Chapter 425: Zhao Shaobao's message: Zixiao Palace colluded with the rebels and has been completely executed (6k)
Let’s take a trip…
At this time, the setting sun was about to sink into the horizon and the sky gradually darkened.
Zhao Duan said this calmly, and when he saw the middle-aged Taoist in front of him, who was a stranger but obviously the master of Zixiao Palace, his eyes were as deep as the deep sea.
Lu Zhengchun was very surprised.
Unexpectedly appearing unexpectedly without any warning.
As a secret member of the Kuangfu Society, his identity has always been well hidden, and only a few senior members of the Kuangfu Society know about it.
He was also one of the members who defected to the Second Prince Jianwen.
This time, Zhuang Xiaocheng wanted to lure Zhao Duan to Fengcheng to kill him. Lu Zhengchun had his own plan:
He originally wanted to act secretly to complete the hunt to the greatest extent possible while preserving his own Taoist temple.
Unexpectedly, before Zhuang Xiaocheng sent any notification, the "King Zhao" who stirred up trouble in the capital last year had already led his army to the Zixiao Palace.
Lu Zhengchun still didn't know what exactly happened or which joint was broken. He could not have imagined that Zhao Duan leading a large army to rush into the mountain gate with murderous intent was just a "test".
Yes, temptation!
Zhao Duan was not sure how deep the connection between Lu Zhengchun and Kuangfu Society was. The reason why he mobilized troops with such a large momentum was to trick the other party.
According to normal logic, if Lu Zhengchun really had a problem, he would definitely resist when he saw him leading his troops to rush towards the Taoist temple with murderous intent.
Instead of betting your life and property on the other party not knowing the truth.
It's incredibly simple logic, but it works.
So when Lu Zhengchun looked at the army climbing the mountain from afar, he realized that something was wrong and sent a group of disciples to stop them, just to determine the other party's intentions.
Hearing the words "colluding with the rebel party" at this moment, his heart sank completely. He was sure that it was a traitor in the Kuangfu Society who leaked the news.
"What if I don't agree?"
A trace of regret flashed across Lu Zhengchun's eyes, knowing that after today, no matter who won or lost, the foundation he had built up over the years would be burned to ashes.
This hatred turned into anger and murderous intent in my heart.
Zhao Duan sighed, "Anyone who colluded with the rebels will be killed without mercy."
Lu Zhengchun laughed, his laugh was somewhat arrogant, his eyes full of contempt:
"Just relying on two first-class people in the world? Today, I will teach you to be buried with my dojo."
While speaking, the Taoist in purple robes suddenly raised his hand and grabbed, with his body as the center of the circle, powerful magic power flowed out.
The huge and ancient archway began to shake, and the stone surface cracked and fell off, revealing the black stone inside.
"The flying sword is on top of the archway!"
Haitang was sharp-eyed and let out a low cry.
Zhao Duan looked up and found that on the top of the huge archway above his head, which was inlaid with the three words "Zixiao Palace" on the plaque bestowed by the late emperor, there were seven unsheathed flying swords inserted in a disorderly manner.
Lu Zhengchun created the Danlu Sword-Breaking Method, which had a very low success rate. He was stationed in Fengcheng and worked hard for decades, except for giving away the swords as gifts, before he forged these seven flying swords named after stars.
This was also the reason why he did not escape but chose to stay in his home turf and kill Zhao Duan with his own hands.
Lu Zhengchun raised his hand and picked up the first gray flying sword on the archway like a fallen leaf.
Then, with an expressionless face, he flicked his wrist, and a sword shadow that was many times faster and more ferocious than the flying sword wielded by the eldest disciple on the mountainside tore through the air, accompanied by a sonic boom, and shot towards Zhao Duan's face!
"careful!"
Haitang and Zhang Han spoke at the same time. Both of them were in the Divine Chapter Realm and had considerable martial arts skills. However, facing this veteran strong man who had obviously entered the world realm for many years, they had no idea how to attack.
So fierce... A faint golden bell took shape around Zhao Duan as he breathed, and then expanded, enveloping his two comrades in Buddhist magic.
Golden ripples rippled on the surface of the illusory clock, with twisted Buddhist characters flowing on it.
However, the flying sword did not hit the golden bell, but was hit again by the scimitar of the Northern Blood Blade Lang Eighteen.
But this time, the experienced swordsman who appeared like lightning no longer had the intention to easily defeat the eldest senior brother of Zixiao Palace.
"bite!"
