of animal corpses or the accumulation of years of fallen leaves, was brought out by the scorching sun. In any case, it was very unpleasant and pungent.

Yan Xiaoyi twitched his nose, slowly circulating the true energy within his body, and with great difficulty, he was able to detect a faint scent hidden beneath the overpowering decay.

Traps and mechanisms all had this scent. The deaths of Yan Xiaoyi's four capable personal guards stemmed from this very smell. If he hadn't been careful to investigate, he probably wouldn't have noticed it either.

Yan Xiaoyi didn't forget that Fan Xian was a student of Mr. Fei Jie, one of the most ruthless users of poison in the world.

No one knew where Fan Xian had set up more poison in the forest.

…

…

Yan Xiaoyi gazed at the mountain, his eyes narrowed, unable to understand where Fan Xian was getting so much spirit and courage to sustain him for so long.

Thinking of this, a confident smile crept onto his lips. The stronger the enemy, the greater the pleasure in killing them.

"Commander…" The only surviving personal guard swallowed, his voice trembling, "Once you enter the dense forest, it's hard to come out alive…" He lowered his voice, "After all, Fan Xian doesn't know the secret passages in these mountains like you do."

Yan Xiaoyi gave the personal guard a cold glance, saying nothing. The mountains north of Danzhou and the primeval forest within were crucial for isolating land traffic between Qing and Dongyi City. If it weren't for that secret passage, the encirclement of Mount Da Dong wouldn't have succeeded. For the past six months, Yan Xiaoyi had focused all his attention on transporting troops through the secret passage, and was extremely familiar with the horrors of this passage and the surrounding mountains.

But precisely because of this, he felt a sense of respect for Fan Xian's ability to persevere until now.

"Five thousand brothers are waiting for you to return beneath Mount Da Dong… Are you willing to let that outsider lead them?" The personal guard was clearly terrified by the deaths of his four brothers and Fan Xian's blood-poisoning tactics. Failing to notice Yan Xiaoyi's expression, he said:

"Even if Fan Xian can get out alive, Princess Chang is in charge of the capital. Why bother?"

Yan Xiaoyi remained silent for a moment, then waved his hand, seemingly signaling the personal guard to stop talking.

His hand happened to strike the personal guard's face.

With a crisp cracking sound, the personal guard's head was smashed flat like a watermelon, twisted and deformed. All of his features were squeezed together by the blow, and without even a muffled groan, he fell straight to the ground.

Yan Xiaoyi coldly looked at the corpse on the ground, walked behind the large tree, squatted down and gently pressed the patch of flattened wild grass where Fan Xian had been sitting. Confirming that Fan Xian hadn't left too long ago and confirming the direction in which Fan Xian had left, he silently pursued him.

——————————————————————

Seeing the intermittent figure in the telescopic sight, Fan Xian gasped, aggravating the injury on his back from the arrow. He coughed twice. He had no time to admire the magic of the black box, which had preserved the heavy sniper rifle so well that the telescopic sight was still so clear… He could only marvel at Yan Xiaoyi's mobility and powerful sixth sense.

He had been lying in ambush in the grass for a while, constantly watching the area leading up the mountain. Several times he had almost locked onto Yan Xiaoyi's body, but Yan Xiaoyi seemed to have an innate sense of danger, and would start moving again after remaining still for only half a second. Using the cover of towering trees and dense foliage, he slowly approached the peak.

Fan Xian took a deep breath, worried that his earlier cough had revealed his position to Yan Xiaoyi. He forced down the sharp pain in his back, crawled out of the grass, and climbed a hundred zhang further up the slope, finding a tree that would take at least five people to encircle. Leaning against the trunk, he gasped for air.

Air quickly filled his throat, and the burning temperature and the body's ravenous hunger for oxygen made each breath incredibly rapid. His throat felt dry and prickly, and a painful tearing sensation began to rise in his chest.

Fan Xian loosened the ties at his collar, forcibly closed his mouth, and breathed through his nose. He cursed inwardly, wondering why he still lacked confidence even with a heavy sniper rifle. "The recoil isn't that strong, so why don't I dare try leading my shots?"

Before the inner monologue could finish, he sensed something strange, and his entire body tensed.

Then he heard a soft thud, and the giant tree behind him seemed to tremble slightly.

It must be an arrow.

Fan Xian initially didn't react, but he immediately remembered that all the personal guards were dead. So this arrow… was naturally fired by Yan Xiaoyi. His pupils contracted violently!

He immediately bent his knees slightly, relaxed his entire body, and leaned forward slightly. This was the only posture adjustment he could make in that instant.

This posture would allow him to release some force. By using the powerful force behind him, he could let his entire body fall forward, defusing as much of the impact as possible.

If he tried to block at this moment, the outcome would be disastrous.

With a muffled thud, Fan Xian was jolted forward, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He fell into the thick grass and shrubs, his face and hands were scratched by countless thin cuts.

