Chapter 136: The Number One Traitor Under Heaven

"Cannot be defeated by force?"

Upon the pure gold phoenix chair, Xici struck the armrest in a fit of rage, her voice shrill as if metal were grinding together, echoing throughout the great hall:

"So you mean to say, the two of them have already died at the hands of that Lu Yuan?"

The two kneeling on the ground trembled like chaff in a sieve, silent as cicadas in winter, kowtowing incessantly:

"Forgive us, Old Buddha, this servant does not know."

"We clearly had that Liu Yishou poison his dinner, who would have thought..."

Xici's voice sounded as if frozen by ice, filled with coldness and fury:

"Mankeduo and Lugu Ta are both veteran Grandmasters, and they possess the divine arts and secret techniques of the Scripture Repository. Even ordinary Grandmasters are no match for them. No matter how much of a natural genius that Lu Yuan may be, how could he possibly make it so they couldn't even escape?"

"The Old Buddha may not know."

A kneeling expert from the Niangan Office said with a trembling voice:

"What that man used was not mere Martial Arts. Before we entered the courtyard, we only saw streaks of golden light flashing through the air, swift as lightning. Anyone struck by the golden light was instantly decapitated."

"Moreover, from beginning to end, we only saw the golden light being invincible and slaughtering wantonly, but the person launching the attacks was nowhere to be found, as if they had turned invisible. These methods do not resemble Martial Arts at all; they are more like the Dharma Technique used by immortals!"

Hearing this mystical description, Xici's deep gaze suddenly froze, and she said gloomily:

"Where in this world are there immortal Dharma Techniques? Are you all just spouting nonsense here because you fear punishment!?"

The two experts immediately swore oaths:

"We are willing to swear to our ancestors and even to Changshengtian that everything we have said is absolutely true, and we would not dare to deceive the Old Buddha in the slightest!"

"If we violate this oath, may our intestines rot and our bodies be torn apart, may we be struck by the five thunders, and may we suffer a miserable death!"

To the side, the eunuch Li Liansheng, seeing this situation, could not help but exclaim in shock:

"Old Buddha, I once saw that Lu Yuan myself; this person truly has the bearing of an immortal, and his temperament is not that of a mortal. Thinking again that this person is so young yet has achieved such cultivation, could it be that he really has obtained some immortal inheritance?"

Seeing the two of them so adamant, Xici fell into silence, then suddenly spoke with a murderous tone:

"Go and invite the two Great Shamans here!"

"Yes!"

Li Liansheng immediately walked out of the great hall and dispatched his subordinate eunuchs to rush off and deliver the message.

Given the size of the palace, even with horses whipped to a gallop, it was a full quarter of an hour later before two vigorous figures arrived one after another at the Qianqing Palace.

"Changshengtian is above."

Two old men wearing dark gold robes embroidered with pythons, their auras as deep and weathered as the sky and the sea, stepped inside and bowed slightly in salute:

"We do not know why the Old Buddha has summoned us here; what is the urgent matter?"

These two old men were the other two of the three remaining Great Shamans of the Shaman God Sect, on par with Lugu Ta: Cang Jige and Bu Tiansuo.

The two of them, along with Lugu Ta and Mankeduo, were the four great powerhouses who sat in the palace, second only to Xici.

Xici looked at the two of them, her voice low:

"It is good that the two Elders have come. You should know a thing or two about Lugu Ta assisting Mankeduo on their mission outside. Let these two servants tell you the specifics."

Under her signal, the two Niangan Office experts hurriedly began to recount in detail their plans, arrangements, and even what they had seen and encountered late last night.

After listening, even though these two Grandmasters, Cang Jige and Bu Tiansuo, were accustomed to great storms and waves, their expressions could not help but turn sharp:

"Mankeduo and Lugu Ta both fell at a small Guangwu Hall, and only you escaped?"

"Impossible! Mankeduo and Lugu Ta are both veteran Grandmasters proficient in the martial arts of a hundred schools, and their cultivation is only stronger, not weaker, than civilian Grandmasters. How could that person called Lu Yuan make it so that the two of them couldn't even escape? Could he really be an immortal!?"

In the entire thirty-six provinces of Shenzhou, there are no more than a dozen Grandmaster-level powerhouses in total. Although the Golden Clan controls the country and gathers the resources of the world, because their total population is only one-tenth that of the Han people, the number of Grandmaster-level powerhouses born among them is not high; excluding Xici, there are only seven alive today.

Aside from the three Golden Clan Grandmasters stationed in the Three Upper Banner Armies, there were only four Golden Clan Grandmasters sitting in the palace. Now that two had died at once, it was something they could not even imagine.

Xici's eyes were filled with an impenetrable gloom, and she said coldly:

"The two Elders are well-versed in the classics of a hundred schools; have you ever heard of any Martial Arts or Daoist Arts that can emit golden light?"

