Chapter 315: See clearly

Xiang Weiyuan stepped out of the room with the morning light, and what rushed toward him was a piece of desolate autumn chill.

The guards outside the relay station were already prepared to accompany Xiang Weiyuan to the West Garden to participate in the Autumn Hunt. Xiang Weiyuan looked up at the sky; there was a layer of dark clouds, not thick but not thin, making people feel gloomy just looking at them.

It was already cold; he just didn't know if it would snow today...

Xiang Weiyuan felt inexplicably emotional, then withdrew his gaze and suddenly stopped his steps.

In the courtyard of the relay station, an old servant was sweeping fallen leaves. His movements were slow, but he seemed to have merged with the entire heaven and earth, sweeping the fallen leaves on the ground to the edge one by one.

In an instant, this courtyard seemed to turn into heaven and earth, and the fallen leaves turned into various figures of the past and children of good fortune, but the time had come, and they could only wither helplessly, being swept into the paper pile of history.

Xiang Weiyuan's heart was shaken, but when he looked at the old servant again, all the strangeness disappeared; the old servant's movements became senile, and the vitality in his body was like a candle in the wind, which could be extinguished at any time.

Xiang Weiyuan did not go over, but waved to call the relay station official and asked, "Who is he?"

The official's face turned pale immediately, and cold sweat came down.

The person who worked as a handyman in the relay station suddenly fell ill two days ago and was lying in bed at home. This official thought there was nothing to do, so he casually found a down-and-out old man to fill the number, giving him two cakes every day, and the wages naturally fell into his own pocket; he didn't expect that on the first day of work, he would be asked by the Regional Commander!

Seeing the official's appearance, Xiang Weiyuan had a rough idea and didn't ask anymore. His thoughts turned, and he didn't disturb the old servant, went straight out of the courtyard, got on his horse, and galloped toward the city gate.

It was just that Xiang Weiyuan still felt a little emotional in his heart.

The post house is the facade of the Great Jin; those who can stay there, aside from foreign diplomatic missions, must at least be third-rank Provincial Governors or Military Commanders. That such a place could be skimmed for money is simply like squeezing oil from a stone.

Xiang Weiyuan was too lazy to care, and didn't want to care; small officials or big officials, catching one would still leave a pile, there was no end to it. He suddenly thought, would the realm be like this in the future?

A hundred iron cavalrymen left the city gate, joined the four hundred iron cavalrymen who were already waiting outside the city, and then ran toward the West Garden under the guidance of a small team of imperial guards.

The Autumn Hunt was in the West Garden, which was a hunting ground exclusively for the Western Jin royal family, stretching for five hundred miles, with mountains, forests, and rivers.

The Autumn Hunt would officially start at noon. Xiang Weiyuan arrived an hour early and was introduced to the martial arts field by the eunuch. His cavalrymen went to the designated military camp to station.

According to custom, the Autumn Hunt was divided into two parts: the first part was martial arts, where warriors selected by various forces competed in front of the Emperor to decide the winner. Participants in the martial arts were limited to below the Dharma Form; after all, Dharma Form cultivators would be reused by any force, and letting them participate in such competitions would easily cause public anger and be difficult to control.

The martial arts field for the Autumn Hunt was a thousand zhang long, with viewing stands set up on both sides. Various high-ranking officials had designated positions, and Xiang Weiyuan also had a small area on the side viewing stand, where he could bring ten guards.

After Xiang Weiyuan sat down on the viewing stand, several eunuchs carried a bronze mirror to him. A eunuch said, "Please, Lord Xiang, check your appearance in the mirror to avoid being rude."

This bronze mirror was truly a treasure, capable of stripping away disguises and reflecting the true self; below the Immortal Lord, there was no way to avoid it. Although the bronze mirror was not fully activated, all ghosts and evil spirits could not escape, and they would vanish into smoke once reflected.

Mirror checking was a fixed procedure to prevent someone from disguising their identity to sneak in, or secretly carrying ghosts and evil spirits. Xiang Weiyuan naturally was not afraid, so he stood calmly in front of the bronze mirror.

The bronze mirror reflected a heroic face, with eyebrows like swords, yet not entirely sharp, with restraint at the extreme. The nose was high and thin, and the shape was also like a sword. The lips were red but not demonic. As for the pair of eyes, they were naturally good-looking; back then, Master Fenhai liked little Xiang Weiyuan's pair of eyes, thinking they were born better-looking than Zhang Sheng's, which made Zhang Sheng angry to death.

The person in the mirror was wearing a purple-gold hair crown, and his long hair was tied somewhat casually, fluttering wantonly in the wind.

It seems I was born okay... Xiang Weiyuan wanted to look for a while longer, but seeing the two little eunuchs sweating on their foreheads, carrying the mirror very hard, he had to give up and asked the eunuch next to him, "Is it okay?"

