Chapter 257: Blind Man

Seeing this, the big black cat immediately trotted after him, following Li Musheng closely like his shadow.

Li Musheng carried the green-black jade stele away from the secret cave, thought for a moment, and recalled what Fu Qiwen had said about that Shenfengzhang Sect uncle.

He planned to circle the main peak; if he could find that person, it would be best, but if not, then he had no choice but to let it go.

Thus, the matter of this trip to Luoshenfeng Sect was basically concluded.

Li Musheng's next plan was to return to Shangyang City to obtain the two Tianqi Secret Treasury keys existing in the Imperial Capital.

Then...

After that, there would be many more things: not only continuing to search for the Tianqi Secret Treasury keys, but also seeking the Fire Qilin and the Azure Dragon True Qi, and comprehending the Talent Divine Stele, and so on...

To pursue transcendence in the martial arts, to be honest, Li Musheng felt he was quite busy.

However, apart from comprehending the Talent Divine Stele, the remaining matters could be entrusted to others.

After all, according to the agreement, after destroying Luoshenfeng Sect, the entire Great Li Tianjin Guard would be under his command, so asking someone to find a few things was naturally a trivial matter.

As for whether Emperor Yuanwu would regret this matter, hmm... then the other party could try.

Thinking this, Li Musheng carried the green-black jade stele and began to wander around the main peak of Luoshenfeng Sect; if he met anyone without eyes, he would show no mercy and kill them with a casual strike.

The big black cat, following beside him, also claimed quite a few lives, but Li Musheng discovered that besides staying by his side without leaving a step, most of the time the big cat stared hungrily at the green-black jade stele in his hand, drool practically dripping.

Not even having circled half the main peak, the big black cat's pair of green eyes began to roll around.

Immediately, it kept rubbing against Li Musheng's pant legs, kept pointing at the green-black jade stele with its paws, then pointed at its own back, and meowed loudly.

Seeing this, Li Musheng narrowed his eyes slightly, yet understood what the big black cat meant.

The other party was saying that seeing him carrying such a large jade stele was too hard, asking him to place the green-black jade stele on the cat's back so it could help carry it and share some of the burden.

"Do all people of divine nature have such smarts like you?"

Li Musheng patted the big cat's head, chuckled lightly, and then tossed the green-black jade stele in his hand onto the other's back.

Although the big black cat was sturdy, about the size of an earth dog, the green-black jade stele was obviously much larger than the other, completely covering the entire big cat.

However, the big black cat's four cat legs stood straight, showing no sign of being crushed by the weight of the jade stele; instead, it meowed twice very happily, carrying the jade stele and hopping around in place for a few circles.

Seeing this, Li Musheng did not take the green-black jade stele back; having such a free laborer carry things for him naturally saved him a lot of trouble.

Thus, next, Li Musheng continued to wander along with the big black cat carrying the green-black jade stele.

There were many stone steps on the main peak, and some sections were extremely steep, but the big black cat carrying such a large jade stele did not falter at all, and was extremely agile and light, walking as if on flat ground.

At the same time, Master Sikong, determined to hunt down Yuwen Chengqing, continued to pursue relentlessly, with two terrifying auras chasing each other through the deep mountains and dense forests.

However, the speed of their lightness skills did not differ much, so even though Master Sikong pursued with all his might, he still could not exchange a few moves with Yuwen Chengqing.

As for Yuwen Chengqing, he had no intention of fighting Master Sikong at all, and only kept fleeing.

Before long, he arrived at the foot of a towering high peak, stopped his steps, and then looked up, narrowing his eyes to gaze upward.

Master Sikong, following behind, saw him stop and likewise looked toward the majestic high peak ahead.

Quickly, his gaze tightened, obviously recognizing that the high peak before him was indeed the main peak of the Luoshenfeng Sect.

For a moment, Master Sikong's graying eyebrows immediately furrowed.

According to common sense, if Yuwen Chengqing truly wanted to escape, then the other party would have no choice but to flee outside the Luoshenfeng Sect territory, perhaps having a sliver of a chance at survival.

But now the other party was doing the exact opposite, actually coming to the foot of the main peak, which truly made him unable to figure out the other's intentions.

At this time, Yuwen Chengqing turned back to look at Master Sikong following in the night, said nothing more, merely sneered, and then moved his body, quickly disappearing upward on the main peak.

The moment the other party left, Master Sikong arrived at the foot of the mountain; he stopped his steps, looked up at Yuwen Chengqing's departing back, and for a moment his expression wavered uncertainly.

Although Fu Qiwen had already sent a message that the Eighth Imperial Prince had long since resolved the Shenfengzhang Sect and four Venerables.

But after all, this is the main peak of Luoshenfeng Sect, one of the four great sects of the Jianghu, the very core foundation of the entire sect.

