Chapter 233: Response

Li Musheng glanced at Zheng Yunfeng's corpse, which had fallen into the ditch of the street below.

Although he had never placed much value on the Fallen God Peak, it was still quite unexpected for a peak master to be so weak.

Li Musheng shook his head, then withdrew his gaze and continued to perfect the Azure Dragon Cangming Scripture.

At the current pace, once the Fallen God Peak was dealt with, the Azure Dragon Cangming Scripture should also be perfectly completed.

By then, with the power of the Zhu Que bone, he would likely be able to improve himself a little bit more.

"One should compare oneself only to oneself; comparing oneself to others holds no meaning at all."

The scene that occurred above the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion was clearly felt by everyone in the Hundred Shen Shen Liancheng.

Zheng Yunfeng had suppressed the entire city with terrifying martial arts pressure and sky-piercing killing intent, then struck with the power of Lei Ting; that terrifying, surging true meaning of the fist descended from the heavens, and the entire Hundred Shen Shen Liancheng seemed on the verge of being blasted into ruins.

In response, the people in the city trembled in fear and were filled with panic.

Yet everything had come so suddenly, but vanished even faster.

Everyone had been shivering in fear, preparing to face the attack of the peak master of the Hundred Refining Peak, but all of it had dissipated in an instant, and the Hundred Shen Shen Liancheng seemed as if nothing had happened.

"Not good, the peak master is in trouble!"

A martial arts expert in the City Lord's Mansion of the Hundred Shen Shen Liancheng quickly realized what had happened and immediately shouted:

"Quick, quickly send a message to request reinforcements!"

On a small hill outside the Hundred Shen Shen Liancheng.

The old man in hemp clothes and Lin Xun'er gazed at the Hundred Shen Shen Liancheng, which had fallen silent in the darkness; they were clearly stunned for a long time before slowly coming to their senses.

"Grandpa, if I'm not mistaken, has that peak master of the Hundred Refining Peak been eliminated?"

Lin Xun'er suddenly looked at the old man in hemp clothes, the expression on her small face clearly somewhat stiff.

The old man in hemp clothes fell silent for a moment, then spoke with a shifting expression:

"Zheng Yunfeng's fist intent has shattered and his qi mechanism has dissipated; he has clearly been defeated, but..."

Having said this, he did not continue, but only gazed toward the direction of the city, his expression on his face appearing extremely complex.

At this moment, Lin Xun'er reached out and rubbed her stiff face, then continued the old man's words:

"But we did not see that fellow make a move. Even if he did, Zheng Yunfeng and the opponent only exchanged a single strike. To kill the peak master of the Hundred Refining Peak in a single strike... is this really something that can happen?"

The air suddenly fell silent; at this moment, it seemed neither of the two could answer this question.

Although they had witnessed all of this with their own eyes, and the facts were telling them that it indeed happened, they still found it difficult to believe for the moment.

At this moment, the old man in hemp clothes's expression shifted; he suddenly withdrew his gaze, and a trace of uncontrollable excitement appeared on his aged face as he said:

"Xun'er, no matter what, Zheng Yunfeng is already dead. For us, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Xun'er, who had been somewhat dazed, immediately reacted; in an instant, she turned her head sharply to look toward the direction of the Hundred Refining Peak.

At this moment, a trace of excitement also appeared on her pale, white small face, and an extremely astonishing killing intent slowly flowed from her body as she said:

"With Zheng Yunfeng and the Elder of the Hundred Refining Peak dead, there is basically no threat to us left on the Hundred Refining Peak. Now is the time for us to strike and take revenge."

Having said this, she exchanged a glance with the old man in hemp clothes; both immediately understood each other's decision, and without hesitation, they immediately descended the mountain and rushed quickly toward the direction of the Hundred Refining Peak.

On the mountain path in the darkness, the old man in hemp clothes carried Lin Xun'er as they hurried along, while Lin Xun'er looked back at the Hundred Shen Shen Liancheng, which was gradually moving away, her dark eyes flickering with light.

Lin Xun'er's mood was not calm at this moment; she never expected that the opportunity to avenge her older sister would be given by that annoying fellow.

On the mountain path from the Fallen God Peak to the Hundred Refining Peak.

The three elders from the main peak of the Fallen God Peak were now looking at each other, their expressions both shocked and extremely solemn.

At this moment, an elder with a slightly plump figure turned back, bowed with clasped hands to the young man in the carriage, and spoke with a very grim face:

"Young Shao Sect Master, that Zheng Yunfeng has actually been defeated!"

The scene above the Hundred Shen Shen Liancheng just now was seen by all of them; the collapse of the golden light pillar that shot up to the sky and the dispersal of Zheng Yunfeng's martial arts true qi had already explained everything.

Although they found it hard to believe that Zheng Yunfeng, this peak master, had been defeated by the other party, and moreover, all of this had happened so quickly.

But the fact was just that; even if they could not accept it, they had to accept it.

