Chapter 275: Arriving with the Sun

The news of Yu Liancheng entering the Capital was originally very secret, but after the battle at White Cloud Tower, followed by the overwhelming search by Eastern Depot agents and Imperial Guards, plus the fueling of the flames by "Heaven Beyond Heaven," this news became known to everyone.

And as time passed, the fervor regarding Yu Liancheng not only did not diminish, but instead, like pouring oil on a fire, became increasingly intense.

As for the reason, it was because a rumor spread throughout the Capital today.

——Yu Liancheng will arrive at the Eastern Depot in three days to take Cao Zhengchun's dog head.

Once the news broke, it was earth-shattering.

Cao Zhengchun is one of the world's few top-tier experts, his fifty years of Tiangang Childish Skill rarely meeting a match.

And although the Eastern Depot has a notorious reputation, one must admit that it is teeming with experts. Its foundation is incomparably deep, absolutely no worse than any of the Eight Great Sects.

To kill Cao Zhengchun within the Eastern Depot is no less difficult than assassinating the Emperor.

Everyone felt this news was absurd, yet it was spread with such convincing detail.

Everyone is waiting, waiting for three days from now.

……

"I hear you possess the Heavenly Fragrant Cardamom, a treasure of heaven and earth capable of bringing the dead back to life; I yearn for it in my heart. At noon in three days, I shall arrive with the sun to take it. You are always elegant and understanding, surely you will not force me to make a wasted trip."

This short note was currently laid flat on the polished marble table; the candlelight shone on the paper, giving it a peculiar yellowish tint and making the dragon-flying-phoenix-dancing calligraphy appear even more elegant and unrestrained.

There was no signature on the letter, but at the bottom was a "Folding Fan" seal.

On that tiny folding fan, there was even a painting of a peach blossom beauty.

There was no need to say more; one already knew the identity of the person who wrote the letter.

The lamplight also shone on Cao Zhengchun's ruddy-complexioned old face, but his expression was filled with coldness, as if it were eternal, unmeltable black ice.

"Very good, very good. This Grand Overseer did not find you, yet you have found me."

Cao Zhengchun suddenly laughed, a cold laugh.

A cold laugh filled with murderous intent; no matter who saw such a cold laugh, a chill would shoot from the soles of their feet to the top of their head.

He had, of course, heard the rumors outside, and this short note had also been embedded into the beam of the Eastern Depot's main hall today.

That's right.

It was embedded.

This soft piece of paper was embedded into the beam. It was almost completely embedded, from which one could see the strength of that person's hand.

Furthermore, the Eastern Depot is heavily guarded.

That person not only possesses remarkable hand strength and Internal Force, but their movement and concealment skills are also extraordinary.

"A mere Demon Sect Leader, this seat does not believe you can turn the world upside down."

Cao Zhengchun snorted coldly and slammed his palm heavily onto the marble tabletop; the entire tabletop instantly cracked and shattered into pieces.

The agents guarding outside could not help but tremble.

This was already the fifth table the Grand Overseer had smashed recently.

The previous few tables were wooden and broke with a single strike from the Grand Overseer.

And although a marble one had been replaced just the day before yesterday, he had not expected it to still be unable to withstand the Grand Overseer's torment.

"That brat Yu Liancheng must be there..." Cao Zhengchun cast his gaze toward the direction of the Imperial Palace; he was already certain that Yu Liancheng was in the Imperial Palace.

But now he was not in a hurry; he wanted to see what kind of tricks the other party could pull.

"Come here, clean this up and replace it with a new table."

"Yes."

……

Imperial Palace.

A suppressed and muffled moan sounded, melodious and moving, making one's heart flutter and soul sway.

"Are you really going to make a move against Cao Zhengchun?"

After a long while, Liusheng Piaoxu narrowed her beautiful eyes slightly; her fair face carried a hint of intoxicating crimson, and her snow-white skin was coated with a layer of fragrant sweat.

Yu Liancheng held Liusheng Piaoxu's delicate body and gently smoothed a strand of hair stuck to her face, saying indifferently: "Don't worry, and as for a mere Eastern Depot, I don't take it seriously now."

After drinking the "Snow Lotus Brew," Yu Liancheng's Internal Force had greatly advanced.