Behind him, on the giant tree, the bark about the size of a palm had burst open, revealing the white wood inside. A delicate arrow, like a venomous snake that had been lurking for a long time, protruded its black arrowhead. With the arrowhead as the center, the white wood was shattered inch by inch by the powerful true energy on the arrow.

…

…

Fan Xian didn't have time to look at the strange sight on the tree behind him, nor did he have time to rejoice that he hadn't put down the box on his back. Without even wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he began to flee again, using his domineering true energy to support his tired body and sprint towards the summit.

Yan Xiaoyi had disappeared from the scope for less than five seconds, and was already within a hundred zhang. This speed, this terrifying mobility, truly made Fan Xian feel cold.

A moment later, Yan Xiaoyi, dressed in light armor and looking like a celestial being, appeared behind the large tree. However, he was covered in mud, looking incredibly disheveled.

Yan Xiaoyi coldly observed the area and resumed the chase, but as he moved, he once again instinctively dropped to the grass.

He could sense a chilling danger, the kind that had almost locked onto him earlier.

Yan Xiaoyi had felt this aura before, in the misty streets of Kyoto.

What puzzled him, however, was that the device capable of locking onto him from so far away could only mean that Fan Xian had reached the Grandmaster realm, or had assistance from a divine bow like his own.

But he still cautiously lay prone in the grass.

Fan Xian, who was kneeling and aiming at a high point, discovered that the target was always hidden in a blind spot. He cursed inwardly, retrieved the heavy sniper, swallowed the fishy taste of blood rising in his mouth, and charged towards the summit.

…

…

The northern part of Danzhou is filled with high mountains, but probably no one knew that at the summit of the majestic mountain where Yan Xiaoyi and Fan Xian were engaging in mutual sniping, there was actually a flat expanse of land. The summit was as flat as a grassland, strangely devoid of large trees, only grass that was knee-deep covered the area like a green carpet.

The summit's strange meadow extended all the way to the edge of the cliff.

In the grass near the edge of the cliff, Fan Xian set up the bipod and calmly placed the black box beside him. The expression on his face had become calm. He knew he had no way out. Even if he climbed down the cliff with the box on his back, it was daytime, and if Yan Xiaoyi shot down at him with his bow, he would have no chance of survival.

Moreover, he didn't want to run anymore. A reborn person with a heavy sniper rifle was being chased by a primitive man with a bow and arrow, and being chased so pathetically made him feel ashamed. If he died like this, he would be ridiculed by his predecessors in the underworld, especially that Ye.

However, the telescopic sight still couldn't capture Yan Xiaoyi's figure. Cold sweat began to drip from Fan Xian's forehead. Yan Xiaoyi's figure was well-hidden, but he had a general idea of the approximate area. The meadow near the cliff's edge was only so large, and Yan Xiaoyi would eventually close in on him.

The closer Yan Xiaoyi got, the smaller his chances of winning became.

…

…

Yan Xiaoyi finally revealed his figure, moving through the grass along a strange trajectory like a hawk. Clearly, although he didn't know what Fan Xian had in his hands, he clearly understood that the opponent had something that could threaten him.

Fan Xian's gun barrel was extended into the grass, constantly swaying from side to side, but he was unable to lock onto the rapidly advancing figure.

Although the figure occasionally moved forward, occasionally backward, seemingly tracing a spiral pattern, Fan Xian knew better than anyone that the spiral would always rise. Yan Xiaoyi was gradually shortening the distance between them.

Five hundred meters.

The sweat on Fan Xian's forehead dripped faster and faster, gradually seeping into his eyes.

Four hundred meters.

Fan Xian gradually felt a sense of helplessness, a feeling of emptiness after previously thinking he had the world in his hands, only to discover that it was all an illusion. He had no way to snipe Yan Xiaoyi with one shot… and if Yan Xiaoyi got any closer, he would definitely use the arrows in his hand to turn him into a hedgehog.

Three hundred and fifty meters.

If Yan Xiaoyi really managed to get close, Fan Xian, in his current condition, would have absolutely no way to escape from the hands of a ninth-rank upper level expert.

At this moment, Fan Xian finally understood the meaning of the heavy sniper rifle in his hand: it had no meaning! No matter how powerful a weapon was, it ultimately depended on who wielded it. Thinking that he could sweep the world with just a heavy sniper rifle was nothing more than the delusional ramblings of a fool.

He couldn't even snipe Yan Xiaoyi, let alone those old monsters at the summit of Mount Da Dong.

Sweat trickled down the small cuts on his face caused by the grass blades, causing a stinging sensation, but Fan Xian's heart gradually calmed down. He knew that he couldn't let Yan Xiaoyi get any closer, but he couldn't lock onto the rapidly moving figure with the telescopic sight. In this life-and-death moment, he seemed to need some luck.

