Chapter 173: Raiding Homes and Exterminating Clans, Hearts Chilled and Broken

This one-sided massacre ended completely in just a moment.

The two or three hundred monk death squads lying in ambush here were fully equipped with bows, crossbows, machine guns, and bombs; there were even over a dozen experts who had strapped explosives to their bodies for suicide attacks, yet before the current Lu Yuan, it all seemed like a joke.

As flesh and severed limbs scattered about, even though most of the death squads were prepared to die, after witnessing Lu Yuan flying through the sky and traversing the earth with Sword Qi sweeping across, they could only die filled with horror and despair.

A small portion whose will was not so firm seemed to have regained their instincts, fleeing in all directions while screaming in sheer terror.

As the saying goes, one must root out evil completely; naturally, Lu Yuan did not let these people go. Controlling a gale, his figure moved like a shooting star, and with just a few back-and-forth sweeps of Sword Qi, he slaughtered them all.

When his figure landed, the corridor was covered in corpses, and the spreading pool of blood stained the floor tiles red; apart from the individual survivors Lu Yuan had intentionally left behind who were emitting miserable roars, there were no living people left.

Seeing that the dust had settled, Chen Zhantang and a group of disciples arrived, holding guns and escorting the trembling Bagehai, and said angrily:

"Pavilion Master, how should this person be dealt with?"

Bagehai possessed the cultivation of the Bao Dan Realm; being escorted by Chen Zhantang and the others, he dared not resist, only calling out in terror and grievance:

"Immortal Master, please calm your anger! I do not know any of these people; this was absolutely not arranged by me!"

Lu Yuan turned his head and smiled: "This matter has nothing to do with him, otherwise he would have already run away by now."

As he spoke, his Dharma Power condensed into a palm that reached out through the air, grabbing an old man wearing a Shaman priest robe from the pile of corpses, whose hands and feet had all been severed. First, he used a Rejuvenation Technique to temporarily stop the bleeding, then a ghostly light bloomed in his eyes:

"Who are you, and who instigated this ambush? Does the Xuantong Emperor know about it?"

This old man had at least the cultivation of the Six Realms Embracing Dan and was clearly the leader of this group of attackers. When he first fell into Lu Yuan's hands, his face was ferocious and he was roaring, but after the ghostly light bloomed, his eyes immediately became dull, and he answered blankly:

"I am the Deacon Elder of the Shaman God Sect. This ambush was decided collectively by all the Deacon Elders of the God Sect. As for the Emperor, we suspect he has already had his mind controlled by Daoist Arts, so we did not disclose it to him."

"How many more experts are there in the Shaman God Sect?"

"Apart from the few Deacon Elders guarding the temple, they are all here."

"Where did these death squads wearing Imperial Guard uniforms come from?"

"They are all death squads cultivated by the Niangan Office using secret methods and secret medicines; they can only be activated at critical moments."

"It is impossible for so many people to enter the palace without leaving a trace, and these weapons and equipment seem to be produced by the Great Powers. Who else assisted you?"

"There is Li Chongxi, a eunuch of the Imperial Household Department, Junior Vice Minister of the Ministry of War Duo Hong, Cavalry General Gu Yinzhen..."

Under the control of the Nightmare Prayer Technique, this person continuously spat out the names of multiple civil and military officials, all of whom were, without exception, names of the Golden Clan.

And besides these people, the embassy established by Shenluo in Tianjing also secretly funded them, providing the latest weapons and equipment support.

After listening, Lu Yuan's expression was indifferent, and with a casual flick, he pierced through the person's brow.

Chen Zhantang and the others were incensed:

"A trapped beast still fights, a desperate struggle—these people have such immense gall!"

Lu Yuan, however, smiled nonchalantly:

"A rabbit will bite when cornered, let alone these Golden Clan people who have been lording it over others for hundreds of years? They are unwilling to accept their fate, and their only end is to be crushed into powder. How is the reorganization of the New Army of the Capital Battalion going?"

Peng Yidao immediately replied:

"With the cooperation of Long Kexing, it is going quite smoothly. Now the soldiers of the two clans have been separated, and those Han officials who were previously suppressed and stifled have taken power to command the Han soldiers, waiting for your summons at any time."

Long Kexing was the Nine Gates Commander, responsible for maintaining public order within Tianjing City and the defense work of the nine gates of the Capital, with the Eight Banners Infantry Battalion and the Patrol Five Battalions under his jurisdiction.

Because Tianjing City was the capital of the Great Jin and a vital heartland, the control of military power had always been strictly guarded against the Han people. In this Capital Battalion, for instance, the Golden Clan held exclusive high-level power, and Han high-ranking officers accounted for less than thirty percent, most of whom held low status.

As for the bottom-level soldiers, the Golden Clan even mixed them with Han soldiers for supervision, just to guard against the Han soldiers having ulterior motives.

Lu Yuan naturally had not forgotten such important matters as city defense and military power. After controlling the Nine Gates Commander Long Kexing, he immediately arranged for Peng Yidao, who had previous military experience, to take people to assist in the reorganization, which had already achieved considerable results.

"Very good."