As the young man who was the Zhang Sect's eldest disciple, he fell silent for a moment, his gaze looking through the night toward the direction of the Hundred Shen Shen Liancheng; at this moment, a ripple faintly rose on his young face as he said:

"The Lichaoting Sect sending a martial arts expert of such strength does not surprise me, but for the other party to make a move at this time, and not to use it as their final trump card, this is indeed something that leaves me somewhat puzzled."

Upon hearing this, the three elders exchanged glances, their eyes all looking strange.

Then, one of the elders hurriedly bowed his head to the young man and said:

"Young Shao Sect Master, the expert from the Hundred Shen Shen Liancheng is so powerful; even Zheng Yunfeng is not his match. Should we continue to proceed?"

At this moment, another elder spoke out:

"Young Shao Sect Master, I suggest we immediately request reinforcements from the peak. This person can probably only be subdued by the Zhang Sect and a few Venerables."

The young man glanced around at the three elders, did not reject their suggestion, and said softly:

"You return to the peak to ask Master for instructions; I will continue on to the Hundred Shen Shen Liancheng to take a look at that expert who took down Zheng Yunfeng in just one strike."

Upon hearing these words, the three elders were all startled, and hurriedly said:

"Absolutely not! The Hundred Shen Shen Liancheng is extremely dangerous now; Young Shao Sect Master must not take such a risk."

However, the young man seemed not to care at all; he waved his hand and said:

"It is fine. You can rest assured; that person cannot harm me. From now on, just do as I have said."

Having said this, the young man spoke no more, lowered the carriage curtain, and the carriage immediately continued toward the Hundred Shen Shen Liancheng, leaving only the three elders behind at the spot.

"Return to the peak quickly to report to the Zhang Sect; the Young Shao Sect Master must not meet with disaster."

The three elders exchanged glances, and without hesitation, immediately returned to the main peak.

"How did that golden pillar of light suddenly vanish?"

Among the Tianjin Guards secretly advancing toward Yuxing Peak, many gazed toward the sky and suddenly let out a cry of shock.

At the same time, the Commander Fu Qiwen and Hu Rui'an riding side by side behind them both frowned deeply, their expressions strange.

Because they were far from the Hundred Refinements City, Fu Qiwen could not observe as clearly as those nearby, yet he could still vaguely sense that Zheng Yunfeng had been defeated.

"With just one move, he defeated the Peak Lord of Hundred Refinements Peak, who had cultivated the true intent of fist techniques and whose fist technique was supreme throughout the Great Li Jianghu?"

Fu Qiwen murmured to himself, his gaze dark and unclear, containing both shock and disbelief.

At this moment, Hu Rui'an beside him suddenly sighed and said:

"Why did the Imperial Prince not use the Wu Gong of fist techniques? Moreover, it seems no one saw how the Imperial Prince struck, yet Zheng Yunfeng was defeated."

"Alas, the Imperial Prince is always like this; every time he strikes, it is like an antelope hanging its horns, leaving absolutely no trace for anyone to find!"

Hearing this, Fu Qiwen turned to look at Hu Rui'an, the corner of his eye twitching slightly; at that moment, he inexplicably felt that the words spoken by this old subordinate of his subtly carried the meaning of slapping him in the face right there.

Thinking of this, Fu Qiwen fell silent for a while, then suddenly spoke up and asked:

"Rui'an, are you certain the Eighth Imperial Prince struck, and not some expert behind him?"

Hu Rui'an turned to look at Fu Qiwen, nodded solemnly, and said:

"I know my lord finds it hard to believe; initially, I felt the same way, but the Imperial Prince is completely different from all our past understandings. He is a unique existence that absolutely cannot be judged by ordinary logic."

Upon hearing these words, Fu Qiwen took a deep breath, turned to gaze toward the direction of Hundred Refinements City, and suddenly recalled the scene earlier when Li Musheng accepted the task of annihilating the Fallen God Peak.

"Imperial Prince, could it be that I truly misjudged you? Your confidence actually stemmed from yourself from beginning to end?"

"The Peak Lord of Fallen God Peak struck for just this short while; why did he suddenly stop?"

The down-and-out scholar gazed at the dimming sky, his face showing a look of confusion.

The other three also shared expressions of shock and doubt; they had merely been following the big black cat on the journey, so clearly they did not know exactly what had happened.

At this moment, the big black cat squatting ahead meowed several times, seemingly responding to the scholar's confusion.

The old man Wu Yong and the down-and-out scholar immediately looked toward the Lin Tang sisters, obviously wanting to inquire about the other party's meaning.

Seeing this, Lin Tang frowned slightly and hesitantly said:

"Little Sister says that the Imperial Prince has already struck and killed the Peak Lord of Hundred Refinements Peak."

"However... she blames us for being too slow, causing her to miss a good show; if she had known, she wouldn't have brought us along."

Hearing this, the old man Wu Yong and the scholar Sui Zhen both stared at each other, obviously finding it hard to believe that the Peak Lord of Hundred Refinements Peak had died just like that.

