Chapter 84: Under the Innate Realm, Shot and Dead!

Crushing the Longlife Cult is a major operation; casualties are inevitable.

Even if Zhao Fuzhou didn't invite him, Chen Mu would go anyway—his current strength might not let him win, but escaping is no problem.

"Good."

Zhao Fuzhou nodded and smiled, "Though your official appointment hasn't been finalized yet, uncovering Tang Bi and locating the Valley of the Dead are both meritorious deeds. After eliminating the Longlife Cult, we'll consolidate all your achievements—you'll be able to exchange merit points for Nourishing Yuan Pills, Spirit Weapons, or Innate Realm martial arts."

"Thank you, my lord!" Chen Mu bowed with clasped fists.

Nourishing Yuan Pills are meant for Postnatal cultivators.

After entering the Innate Realm, one condenses True Qi and enhances cultivation, primarily relying on Nourishing Yuan Pills.

Chen Mu can pick up True Qi Cards, so Nourishing Yuan Pills serve only as supplementary aid.

But he truly needs a Spirit Weapon.

Picking up the Willow-Leaf Darts was pure luck.

Spirit swords and Spirit knives are bulky and hard to pick up.

Thinking of weapons, Chen Mu's mind stirred—he probed cautiously, "Brother Zhao, my archery is decent, but my bow is mediocre. Does the Zhenwu Bureau have any better war bows? I'll pay for one."

"Pay? What's there to pay for? As long as it's not a Spirit Weapon, go to the armory and pick out two—consider them war losses, I'm gifting them to you." Zhao Fuzhou declared generously.

"Thank you, my lord!" Chen Mu bowed deeply.

The Iron胎 Bow is merely an ordinary forged war bow, not even top-tier.

The Zhenwu Bureau is wealthy and lavish; even weapons not classified as Spirit Weapons in their storage are high-grade.

If it's not high-grade, they don't bother keeping it.

The facts bear this out.

When Chen Mu arrived at the Zhenwu Bureau's armory with Zhao Fuzhou's token and order, every knife, spear, sword, staff, axe, and halberd he saw was a masterpiece.

Iron胎 Bows were there too, but laid out carelessly.

Chen Mu examined them one by one, until his gaze settled on two war bows with distinct designs.

One was broad and fearsome, forged from dragon sinew and tiger bone.

The other was jet-black and exquisitely crafted, its edges restrained, yet carrying an inexplicable sense of flaw.

"Ha, good eye."

The old man guarding the armory stroked his beard, chuckling as he saw Chen Mu staring at the two bows, "One's the Divine Arm Bow, the other's the Semi-Spirit Bow. Young brother, your discernment is excellent—you've picked the two best bows here."

Divine Arm Bow? Semi-Spirit Bow?

Chen Mu froze, then exclaimed in astonishment, "This is the Divine Arm Bow—the one said to kill anyone below the Innate Realm with a single shot?"

"Exactly. The Divine Arm Bow's power—once fired, anyone not of the Innate Realm dies instantly. Even those in the First Three Stages of Heaven, if struck head-on, will die." The old man picked up the Divine Arm Bow and handed it to Chen Mu, "But to kill someone of the Innate Realm, you must possess the strength to fully draw it—I mean fully drawn!"

Hearing this, Chen Mu took the Divine Arm Bow, stepped back two paces, planted his feet firmly, drew power from his soles, channeled it through his waist, then up both arms, slowly pulling the string.

"Bong~ bong~ bong~"

The Divine Arm Bow emitted a grating, unnatural sound—and under the old man's stunned gaze, the string was pulled fully taut!

"Excellent!"

The old man clapped his hands, admiring, "Young brother, impressive! Though the Divine Arm Bow isn't a Spirit Weapon, its lethality rivals that of one. Only those of the Innate Realm or Postnatal Peak with innate godlike strength can draw it—but to fully draw it? Even ordinary Innate Realm cultivators can't manage it."

"Here, take these Divine Arm Arrows too." The old man handed Chen Mu a bundle of arrows resting beside the bow.

"Thank you."

Chen Mu slowly lowered the bow and accepted the arrows.

