Chapter 131: Earthly Fiend Freezing, Learning Secret News

Hum.

As the word "Freeze" drifted through the night sky, an indescribable power suddenly descended upon Mankeduo and Lugu Ta.

This power was bizarre and inexplicable, descending from thin air; before they could even attempt to dodge, they felt their blood and Qi cease their flow and circulation under its influence, as if their entire bodies and the surrounding space had been completely solidified and stilled by an unprecedented force!

What is happening!?

Under the cover of night, the two Grandmasters, Mankeduo and Lugu Ta, stood frozen in place, eyes wide, unable to move or speak, like insects trapped in amber, completely solidified within a strange, murderous, and terrifying atmosphere, forming a silent picture of oppression and suffocation.

An indescribable, terrifying horror swept through their bodies and minds like a tsunami.

As two of the few True Martial Grandmasters of the Jin Dynasty, they stood at the pinnacle of the pyramid of cultivation and power, having seen or heard of all manner of divine arts and secret rumors.

But they had never imagined that someone could render them unable to move with just a single word!

Looking throughout the history of the Shenzhou land, such an inconceivable Martial Arts Secret Technique should be impossible!

Yet, regardless of how terrified and horrified these two Grandmasters were inside.

In the next instant after they were solidified, within their only remaining normal field of vision, two bursts of golden light, carrying boundless radiance, shot toward them one after another.

These two golden rays tore through the dark night, like thunder and lightning controlled by a deity; all life in their path was extinguished, and everything that blocked them was sliced, severed, and disintegrated in silence.

At this moment, time seemed to slow down, the blazing golden light occupied their entire field of vision, and Mankeduo and Lugu Ta felt an incomparable terror and the crisis of death in their hearts.

They could feel the grim, murderous, and annihilating intent coming from the golden light, as well as the trembling and stinging sensation produced throughout their bodies under this intent, as if they were standing naked before the strike of a peerless divine weapon, about to be hacked to pieces in the next second.

At this moment, in a state of total freezing and solidification, the two Grandmasters Mankeduo and Lugu Ta had their eyes split with rage, frantically inciting their own Qi to try and break through the mysterious force restricting them, while simultaneously letting out a desperate roar from the deepest parts of their lives and souls:

"Move!"

"Move!"

"Move, damn it—!"

Swish!

Yet the next moment, streaks of golden light flashed by rapidly, and both men felt a heart-piercing pain coming from their bodies!

After the violent golden light flashed past, Mankeduo's legs were severed at the root, and he let out a howl of pain, collapsing to the ground;

On the other side, Lugu Ta, a Great Shaman of Shamanism, suddenly had a blood hole the size of an infant's fist torn open in his throat, and he clutched his throat tightly, falling backward in sheer terror, twitching violently.

Clearly, at the very last moment, both Grandmasters had used their own Qi to break through the strange force that had imprisoned their bodies.

However, in a battle between experts, a blink of an eye can decide life and death, let alone the fact that they had spent nearly a full breath of time desperately inciting their Qi to resist, naturally paying a heavy price for it.

"Elder Lu!"

A Great Shaman of the Shaman God Sect with such a revered status had been pierced through the throat and was nearing death; Mankeduo, with both legs severed, let out a desperate roar and frantic cry in his agony, as if he could not believe everything before his eyes.

After all, compared to himself, this Great Shaman who had painstakingly cultivated the Shamanism classics for decades was slightly stronger, and was among the top-ranked Grandmasters in the entire Great Jin, yet now he had died before his eyes without any warning, dying so silently.

More importantly, the method the opponent used was like the arts of an Immortal, completely overturning his understanding!

Yet regardless of how terrified and shocked he was inside, above the dim courtyard, golden light burst forth once again, shooting toward him.

Being a Grandmaster-level expert after all, even though Mankeduo's legs were severed, he still felt a great warning sign amidst the agony, bracing himself to strike the ground with his palms and shift his broken body.

However, with a swish, although his response as a Grandmaster was fast, the golden light, swift as thunder and lightning, was faster; the moment his figure shifted, his arm was grazed by the golden light, leaving a wound deep enough to see bone, missing being completely severed by only a hair's breadth.

Facing such a situation, Lu Yuan's drifting, light laughter came from the dark night again:

"Not bad, not bad; a Grandmaster's alertness and reaction are far superior to a Martial Arts Master, able to resist and parry even Generating Light for a moment."

Lu Yuan's voice, coupled with the inconceivable situation he was facing, caused the severely wounded Mankeduo to fly into a rage:

"You dog, I'll fight you to the death!"

Roaring wildly, he struck down with one palm, using the force of his palm to drive his broken body, while his other hand took a golden rapid-fire pistol from his waist, frantically pulling the trigger toward the source of the voice, pouring out bullets and attacking the invisible enemy.

However, the bullets he fired in succession naturally all missed, hitting no target at all.