Beyond luck, he needed courage and determination.

…

…

"Yan Xiaoyi!"

A loud shout came from the meadow at the summit. Fan Xian, dressed in black, suddenly stood up from the grass, raised the sniper rifle in his hand, and aimed it at Yan Xiaoyi not far away.

This shout startled the ignorant creatures in the meadow. A cunning hare prepared to dash towards the nearest burrow. A field mouse, gnawing on a grass root underground, paused its movements, its two forelimbs slightly lowered, ready to flee at any moment. Countless birds hidden in the grass began to flap their wings, preparing to fly away from this dangerous place.

With this shout, in that split-second, Yan Xiaoyi made a decision that he would regret for the rest of his life, or perhaps not have time to regret.

He stopped, and as quickly as possible, he took down the gold-threaded longbow from his back. He stood stably on the meadow with one foot in front of the other, and pulled the bowstring to its fullest extent, aiming a cold, icy arrow straight at Fan Xian, who had revealed himself.

In that instant, Yan Xiaoyi saw clearly what Fan Xian was holding, but he didn't recognize it. Perhaps it was the most advanced crossbow of the Supervisory Council?

But since Fan Xian had revealed himself, using a courage he hadn't shown for a day and a night to confront him head-on, Yan Xiaoyi would give Fan Xian that chance.

It wasn't that Commander Yan was arrogant, but that he knew that if he maintained his high speed while firing arrows, he might not hit that white face who was more cunning than a rabbit, more timid than a field mouse, and escaped faster than a bird.

But at a distance of a hundred zhang, as long as he stood his ground, he could definitely shoot Fan Xian to death. Even if he didn't kill him, he wouldn't give Fan Xian any chance to retaliate.

As for that strangely shaped object in Fan Xian's hand…

…

…

Human psychology is like this. They always have an unknown fear of mysterious and unknown things, so Yan Xiaoyi had previously been so cautious. But after he saw that "thing" made of metal, he naturally assumed it was the latest and greatest weapon developed by the Third Bureau of the Supervisory Council.

Knowing what it was naturally eliminated the fear, especially for a proud and arrogant peerless expert like Yan Xiaoyi. Decades of archery practice and natural talent gave him ample reason to be confident. He always believed that even if the enemy's crossbow was fast, it couldn't be faster than his reaction.

Even if he heard the sound of the arrow and the mechanism, he could still dodge unharmed. Could there be an arrow in this world faster than sound?

Yan Xiaoyi didn't believe it, so he coldly stopped, drew his longbow, aimed at Fan Xian, and released his fingers.

The arrow flew out.

…

…

All of this happened in a very short instant, from the moment Fan Xian bravely stood up from the grass, to Yan Xiaoyi standing firm, to Yan Xiaoyi releasing his fingers, only the blink of an eye for ordinary people.

Fan Xian's speed was clearly not as fast as Yan Xiaoyi's, so when he clearly saw the arrow rotating rapidly, getting closer and closer to his body, he squeezed the trigger hard.

A spark bloomed from the muzzle of the sniper rifle, extremely beautiful.

The longbow in Yan Xiaoyi's hand was humming, and his posture was still as magnificent as the heavenly god shooting down the sun. Then his pupils shrank, because…

He saw that spark.

He also heard that very clear muffled sound.

However, he had no way to dodge.

Because the other party's "arrow" was truly… faster than sound!

…

…

With a soft popping sound, like a paper bag being burst by a mischievous child, like a shower bucket in the old house in Danzhou being smashed open by a stone.

Half of Yan Xiaoyi's body cracked open in an instant. His powerful muscles and strong flesh turned into a flower in that instant, a flower dyed with blood, blooming on the green meadow.

He fell heavily to the ground without surprise. At that moment, he finally remembered the legend from the past.

At the same instant, the arrow shot by Yan Xiaoyi also pierced into Fan Xian's body, spurting out a bloody flower and nailing Fan Xian's body firmly to the slightly raised meadow near the cliff's edge.

Time flowed again. The hare crawled into the narrow burrow. The field mouse lowered its forelimbs and began to run wildly in the darkness. The little birds in the grass flew up, turning into a large cloud of white feathers, flying aimlessly in the sky above the summit.

At opposite ends of the meadow, two people lay, each willing to let the other die.

…

…

(Tired. I wrote some other things this afternoon and I'm confused with fatigue. Regarding the update ticket issue, everyone doesn't need to vote more than 10,000… Hehe, anyway, I can't write that much. I must admit that I have rarely read book reviews recently because I am afraid that my thinking will be affected. Sorry. However, adding essences is done by asking the leaders to help, and if there are any omissions, please forgive me. Finally, I would like to appeal to everyone for monthly tickets. Thank you very much for accompanying me until today. Writing a book for people to read is really fulfilling, especially for chapters like this.)