The Divine Arm Bow's lethality is immense—ordinary arrows won't do; only specialized Divine Arm Arrows can unleash its terrifying power.

Chen Mu could pull it fully open thanks to the effects of his Level-One Body Tempering.

"No need to thank me. This Divine Arm Bow's been sitting here over ten years—those who can draw it don't care for it, and those who want it can't draw it. Since you can, it only makes sense to pair it with the arrows." The old man sighed.

A treasure gathering dust isn't a good thing.

"Enough of that."

The old man waved his hand, picked up the other bow, and handed it to Chen Mu, "This Semi-Spirit Bow is a Semi-Spirit Weapon. It can channel True Qi, but inconsistently—sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, and occasionally the True Qi destabilizes. Be careful when using it."

"Understood." Chen Mu took the Semi-Spirit Bow and felt fine patterns etched into its surface.

A Semi-Spirit Weapon is still a Spirit Weapon.

The greatest feature of Spirit Weapons is their ability to channel True Qi, unleashing far greater power than ordinary weapons!

These two bows are unobtainable by ordinary factions outside.

Even the Zheng and Pan families own only a few.

Powerful bows, crossbows, and armor have always been prohibited throughout dynasties.

Crafting one or two is tolerable, but if they appear in bulk, any faction will face severe crackdowns from the Imperial Court.

Chen Mu originally had little interest in bows and arrows, but he'd learned the "Soul-Chasing Arrow" technique, and possessed the Eagle Eye special skill.

Plus, his pick-up range had now expanded to one hundred meters.

Ranged attacks? He still loved them.

…

…

He took the bows and collected the arrows.

Slung across his back, the bows and arrows, Chen Mu left the armory.

Before dawn.

Zhao Fuzhou personally led the team—over a hundred men exited the Zhenwu Bureau's main gate, moved swiftly on foot, passed through the city gate, then mounted horses outside the city, heading for Xuan County.

The group avoided major roads, cutting through mountains and crossing rivers, arriving at the foot of a hill just outside the Black Dragon Society's outpost in Nanyun Prefecture—the periphery of the Valley of the Dead.

"Hah! Lord Zhao, you've finally arrived!"

A burly man clad head to toe in armor stepped forward to meet Zhao Fuzhou and laughed boldly, "I thought your Garrison Martial Bureau had gotten scared off and wouldn't dare come."

"General Ouyang, rest assured. The duty of our Garrison Martial Bureau is to exterminate rebels, let alone a tumor like the Immortality Sect?" Zhao Fuzhou smiled as he walked toward the burly man.

The others followed behind, entering the concealed mountain gully.

Listening to the exchange and looking at the burly man's armor, as well as the similarly fully armored troop behind him, Chen Mu suddenly understood.

The South Cloud Prefecture Army!

To wipe out the Immortality Sect and the Black Dragon Society's people, Zhao Fuzhou had allied with the South Cloud Army!

'No wonder only a hundred-plus people were sent to deal with the Immortality Sect.'

Chen Mu understood.

The Garrison Martial Bureau guards were strong, but their numbers were few.

The Immortality Sect's people, however, were unknown in number.

On the way here, Chen Mu had still been a little worried, even though Zhao Fuzhou's strength was terrifying.

Now he understood—the South Cloud Army had also joined in.

And their numbers were very large!

As they entered the gully, swath after swath of South Cloud Prefecture soldiers came into view.

At least five hundred men!

Although most of the South Cloud Prefecture soldiers were at the Postnatal realm, armies used battle formations.

With the momentum of battle formations, they had strangled and killed countless Innate realm experts.

The general leading these South Cloud Prefecture soldiers was named Ouyang Kuo, an Innate realm expert.

Chen Mu couldn't sense exactly which level he was at, but he was at the late Innate realm at any rate.

……

The two groups joined forces.

Zhao Fuzhou and Ouyang Kuo discussed a battle plan for a while.

Then, without waiting for nightfall, they launched a surprise attack.

The hidden sentries around Dead Man's Valley were the first to be eliminated. The next moment, several hundred men stormed into the valley from three directions.

"Kill!"