Cang Jige and Bu Tiansuo frowned, and only after pondering for a while did they say:

"Whether it is the martial arts of the previous dynasty or those from even further back, we have never heard of such things. In various Daoist scriptures, there are indeed incantations like the Golden Light Spell, but these have always been the delusional fabrications of Daoists and do not truly exist."

"Furthermore, speaking of Daoist Arts, a True Person at the Heavenly Meridian Realm has a powerful soul and can instantly create illusions. Using the power of their mind to manifest golden, red, or purple light is not a problem; even Grandmaster-level powerhouses would be disturbed by the hallucinations, let alone those below the Grandmaster realm."

The two Niangan Office experts said blankly:

"So you mean we were influenced by Daoist Arts at the time, and what we saw and heard was not real?"

Xici looked at Bu Tiansuo: "Elder Bu, is such a possibility likely?"

Among the three Mangyi Great Shamans of the Shaman God Sect, Bu Tiansuo was the only one who walked the path of Daoist Arts through soul cultivation; no one in the entire Jin Dynasty surpassed him in his understanding of various Daoist Arts.

Bu Tiansuo said in a deep voice:

"I can only say that this possibility cannot be ruled out. I cannot be certain without having personally exchanged blows with him."

Cang Jige said with extreme gravity:

"Listening to these two's account, Mankeduo and Lugu Ta fell inside within ten breaths of entering the hall? In today's world, no one other than the Old Buddha could accomplish this. Does this person truly have some secret or trump card we are unaware of? Or has he also broken through the boundary and stepped into that realm...?"

"Impossible. Without the resources of the entire nation to support it, no one can break through that heavenly chasm!"

Sitting on the phoenix chair, Xici's eyes were fierce, and the baleful aura around her body surged like a dark tide, creating immense pressure in the great hall:

"Regardless of what trump card he has, this person has openly opposed the imperial court and harmed Commander Man and Elder Lu. He is already the number one traitor in the world. Even the threat posed by the Shengping rebel Chen Kequan from over twenty years ago was far less deep. If this traitor is not executed as soon as possible, how can the Great Jin dynasty continue to exist?"

Over twenty years ago, the disaster of the Shengping Heavenly Kingdom swept through half of Shenzhou, and the Saint King Chen Kequan, along with his Eight Great Heavenly Kings, dealt an unprecedented blow to the rule and prestige of the entire Jin Dynasty.

Even though the imperial court later relied on the support of weapons from the Shenluo People to wipe out the Shengping Heavenly Kingdom, it was left severely wounded and has been on a downward slope ever since.

Although Lu Yuan has not yet raised a banner of rebellion, his attitude toward the imperial court, and even this god-like, unfathomable cultivation strength of his, made Xici feel a massive threat, far greater than that of Chen Kequan.

At the very least, while the Chen Kequan of that time was also a natural genius—whose Heavenly King Armored Art allowed him to resist Grandmasters at the Sixth Realm, and who could fight two at once at the Grandmaster realm, causing the Grandmasters sent by the Jin Dynasty for assassinations to return in defeat—it shocked the world.

But compared to the current Lu Yuan, such a record is completely insignificant, not worth mentioning.

To the side, Li Liansheng understood the implication, immediately knelt on the ground, and said loudly:

"This servant is willing to lead elite troops to surround and suppress him, to go to Jinjin and execute this traitor, to share the worries of the Old Buddha, and to establish the prestige of the imperial court. I hope the Old Buddha will grant permission!"

However, Cang Jige frowned at the very first moment:

"I think what we must determine now is whether Mankeduo and Lugu Ta are dead or alive, and then discuss the rest. Moreover, this rebel's strength is so formidable that two great Grandmasters were defeated so rapidly when joining forces; I fear your so-called elite troops would not have even surrounded him before the other party had already fled."

"Indeed!"

Bu Tiansuo also said with extreme gravity:

"Old Buddha, this person's display of strength is too inconceivable. Once we completely tear off the mask and fail to take him down, it will bring a massive catastrophe upon the imperial court. Furthermore, with the great powers now eyeing us like tigers, if the court falls into chaos, there is no guarantee they won't take advantage of the situation. Therefore, without absolute certainty, we must never move against him again!"

On the phoenix throne, Xici could not help but fall into silence.

In a sensitive place like Jinjin, plus the existence of someone who could not be bested even by two Grandmasters joining forces, sending elite Firearm troops to surround and annihilate him was indeed not a wise move.

To defeat two great Grandmasters within ten breaths, to the point where they didn't even have a chance to escape—this was something she could also do if she used her full strength.

But this would inevitably consume a vast amount of her own essence and Qi, leading to a loss of lifespan, resulting in at least several years less of life.

