Chapter 460: God of Law: Zhao Duan, we meet again (6k)
Wow——
The huge dragon boat cut through the waves. The elite sailors standing guard on all sides of the deck looked straight ahead, not daring to look at the figure of the Queen of Yu at the bow.
Xu Zhenguan's beautiful eyes swept over the secret report. There were not many words in the letter, and the key points were only a few sentences.
They are "Zhao Duan is on the verge of death", "Governor Ning's response", and "Martial Arts Hall's secret deployment".
"Your Majesty? Is there any movement ahead?" Mo Chou, dressed in a female official's robe, came over from behind. She glanced at the Empress's expression and asked tentatively:
"Is it related to Lord Zhao?"
Xu Zhenguan gently crushed the paper with her delicate hands, and slowly raised her red lips as she said, "He's starting to scheme against me again."
What even Zhao Duan didn't know was that since he left the capital, the shadow guards along the way had been constantly reporting his latest "progress" to the empress.
Although the gold medal shadow guard Wen Liang did not know Zhao Duan's specific plan, as an insider, this experienced advisor could easily detect the strangeness of "near death" and wrote it implicitly in the letter.
Xu Zhenguan looked towards the south and said softly:
"Desperate, desperate dogs have finally taken over. Someone has finally resorted to underhanded tactics and cursed him to death. However, with the Buddha's blessing and the shameless old woman Prajna's Medicine Master skills, how could he be trapped by a mere curse?"
Mo Chou was stunned when she heard this:
"Curse to kill? Your Majesty, your Fengshan ceremony is imminent. Do Prince Jing and his gang have the guts to do that? Aren't they afraid of retaliation?"
Xu Zhenguan pursed his lips and did not answer. After a moment's thought, he said:
"I will leave the fleet and secretly rush to Jianning Prefecture ahead of time. You and Sun Lianying will conceal the news of my departure and continue as planned."
Mo Chou was startled, but she could hear the unquestionable tone in the Empress's voice, so she nodded.
"I obey your command."
Xu Zhenguan nodded, yawned, and said:
"I am tired. I will go back to the cabin to rest. No one is allowed to disturb me."
After saying that, she returned to the cabin in full view of everyone and took a step forward.
Immediately, she appeared out of thin air thousands of feet in the sky, hiding in the dark clouds. The empress lowered her eyes and looked down, and saw a fleet of ships with full sails on the canal.
She raised her hand and threw the Taia Sword forward, stepped on the sword with both feet, and used the "flying sword" method to transform into a stream of light, rushing towards Jianning Prefecture:
"I hope nothing will happen."
…
…
The Shen family mansion.
Because "Master Shen Er" had been buried, the mourning hall was closed and the white cloth and white lanterns were removed.
The old lady sat in her room, half leaning on Miss Hong's arms, rubbing her temples.
There was a maid squatting below, massaging the old woman's legs.
"Is Zhao Duan really terminally ill?" The old lady asked calmly after listening to the report from the head of the family.
The middle-aged family head was extremely excited and smiled:
"It has been confirmed. Our people went to the Canal Transport Office to investigate with their own eyes. Combined with the information we gathered, there is absolutely no mistake."
"Keep watching closely. This Zhao was reported dead last time, but he's alive and well." The old lady opened her eyes and asked:
"How will Ning Zechen react?"
The middle-aged patriarch said:
"He's practically going crazy, ready to fight us to the bitter end. If that Zhao guy wasn't truly in danger of death, Ning Zechen would have known he'd have a hard time surviving, and wouldn't have acted like this."
"Hmm..." The old lady nodded. Although she was still unsure in her heart, she was already 70% to 80% convinced.
It’s not because of the news, but because of the trust in Prince Jing’s background.
However, the old woman was not too happy about her revenge. Instead, she was filled with worries. Now she was leading the entire clan and betting on Prince Jing. If he lost, there would be no recovery.
On the contrary, if the bet is won, the Shen family's glory can be extended for at least another hundred years.
This was a gamble, the biggest gamble the old lady had ever taken in her life.
"Fengshan... Fengshan..." The old lady muttered these two words. Because of her understanding of the Fengshan ceremony, she was not worried that the empress would destroy the Shen family first after her arrival.
But what happens after Fengshan...
The old lady took a deep breath and said, "Gather the clansmen to come here to discuss this matter."
She couldn't intervene in those that were too far away. All she could do now was to withstand the last round of attacks from the mad Ning Zechen.
