Chapter 223: Hundred Refinement Peak

The roof of the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion.

Li Musheng glanced down, saw the person dispatched by the silver-haired elder ride away on horseback, nodded lightly, and murmured to himself:

"With two sons killed in succession, if the Peak Lord of Hundred Refinement Peak does not personally strike to avenge them, it would be somewhat hard to justify."

Originally, Li Musheng had been too lazy to bother with the martial arts experts from the City Lord's Mansion below, but upon hearing these words, the silver-haired elder below suddenly twitched his ears, then sharply raised his head to gaze up at the pavilion roof.

The silver-haired elder, upon first seeing Li Musheng sitting on the ridge, was instantly stunned; immediately, his entire aura surged upward, and he bellowed in a deep voice:

"Who are you?"

Hearing this, Li Musheng sighed.

Before long, the silver-haired elder and over a dozen martial arts experts from the City Lord's Mansion were all killed...

Hundred Refinement Peak.

The pitch-black mountain body featured sudden, towering peaks and jagged, craggy rocks, appearing majestic and ferocious in the night.

One side was a thousand-zhang sheer cliff, wrapped in massive ropes; on the smooth green wall, the four ancient seal-script characters "Hundred Refinements Form the Peak" in gilded gold emitted a shimmering glow in the darkness.

On the mountainside on the other side of the cliff stood imposing palace towers, with countless exquisite houses and courtyards arranged in neat rows, presenting a completely prosperous and thriving appearance.

At this moment, the entire Hundred Refinement Peak was decorated with lanterns and ribbons; lanterns hung everywhere across the peak, and the bright lights made it as clear as day.

At that time, a woman drenched in sweat rode a swift horse at full speed, arriving before the mountain gate archway several zhang high, where she suddenly stopped.

Then, disregarding the mountain-visiting etiquette entirely, she clumsily flipped off her horse and shouted urgently:

"Young Master Zheng is in trouble!"

The Hundred Refinement Peak disciples guarding the mountain gate, seeing the woman had no manners at all, had intended to whip her as punishment.

But upon hearing it concerned "Young Master Zheng," they immediately stopped, frowned, and barked:

"What has happened?"

"Young... Young Master Zheng... has been killed by someone!"

The courtesan of the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion said this while panting; upon hearing these words, the disciples guarding the mountain gate instantly changed color.

After urgently and sternly questioning the courtesan to clarify the details of the incident, they quickly departed.

Next, the matter was reported up through layers of hierarchy, finally reaching the First Lady of Hundred Refinement Peak.

Upon hearing her own son had been killed, the First Lady was overwhelmed with grief and rage; she ordered someone to inform Zheng Yunfeng of the matter, while immediately summoning the elders of the peak to accompany her as she set off at once for Hundred Refinement City.

"At this time of the Peak Lord's great birthday, it is improper for the Peak Lord to leave the mountain; whoever dares to kill my son, I will personally crush their bones to dust and scatter their ashes!"

The First Lady, dignified and noble with a head full of white hair, now had red-rimmed eyes, and tearstains remained on her wrinkled face.

Zheng Zi was her son born in her middle age; since childhood, she had doted on him immensely. Now, with a white-haired person sending off a black-haired one, how could she not be driven to grief-stricken madness?

Soon, the First Lady of Hundred Refinement Peak boarded a carriage, took along two elders from the Peak's Law Enforcement Hall and a host of sect experts, descended the mountain, and headed straight for Hundred Refinement City through the cool night.

Meanwhile, atop the thousand-zhang cliff of Hundred Refinement Peak, a small courtyard built of iron and stone stood upon the cloud-shrouded, mist-wreathed summit.

The courtyard's iron gate was tightly closed; there was no light, no sign of human presence, and not a single flower, plant, or blade of grass around it.

Before long, a dark shadow drifted silently over, revealing a hunched old man in black robes.