The eunuch saw that there was nothing unusual about Xiang Weiyuan, and hurriedly said, "Lord Xiang is born with a talented appearance, naturally it is... okay... okay... okay..."

His trailing sound suddenly dragged out, the whole world turned black and white in Xiang Weiyuan's eyes, and everyone's movements slowed down tenfold.

The whole world still had a little color, and that was himself in the bronze mirror, with one left pupil already turned green!

In Xiang Weiyuan's ears, a sound that seemed to be there and not there echoed: "Donor has a relationship with my Buddha..."

Xiang Weiyuan emptied his mind, suppressed the three immortal plants, and did not let a single bit of aura leak out. He quietly watched the world return to normal, and the eunuch's voice returned to normal.

The eunuchs carried the bronze mirror down and went to the viewing stand next door.

Xiang Weiyuan sat still, with no abnormality on his face. Just now, the White Lotus of the Filthy Earth had moved, as if it wanted to be activated, but was suppressed by Xiang Weiyuan. It was just that looking at the eunuchs who were walking away, Xiang Weiyuan was thoughtful; even this bronze mirror, a national treasure, had an abnormality?

Was it a change in the magic treasure, or a change in this country?

It seemed Prince Ying's reminder was not without a target; the water of this Autumn Hunt was indeed very deep. Xiang Weiyuan was even more determined that he would never mess around this time, would shrink back when encountering things, only take his own share, and if it really didn't work, he wouldn't take that share either.

Although Prince Ying thought there should be a share for Xiang Weiyuan in the Autumn Hunt, Xiang Weiyuan was now very familiar with human nature and knew that some people might not think so; they would only feel that everything naturally belonged to them. There were others who might have originally felt that this share should belong to Xiang Weiyuan, but felt that their own share was not enough to divide, so they changed their minds.

Thinking of the pupil that had inexplicably changed color in the mirror, Xiang Weiyuan pretended to touch his left eye casually, and fortunately, there was no abnormality.

His thoughts suddenly drifted, and he had a strange idea: if he didn't mix well in the future and became destitute, relying on this face, could he eat a bite?

Xiang Weiyuan then remembered a strange little monk. Although the little monk had a problem with his head, his face was truly something to talk about; if the end of the world came, he shouldn't have to worry about a bite to eat.

Perhaps because the little monk was born well, Xiang Weiyuan's hands were also dark that day, and he didn't hit his face less.

In the blink of an eye, noon had arrived, and all kinds of monsters and immortals gathered. Prince Jin sat high on the high platform in the middle, high above, his face still hidden in the shadows, unable to be seen clearly.

"Noon has arrived, the Autumn Hunt begins!" The voice of the master of ceremonies, the great eunuch Liu Quangong, echoed throughout the field and did not dissipate for a long time. Xiang Weiyuan immediately felt several gazes fall on him, and they were unscrupulous, without the slightest concealment. Xiang Weiyuan looked back; one of the people looking over was a rough and irritable big man, and the other was a man with eyes like an eagle, with a shadow that seemed to linger between his eyebrows.

These two, like Xiang Weiyuan, were Regional Commanders. One was Xu Tongshou, the Regional Commander of Anbei in the north, and the other was Lu Wenbai, the Regional Commander of Yunxiang, whose fief bordered Eastern Jin and Tang.

At this time, the eunuchs kept calling names, and warriors climbed onto the martial arts field, divided into six pairs, and began to fight. A moment later, there were winners and losers; the winners were led to the side to rest, and most of the losers were carried down. A moment later, there were six pairs of newcomers competing on the martial arts field.

This martial arts competition was completely different from Prince Wei's banquet. This was a martial arts competition in front of the Emperor, and those who appeared were warriors collected by various princes and ministers with great effort, each with thick cultivation and profound Daoist arts, and they fought for their lives as soon as they went on stage. In the blink of an eye, three lives were lost, and the corpses and limbs of the dead were immediately collected by the eunuchs, while the large bloodstains left behind were slowly absorbed by the martial arts field.

Compared with the Autumn Hunt martial arts competition, Prince Wei's night banquet was simply children playing house.

Cui Yu and Xu Yi stood behind Xiang Weiyuan, and after watching only two rounds, their expressions changed slightly. Those who went down were all good hands; the two of them had no advantage in entering, and they didn't have the ruthlessness of the players who entered at all.

Those people used lethal moves as soon as they met, using whatever insidious and fatal methods they could, let alone killer moves, even some street hooligan methods were used, just to win.

At this time, a scream suddenly sounded in the field. A male swordsman faced a female swordswoman. Originally, he had cut off one arm and one leg of the female swordswoman, and at this time, he was stepping on the female swordswoman's chest and twisting slowly, listening to the ribs under his feet making crisp sounds one after another.

Unexpectedly, the female swordswoman's only remaining arm suddenly grew a foot long, grabbed the swordsman's crotch, squeezed all the burdens, and then five fingers entered the flesh, actually digging out that mass!