…
…
Zhao Duan's serious illness was like a signal, making the entire Jianning Prefecture precarious.
Even the sky was gloomy for several days and there was no light.
Just when all attention was focused on the Grand Canal Administration.
In a private room of an inn in the city, Zhao Duan, with his hands behind his back looking at the scenery outside the window, finally heard the information he needed.
"The location of the sorcerer gang secretly assembled by Prince Jing's Mansion has been obtained. It is undoubtedly the Fashen Sect. However, the sorcerer who cast the curse on you is hiding in Prince Jing's Mansion." Eunuch Hai walked into the room and said to him from behind.
"We didn't alert the enemy, did we?" Zhao Duan asked.
The old eunuch in the dragon robe glanced at him:
"Although our family is old and not as good as it used to be, there is still no one in this city who wants to spy on our whereabouts."
Zhao Duan turned around and smiled: "My father-in-law is still as brave as ever."
The position of sorcerer was provided by the spy princess, Lu Yaner.
"What are you going to do next?" Eunuch Hai asked curiously.
Zhao Duan said: "Set off immediately to hunt down the Fashen Sect."
Eunuch Hai frowned and said, "So urgent? Mobilizing manpower without any preparation will surely arouse those people's suspicion."
Zhao Duan sighed:
"My illness can only mislead the enemy for a few days at most. Especially after I faked my death last time... If Prince Jing hadn't spent a huge amount of money, he might not have believed that I was really seriously ill... There's no need to hide it. Speed is of the essence in war. Kill as many as you can."
"Okay." Eunuch Hai responded and turned to leave.
Zhao Duan turned around and tapped the railing lightly.
With the number of masters around him, even if he lacks understanding of the Fa Shen Sect, it shouldn't be a big problem.
The tight time schedule also prevented him from going to the scene to verify the details of the intelligence provided by Princess Lu.
…
…
Ten miles west of Prince Jing’s Mansion.
In a valley, there is a private garden house.
Few people usually come here, but about half a month ago, a group of sorcerers were brought here by spies from Prince Jing's Mansion.
Sufficient food and daily necessities were prepared in the mansion, and the magicians of the Fashen Sect were ordered to stay here and not go out.
The "Fashen Sect", as the earliest organization established by the defected priests of the Tianshi Mansion, has existed for nearly a hundred years.
The current leader, a sorcerer nicknamed "God of Law", is extremely mysterious and powerful. He is not the first "God of Law" who established the organization, but his successor.
The Fashen Sect recruits sorcerers who worship various gods in the martial arts world, and the threshold for joining is extremely high.
Only those who have reached the Divine Chapter realm can join. Since sorcerers have a longer lifespan than warriors, there are quite a few of them accumulated over the years.
But they are all people of the martial arts world after all, with different situations and grudges. In the past, the sorcerers of the God of Law were scattered everywhere, but they lived in peace.
Now that they are forced to gather together, conflicts with each other are inevitable over time.
One day, after dinner, the sorcerers heard a quarrel in the courtyard and knew that something exciting was going to happen.
There were two people arguing in the field. One was a fat boy who looked young with delicate limbs, but the frost on his brows clearly showed that his real age was much greater than his appearance.
He carried a strange "ghost flag" on his shoulder, and a gust of cold wind blew as he walked. When he cursed, the illusory faces on the ghost flag also screamed along with him.
Creepy.
The other one was a tall and burly "warlock" with muscular body and a big beard.
The man wore a loose sorcerer's robe, but it couldn't hide his muscular body, tiger eyes and dragon-like demeanor. If it weren't for his hair in a Taoist bun and the Taoist robe he wore, no one would have associated him with a "sorcerer".
Only those in the know understand that this is a rare "body refining sorcerer" in the sorcerer system.
"Xiongba, how many times have I told you that I wasn't the one who dug your mistress's grave? Why do you keep finding fault with me? Are you deliberately trying to be my enemy?" the little fat man yelled.
The body refiner Xiong Ba grinned and said:
"If you say it's not, then it's not? Release all the evil spirits in that broken banner, line them up, and show me, and I'll believe you!"
The little fat man was furious: "Are you looking for death?!"
With a "ding" sound, he hammered the end of the ghost flag's flagpole to the ground, and one evil ghost after another circled and flew around, choosing people to devour.
Xiongba was calm and fearless. He twisted his wrists and head, making a "crackling" sound as his joints moved. His muscles swelled, and coarse black hairs sprouted from his exposed body.