The scimitar and the flying sword collided and held each other tightly. A huge force tore through the air, forming countless turbulent air currents.
Lang Shiba's loose hair flew back, his bearded face looked extremely solemn, his feet gripped the ground so tightly that his toes almost broke through his shoes.
But the next second, his face suddenly turned crimson, his arms were like electric shocks, his body suddenly flew backwards, the flying sword knocked away the scimitar, and hit his chest like a meteor.
"clang!!!!"
A big hole was instantly torn in Lang Shiba's clothes on his chest, revealing his bronze skin, which was covered with a thick layer of qi.
The Qi was quickly torn apart, the skin surface cracked, and blood oozed out!
Break the defense with one sword!
"Even in this world, there are high and low. Killing you is like killing a chicken."
Lu Zhengchun was in high spirits, standing straight with his left hand behind his back and his right hand pointing at the sword, controlling the flying sword.
With a sneer, he pushed two fingers forward, about to pierce Lang Shiba's chest.
Unexpectedly, a hand that was pale and covered with scars due to being soaked in cold water stretched out like a ghost and grabbed the flying sword.
Ji Yue, with white pupils and red clothes, was as silent as a female ghost. A huge fish, almost sobbing in the air, came out from behind Lang Shiba in a strange posture.
While grabbing the flying sword with one hand, "crack, crack", the surface of the flying sword was covered with ice, freezing it into a lump.
Lang Shiba took the opportunity to retreat, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Ji Yue had an expressionless face, his figure dancing, and the ten fingers of both hands tapped the flying sword again and again, wrapping it with layers of ice.
As a sorcerer of the Water God lineage, the Zixiao Palace Dojo greatly weakened her strength. Without any water flow around her, she could not perform many spells.
Lu Zhengchun snorted coldly, shook his wrist, and uttered the word "broken".
The frozen flying sword immediately broke through the ice, flashed a bright sword light, and slashed towards Ji Yue's neck. The sorceress's black hair seemed to have life, wrapping around her head, layer after layer, to briefly resist.
Lang Shiba rushed forward again and fought with Ji Yue, who was not good at head-on combat, and the flying sword with terrifying destructive power and speed.
"Brother Gongshu, I remember you told me before that flying swords are outdated..."
Zhao Duan turned his head with a wooden face and looked at Gongshu Tianyuan.
The short and fat priest's face was filled with embarrassment, but then he realized that explaining was just covering up, so his eyes turned cold.
"Wait till I capture this... Holy shit!"
As he was speaking, Lu Zhengchun suddenly grabbed again with his left hand, and the second black flying sword on the top of the archway seemed to come alive and pulled out half of the sword from the archway.
After spinning in the air, it was like a cannonball fired from a gun, carrying destructive power, and came towards Zhao Duan from above.
"A wild Taoist priest launched a sneak attack..." Gongshu Tianyuan, who was carrying the fox fairy bamboo tube on his back, was angry. He grabbed his wide robe with his fat hands, and suddenly a golden rattle appeared in his hand.
As soon as the golden drum appeared, he began to shake it wildly.
"Boom boom boom boom..."
The drum beats were agitated. In an instant, Zhao Duan was surprised to see that with the rattle as the core, the space in all directions seemed to have turned into "water", and began to produce wrinkles and ripples.
The air became thick, and even though he was standing still, he could feel the "sounds" around him suddenly weakening.
It was as if he had sunk to the bottom of the water, all sounds were blocked, and he was enveloped by endless water. Any foreign objects that entered this area would be slowed down.
The speed of the black flying sword was difficult to capture with the naked eye, but when it pierced into the area covered by the drum sound, it was like a drop in the ocean, and was slowed down countless times.
Zhao Duan suddenly remembered the "bullet time" in a movie he had seen in his previous life.
At this moment, time seemed to slow down around him as he watched helplessly as the ancient-looking, pitch-black, sharp handleless flying sword slowly tore through the air, like an underwater torpedo, steadily approaching him.
"Brother Zhao, let me show you what it means to judge who is better instantly!"
Gongshu Tianyuan raised his chin, and the majestic demeanor of the disciple of Tianshi Mansion was fully revealed.
Holding a golden rattle, he slowly walked forward, slowly raised his hand, and slowly pressed his fingers against the side of the flying sword, then rotated it 180 degrees on the spot...
The tip of the sword pointed towards Lu Zhengchun...
The next second, the golden drum suddenly stopped shaking, the stagnant space returned to normal, and the black flying sword fiercely turned into lightning and stabbed towards Lu Zhengchun's chest!