But the old man merely stopped on the gray stone steps before the courtyard gate, bowed and stood, remaining motionless without making any sound, and did not advance.

After a while, a voice full of inner strength came from within the courtyard:

"Wu Lao, what business brings you to this one so late at night?"

The black-robed old man immediately clasped his hands in a bow toward the courtyard before him and replied concisely:

"Zheng Zi was killed at the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion; the attacker specifically demanded that you, the Peak Lord, come personally to exact revenge. However, the First Lady has just led people toward Hundred Refinement City."

Upon hearing this, silence instantly fell within the courtyard.

Vaguely visible, the clouds and mist swirling around the thousand-zhang sheer cliff began to rotate at a speed visible to the naked eye; the entire Hundred Refinement Peak seemed to be gathering wind.

At that moment, the voice of Peak Lord Zheng Yunfeng came out again, but it carried no discernible emotion as he said:

"Now that the Fallen God Peak is in a time of great turmoil, and the Great Li Court somehow found the courage? In less than a month, they hastily decided to attack our sect."

"Zi's misfortune at this time is likely inseparable from the Great Li Court."

Upon hearing this, the black-robed old man raised his head to glance at the courtyard before him and said:

"The Peak Lord speaks truly; the Young Master's innocent death should indeed be recorded against the Great Li Court."

The voice within the courtyard suddenly sighed; for a moment, the low-hanging clouds above the entire cliff summit seemed to rumble with thunder.

"My birthday was meant to be a joyous occasion, but now, burdened with the pain of losing my son, I have lost all interest."

Zheng Yunfeng's voice sounded extremely cold; the black-robed old man on the stone steps before the courtyard immediately bowed low with his head down and said:

"Would it not be better for this old one to go personally, capture that murderer alive, and deliver him to the Peak Lord for personal disposal?"

Upon hearing these words, Zheng Yunfeng then spoke lightly:

"No need; let the Lady handle this matter."

"What I mean is for Wu Lao to go personally; in Hundred Refinement City, anyone connected to the Great Li Court, without a single exception, is to be killed on sight."

The black-robed old man's body shifted slightly; he gently raised his eyes and immediately replied hurriedly:

"This old one accepts the order; naturally, I will use the lives of the Court's hounds to comfort the Young Master's spirit in the heavens."

Having said this, he did not linger on the stone steps; he bowed, stepped back three paces, and then his figure vanished from the cliff summit.

And after the black-robed old man departed, a woman's voice sounded within the courtyard, which had previously fallen silent:

"Senior Brother Zheng, please accept my condolences."

However, only her voice was heard; her person remained unseen.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yunfeng, seated cross-legged on a stone cushion within the courtyard, closed his eyes and remained silent; his body was surrounded by strands of golden true qi, making his true face indistinct; he merely spoke and asked:

"Junior Sister, why leave your post at Jade Lanfeng to come here and seek this one out?"

The two voices were confined within the small courtyard where the iron gate stood tightly shut, while outside the courtyard, silence reigned.

"The Great Li Tianjin Guard is attacking the four peaks of Luoshen Peak in four routes; the Yu Lan Peak under my charge is among them."

The woman's voice floated up lightly, saying:

"As far as I know, Fu Qiwen, the commander of the Tianjin Guard, has summoned the previous commander of the Great Li, and it is this very person who is leading the assault on Yu Lan Peak."

Hearing this, Zheng Yunfeng, whose golden true qi swirled around him, seemed to open his eyes, staring directly at some void in the air within the courtyard, and said:

"Could it be that junior sister fears you are no match for that person and wishes to ask for my help?"

Where the void in the air was formless and shadowless, threads of heaven and earth true qi continuously gathered, and then the woman's voice floated out faintly, saying:

"I am not afraid of this person, but this person has already little time left; agreeing to act for Fu Qiwen this time, he likely harbors a resolve to die."

"This person seeks to perish with me, yet I do not wish to fight him to the death for no reason, depleting my own strength."

(End of this chapter)