Chapter 524: The Roadblock—Death

Outside the south gate of the Liyang Dynasty Capital, the wide road connecting to the Imperial Road within the city had been swiftly cleared; it was empty of people.

The entire city waited for one man.

Waited for one man to storm the city.

Above and below the city walls, all were in iron armor, clad in sturdy gear and wielding sharp weapons.

On this day, the elite forces of the four garrisons of the Capital—southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest—were all arrayed here, along with the Wu Family Sword Tomb ancestor Wu Jian, the Dongyue Sword Pool sect leader Song Nianqing, and various experts urgently summoned into the city by the Imperial Court, totaling two hundred and three people. Yet, facing the figure in black coming from the north, they remained as terrified as if facing the might of God.

A single figure slowly appeared in the field of vision of those on the city walls.

When this slender figure was revealed, the space between heaven and earth was instantly filled with a biting, terrifying murderous intent.

He was peerless in grace, his black robes fluttering, holding a broken sword as thin as a willow leaf.

It was precisely this sword, which had descended from the heavens, that had once severely wounded the Beiliang King.

And he had come precisely to return the sword.

Murong Tonghuang walked with a calm gait, stepping toward the city gate one step at a time.

Compared to the towering Taian City, he seemed insignificant.

But with every step he took, a dull thud echoed out, as if a thunderclap spanning heaven and earth were striking beside everyone's ears.

That faint, distant shadow seemed to tear through the vast sky, expanding infinitely, looming over the brows and hearts of everyone present.

The expressions of those on the city walls were complex, the atmosphere stifling to the extreme; if anyone else had dared to "return a sword" to the current Emperor, they would have long since been condemned by public opinion and died without a burial place.

But Murong Tonghuang carried the momentum of having broken the one-hundred-thousand-strong Northern Barbarian army, and coupled with the fact that it was the Zhao Family Emperor who had backstabbed the Beiliang King first, this act of returning the sword did not cause his reputation among the people to plummet; instead, it carried a certain heroic quality.

"Halt, you who approach. Taian City is closed to entry today."

A magnificent voice rang out.

Murong Tonghuang, however, paid no heed, his posture composed, walking straight toward Taian City without the slightest deviation, as if every step had been measured.

"Fire!

"

When Murong Tonghuang approached within a hundred zhang of Taian City, all the Bed Crossbows on the city walls unleashed a volley.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

It was as if wind and thunder shook the air; the massive arrows shot out like a sudden storm.

In an instant, they enveloped Yu Liancheng; where the arrows passed, they dragged out trails of white airflow and emitted a series of massive sonic booms, their power truly terrifying.

Hum!

Yu Liancheng's expression remained calm and composed, his gait unchanged, as if the massive arrows were nothing, save for an invisible field that suddenly expanded.

With him as the center, a gale rose within a hundred-zhang radius, and the flowers, grass, and trees rustled loudly.

The power of these Bed Crossbows was similar to the batch that had ambushed Yu Liancheng in the north; each was equivalent to a strike from a Land Immortal at a hundred zhang.

The giant crossbow bolts easily tore through the field, but they inevitably suffered from the field's suction and pull, their trajectories shifting as they brushed past Yu Liancheng and slammed into the ground with a bang, kicking up massive waves of dirt, yet failing to touch even the corner of his clothes.

"How is this possible?"

Those on the city walls wore expressions of disbelief.

They naturally knew that the Bed Crossbows could not truly deal with Murong Tonghuang; they were merely meant to exhaust his Qi. But they had not expected that he would not even prepare to take them head-on, resolving them so effortlessly.

"Fire arrows!

"

Seeing Murong Tonghuang's unceasing pace, the archers on and below the walls drew their bows to the full; almost in an instant, with a hiss, over a thousand archers released their strings, and the arrows, like a patch of dark clouds, enveloped Yu Liancheng in the blink of an eye.

Rumble, the ground shook. The moment the arrows were fired, nearly a thousand elite cavalrymen who had been lying in ambush on both sides charged over, their war cries shaking the heavens.

On the city walls, everyone watched this double-layered attack in silence.

Arrows, cavalry...

These two types of attacks were the most common and effective means for armies to ambush martial arts experts, a fact proven as early as the Spring and Autumn chaotic wars. Countless experts had died under volleys of arrows or cavalry charges.

Either one could easily kill ninety-nine percent of martial artists.

Even the tiny fraction of top-tier experts remaining had to face them with caution.

If one added the previous consumption from the Bed Crossbows, those who could survive these three layers of attack were few and far between.

But everyone knew that these three layers of attack were merely meant to exhaust Murong Tonghuang's Qi.

Or rather, it was just for show, to make him arrive at the Capital a little later; otherwise, if the world knew that Murong Tonghuang had broken into the city with ease despite being surrounded by a massive army, the Liyang Dynasty would have lost all face.

Facing the successive triple attacks, Yu Liancheng continued to walk slowly, calm and composed, his invisible field never once retracting into his body.