No... What did that old man, Lao Zhang, teach you? Is this a proper battle? No wonder they didn't let you participate in the Buddhist-Taoist battle, but chose the Golden Scepter instead. Your actions are a bit outrageous...
The corners of Zhao Duan's mouth twitched as he tried hard to suppress the urge to complain.
Lu Zhengchun was caught off guard and was nearly stabbed by his own flying sword. He dodged sideways, and the flying sword stepped on his ear and whizzed past, destroying a building behind him with a loud bang, causing a huge cloud of dust.
Those stunned female Taoist priests then cried out in fear and scattered like birds and beasts.
"Where did the sorcerer come from?"
Lu Zhengchun was shocked and angry, and for a moment he did not recognize the fifth disciple of the Heavenly Master who lived in seclusion and had little fame.
But he finally stopped being careless and first recalled the black flying sword, letting it circle around him.
Then he pulled out the third white flying sword from under the archway. This time, the two flying swords were like yin and yang fish, spinning wildly around the Taoist's robe.
"die!"
In a rage, Lu Zhengchun stretched out his finger, and two black and white flying swords, dragging comet-like tails along the direction of his arm, came again, one in front and one behind, to kill him.
"Boom boom boom boom..."
Gongshu Tianyuan used the same trick again, the golden rattle shook its head wildly, and the first white flying sword was still like a drop in the ocean and was forced to slow down.
However, this time, the black flying sword following closely behind accurately hit the back of the white flying sword.
He added his own kinetic energy to the white flying sword. In an instant, the flying sword, which had been slowing down, returned to normal and passed by like lightning.
Zhao Duan was shocked. The Black Turtle Seal that he had already grasped in his hand inside his robe sleeve was almost activated, but he found that the Golden Bell Cover only created a ripple.
The white flying sword actually split Gongshu Tianyuan's head in an instant, splitting him in half!
"Gongshu Tianyuan?!" The three Zhao Yamen inside the Golden Bell were stunned for a moment. Then, they saw that the short and fat sorcerer who was split in half did not bleed. Instead, the two halves of his body seemed to slowly fade away, and he turned into two clay figures...
At this moment, the split clay figure slowly collapsed like a burnt-out candle.
Only the golden drum was left, floating in the air, shaking its head wildly and making rapid "dong dong" sounds.
"That was a close call! Fortunately, this priest is more skilled..." Behind the crowd, in an open space, the air slowly twisted. Zhao Duan turned his head and first caught a glimpse of a red veil, and then Gongshu Tianyuan standing under the veil.
The short and fat priest took off his red veil and emerged from his invisible state. With a smug look on his fat face that said, "I'm not afraid of anything," he flirted with the speechless Zhao Duan and grinned.
"It's time for this priest to fight back!"
As he spoke, he raised a small wooden bow in his hand.
This wooden bow was extremely rough, like a child's toy. It was made entirely of peach wood, and the bowstring was condensed by magic power. At this moment, Gongshu Tianyuan bent the bow and drew the arrow, and a peach wood arrow shot out with a "whoosh".
"This peach arrow is a method I obtained from the God of Craftsmanship after ascending to the mortal realm. It is only in its most rudimentary stage now. Once it is fully developed, it can kill gods."
Gongshu Tianyuan introduced it with great joy, while pulling the bow again and again with one hand.
Every time, a peach wood arrow would appear out of nowhere and be shot at him.
"No...what weird things are these? Where did you get them from..." Zhao Duan was powerless to complain.
As he spoke, the arrows whizzed past the "hysteresis zone" created by the golden drum from high altitude and fell towards Lu Zhengchun in a parabolic manner like a meteor shower.
Lu Zhengchun was also stunned for a moment, his expression changed, and he realized that it was difficult for the black and white swords to return to defense in time. He gritted his teeth and shouted almost frantically:
"You are all going to die!"
As he spoke, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and forcibly squeezed out his soul.
On the basis of controlling three flying swords at the same time, he grabbed them again with all his might, and three flying swords fell from the archway at the same time.
Not only that, the three ancient characters "Zixiao Palace" on the plaque also quickly dimmed, and the light from them poured into the three flying swords of yellow, green and red.
The three flying swords became more powerful, and in an instant they formed a sword net, cutting off all of Gongshu Tianyuan's peach wood arrows.
"This wild Taoist priest has gone crazy. Even a mortal realm member can't bear so many flying swords at the same time! If he holds on for a little longer, he won't be able to bear it! This is already the limit. He can't control seven swords at the same time!"