Lu Yuan nodded and said:

"Chen Zhantang, you take Bagehai and the New Imperial Guard Army to purge the Imperial Household Department and even the palace. If there are any problems, execute them on the spot without needing to report."

"Peng Yidao, you come with me to the Capital Battalion, lead the way."

As his voice fell, he flicked his long sleeves, and a gale directly swept up Peng Yidao and several other disciples, flying into the high sky.

Never having had such an experience in their lives, Peng Yidao and the others were first shocked and then ecstatic in mid-air, busily pointing the way for Lu Yuan.

Their figures streaked across the sky above the city like shooting stars. On the streets and alleys below, many commoners discovered this astonishing scene and shouted excitedly:

"Look quickly, it's an Immortal—"

"The Immortal has come out of the mountains to manifest his spirit again!"

Everywhere Lu Yuan passed, it was a scene of boiling excitement, with ten thousand people kowtowing. Then, in just a short moment, the group crossed half of Tianjing City and arrived above a military camp in the suburbs.

The Capital Battalion was divided into Eastern and Western camps. Now, what was stationed here was the newly reorganized Han New Battalion. The soldiers in the camp were the first to discover Lu Yuan, who had come from the horizon and was hovering in the sky, and one after another, they could not help but let out excited shouts:

"Immortal Lu, it's Immortal Lu who has come!"

"Quick, quickly go notify Deputy Commander Zhou and the others!"

"We pay our respects to the Immortal—!"

Many of these New Battalion soldiers had also been stationed at Xiantai Mountain that day and had seen with their own eyes Lu Yuan descending like a god from Heaven, displaying great might to slaughter Xici and all the Grandmasters of the Jin Dynasty. Seeing Lu Yuan again, they all prostrated themselves and kowtowed in worship.

As for the other soldiers who had not seen him before, now seeing Lu Yuan leading several people floating in the air, they had no more doubts and knelt down to worship, gathering into a wave.

Lu Yuan could not be bothered to stop them. After waiting for a moment in mid-air, he saw several large men in general's attire rushing over from the camp, then taking three steps in two, they knelt on one knee, facing the sky and shouting excitedly:

"We respectfully welcome the arrival of Immortal Lu!"

"The Immortal has graced us with his presence, and we failed to welcome you in time; we beg for your forgiveness!"

"We do not know what instructions the Immortal has for coming here; we will do our utmost to serve you even unto death!"

? co

Lu Yuan stood in the air with Peng Yidao and the others, revealing a smile:

"Very good. You should know that the Xuantong Emperor will announce his abdication in a few days, and the Han people will regain control of the country. Letting you reorganize the New Battalion is for this purpose. Now I need you to dispatch several troops to raid the homes of the Golden Clan officials such as Junior Vice Minister of the Ministry of War Duo Hong, Cavalry General Gu Yinzhen, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and the Assistant Grand Secretary, and exterminate their three clans. Is there any problem?"

"Yes, we will strictly follow the Immortal's orders!"

Deputy Commander Zhou Yunye, who had just been promoted to take charge of the New Battalion, and his subordinate deputy commanders agreed without hesitation, then asked: "That Cavalry General Gu Yinzhen was originally the main commander of the Capital Battalion. This person is currently sitting in the Western Camp, and he has twenty thousand Jin soldiers under his command. If we raid his home and exterminate his clan, this person might..."

Lu Yuan was unconcerned:

"I will personally head to the Western Battalion to deal with this person. You all go first to the other several locations to raid their homes and exterminate their clans, then seal off and surround the Shenluo Embassy, and wait for me to handle it personally."

He knew clearly that as the national capital, Tianjing had been managed by the Jin Clan for hundreds of years, with forces both overt and covert intertwined; wanting to completely control this place by merely manipulating a few princes and ministers was absolutely impossible. It was necessary to kill until heads rolled and blood flowed like a river, killing until every Jin Clan member who was unwilling and wanted to struggle in their death throes was thoroughly terrified and broken in spirit.

With an Immortal personally taking action, Zhou Yunye and the others had no more doubts, and with surging emotions, they roared:

"Yes, we shall set off at once!"

Lu Yuan nodded, left Peng Yidao and the others at the Capital Battalion to act together with Zhou Yunye and the others, and then his figure once again flew high into the sky amidst the sweeping gale, quickly moving far away.

And at the same time.

Inside the Western Battalion of the Capital Battalion.

Inside the main general's tent, the burly Gu Yinzhen was pacing back and forth with a nervous expression, displaying an unusual tension and agitation.

Before long, a personal soldier walked in quickly from outside the tent, and Gu Yinzhen impatiently stepped forward and asked urgently:

"How is it? Is there news from the palace?"

The personal soldier immediately replied:

"Reporting to the General, the palace city has been completely sealed off. Our people outside heard gunfire and explosions, but whether that demon has died or not is unknown."

Gu Yinzhen's expression was ugly; he sat down on the white tiger-skin chair and muttered with some regret:

"The Empress Dowager and the three Great Shamans, along with the three Banner Lords, set up a killing trap and attacked together, yet they still failed to kill that demon. As for the remaining Deacon Elders and death squads, even if they are brave and fearless of death, I fear they still cannot kill the opponent. It doesn't matter if they die, but if the fact that we assisted is leaked, that would be terrible..."