The fight is about to begin!
At this time, a wretched old Taoist priest with white hair ran out from the crowd and said with a smile, "Please give me some face. The leader will be arriving in a few days. Don't cause any unpleasantness at this juncture."
The two ignored him.
The old Taoist's smile slowly froze, his eyes turning a little crazy. He suddenly reached out and unbuttoned his robe: "You two don't give me face, I'm not happy."
What can you do if you're unhappy... The little fat man and Xiongba turned their heads to look at him disdainfully at the same time, only to see the old Taoist priest unbuttoning his robe, and spreading out the two pieces of clothing with his hands like a vendor selling plates.
I saw that the inside of the Taoist robe was covered with densely packed colorful talismans, at least hundreds of them.
"hiss……"
The crowd of onlookers gasped and dispersed from their hearts.
Xiongba and the little fat man also froze in place. No one wanted to fight with the talisman sorcerer with abundant firepower.
When the atmosphere became tense, a face suddenly protruded from a stone in the courtyard, and then a sorcerer emerged from the stone.
The Man in the Stone said, "The leader has arrived."
All the sorcerers in the courtyard were startled and lined up in a circle in the courtyard to wait. The three sorcerers who were in confrontation also stopped fighting.
After a moment, a strange circular magic circle slowly lit up on the ground in the courtyard, and then the light faded away.
A middle-aged man with long hair and a mysterious temperament appeared out of nowhere.
His appearance was not unusual. His most distinctive feature was that he had no beard and wore a gray, ordinary robe, which gave people an extremely "pure" feeling.
It is very different from the strange-looking sorcerers with different abilities in the courtyard.
"Meet the leader!"
The man in the stone took the lead and everyone saluted.
The "God of Law" nodded gently: "Get up."
Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. The little fat man smiled and said, "Chief, I thought you would arrive a few days later."
Xiong Ba crossed his arms and said, "When will the leader arrive? Do I need to explain to you?"
The "God of Law" ignored their bickering and asked calmly, "What's the situation now?"
The old Taoist priest who hid the talisman inside his clothes like a CD said:
"The Empress won't arrive for a few days. Prince Jing somehow got a sorcerer from the White Clothes Sect, and he seems to be dealing with that Zhao Duan. As for the rest, I haven't left the house, so I don't know anything either."
The "God of Law" nodded and was about to give a lecture, but suddenly he frowned and looked towards the east outside the forest as if he was thinking about something.
That face, which was always as cold and indifferent as a stone in the snowy field, showed a bit of surprise and strangeness: "Someone is coming."
…
…
"Sir, it's the manor house in front."
In a forest, the Northern Swordsman Lang Shiba pointed at the large house in the distance visible through a gap in the trees:
"The location of the magician's sorcerers mentioned in the intelligence is right here."
Zhao Duan stared ahead, as if observing.
Behind him were eunuch Hai, Tang Jinzhong, Ji Yue, Song Jinxi and other palace masters.
Prajna Bodhisattva stayed in the Canal Transport Office on the grounds that he only wanted to treat illnesses and not participate in fighting, and Zhao Duan did not force him.
After all, the Fashen Sect is not an organization of evil sorcerers, and the identity of the Bodhisattva of Shenlong Temple is sensitive, so it is indeed not easy to take action against him.
He simply left her behind to protect Ning Zechen. As for Qian Kerou and other Lihuatang Jinyi, they were also left behind by Zhao Duan because of their weaker strength.
Only the most elite masters in the Martial Arts Hall were selected for this trip.
"Sir, do you want me to go in first and take a look at the situation?" Song Jinxi volunteered. As a master of assassination, he was also the best scout.
Zhao Duan thought about it and shook his head:
"No need for that. Warlocks have many methods. Our warriors' detection methods are not likely to be effective and will easily alert the enemy. Let's just rush in together and kill as many as we can."
This decision may seem reckless, but it actually reflects confidence in absolute strength.
With the team around him, they are not afraid of any enemy as long as they don't encounter a strong person in the "Heavenly Realm".
Even if there is an accident, at least you can protect yourself without any problems.
If that’s the case, why bother alerting the enemy?
"Let's do it!" Zhao Duan pulled up the scarf on his face, covering half of his face. With a wave of his hand, the masters behind him also covered their faces. Silently and with a murderous aura, they quickly approached the mansion in front.
However, when everyone jumped into the mansion, the expected fight did not occur, and the entire mansion was silent.