Gongshu Tianyuan shouted as he frantically pulled his bow and shot arrows.
Zhao Duan asked loudly, "Then can you drag him to exhaustion?"
Without waiting for the little fat man to reply, Lu Zhengchun's mouth was bleeding. He was already furious. Fighting alone against three people in the world realm, with his cultivation level, he could not hold on for long.
At this moment, a murderous look flashed in his eyes. Realizing that he had to fight quickly, he roared angrily, and the magic power in his sea of qi was no longer retained. The six flying swords in the air suddenly became extremely ferocious.
"Be careful!" Lang Shiba and Ji Yue joined forces and held the first bite tightly.
Gongshu Tianyuan's golden drum almost left an afterimage, and the drum sounds became one, barely suppressing the black and white spaces.
Lu Zhengchun left a puff of air, circling around himself to block those annoying peach wood arrows. He raised his finger viciously and pointed at Zhao Duan, who was hiding in the golden bell, his eyes red.
"I want to see how many helpers you have!"
Two flying swords that were powerful enough to kill the first-class beings in the world roared out.
At this time, the setting sun finally sank completely into the horizon, the sky darkened, and the night enveloped the entire mountain and the earth.
Night has arrived.
In the team, Jin Jian was extremely inconspicuous, dragging behind a group of people in brocade clothes, with his head drooping and drowsy. He opened his eyes the moment night fell.
The sleepiness on her face disappeared instantly. As a priestess specializing in the gods of stars and moon, the night is her home turf.
The dress worn by the girl with a mysterious and ethereal temperament, which looked like an ordinary woman's, suddenly turned black and turned into a soft priest's robe embroidered with gold thread.
Her hair grew rapidly, and in the blink of an eye it reached her waist. Her body grew and developed, as if ten years had passed in an instant, and she became a tall woman.
Jin Jian took out a pair of crystal glasses from his robe with his left hand and put them on his nose, and grabbed a staff from the air with his right hand.
She danced lightly, passing over the heads of the worried people in brocade clothes, and with a dazed look through the lenses, she saw the scene ahead clearly.
Jin Jian frowned, shook his staff, and suddenly an illusory moon appeared behind him.
Her body fell backwards, and her figure actually crashed into the moon and disappeared.
At the same time, behind Lu Zhengchun, above the ancient archway, a moon slowly emerged. Jin Jian stepped out of it and lowered his eyes to look at Lu Zhengchun's back below.
Magic: Moon in the Water!
"Get started!" Zhao Duan said loudly when he saw this scene. After thinking for a moment, he quickly added:
"Catch him alive for extra money!"
The greedy girl was immediately excited. Jin Jian raised the end of the staff with both hands with an expressionless face and smashed it forward like a stick.
The golden eye on the top of the staff spun around, suddenly releasing circles of ripples.
Lu Zhengchun, whose mind was extremely tense and soul was overloaded to the limit, was controlling the flying sword and was about to split the golden bell cover when he suddenly felt dizzy.
He looked up in astonishment, following the fear in his heart of being watched by a god, and then...
All he saw was a waning moon hanging high in the dark sky, with countless stars twinkling.
At this moment, the waning moon and the countless stars in the Ganges became cold, single eyes in his eyes.
The entire starry sky was looking at him at this moment.
Invisible and intangible, it came from the Moon Goddess's gaze, and in an instant it became the last straw that broke the camel's back.
Lu Zhengchun spat out a large mouthful of blood, fell straight back and fainted.
“Ding Ding!”
Zhao Duan watched as the two flying swords that had lost their kinetic energy collided with the golden bell cover, splashing two balls of sparks, barely tearing the golden bell cover into pieces, and then fell to the ground.
At the same time, the other three flying swords also fell to the ground.
"Bang, bang, bang..." The rattle fell to the ground after losing its enemy and stopped moving.
"Huff, huff..."
Gongshu Tianyuan sat down on the ground, dropped the peach bow in his hand, and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his fat hands. He was initially frustrated that his limelight had been stolen, but then he became proud and gave the golden tablet a thumbs-up:
"Good job, Junior Sister, you didn't lose face!"
Zhao Duan released the hand seal that maintained the Golden Bell Cover and looked around calmly.
After the battle, Lang Shiba and Ji Yue were resting, and Haitang and Zhang Han finally came to their senses.
The imperial guards who were lagging behind him drew their swords and held crossbows, rushed forward, surrounded the unconscious Lu Zhengchun, tied him up carefully, and pierced his dantian with the "Magic Lock" used against sorcerers to seal his power.
