Chapter 411: Suspicion

"Big Brother, just grant my wish!"

After saying this, Lu Yangshan rushed forward, a sharp, peerless sword appearing in his hand at that moment.

This sword had followed him through the jianghu, invincible; who could oppose him, save for Mu Zishan?

Now, Mu Zishan was like a cripple, and he, Lu Yangshan, was about to reach the summit, with no one left to dare point fingers behind his back.

Yet when Lu Yangshan drew near, he discovered that his sword could not penetrate even a foot in front of Mu Zishan. It was as if that short distance were as vast as the ends of the earth.

"Yangshan, you truly know nothing of power. Let alone that I still have strength remaining, even if I were truly crippled, standing here, you could not break through my body!"

With a long sigh, Lu Yangshan only felt a terrifying counter-shock force surge into his body along the blade, instantly shattering his body to pieces.

This power was so strong it induced despair, leaving no room for the slightest resistance. Even though Mu Zishan had not used his full strength, or perhaps had not even moved at all, the mere force of the counter-shock had already left him utterly defeated.

Only then did he suddenly realize that the gap between him and Mu Zishan had become this vast. It had been but a short year since they last met; how could Mu Zishan have become this strong?

The gap between second and first place was greater than the gap between an ordinary person and himself. Only after truly witnessing it did one know what kind of despair it was.

Mu Zishan did not seem like a normal person; his rate of improvement was too fast, so fast that before anyone could react, he had already reached the summit.

He had originally thought he would stop there, because the top experts of the jianghu throughout history were all like this; once they reached this realm, that was it. What remained was a matter of combat power, not cultivation level.

Just like himself, also having reached this realm, also unable to advance any further.

But he had ignored that people are not all the same; some are born in a way that defies reason.

How laughable that he still viewed him with his old perspective, a clown, so ignorant of himself.

"Sigh!"

Watching his former brother die by his own hand just like that, Mu Zishan sighed slightly, his face filled with desolation.

He picked up the woman's body, seemingly about to walk outside. However, at this moment, he suddenly stopped his steps and looked toward the side.

In the space where Mu Zishan was, it should have been empty and devoid of anything, yet his gaze seemed to be looking at a person.

And that place was exactly where Shen Yu was.

Shen Yu saw Mu Zishan's gaze look over; that gaze seemed to pierce through time, meeting his own.

Beneath the calm gaze was suppressed pain, yet he still tried his utmost to maintain his composure, to keep himself from looking so wretched.

After a long while, Mu Zishan suddenly smiled, a sense of relief and perhaps some ease, and only after a long while did he softly say, "Each generation produces its own talents!"

He silently took something out from his bosom, and then the soil in the garden in front of Mu Zishan flew to both sides.

For some reason, upon seeing this action by Mu Zishan, Shen Yu could clearly feel that the other's complexion seemed to have paled quite a bit.

Mu Zishan threw it casually, and the object in his hand fell into the deep pit, after which the soil that had flown to the sides flew back, and as for the thing Mu Zishan left behind, it was buried deep underground.

Afterward, Mu Zishan left, carrying his beloved woman, his back view indescribably desolate.

The person he loved died under his own sword, and the brother he viewed as kin had betrayed him without hesitation, also dying by his own hand; only he himself knew the pain within.

Yet they did not know that Mu Zishan after the broken sword was still Mu Zishan; not just anyone could provoke him. They knew even less that the Mu Zishan after this would be reborn through fire.

Although the Sword Heart was broken, when the other party reclaimed it, once he rode the wind, he would surely rise to the Nine-Layered Tower.

"Right, the thing Mu Zishan left behind!"

【Empty】

After Mu Zishan left, Shen Yu also stopped watching; the consumption was truly too great, making it hard for him to bear.

Looking toward the side, Shen Yu waved his hand gently, and the soil nearby immediately parted to both sides.

However, even Mu Zishan had to be guarded against; he used the Mountain and River Map to shroud this place, using everything he could to prepare for the unexpected.

Not long after, a bead emitting a dim light under the soil flew out under his control and fell into his hand.

"Soul Bead!" Once it was in his hand, Shen Yu understood what this was: a bead capable of holding a person's Mental Power, containing Mu Zishan's residual Mental Power.

This Mental Power was very scarce, seemingly having dissipated quite a bit over the hundred years, and as soon as it fell into Shen Yu's hand, it immediately reacted, seemingly faintly guiding him in a direction.

He did not know where the Mental Power inside this bead was pointing him, nor did he even know if Mu Zishan had truly looked at him, or if this bead was left for him.

Moreover, in Shen Yu's heart, there was still a faint sense of caution. Although from every angle, Mu Zishan was a person worthy of respect.

But living in the jianghu, having experienced so many things, he also had some paranoia, always worrying that those around him would suddenly become sharp blades pointed at him.

Just like that good brother of Mu Zishan, who had been sincere enough to him, helping him take revenge, helping him improve his cultivation, and letting him become an expert second only to himself.

But what was the result? When it was time to betray, he didn't even blink, stabbing him in the back with such peace of mind.

In this day and age, one cannot even trust a brother with whom one shares life and death, let alone a stranger. Therefore, one must always be on guard.

"Could Mu Zishan still be alive?" Holding the bead, Shen Yu suddenly had a guess; perhaps the direction the bead pointed was the direction of Mu Zishan.

Relying on this bead that had a connection to Mu Zishan, if the other party were truly alive, he could easily find him.

The other party was not trying to give this bead to him, but was entrusting himself to him.

Not even sure if they had truly met, to just hand himself over to him like this, was it a bit too rash?

"Forget it, never mind, I'll go take a look and see; anyway, I don't need my physical body to go!" After finishing up the affairs in Chengzhou, Shen Yu immediately tore through space according to the bead's guidance.

He also made up his mind not to risk himself personally; the waters of this jianghu were too deep, better to be careful.

On the Chengzhou side, the people he had newly promoted would sort out everything here. For the current Shen Yu, loyalty and treachery could be seen at a glance, and he was not afraid of anyone trying to fool him.

The people he chose might not be the most suitable, but they were definitely the best he could find at the moment; in the nearly ruined Chengzhou, it was good enough to find people who could get things done.

Fortunately, the experts of Chengzhou were nearly all dead, and the remaining people were not worth worrying about, making it easy to sort things out.

The army was also controlled by the people he promoted, enough to suppress any insufficiency.

Plus, a group of Black-Clad Guard experts were dispatched by him to sit here; he figured that as long as those old monsters didn't come to wreak havoc again, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Even if he wanted the common people to hide in the deep mountains for a while and not gather too much, he still needed to settle the refugees first.

Moreover, it was fine when there were few people, but once the number grew, they would be targeted by those old monsters again. If so many common people from various places agreed to hide in the deep mountains, how could it not attract attention?

By then, the people hiding in the deep mountains would instead be hunted down one by one.

The Spirit Qi was becoming increasingly dense, and the old monsters were also reviving one after another; he didn't know how long this peace could last.

The next moment, Shen Yu appeared outside a mountain village. The blood and slaughter outside seemed not to have affected this place.

According to the guidance of the Bead in his hand, the aura they were searching for was hidden within this village.

However, when Shen Yu walked into this village, his expression changed abruptly. This village seemed to be extraordinary!