There was no one in sight, it was completely empty.
"No one? Why is there no one? Is the information wrong?" Song Jinxi was surprised.
Tang Jinzhong closed his eyes, quietly feeling the lingering fluctuations of magical power in the air. Suddenly he opened his eyes and said:
"They left not long ago. Just now, there were traces of magic being released!"
So alert? Did Prince Jing know I was leaving the city? Did he notify these people to move ahead?
Zhao Duan frowned, but felt something was wrong.
At this moment, the old eunuch in the python robe suddenly changed his expression: "Be careful!"
Zhao Duan was startled when he heard a rustling sound. He looked up and saw a group of sorcerers walking out from the high ground in the mountains and forests centered on the mansion.
This group of sorcerers all held staffs and weapons, looking prepared.
They actually "surrounded" the whole group of people.
"Protect the lord!" The eunuchs in the Martial Arts Hall formed a concentric circle formation and protected Zhao Duan firmly in the center.
However, this group of warlocks did not take action immediately, but looked towards a certain location.
Zhao Duan looked in the direction he was looking and saw a grey-robed sorcerer with long hair, a white face and no beard, and an ordinary appearance standing on a hill.
"Leader of the Law God Sect!" Eunuch Hai's unprecedentedly solemn voice echoed in his ears.
The Fashen Sect? That mysterious "leader"? The mysterious master whose strength was rumored to be only below the "Heavenly Realm"?
Zhao Duan subconsciously said: "Clone?"
According to the records of the imperial court, the leader of the Fashen faction often traveled outside in the form of a "clone".
Eunuch Hai didn't look at him, but stared at him intently and said, "Not like that."
It doesn't seem like... Could it be that the real person has arrived? Yes, if Prince Jing deliberately wanted to disrupt the Fengshan ceremony, it is not difficult to understand why he invited this expert... But... Why didn't the princess's intelligence mention such important news?
Is it that Lu Yan'er doesn't know, or is it that... there is something wrong with Lu Yan'er?
Infernal Affairs? Was he ambushed in today's raid?
Zhao Duan's thoughts were in turmoil, but he had no time to think, and he only shouted one word:
"withdraw!"
However, the leader of the Law God Sect on the top of the mountain seemed to smile, stretched out his right hand condescendingly, and grabbed in the air.
Behind Zhao Duan, Tang Jinzhong, the worldly-level worshiper, suddenly disappeared, and the place where he originally stood was replaced by a huge tree that appeared out of thin air!
At the same time, a tree suddenly disappeared in the surrounding mountains and forests, and Tang Jinzhong, holding a long knife, stood in shock in the pothole left by the tree!
"Change the constellations and move the stars?"
Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, remembering that the information he had read mentioned that the leader of the Law God Sect also worshipped "Heavenly Dao" and was suspected of having obtained certain magical abilities related to "space" from the god Tiandao.
At this moment, the "God of Law" did not attack, but just grabbed and exchanged the positions of the tree and Tang Jinzhong.
Next, the "God of Magic" did the same thing and grabbed the void several times.
With pure white pupils and wearing red wet clothes, the socially anxious Ji Yue was replaced by a stone in the valley on one side.
Holding a scimitar, Lang Shiba, with a weathered face, was replaced by a bush.
In the blink of an eye.
Of the four "worldly" realm guards around Zhao Duan, only Eunuch Hai is left!
He clearly saw that circles of illusory golden light were emanating from the old eunuch's body, and no matter how many times the "God of Law" tried to grab him, he couldn't move him!
"Let's go! I'll deal with him, and you flee back to the city immediately! Don't stay!" Eunuch Hai used the "telepathic" method to send his voice into Zhao Duan's consciousness.
Zhao Duan's expression changed slightly and he wanted to speak.
I only heard Eunuch Hai say quickly:
"We know you have a trump card, but how long can your limited magical power last? We fought against this clone of the God of Magic last year. He is extremely powerful, and his true form is probably not inferior to ours at his peak. If you stay, you will only cause trouble.
You don't have to consider us. The only one these people want to kill is you. If you stay, we will have to fight to the death to protect you. On the contrary, if you can run away, we can also evacuate in all directions.
And no matter how crazy the people of the Law God Sect are, they won't even risk their lives just to fight with us. As long as you leave, the fight won't start... Don't be so indecisive and insist on staying... eh?"