At this time, in the Taoist temple ahead, magnificent, colorful ground lights slowly lit up, enveloping the entire Taoist temple, making it magnificent.
"Go in and search, tie up everyone else inside the Taoist temple, and then follow me back to the city."
Zhao Duan, who did not take any action during the whole process, gave the order calmly.
"Yes, sir!"
Hou Renmeng and others in brocade clothes rushed towards the Taoist temple like wolves and tigers. Soon, the terrified cries of women begging for mercy were heard from inside.
…
…
Fengcheng, Jinfu Inn.
Under the night sky, the entire inn was brightly lit, but there was not a single normal guest.
In the lobby of the inn, the prefect Luan Cheng had already drunk five pots of tea and gone to the toilet ten times, but he still refused to leave. Instead, he stood up every once in a while and stood at the door, looking out at the street with longing eyes.
Chief Constable Zhang Jian sat in the corner of the lobby, silently wiping his two knives, one long and one short, with a silk cloth.
"Prefect Luan, please have something to eat. I'll ask the kitchen staff to bring some food over."
The gold medal shadow guard scholar came down from upstairs and saw this scene, feeling quite helpless.
As he spoke, he glanced at his colleague Hongye, who was also in the lobby, holding a long sword and wearing a half-mask.
"Go to the kitchen..."
Hongye rolled her eyes and didn't move:
This evil prefect was not her superior, Lord Zhao, so she was too lazy to serve him.
As a shadow guard, she hated the prefect who broke into the inn on the first day and destroyed the stronghold that the shadow guards had worked so hard to build.
I wish I could chop it down with a sword.
"No need for that," Luan Cheng smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Master Zhao hasn't returned yet, and his safety is still unknown. How can I possibly eat this?"
Yes, you can’t eat, but you drink a lot of tea... You must have been a teapot in your previous life... Hongye curled her lips and put her long legs on the bench.
The scholar coughed twice, then slowly walked over and said with a smile, "What kind of person is Zhao Shaobao? Prefect Luan must have heard rumors about him. How could he do something he wasn't sure of?"
Luan Cheng shook his head and said seriously:
“This government has no doubts about Zhao Shaobao’s ability, but I’m afraid he doesn’t understand the situation in Fengcheng.
Lu Zhengchun was no ordinary Taoist. Not only did he have a high level of cultivation, he was also a master in the martial arts world. He also had a lot of connections throughout the Binhai Road and even in the surrounding areas.
Not to mention the status bestowed by the late emperor, how could such a person be easily labeled a traitor and arrested for interrogation? You may have underestimated the impact this would have..."
The scholar smiled and said, "Zhao Shaobao is just going there to ask questions."
Did your family bring a large number of troops to question him? Luan Cheng took a deep breath and forced himself to suppress the urge to argue with this shadow guard.
He sat down on the bench and said dejectedly:
“Besides, what this government is really worried about is that traitor Zhuang Xiaocheng.
Today, our government was deceived by false information, which means that Zhao Shaobao's whereabouts and details may have been known to the rebels long ago. How cunning is Zhuang Xiaocheng?
If Lu Zhengchun has nothing to do with the rebels, then it's fine. He's just offended. At worst, our government can go and mediate. I'm sure Lu Zhengchun will give our government some face. But if there really is something wrong with Zixiao Palace, then Zhao Shaobao is going there and he's probably walking into a dangerous place..."
The scholar and Hongye were frightened by his threats and felt a little nervous:
"Not really."
At this moment, suddenly, the sound of noisy horse hooves came from the quiet street in the distance. Everyone stood up at the same time, looked at each other, and walked out of the inn.
From a distance, you can see a large group of cavalrymen holding torches approaching slowly.
The leading rider seemed to have come back to report first and arrived at the door of Jinfu Inn earlier than the main group.
The one who delivered the letter on horseback was a lieutenant in embroidered uniform from Lihua Hall. He glanced at the prefect and said calmly:
"My family's Zhao Shaobao has reported that the entire Purple Cloud Palace has been colluding with the enemy and treason, colluding with the rebels. Their leader, Lu Zhengchun, has been arrested. Over 200 people from the Purple Cloud Palace Taoist temple have been killed, injured, or captured, and all have been brought back.
Well, since Magistrate Luan is already here, there's no need to go to the government office to deliver the message. Please wait here for a moment; the Grand Protector will be here shortly."
(End of this chapter)
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