Even if those five most top-tier existences were dead, there was no guarantee that no other powerful experts remained on the main peak.

If he rashly entered the main peak alone, he might very well be a sheep entering a tiger's mouth, leaving but never returning.

"Someone about to die, why consider such things? If there truly are experts here, it would be perfect for this old man to see exactly how much strength they have."

However, Master Sikong immediately made a decision; his purpose in coming here was to settle his own lingering thoughts and have a good fight before dying.

Meeting an even more powerful expert would naturally be a wonderful thing.

Immediately, Master Sikong did not stop, but continued to pursue in the direction Yuwen Chengqing had departed, disappearing beneath the foot of the main peak.

Before long, Jade-Faced Beauty and Ouyang Beiqi Ming Qi followed closely behind.

The two stopped simultaneously at the foot of the main peak, both looked up, and then a trace of solemnity appeared on their faces.

Jade-Faced Beauty furrowed her eyebrows slightly and said:

"Senior Brother Yuwen seems to be deliberately luring that my lord Sikong to the main peak; there is likely a problem on this mountain peak."

Hearing this, Ouyang Beiqi Ming Qi showed a thoughtful expression and pondered:

"Has Junior Sister heard of a rumor circulating within the sect related to Senior Brother Yuwen?"

Jade-Faced Beauty turned to look at the other party, then gently narrowed her eyes and said:

"Could Senior Brother Ouyang be referring to the matter that Senior Brother Yuwen, with ordinary talent, remained silent and unremarkable for many years, yet suddenly broke through one day and ascended to the position of the Eighth Peak Seat?"

Ouyang Beiqi Ming Qi nodded, then gazed at the dark main peak before him and said:

"Previously, people rumored that the most critical reason Senior Brother Yuwen could rise within a few years with ordinary talent and break through to become a Peak Seat was that it lay on this main peak."

"It is said that Senior Brother Yuwen once had a fortuitous encounter within the main peak, meeting a supreme martial arts expert hidden within the sect who never emerged; the other party not only bestowed a martial arts divine pill but also guided his cultivation of the martial arts; thus, Senior Brother Yuwen made a stunning debut, surpassing the many talented senior and junior brothers in the sect."

Speaking, Ouyang Beiqi Ming Qi shook his head again and said:

"Of course, undoubtedly, Senior Brother Yuwen's diligence and obsession with martial arts cultivation was also an indispensable factor for him to achieve such accomplishments."

Hearing this, Jade-Faced Beauty pondered slightly for a moment, then looked at Ouyang Beiqi Ming Qi and said:

"So, Senior Brother Ouyang believes this rumor is actually true?"

Ouyang Beiqi Ming Qi shook his head and said:

"I am not certain, but is this truly the case? Perhaps we shall know if we follow and take a look."

Having spoken, his figure moved at once, immediately continuing to pursue Sikong Xuan.

Seeing this, the Jade-Faced Beauty frowned slightly, but said nothing, following suit.

With the Zhang Sect and the Four Great Venerables dead, the destruction of Luoshenfeng Sect is as certain as nails in wood; even if there are hidden experts within the Main Peak, they probably cannot change the situation.

In the Jade-Faced Beauty's view, Yuwen Chengqing's actions actually held little significance.

Not long after, Yuwen Chengqing, being hunted, darted rapidly between the sprawling halls and pavilions of the Main Peak.

Then, passing through several groves and gardens rarely visited by humans, he finally arrived outside a nondescript ancestral hall and small pavilion on the back of the Main Peak.

This ancestral hall was not the sect's main ancestral hall, but a place established to enshrine spirit tablets for ordinary disciples who had rendered service to the sect across generations.

Thus, this place was not only remote, but also rarely visited; at a glance, it was extremely desolate, with almost no sign of human presence.

However, the interior and exterior of the small pavilion had been swept extremely clean; not a single fallen leaf remained on the stone steps of the corridor, and under the light of the stone pillar lamps standing on both sides, every blue stone brick was spotless.

"Senior?"

Yuwen Chengqing's figure floated down to stand at the foot of the steps outside the small pavilion, then bowed and clasped his hands to pay respect to those inside.

He was not certain if anyone was inside the small pavilion, yet he still did not dare to step inside even half a pace.

However, after waiting a while, the small pavilion remained pitch black, and no one responded from beginning to end.

Yuwen Chengqing's brows immediately furrowed, and at this moment, Sikong Xuan, who had been pursuing from behind, had already arrived.

His aged figure landed silently on the air, stopping on the blue brick ground several zhang away from Yuwen Chengqing, then his gaze swept over Yuwen Chengqing and the small pavilion before him.

Seeing Yuwen Chengqing's attitude of such reverence toward the interior of the small pavilion, his clouded eyes shifted, and he spoke in a deep voice:

"Yuwen Chengqing, you finally do not intend to flee; have you found a helper to deal with this old man?"