When the arrows, arriving like dark clouds, first struck the invisible field, although they were numerous, their power was far inferior to the previous round of giant crossbow bolts; in an instant, they were twisted and snapped, falling to the ground in a rustle, failing to have the slightest effect.

Nearly a thousand elite cavalrymen followed, charging into the invisible field. They immediately felt an invisible, immense force descend from the sky, squeezing in from every inch of space; either they were instantly pressed onto their horses' backs, or they lost their balance and were slammed heavily onto the ground. As for the warhorses beneath them, their four legs snapped, and they knelt on the ground on the spot.

Murong Tonghuang continued to walk toward Taian City without stopping.

He was now only a dozen zhang away from this famous Imperial City.

Closer and closer.

Closer and closer.

The second round of Bed Crossbows and archers were ready, but no one gave the order to fire.

Because everyone knew this was merely a futile effort.

The peerless Murong Tonghuang drew ever closer, and the atmosphere grew increasingly heavy.

"Presumptuous!"

"This is the Imperial City; halt, you who approach."

"A martial arts ruffian, how dare you be so presumptuous!"

When he was only twenty zhang away from Yu Liancheng, several people on the towering city walls could finally no longer restrain themselves; some leaped from the walls while controlling their swords, some pounced over, and others lunged forward... without a doubt, they were all experts serving the Liyang Dynasty who had not participated in the Huishan Snow Gathering.

Perhaps they knew they were no match for Murong Tonghuang, but to let him enter Taian City so swaggeringly was, without a doubt, a humiliation.

Yu Liancheng still made no unnecessary movements, only lightly arching a brow, his eyes overflowing with seven-colored light.

Consequently, the various emotions of the crowd of experts erupted within their bodies like volcanoes; their True Qi circulation became obstructed, and one after another, they tumbled down from the air.

At the same time, an invisible energy field expanded and swept violently across.

And so, those several Martial Dao Grandmasters guarding the Capital were all struck as if by an impact, flying backward rapidly and crashing directly into the city walls of Taian City; the entire wall shuddered, appearing with countless cracks, while those Martial Dao Grandmasters were like bloody hanging paintings.

Murong Tonghuang suddenly stood still, fixed his gaze upon the tightly shut city gate, and slowly raised his invisible broken sword.

Swish!

A sword strike descended, the Sword Qi like a long white rainbow piercing the sun, dazzling and stunning beyond compare, and furthermore filled with a tyrannical and fierce energy, tearing apart everything before it.

Boom!

After a muffled sound, Taian City, which had never been attacked by a great army in over two hundred years, shook, and the city gate shattered with a roar.

The one who broke the city.

——Murong Tonghuang.

……

The sound of the city being broken spread throughout Taian City.

Everyone knew one thing.

The invincible Murong Tonghuang had entered the city.

For a time, it was as silent as a cicada in winter.

At the same time, in the Qintian Bureau, two people stepped into a hidden pavilion.

One of them was tall and sturdy, wearing a Purple Gold Daoist Robe, drifting as if a God.

This person was the second Feathered Minister and Prime Minister of the current dynasty, the Longhu Mountain Daoist Wu Lingsu, who also had close ties to Longhu Mountain and was once a disciple of Longhu Mountain.

As for the other person, he was a Qi Practitioner nearing seventy years of age. Compared to the "straw bag" minister known to everyone in the Imperial Court, this old man named Jin Xinan had a much more impressive background; he was a Monitoring Deputy of the Qintian Bureau and one of the leaders of the Zhao Gou. And compared to that Monitoring Supervisor who did not concern himself with worldly affairs, this person was the true leader of the northern Qi Practitioners.

Setting aside these terrifying identities, this person had also entered the Heavenly Phenomenon Realm and was a Daxingzhe.

After entering the building, the two straightened their robes together, each receiving a stick of incense from two elderly Daoists who had guarded the building for many years, and walked toward a desk carved from large pieces of rosewood; on the desk sat a primitive incense burner with immortal energy curling about it, in which a large stick of incense as thick as a child's arm was kept burning year-round, never to be broken for a day, never to be extinguished for a moment.

Before Jin Xinan came here, he had not only put on his Monitoring Deputy official uniform but also borrowed the Monitoring Supervisor's waist token to hang at his waist, while Wu Lingsu had even more exaggeratedly brought the Golden Edict bestowed upon him by the Imperial Court.

The two respectfully inserted the incense in their hands into the left and right sides of the incense burner and spoke simultaneously.

Jin Xinan folded his hands, looked straight ahead, and said in a deep voice: "Act on behalf of Heaven."

Wu Lingsu lowered his gaze, appearing even more respectful, and bowed: "To pacify the four barbarians."

On the wall behind the incense burner, the portraits originally shrouded in a mist of smoke revealed their true appearances.

Each and every one was dressed as a Daoist, some riding dragons, some riding cranes, some controlling swords...