In other words, even if she, a Grandmaster of the Heavenly Gang Realm, were to set aside her noble status and personally take action to crusade against him, it would be a case of killing a thousand enemies while suffering eight hundred losses, and she might not even necessarily be able to do anything to the other party.

Lu Yuan, an existence that overturned common sense, had already become a grave threat to her and the entire Great Jin.

"The two of you speak reasonably."

Ultimately, she could not help but slowly lower her eyelids, suppressing the wariness and killing intent churning in the depths of her heart:

"Li Liansheng, I shall entrust the investigation to you. Investigate clearly as soon as possible whether Mankeduo and Lugu Ta are dead or alive. Additionally, focus on investigating the background and origins of this Lu Yuan, especially whether he has any close friends or relatives... I do not believe there is anyone in this world without weaknesses!"

Li Liansheng hurriedly knelt: "This servant obeys!"

He did not know about the waves and tremors stirred up within the palace because of him.

After the incident where the Consulate was attacked, the vast Jinjin was first on edge for two or three days, but as all parties spared no effort in prying, more news was leaked, finally allowing all sides to understand the situation of that day's attack.

Upon learning that it was actually Takov, the former consul, who had single-handedly carried dual guns to attack his own consulate, everyone—whether they were the Shenluo Sunlight People or the Jinjin government—was shocked and found it hard to believe.

As more inside information was disclosed, the secret news that the Cross Star General and Title War God Aojinniezi had also died under Takov's attack was unearthed, triggering even greater shock among several parties, to the point where they suspected they had received false information.

After all, Aojinniezi was a top-tier powerhouse of the Seventh Realm; as long as his equipment was complete, he could crush a company even single-handedly. How could such a figure be assassinated by an ordinary former consul?

Therefore, while all parties were shocked and gloating, various speculations became rampant, all suspecting that such a bizarre situation might be related to internal conflicts and struggles within Sha'e Country.

Regarding the leak of information, the Sha'e Consulate was naturally furious, but with such a major event having occurred, they had no time to find trouble for others. They continued to maintain the state of sealing off the Concession, anxiously investigating the reason for Takov's assassination of Aojinniezi, in order to cope with the storm about to blow in from their home country.

Compared to the hustle and bustle of the outside world.

The true culprit, Lu Yuan, seemed like a man with nothing to do, returning once again to his peaceful life of meditation, quiet cultivation, and refining medicine.

Including all his disciples, they all returned to the hall after the second day. Apart from Chen Zhantang, Peng Yidao, and Lin Sheng, no one knew that the hall had once flowed with blood, and that even two Grandmaster-level powerhouses had been buried here.

Amidst the peaceful life.

Just as Lu Yuan had thought, there was no sign of the Jin Dynasty or the Undying Demon Empress dispatching troops to surround and annihilate him, clearly fearing his battle record and not daring to act rashly again.

The other party might continue to send people to sneakily investigate, but they would never dare to do so with great fanfare, nor would they dare to openly tear off the mask, even though two state-protecting Grandmasters had died.

It could be foreseen that both sides would maintain this strange state for quite some time, until one side took the initiative to break it.

After all, even though Lu Yuan's current Dharma Power had reached over a hundred wisps and his cultivation was progressing rapidly, he was actually still in the early stage of Refining Essence into Qi, and his Dharma Power was still insufficient.

For the sake of safety, he would have to wait until his Dharma Power exceeded three hundred wisps, entering the middle or even late stage of Refining Essence into Qi, and having a few usable people under his command, before launching an uprising to change the world.

That would be the time for him to execute the Undying Demon Empress and thunderously sweep away the entire Jin Dynasty.

And just as Lu Yuan's life here returned to peace, and it seemed no one would come to disturb him again.

The Chief Eunuch Li Liansheng had already arrived in Jinjin with several eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department and over a dozen experts from the Niangan Office.

No one dared to be so reckless as to sneak into the hall to investigate the life or death of Mankeduo and Lugu Ta. They first rented two courtyards in a residential area not far from the hall, and then began to investigate cautiously, focusing first on the Gatekeepers of the Guangwu Hall.

The people Li Liansheng brought this time were all elites; within a few days, they had figured out the general situation of the Guangwu Hall disciples and reported to him:

"Chief Li, upon investigation, there are exactly eighty official disciples of this Guangwu Hall. The vast majority of them did not return to the hall that night and do not know the situation. Only three Dharma Disciples named Chen Zhantang, Peng Yidao, and Lin Sheng seem to have returned once and might know the situation. Should we find a way to kidnap these people and interrogate them?"

However, after hearing the report from his subordinate eunuch, Li Liansheng frowned and scolded:

"You bastard, what kind of rotten idea is that! The Old Buddha's decree is to not alert the enemy and to investigate secretly. Moreover, Lu Yuan is such a ferocious figure; if we accidentally alarm and anger him, how could we people possibly keep our lives?"

(End of chapter)