Hearing this, Yuwen Chengqing's expression shifted slightly, and he turned to look back at Sikong Xuan behind him.

However, having reached this place, he no longer spoke the words of surrender he had mentioned earlier.

First, he had said it many times before, but Sikong Xuan was determined to kill him regardless, so it was utterly useless.

Second, he feared that speaking words of surrender here would anger the senior within the ancestral hall.

Thus, Yuwen Chengqing's face immediately turned cold, and he spoke in a chilling voice:

"Your Great Li court is too oppressive; without cause, you have surrounded and attacked the location of our Luoshenfeng Sect. Not only is your cause unjust, but you have also massacred our sect disciples; this is truly cruel and tyrannical!"

Of course, Yuwen Chengqing's words were not actually meant for Sikong Xuan to hear, but for the senior inside the ancestral hall.

He feared that senior was living in seclusion here, cultivating in solitude, rarely interacting with outsiders, and might still not know what upheaval had occurred at Luoshenfeng Sect.

However, Yuwen Chengqing did not reveal the news that the Zhang Sect and the Four Great Venerables of Luoshenfeng had been killed.

He did not know the senior's true temperament; if the other party heard this shocking news, he worried the senior might simply ignore him and flee immediately.

At this moment, Sikong Xuan, upon hearing Yuwen Chengqing utter such high-sounding words, immediately frowned, but he did not ponder deeply; instead, he sneered:

"Luoshenfeng will be annihilated tonight. Since you wish to resist to the end, then call out all your helpers; this old man will finish you all together, letting you perish alongside Luoshenfeng!"

Yuwen Chengqing did not reply, but glanced with his peripheral vision toward the interior of the small pavilion.

However, inside there was still no movement, as if no one was present.

His expression immediately sank; he sighed inwardly, and after a moment, turned to look at Sikong Xuan, speaking with a cold face:

"Since you have pursued relentlessly to the end, determined to kill this Seat, then this Seat naturally cannot stand idly by to await death; let this Seat test your skills."

Hearing this, Sikong Xuan stroked his beard, his gaze moving back and forth between Yuwen Chengqing and the small pavilion, and he said with narrowed eyes:

"This should have been done long ago. Fleeing like a homeless dog, what kind of hero are you? It is better to fight this old man; at least that shows some backbone."

Having spoken, Sikong Xuan suddenly struck out, and his martial arts aura surged into the sky in an instant.

With a palm thrust, the entire night sky around him blazed with green light; dozens of palm imprints, each three zhang wide, carrying vast heavenly and earthly true qi, appeared above Yuwen Chengqing's head in the blink of an eye, then crashed down upon the other party and the area including the small pavilion.

This palm strike naturally included the small pavilion in its attack, which was Sikong Xuan's deliberate doing.

Rather than letting the helper inside the small pavilion hide in the shadows, requiring defense against their sneak attacks later, it was better to drag them out directly, letting all enemies stand in the open; only then would the fight be more satisfying, without holding back.

At this moment, facing Sikong Xuan's attack, a gleam of sharp light flashed in Yuwen Chengqing's eyes.

Immediately, he raised a single palm, and the surging true qi around him, like roaring rivers, transformed into dozens of massive waves of true qi that surged upward, meeting all of the palm imprints struck by Sikong Xuan.

In an instant, the sky above the area where the small pavilion stood suddenly became turbulent with wind and clouds; the two powerful forces intertwined, instantly forming a towering tornado dozens of zhang high, which swept the mountain mist and the branches and leaves of the surrounding Lin Mu upward into the sky.

Even the stone steps, ground bricks, and stone pillars on the ground seemed about to be sucked up by this tornado and fly toward the heavens.

But just at this moment, a faint sigh emerged from within the small pavilion and ancestral hall, then echoed in the ears of Sikong Xuan and the others.

And in the next moment, the blue brick steps and stone pillars in front of the small pavilion, which were originally about to be swept away, all fell back to the ground, fitting perfectly and returning to their original positions without any change.

Thereafter, no matter how the tornado formed by the entangled two forces shook and swept, it could no longer move the blue brick stone pillars in front of the small pavilion by even a fraction.

Perceiving this scene, both Sikong Xuan and Yuwen Chengqing's pupils contracted, and they both stopped their hands.

In that instant, the entire area surrounding the small pavilion suddenly fell silent; at this time, including the Jade-Faced Beauty and Ouyang Beiqi Ming Qi who had arrived later, all stopped their figures from a distance.

Immediately, everyone's gazes turned toward the interior of the small pavilion, each face filled with caution.

And just then, an old blind man in gray robes, with a hunched figure, slowly walked out of the small pavilion, leaning on a cane.

(End of this chapter)