And his own hard-body training had already reached a very profound realm; with such a high starting point, practicing the "Diamond Indestructible Divine Skill" could be described as advancing by leaps and bounds.

That Cao Zhengchun was already no match for him, let alone now. Even if one added the various experts of the Eastern Depot, they were not worth worrying about.

Cao Zhengchun had a notorious reputation among both the common people and the Imperial Court.

If he could pluck off his head, not only would the reputation of the "First Heavenly Venerable" soar, it could even drive the entire Heaven Beyond Heaven.

Liusheng Piaoxu panted slightly and said: "If Cao Zhengchun dies, the Imperial Court will certainly not let it go."

Yu Liancheng chuckled and said: "If the Emperor is a bit smarter, he will know what to do."

"Oh?"

Yu Liancheng said: "If I can pluck Cao Zhengchun's head off in the Eastern Depot, then I might as well be able to pluck the Emperor's head off in the Imperial Palace. As long as he isn't a fool, he will know that he shouldn't provoke me without absolute certainty."

Liusheng Piaoxu twisted her delicate body, as if wanting to burrow into Yu Liancheng's arms and merge with him, and said coquettishly: "That may be so, but the Imperial Court will still have to put on a show and impose martial law throughout the city."

"That's right, so after I deal with Cao Zhengchun, I will leave. The Diamond Indestructible Divine Skill, Heaven Mountain Snow Lotus, and Heavenly Fragrant Cardamom I needed for this trip to the Capital have all been obtained; it is time to go to Shaolin Temple." Yu Liancheng kissed the young girl's cheek.

Liusheng Piaoxu asked in surprise: "What are you going to Shaolin for? If you needed Shaolin Temple's martial arts manuals, you could have just had Gu Santong pass them to you back then."

Yu Liancheng pondered for a moment and said: "Have you ever heard of the Damo Shadow in Damo Cave?"

"Hmm." Liusheng Piaoxu nodded gently: "It is said to be the shadow left on the wall by Damo after he faced the wall and practiced for decades in Damo Cave; it sounds truly mysterious and profound, I don't know if it's just a gimmick those monks deliberately created."

Yu Liancheng chuckled: "Whether it is true or false, I will know once I go and see."

Having said that, his head leaned toward Liusheng Piaoxu again.

When he was communicating with Gu Santong in Tianlao, Gu Santong had talked to him about Damo Cave and the Damo Patriarch's shadow on the wall.

Back when Gu Santong was at his most troublesome, he had once broken into Shaolin, defeated the One Hundred and Eight Arhat Array, and then ran to Damo Cave to take a look at the shadow left by Damo.

It was only because he was too restless at the time that he did not observe the "Damo Shadow" carefully.

During the time he was imprisoned on the ninth level of the Tianlao, every time Gu Santong recalled that shadow, he felt it contained some profound martial arts philosophy, but unfortunately, he could never see it again.

If Yu Liancheng could unlock the secret of the Damo Cave, it would count as fulfilling one of his wishes.

……

…………

This was a complex of black buildings, magnificent and solemn, yet it exuded an air of murderous intent.

This was the Eastern Depot.

The Eastern Depot, which made countless people tremble with fear.

The Eastern Depot was not in a remote location, but very few pedestrians passed by on ordinary days; even if someone did pass by, they walked in a hurry, deeply afraid of encountering trouble from the agents.

Yet today, countless gazes were spying on this Eastern Depot from the shadows.

The gates of the Eastern Depot were wide open, and countless Eastern Depot agents stood in battle formation.

In the main hall of the Eastern Depot, Cao Zhengchun was sitting on a stool drinking tea.

He did not like drinking tea.

But he felt that his calm and composed posture while drinking tea was enough to give his subordinates unprecedented confidence, and it also allowed him to think about how to proceed with the next move during the moments he drank.

Besides Cao Zhengchun, there were several other figures in the hall.

The Five Poisons of Xiangxi, the couple Luo Jusheng, the Yin Yang Ghost Child……

These were all notorious evil figures in the Edo, and they were all serving under Cao Zhengchun to seek wealth and status.

With a single order from Cao Zhengchun, these people had all rushed back to jointly resist this unprecedentedly powerful enemy.

With so many experts in the Eastern Depot now, even Zhu Wushi, who vaguely sat on the throne of the "Number One Expert in the World," would likely be unable to assassinate Cao Zhengchun under such circumstances.