Eunuch Hai had just finished speaking when he saw Zhao Duan, like an arrow shot from a bow, leaving a trail of shadow as he ran away in the direction where the encirclement was loosest.
Before the others could react, they had already escaped into the woods in the blink of an eye.
"..." Eunuch Hai was silent for a moment, then a smile of appreciation and satisfaction appeared on his lips, and he shouted:
"Protect Zhao Shaobao!"
"yes!"
A group of martial arts hall priests responded.
Tang Jinzhong jumped out of the tree pit and was about to rush down when he saw the burly and muscular body-building sorcerer Xiongba standing in front of him.
"The inheritance of the God of War, I really want to see it."
Black hairs sprouted from Xiongba's body, and he was showing signs of degenerating into a human-shaped black bear.
Tang Jinzhong sneered and slashed with his sword: "Die!"
…
Ji Yue glanced around, controlled the water flow, and was about to sneak away quietly. Suddenly, there was a "ding" sound in front of him, and a ghost flag surrounded by a eerie ghost aura pierced into the mountain.
A little fat boy came out with a smile, rubbing his fat hands, staring at Ji Yue with excited and greedy eyes:
"Okay, this is great, girl, you are born to be a water ghost. I have been looking for a good water ghost for many years, and finally I have waited for you. Come into my banner!"
Ji Yue's face turned cold.
…
"Hey, wait a minute, brave man. Give me some face and don't do anything."
Lang Shiba held the scimitar in his hand and stared at the old Taoist priest who suddenly appeared in front of him. He had a wretched face and was unbuttoning his collar while talking.
I just felt a chill and chopped it with a knife.
"No martial ethics!"
The wretched old Taoist priest let out a strange cry, raised his hand and pointed, and a yellow paper talisman flew out along his finger, burning in mid-air and condensing into a huge illusory dagger, colliding with the scimitar.
…
at the same time.
The magicians from the Fashen Sect all around the forest came out one after another, trying to stop Zhao Duan, but they were blocked again and again by a group of palace masters led by Song Jinxi, creating an escape route for Zhao Duan that no one could stop them.
In the chaos of the battle, only Eunuch Hai remained motionless, his eyes fixed on the "God of Law".
The "God of Law" lowered his eyes and looked down at the old eunuch coldly, saying:
"You are old and no match for me."
Hai Chunlin laughed heartily, leaped up, and drew a scarlet long sword from his sleeve:
"Whether you're old or not, your words don't count. Humph, a mere undercover guy dares to call himself the 'God of Law'? Ridiculous, ridiculous."
…
…
run!
Run wildly!
Attack with all your strength!
In the mountains and forests.
Zhao Duan's Qi sea roared, and the Qi in his body surged like a tide, flowing through his limbs and bones.
The whole body was like an overclocked machine, squeezing the cultivation of the upper-grade Divine Chapter to the extreme, and rushing towards the direction of Jianning Prefecture.
Because of the cover of a large group of guards, no sorcerer could catch up with him, and Zhao Duan quickly left the battlefield far behind.
However, he did not relax at all. Instead, his nerves became more and more tense. While running, he hid all kinds of tricks in his sleeves.
Including the teleportation orb that Zhenbao had given him a long time ago, he quietly held it in his hand but did not choose to crush it.
He clearly remembered that the teleportation orb was a random teleportation device. At the same time, he also remembered that the sorcerer who worshipped the God of Death could curse and make the target's luck worse.
He had some suspicion that the reason he encountered the leader of the God of Law Sect today was because of the "God of Death" curse, which brought him bad luck.
"The Buddha's Blue Lotus can help heal my body, but it can't help me change the bad luck that was 'blessed' by the Death God... Why didn't I realize this before? Is it also the result of bad luck? Well, it's also because I have too little experience dealing with these evil sorcerers..."
"If my speculation is correct, then if I crush the teleportation orb, the most likely outcome is that I'll be teleported directly back into the encirclement of the Law God Sect..."
Zhao Duan's thoughts flashed through his mind, and he didn't know how long he had been running.
Just as he rushed out of the forest and saw the gate of Jianning Prefecture.
Suddenly, he braked suddenly and stopped.
Staring intently at the front, a figure appeared silently.
The middle-aged sorcerer who called himself "the God of Magic" stood with his hands behind his back, quietly observing him, with an indescribable look in his eyes.
The "God of Law" smiled slightly and said meaningfully:
"Zhao Duan, we meet again."
…
Help catch typos
(End of this chapter)
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