At the same time, he was met once again with a cold and ruthless:

"Freeze!"

The word "Freeze" echoed rolling, and Mankeduo, who was moving and counterattacking by striking the ground with his palm, felt his body stiffen; his tendons, muscles, blood, and Qi flow were instantly frozen for a split second by a strange and inexplicable force, causing his figure to suddenly tumble to the ground like a rolling gourd.

At the same time, before he could grit his teeth and incite his Qi again to break the restraint, two more bursts of golden light tore through the darkness not far away, shooting over like maggots on a rotting bone, and in an instant, they severed his two arms!

"Ah—"

Instantly reduced to a human trunk, Mankeduo, this Grandmaster of the Jin Dynasty, let out a howl of agonizing pain.

"Lord Man! Lord Man?"

It was at this moment that a series of hurried footsteps and shouts came from outside Lu Yuan's villa, as if his subordinates had heard the gunfire and realized something was wrong, rushing over to support him.

However, hearing these calls, Mankeduo, with his four limbs severed and a look of pain and despair, felt no joy, but instead roared with bloodshot eyes:

"Don't come over! This person is beyond human power to defeat, run!"

"Take the news back and have the Old Buddha avenge us!"

As the voice rang out, the dozen or so experts from the Niangan Office who had rushed over but had not yet entered the courtyard were all stunned, a boundless chill rising in their hearts.

They could not possibly have misheard the voice of this Great Governor Mankeduo, but the problem was that he was a top-tier expert of the current age in the True Martial Realm, as was Lugu Ta who had accompanied him; what kind of person or force in the world could make such figures say the word "run"?

However.

Before the dozen or so elites, all holding short guns and at least in the Fourth Realm, could turn and retreat in their shock, streaks of golden light suddenly bloomed in their field of vision, shooting toward them like a rainstorm.

Swish, swish, swish!

The thunderous golden light was as fast as lightning; one could only hear the sound of flesh being torn incessantly, and the leading experts of the Niangan Office were immediately decapitated, their heads rolling to the ground before a single shot could be fired.

The other Niangan Office experts nearby were all ruthless characters who killed without blinking and had countless blood on their hands, but seeing this, their hair stood on end, and they turned and fled without a second thought.

Yet, facing this flock of frightened birds, streaks of cruel light continued to burst forth from the invisible darkness, crossing the distance in an instant to sever head after head, harvesting life after life.

In just three or five breaths, after the golden light flashed continuously, the vast majority of this group of Niangan Office experts had turned into headless corpses, falling to the ground, with only one or two fleeing in sheer terror, leaping over the wall and into the pitch-black night.

Regarding this, Lu Yuan revealed his figure from the night, merely sweeping his gaze over them without pursuing.

Because he already roughly knew the identity of these invaders, letting these two fish slip through the net was intentional.

Immediately, he turned and walked back into the villa.

At this moment, the courtyard was filled with the smell of blood. Mankeduo, having already had his limbs severed, was naturally unable to escape and could only lie in a pool of blood, struggling with difficulty; he looked tragic to the extreme.

Without any Invisibility Technique to conceal himself, Lu Yuan walked into the courtyard and looked straight at Mankeduo on the ground, smiling:

"I remember your name is Mankeduo, right? I thought it was someone from the Sha'e Rizhao Consulate who wanted to deal with me; I didn't expect it to be you. It seems your identity is quite unusual. Did the demon empress Xici send you?"

Mankeduo, however, stared fixedly at Lu Yuan from the pool of blood, the lingering fear in his eyes not yet faded, and said in an extremely dry voice:

"The Secret Technique you used just now to freeze our bodies, and that golden light like a thunderbolt—what were they? Could they be the legendary Dharma Technique of an Immortal?"

Lu Yuan smiled slightly: "What else could it be?"

In the battle just now, what had achieved a miraculous feat against two Grandmasters was naturally the new Earthly Fiend Art he had only just lit up: Immobilization.

【Earthly Fiend-Immobilization】: Causes a person's body and soul, or even divine birds, strange beasts, or any object, to be fixed in place, thus unable to move.

As the name suggests, this technique is a Dharma Technique that instantly fixes people or objects in place. This technique itself possesses extremely powerful utility, and when combined with Generating Light, it immediately formed an unprecedentedly sharp killing move. Even a top Grandmaster powerhouse like Mankeduo could not last two rounds under his hand.

"How is this possible?"

Not expecting Lu Yuan to admit it so readily, Mankeduo's gaze was dull, his tone intense:

"What was said in the ancient book Desolate Sea Classic is actually true? Are there really Qi Refiners and Immortals in the world who can manipulate wind, rain, and thunder, and ascend to become Immortals?"

"No wonder, no wonder you could defeat a Grandmaster-level powerhouse at such an age. So that's how it is, so that's how it is..."