The male swordsman screamed incessantly, and with a wave of his knife, he beheaded his opponent. He didn't last long himself before he fell to the ground and died.

This match started, and the subsequent rounds of martial arts became more and more cruel and bloody, and the strength of those who appeared became stronger and stronger. The noble princes and nobles watching the battle became more and more excited, betting one after another, spending money like dirt.

The eunuch standing on the viewing stand said diligently, "Lord Xiang, don't you want to play two hands?"

!.

Xiang Weiyuan smiled slightly and said, "I don't have gambling luck, so forget it."

"It's a pity. This year's martial arts competition is more exciting than in the past..." The eunuch kept shaking his head, as if regretting for Xiang Weiyuan the hundreds of millions of immortal silver he missed.

At this time, a female swordswoman in the field cut open her opponent's earth shield and the heavy shield in his hand with one sword, and by the way, cut him diagonally into two halves. She stood in the enemy's blood and said loudly, "Northern loose cultivator Jiang Yao, would like to ask Lord Xiang for pointers!"

It still came... Xiang Weiyuan had already known in his heart, looked toward the main stage, and Prince Jin sat high in the shadows, motionless.

Xiang Weiyuan stood up, picked up the Immaculate Pure Land, and walked into the martial arts field. The surrounding viewing stands were silent, and all the big figures were examining Xiang Weiyuan, but from their faces, one could not see what they were thinking at all.

Since he came to the Autumn Hunt, he couldn't escape this hurdle. Looking at it from another angle, only by showing something would he be qualified to take a share.

Other pairs in the field had already decided the winner and retreated, leaving only Xiang Weiyuan and the female swordswoman. The female swordswoman had short hair, medium height, and the immortal sword in her hand was four feet long and one palm wide, belonging to a large sword, but not yet a giant sword. She was wearing a white martial arts suit, which should be a good magic robe, and cloth strips were wrapped around her forearms. The cloth strips had various effects of strength, speed, and breaking methods.

Her originally delicate face still had a few fresh wounds, and her sword skills were simple and practical, perfectly matched with Daoist arts. The sword skills were full of ruthlessness but lacked roundness, and should be sword skills polished in life-and-death fighting.

Xiang Weiyuan stood still in front of her and asked, "I am the Regional Commander of Dingxi of the imperial court, holding a second-rank official position; what qualifications do you have to challenge me?"

The female swordswoman was startled, not knowing how to answer.

Although she had no experience, she also knew that this question was not easy to answer. If she answered wrongly and Prince Jin allowed it, then with whatever reason she challenged Xiang Weiyuan, Xiang Weiyuan could send someone to challenge her backer with the same reason. In terms of single-handed fighting, the Primordial Palace was not afraid of anyone.

The female swordswoman's ears moved, her expression changed, her left hand suddenly clenched, but then slowly relaxed, and said, "After this battle, regardless of winning or losing, I will cut off one arm to compensate for the crime of offense!"

Xiang Weiyuan said lightly, "Which arm?"

The female swordswoman's face was somewhat pale, she suddenly raised her left hand and said, "The hand that holds the sword!"

Xiang Weiyuan finally nodded and said, "Okay."

On the high platform, several people seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Xiang Weiyuan and the female swordswoman opened the distance, the eunuchs quickly cleaned up the blood and debris on the ground, re-established the array, and then retreated outside the field.

Xiang Weiyuan felt that there were faint gazes falling on him from the central high platform, and his heart stirred. Prince Jin shouldn't humiliate him for no reason, so what did this mean? Or rather, what did he want to see?

Xiang Weiyuan's thoughts turned, and a pale red petal suddenly appeared on his fingertips. The pure and upright immortal aura immediately caused some commotion on the high platform.

At this time, Xiang Weiyuan already understood that what he was most famous for was nothing more than the Laurel Immortal Tree. Although he showed Zhao Tong the Scarlet Night Sword, Prince Jin was clearly not satisfied; he wanted to see the main body of the Laurel Immortal Tree again, wanting to see if this immortal tree had the effect of prolonging life and reviving.

When Zhao Tong came to the realm to declare the decree that day, he repeatedly emphasized things that prolong life, and Xiang Weiyuan offered so much immortal silver, so Zhao Tong naturally gave a very appropriate hint. So at this time, Xiang Weiyuan understood that Prince Jin didn't care about the immortal tree, nor was he short of immortal trees, he was just short of immortal trees that could prolong life.

Since Prince Jin must see clearly, Xiang Weiyuan would let him see clearly, so what he took out was not the Scarlet Night Sword, but the petals of the Laurel Immortal Tree.

The pale red petal turned into a wisp of sword Qi, instantly going and returning.

The female swordswoman dodged with all her might, but only avoided the vital point of her heart, and a transparent hole was punched in her left shoulder.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 316 =====