At this moment, the scholar Sui Zhen quietly asked Lin Yueru:

"Is what Mo Mo said reliable?"

However, before Lin Yueru could answer, the big black cat turned its head and meowed twice, then continued on its own, diving into the dim forest.

Hearing this, Lin Yueru turned to look at the scholar Sui Zhen and sighed:

"Little Sister says believe it or not; if you have the ability, don't follow. She doesn't want to manage us anyway."

Saying this, Lin Yueru turned to look at her eldest sister, and Lin Tang, after thinking for a brief moment, said:

"Although Little Sister is a bit mischievous, she has never lied to us. Just now, it was indeed the Imperial Prince who struck, and in this case, Hundred Refinements Peak is undoubtedly our breakthrough point."

"With the Peak Lord of Hundred Refinements Peak dead, we can completely infiltrate the main peak of Fallen God Peak through Hundred Refinements Peak."

Hearing this, the old man Wu Yong frowned, pondered for a moment, and then spoke:

"If the Peak Lord of Hundred Refinements Peak truly died at the hands of that Imperial Prince, the other party will surely be targeted by Fallen God Peak. This is undoubtedly extremely dangerous for us; we must not rashly take risks."

The other three fell silent for a moment; Lin Yueru thought for a while and said:

"It is both danger and opportunity. If that Imperial Prince provokes experts from Fallen God Peak to move, we can secretly act according to the situation and decide at any time to enter Fallen God Peak at the best moment?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Tang nodded, while the old man Wu Yong and the scholar Sui Zhen, after pondering for a moment, finally nodded in succession and said:

"Then we will follow Mo Mo to see if we can find a suitable opportunity. However, everything must be handled cautiously; we must not reveal our tracks unless absolutely necessary."

Having said this, the four finally hesitated no more and continued to follow in the direction of the big black cat.

In the darkness of night, a carriage stopped on a small hill.

Inside the carriage sat Ouyang Beiqi Ming Qi, the Peak Lord of the Fifth Peak of Fallen God Peak; in the driver's seat sat an old man.

"Zheng Yunfeng has been defeated; does the Peak Lord still intend to proceed to Hundred Refinements City?"

The old man suppressed the shock on his face, turned around, and asked.

The man inside the carriage remained silent for a moment, then spoke coldly:

"My martial arts cultivation is not much different from that of Junior Brother Zheng, yet he could not withstand that person's single move. Given the current situation, my going would be useless; let the Zhufengzhang Sect handle it."

Hearing this, the old man sitting in the driver's seat nodded lightly, turned the carriage to return to the Fifth Peak, and at the same time remarked:

"The foundation of the Great Li court is still not weak. This attack on our Fallen God Peak was clearly prepared in advance. Now that both sides have not yet engaged on a large scale, we have already lost a Peak Lord, which is a heavy loss for our Sect."

Ouyang Beiqi Ming Qi inside the carriage showed no ripple, speaking in a detached tone:

"Rest assured, the foundation of our Sect cannot be shaken by the Great Li. Although the death of Junior Brother Zheng is regrettable, to capture our Fallen God Peak, the Great Li court, relying solely on this person, is still far from capable."

As his words fell, the carriage drove into the night, gradually moving farther and farther away from Hundred Refinements City.

Yulan Peak.

The mirror-like figure of Yumianjiao hovered above the Green Jade Palace, gazing toward Hundred Refinements City.

Then her entire figure, which was both illusory and real, shook violently, indicating that her mood at this moment was extremely unsettled.

"Junior Brother Zheng has actually been defeated?"

The mirror-like figure of Yumianjiao murmured to herself; next, she stared at the darkness of the sky for a while. Seeing no further movement, the last shred of hope remaining in her heart also completely extinguished.

"The Great Li court would actually send such an expert to strike Hundred Refinements Peak? Now only the main peak can resolve this."

The Jade-Faced Beauty naturally had no intention of avenging her senior brother, Zheng Yunfeng.

On the contrary, she knew this matter required no action from her; what she needed to worry about now was the upcoming assault by the Tianjin Guard on the Yu Lan Peak.

Previously, when she sought Zheng Yunfeng's help, she had believed it was secure enough to deal with the former Commander of Great Li, whose days were numbered.

But who could have expected that shortly after the matter was settled, Zheng Yunfeng met with misfortune; now she could only seek another method.

The Jade-Faced Beauty pondered for a while, then seemingly made a decision; her mirror-image form turned into a beam of clear light and flew into the night.

Hundred Refinements City.

After Zheng Yunfeng's death, the City Lord's Mansion had successively sent people to spread messages seeking aid.

Li Musheng, sitting atop the Hundred Incense Pavilion, was naturally pleased by this, yet he felt that the people of the Fallen God Peak were not fools.

Seeing the Peak Lord of Hundred Refinements Peak gone, he estimated that many would not dare to come.

However, the Fallen God Peak certainly could not ignore him; next, the people coming to Hundred Refinements City would likely be stronger.

Not long after, a carriage appeared outside Hundred Refinements City.

(End of this chapter)