"Yu Liancheng, this Grand Overseer wants to see exactly what skills you have to come and snatch the Heavenly Fragrant Cardamom under these circumstances."

On a table to the side sat a box, and inside the box was the third Heavenly Fragrant Cardamom.

As long as Cao Zhengchun was willing, he could smash the Heavenly Fragrant Cardamom to pieces with a single palm strike at any time, and no one would get it.

Centered on the Eastern Depot, there were countless martial artists on both sides watching the excitement, darting high and low, whispering and discussing this unprecedented battle.

In fact, if Cao Zhengchun were willing, he could even mobilize the Imperial Guards to drive this group of martial artists away.

But Cao Zhengchun wanted to strike awe into all the martial artists in the world and let them see the power of the Eastern Depot, so he allowed them to watch the battle.

"Yu Liancheng."

Outside the Eastern Depot, a black figure holding a long blade was standing on the eaves; his entire body was overflowing with sharp blade Qi, and just looking at him made one's eyes sting.

This person was none other than "Earth Character Number One," Guihai Yidao.

Since being defeated by Yu Liancheng, he had practiced diligently, severing his emotions and desires; those eyes were cold and ruthless, and his whole person was like an incomparably sharp blade.

Duan Tianya and Shangguan Haitang had both gone to carry out missions, and he was the only one left in the capital this time; naturally, he would not miss this battle.

Even if he saw Yu Liancheng, Guihai Yidao would immediately swing his blade to unleash a strike like never before to wash away the shame of that day.

"Tyrant Blade……"

In an instant, Guihai Yidao thought of his "master" again, that heartless, unrighteous man who had no self and no others.

He had originally thought he had completely crushed the Tyrant Blade, but he had only recently realized that it was merely the Tyrant Blade using his hand to go into seclusion.

"That eunuch dog Cao has sent so many people to guard, I wonder if Brother Yu will come?"

On another roof, a young man was squatting and gnawing on a pear.

Although this person was handsome, he gave off a ruffian-like air, as if he were just a street hoodlum. But the occasional glint in his eyes was as sharp as reality, clearly showing he was not a person to be trifled with.

Needless to say, this person was naturally Cheng Shifei.

Cheng Shifei had obtained the internal energy of Gu Santong and could already rival a first-class expert of the world.

And having learned what happened back then, he inevitably felt some hatred toward the Divine Marquis.

Of course, the most important thing at the moment was still to find the remaining Heavenly Fragrant Cardamom to save his mother, Suxin.

But the Heavenly Fragrant Cardamom was too hard to find, so he could only seek help from Yu Liancheng; furthermore, Yu Liancheng had originally promised his father to look for the Heavenly Fragrant Cardamom.

It was just that Yu Liancheng was like a dragon that showed its head but not its tail; even the Eastern Depot could not find him, let alone a mere Cheng Shifei.

Today, he had finally managed to get news of Yu Liancheng, but seeing the Eastern Depot's formation, Cheng Shifei was worried that the other party might not appear today.

There were not a few people who held this thought.

Now that the Eastern Depot was fully prepared with countless experts, whoever wanted to act against Cao Zhengchun in this situation was no different from seeking their own death.

But if Yu Liancheng did not come, he would inevitably be labeled a coward.

The sun climbed higher.

It was approaching noon.

Although the discussions were incessant, they had decreased quite a bit compared to before; everyone was waiting for Yu Liancheng's arrival, and the atmosphere grew tense without anyone noticing.

"A sword traverses the horizon, half a lifetime of sentiment. Rampaging through the three thousand worlds, I ask who is my match?"

Just at this moment, a long chant suddenly rang out.

This voice seemed to come from above the nine heavens, drifting and ethereal. Yet it also seemed to ring right in everyone's ears, and they all heard it clearly.

"He's here!"

"Yu Liancheng is here!"

At this moment, everyone knew Yu Liancheng had arrived, but looking around the long street, there was no sign of Yu Liancheng.

"He is in the air."

No one knew who shouted it, but they saw a man in black walking with his hands behind his back ten zhang above the ground, as if stepping on invisible stairs, walking slowly from the Eastern Depot.

……

PS: Haha, I'll drive less in the future; the last chapter almost got me in trouble.