The personal soldier had also once seen Lu Yuan's divine might at the Martial Arts Tournament with his own eyes, and his face immediately turned pale as he said:

"Several Elders have prepared themselves to sacrifice their lives for the country; even if one or two are captured alive, they should not..."

Gu Yinzhen's tone carried a hint of fear:

"But now there are rumors that that demon can control people's hearts. In the imperial court, the Emperor and various princes and ministers, including this Nine Gates Commander above our heads, have all been controlled by him. If these rumors are true..."

The personal soldier was immediately horrified: "There is such a thing?"

Gu Yinzhen gritted his teeth and said:

"Have you not noticed that Lord Long has been very abnormal these past few days? That demon sent several of his disciples to supervise the Han people in reorganizing the New Battalion. He should have had plenty of ways to feign compliance while acting in opposition, yet he has been incredibly cooperative, even distributing the latest weapons and equipment to them; it is as if he has become a lackey of the demon!"

Although he called him a demon, when mentioning Lu Yuan, Gu Yinzhen still could not help but reveal extreme fear.

He was also present at the World Martial Arts Tournament, and the precise artillery strike on the arena from a distance was even his own doing. But after witnessing with his own eyes Lu Yuan remaining unscathed under a hail of bullets and heavy artillery fire, and then destroying Xici and Ennahaidu and the others with overwhelming force, he knew clearly how terrifying the opponent was.

If it were not for the fact that the other party wanted to exterminate them all, involving the life and death of the entire Jin Clan, he would never have participated in this plan that had a high probability of failure.

And now, regret was useless.

Just as Gu Yinzhen was in a state of chaotic anxiety, preparing to let the personal soldier in front of him go out again to scout for news.

Suddenly, from outside the main tent, a burst of clamor filled with terror came, causing Gu Yinzhen to stand up instantly like a frightened bird and walk out of the tent.

Immediately, he saw with horror that the camp was in chaos at this moment. Every one of the thousands of soldiers he could see was looking up in terror. He followed their gaze and then saw with horror a figure standing in the void more than ten zhang above the ground not far away, and at the same time, a cold gaze was looking exactly toward this place.

Not good!

Seeing this figure wreathed in immortal light, Gu Yinzhen's liver and gallbladder split in terror; without hesitation, he turned and rushed toward the crowd of soldiers behind him, fleeing wildly.

And to this.

Lu Yuan, standing in mid-air, just smiled slightly, pointed his fingers together like a sword, and his figure instantly flew over like a meteor.

Seeming to perceive that a huge shadow of death was about to descend, Gu Yinzhen exerted all his strength to dodge and run wildly through the barracks, while shouting in terror:

"Guards, guards, stop this demon!"

"Whoever stops this person will be rewarded with one hundred thousand Silver Yuan!"

However.

His roar, filled with extreme terror, echoed. There were at least several hundred Jin Clan soldiers on the path he was fleeing along, yet after hearing his words, not only did they look at each other in terror, some even hurriedly dodged to the side, having no intention of rescuing him at all.

After all, the Jin Clan descendants were mostly addicted to pleasure and their daily training was extremely lazy. These people were not like the Shamanism wizards or the Niangan Office death squads who viewed death as returning home and had firm wills. Seeing such a terrifying existence as Lu Yuan, they were too late to hide; how would they dare to attack?

Thus, a strange scene appeared in the camp: Gu Yinzhen, this Cavalry General with distinguished military achievements, was scurrying like a rat in the camp, while the surrounding soldiers, both ordinary troops and leaders of all sizes, were dodging repeatedly as if avoiding a plague god. There was not even a single person who fired a shot to stop Lu Yuan!

"It seems I was overly concerned."

"The Shaman Elders and death squads from just now were only a tiny minority; most of the Jin Clan people have long since lost their courage and are not worth fearing."

Following behind Gu Yinzhen like a cat playing with a mouse for a moment, and finding that not a single Jin Clan soldier fired at him, Lu Yuan sighed lightly, and the sword radiance condensed on his hand shot out through the air.

With a 'Chi' sound!

Crossing nearly ten zhang, the golden radiance spanned the void. Gu Yinzhen, who was fleeing wildly, only felt a sharp pain in his waist, instantly lost sensation in his lower body, and his whole person flew sideways and fell to the ground.

After all, having Sixth Realm cultivation, he did not die instantly, but looked in despair at his body already severed in two, his internal organs having already spilled all over the ground, and then he struggled to lift his head:

"You..."

Barely spitting out one word, Gu Yinzhen's raised head fell, his eyes wide open, dying with his eyes full of resentment.

And seeing their main general cut in half by Lu Yuan, all the surrounding Jin Clan soldiers were trembling in their legs and ashen-faced, thinking of nothing but fleeing in all directions like a mob, with no intention of resisting or avenging him.

"Boring."

Lu Yuan, who had intended to start a massacre and wash the entire Western Battalion in blood, sighed, did not even look at the corpse on the ground, turned around, and flew away riding the light breeze.