The "Desolate Sea Classic" is a strange book written thousands of years ago, tracing back almost to the ancient era. It records the mountains of the five directions, the seas of the eight directions, precious treasures and strange objects, mysterious Dharma Techniques, water, soil, plants, animals, insects, unicorns, phoenixes, and so on, all sorts of myths and legends.

The strange book once recorded that ten thousand years ago, the world was spiritually refined and the Spiritual Machine was abundant. Between the vast Heaven and Earth, there were Qi Refiners who consumed mist and Qi, possessed divine longevity, and could even shatter the void and ascend to become Immortals.

Of course, no matter which dynasty, there was no shortage of legends about Immortals fabricated by the world, so for thousands of years, this strange book has been treated by the world as delusional mythology. Except for ignorant children, almost no one took it seriously.

Mankeduo, however, never thought that one day he would actually be able to see a real Dharma Technique!

This finally explained the doubt in his heart: why Lu Yuan, at only twenty-something years of age, could possess such unimaginable Godly Strength and Sword Technique, making even Grandmasters unable to rival him!

"Enough, don't waste time."

Although he had already dispersed his disciples, there was no guarantee that the sound of gunfire just now wouldn't alarm the surroundings. Lu Yuan stood with his hands behind his back:

"Speak, what is your identity? Using such a despicable method as poisoning to deal with me, was it at the instruction of Xici? Once you finish speaking, I will give you a quick end."

Mankeduo stared fixedly at Lu Yuan and smiled miserably:

"That's right. As the Governor of the Niangan Office, it was I who reported to the Old Buddha. A True Martial Grandmaster as young as you will inevitably have the possibility of stepping into the Eighth Realm Heavenly Gang given time. If you were of the Jin Clan, that would be one thing, but you happen to be a Han person, so no matter what, the imperial court cannot keep you. But I never thought, I never thought..."

"Eighth Realm Heavenly Gang?"

Hearing this term, Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow:

"What do you mean? In the path of Martial Arts, is there a higher realm above the Seventh Realm True Martial?"

"Of course!"

This secret was not much of anything. Mankeduo smiled hoarsely:

"In the Middle Ages before the world completely degenerated, rare heavenly materials and earthly treasures grew between Heaven and Earth. Grandmasters with deep accumulation and exceptional bone structure could use these to break their limits and break through to the realm of the Heavenly Gang Grandmaster, where True Qi transforms into Gang and can injure enemies from afar."

"It is not just Martial Arts; in the path of Daoist Arts, above the Seventh Realm Heavenly Rushing, there is also the legendary Yin Spirit realm where the divine soul can leave the body. But in today's world, where the environment has completely degenerated and heavenly materials and earthly treasures have completely disappeared, the limit for both Martial Arts and Daoist Arts is fixed at the Seventh Realm level. Unless one receives the empowerment of the Secret Sect's Great Dharma and is cultivated with the resources of the entire nation like the Old Buddha, it is impossible for an ordinary person to break through to this realm."

"Hmm?"

Not expecting there to be such a secret, Lu Yuan's gaze flickered upon hearing this:

"Is the demon empress Xici's cultivation at the Eighth Realm?"

Mankeduo said hoarsely:

"Of course. Otherwise, why do you think the Old Buddha has been able to live so long? Even without injury or illness, a True Martial Grandmaster can only live to two cycles of sixty years at best. But once one breaks through to the Heavenly Gang realm, one can increase their lifespan by thirty years, reaching one hundred and fifty years."

Lu Yuan immediately stroked his chin: "So that's how it is..."

He immediately thought of the time when Lin Xingchao and others broke into the palace to assassinate the demon empress Xici and failed.

At that time, a Grandmaster was killed in less than ten moves upon meeting her. The strength of the demon empress far exceeded the expectations of all participants. Now, hearing it from Mankeduo's mouth, he finally knew that the opponent had already reached this legendary realm of Heavenly Gang, hiding so deeply!

However, immediately after, Lu Yuan could not help but become curious: what kind of methods did such a powerhouse possess, and how did she compare to himself now?

As if thinking of something, he suddenly narrowed his eyes and looked at Mankeduo playfully:

"Interesting. The demon empress Xici is a top powerhouse of the Eighth Realm Heavenly Gang. This should be an absolute secret within the Jin Dynasty. Why are you taking the initiative to tell me? Are you trying to pique my interest and have me take the initiative to assassinate the demon empress?"

Knowing there was absolutely no possibility of survival, Mankeduo revealed a strange smile:

"That's right. How about it? You possess Immortal arts; could it be that you are afraid of an old woman who is already decrepit? As a Han person, you must have long thought about restoring the mountains and rivers of your Han people. Now the Great Jin is beset by internal and external troubles and is tottering. The reason it still stands is entirely thanks to the Old Buddha alone. If you can succeed in the assassination, this building will collapse with a crash before long. Don't you want that?"

(End of this chapter)