The black bottle was engraved with grotesque bone spur patterns. As soon as the bottle was opened, a pungent, fishy stench filled the air, causing everyone around to cover their noses.

The lead guard's expression changed drastically the moment he smelled the scent, and his pupils contracted sharply:

"Bone-corroding powder! How do you have such a thing?"

Upon hearing this, the other two guards were equally shocked and instantly panicked.

His earlier bravado had vanished, clearly indicating that he was well aware of the power of this thing.

As secret guards, they were all too familiar with the forbidden drugs of Zhongzhou—once ingested, the Bone-Corroding Powder would absorb and devour energy from within, slowly corroding a person's bones and muscles. The excruciating pain was enough to drive even the most resilient Awakened to mental collapse; it was a torment more terrifying than death.

The three had previously come into contact with such prohibited substances, and even secretly used them for interrogation. As for the consequences of those who consumed them...

Thinking of this, the other two guards instinctively tried to struggle, but were firmly held down by the Northern Iron Cavalry behind them.

Unexpectedly, one day they would have to use this on themselves.

They even recalled those who had been corrupted by the Bone-Corroding Powder, their miserable appearances a torment that no one could possibly endure.

The lead guard tried to remain calm, but his voice trembled slightly:

"The Central Plains have long since banned the research and use of this thing!"

"Xiao Zhan, you have been secretly developing banned drugs. If the Central State Military Department finds out, even if you are the heir of the Northern Territory, you will be held accountable and cannot escape punishment!"

"Pursue the crime?" Xiao Zhan sneered, holding the black bottle as he slowly walked towards the head guard.

"Wait until you've tasted the effects of the Bone-Corroding Powder before you talk to me about holding you accountable. I want to see if your 'loyalty' can withstand this excruciating pain."

"You dare!" the head guard shouted sternly. "We are the Central State Guards, we are from the Central State Military Headquarters. If you dare to torture us, the Central State Military Headquarters will never let you off!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhan not only did not stop, but instead stepped forward and forcefully pried open the mouth of the leader of the secret guards.

"Even if someone wants to protect you, they'll have to wait until you get back to Jincheng alive."

"Let's see if you can hold out until then..."

After saying that, Xiao Zhan raised the black bottle with his right hand, about to pour out the powder inside.

The lead guard was forced to stare with his mouth agape at the black powder at the bottle's opening, inhaling the pungent, fishy stench, and finally broke down completely.

He struggled frantically, his mouth agape, his voice distorted with extreme fear, screaming at the top of his lungs:

"Stop! Stop it now!"

"I'll talk! I'll tell you everything! Don't spill it!"

He would rather die quickly and be given a quick death by Xiao Zhan than suffer that bone-deep, soul-crushing torment!

Xiao Zhan paused, a cold glint flashing in his eyes:

"If you had done this earlier, wouldn't it have saved you a lot of trouble?"

"Tell me, was the deflection of the Star Orbit Cannon ordered by Zhou Zhenbei?"

The lead guard swallowed hard, his eyes darting away.

He first glanced at the other two silent guards, then at the terrifying black bottle in Xiao Zhan's hand, and finally resigned himself to speaking:

"It's Zhou..."

"boom!"

The words had barely left his mouth when a loud bang suddenly exploded!

The token in the arms of the lead guard exploded without warning, and the powerful energy implosion instantly engulfed his body.

The leader of the secret guards didn't even have time to let out a scream before he turned into a cloud of blood mist, splattering everywhere around him.

The other two guards standing nearby turned pale upon witnessing this scene.

"No! General...we..."

Just as the two were about to beg for mercy, the tokens in their arms exploded at the same time!

"Boom... Boom..."

The two explosive energies intertwined, instantly blasting them into fragments.

Xiao Zhan held his spear aloft amidst the aftershocks of the explosion, his eyes filled with surprise and uncertainty.

He had just instantly activated his freezing ability, freezing everything around him.

Even the chilling air that could freeze a self-destructing object failed to stop the three tokens from exploding.

Jiang Feng looked at the blood and gore scattered on the ground without the slightest surprise:

"Zhou Zhenbei is indeed ruthless. He had long anticipated that the secret guards were unreliable and, fearing they would leak secrets, he simply silenced them."

Xiao Zhan carefully put away the black bottle, his expression extremely serious.

"What a ruthless mind! What a vicious method!"

Jiang Feng looked at Zhou Xiaopeng inside the protective shield again and sighed.

"The Japanese have been frozen in ice, the secret guards are dead, and the records for the Star Orbit Cannon have probably been altered..."

"We don't have any evidence left to accuse Zhou Zhenbei."

Xiao Zhan remained silent.

The little infant spirit floated over, sensing the low spirits of everyone around, and sighed as well:

“Abba…”

It was equally furious; its killer was right in front of it, yet it could do nothing about it.

With the appearance of the infant spirit, the already frigid temperature around them dropped even further.

The white mist that had been dispersed by "Suppressing Mountains and Rivers" seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, rapidly converging towards the location of the infant spirit with the densest yin energy.

Before long, the scattered army of ghosts slowly reassembled in the thick fog.

The ghosts of the Third Legion and the Northern Iron Cavalry have reformed and reappeared on this scorched wasteland.

Having calmed down, Jiang Feng suddenly realized something, his expression changed drastically, and he said urgently:

"This is bad! Knowing Zhou Zhenbei's personality, there's no way he'd let us leave! He'll definitely send someone to pick up Zhou Xiaopeng immediately and threaten to silence him again!"

"Xiao Zhan, let's go! We must leave immediately!"

Jiang Feng knew that Zhou Zhenbei, upon learning that they had survived, would never give up the opportunity to kill them again.

Zhou Zhen will spare no effort, even if it means colluding with the remaining Japanese tribes again, to completely eliminate them!

"Let's go?" Xiao Zhan came back to his senses.

Returning to the North now would only bring disaster back with it.

Moreover, with most of his northern cavalry lost, how could he possibly face returning?

His gaze swept around and he saw a large number of ghosts unconsciously approaching the infant spirit and surrounding it, seemingly very fond of its cold and eerie aura.

Xiao Zhan had also studied ghosts and knew that ghosts were transformed from a person's obsession after death.

However, ghosts will fade and dissipate over time, and some may even gradually lose consciousness, becoming a dangerous force that spreads and wreaks havoc.

As his gaze swept over the ghostly figures and phantom warhorses of the Northern Iron Cavalry, Xiao Zhan struggled internally.

He was unwilling to personally crush the lingering resentment of these former brothers, but he also could not allow it to turn into a scourge.

But the problem of such a large number of ghosts remaining unresolved...

When faced with an unbearable dilemma, Xiao Zhan's gaze gradually shifted from the icy aura to the infant spirit, and he instantly thought of Li Yu.

The little guy with the strong yin energy in front of me must have a close relationship with Li Yu, which is why he came to support me by riding an arrow.

Seeing the infant spirit's human-like sigh, Xiao Zhan had a thought: Li Yu might have a solution.

Xiao Zhan made a decisive decision:

"Jiang Feng, let's go!"