The portraits hanging on the wall were all the Great Truth-Seekers of the Celestial Master Mansion of Longhu Mountain who had ascended through the ages.

The world only knew that Longhu Mountain shared the same surname as the Liyang Zhao Family, but they did not know that the depth of the connection could be traced back to the founding Emperor of Liyang.

The three sticks of incense in the burner, whose flames had been dim, began to burn at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if an immortal were enjoying them.

When the incense burned out, the portraits on the wall moved without wind.

Outside the portraits, strange ripples emerged, like flowers in a mirror or the moon in the water.

Two Great Truth-Seekers wearing yellow and purple Daoist robes broke out of the paintings.

Their figures were illusory, gradually transforming from illusion to reality, drifting to the ground and walking outside the building.

Following this, one Great Truth-Seeker after another with immortal bearing landed on the ground one after another and walked toward the door.

There were immortals carrying long swords on their backs, immortals holding Purple Gold precious registers, and immortals holding whisk brooms.

And the last three immortals to appear were the most elegant and the most astonishing.

One of them was riding a white deer of good omen, with a gentle gaze, singing generously.

Following closely was one with a refined appearance, wearing a lotus crown, who, compared to the ordinary immortals, had a bit more human warmth. "All living beings, all enter my eyes."

The last one looked to be about thirty years old, extremely young, his brows filled with a murderous aura; he did not look like an immortal drifting above the world, but rather a chivalrous hero who wields a sword to cut down all injustices. After landing, he casually raised his hand and grasped the Symbol Sword "Yulei," which had been enshrined in the building for hundreds of years, weighed it, found the weight just right, and revealed a smile for no reason.

Thirty or forty immortals all looked toward the direction of the city gate.

They all felt a massive energy being vented without reservation, simply about to fill the entire Taian City, and it was filled with a faint killing intent, which was startling.

"Let's go, let's go meet that person, everyone be careful; previously, quite a few of our peers in the heavens met their end at that person's hands."

The immortals left together.

To suppress one person, one sword.

……

On Tong Tian Tai.

The old Monitoring Supervisor Nan Huaiyu, with white hair and beard, drifting like an immortal, sat cross-legged; an unknown energy penetrated through his body, connecting with the Liyang National Fortune through the Array, launching waves of strikes against a certain uninvited guest.

The world does not know that there are two arrays in Taian City, which are the true trump cards for contending against top martial artists like Wang Xianzhi and Murong Tonghuang.

He suddenly opened his eyes, revealing a slight look of fatigue, looked at the young Monitoring Supervisor who was presiding over the great array beside him, and then looked outside the door, as if he saw those immortal-looking Longhu Mountain immortals; the look of worry in his eyes, however, could never be erased.

As for the other array, the Duke of Yansheng had left for some reason, so the old Monitoring Supervisor could only hand it over to someone he was unwilling to hand it to.

……

Liyang city gate.

One person, one sword, entered the city.

And at the moment of stepping into the city, Yu Liancheng could not help but frown.

Compared to the last time he entered Taian City, this time it seemed the entire Taian City was filled with an indescribable malice toward him, as if this heaven and earth were rejecting him, obscuring his Perception, and even absorbing the Yuan Qi between heaven and earth had become slow.

And it went far beyond this.

Yu Liancheng's body swayed slightly.

To an outsider, it was unremarkable, but if seen through the eyes of a top Qi Practitioner, one might see an array operating the moment Yu Liancheng entered Taian City, with waves of Luck, like Flood Dragons, rushing toward Yu Liancheng one after another.

If it were an ordinary expert, they would likely have already vomited blood and died.

Even for Yu Liancheng, under the constant impact of the Array, his Qi and Blood were surging.

As expected, as a dynasty that unified the Central Plains, how could Liyang not have some trump cards hidden away?

"Qintian Bureau..."

Yu Liancheng's gaze looked toward the location of the Qintian Bureau.

He could be certain that it was the Qintian Bureau playing tricks. However, there was nothing to complain about; after all, he himself intended to go and tear down the Qintian Bureau.

Rumble!

The sound of horse hooves thundered; at first, it was like a waterfall cascading down, muffled and rather noisy. But a moment later, it transformed into thunder from the horizon, sweeping toward the direction where Murong Tonghuang was located with the posture of a hurricane.

The speed of their approach, the swiftness of their reaction, and the orderliness of their formation might not compare to the most elite Great Snow Dragon Cavalry of Beiliang, but they were not much worse than the other branches of the Beiliang Army.

The sound of horse hooves shook, and the earth rumbled.

In just an instant, Yu Liancheng was surrounded by an elite force of over ten thousand soldiers.

The awe-inspiring and chilling killing intent seemed as if it could freeze the heavens and the earth in an instant.

"I have come to return the sword."

Even though he was surrounded by thousands of troops and horses, and even though he was being targeted by the entire Taian City, Yu Liancheng's expression remained calm, though his tone was slightly cold: "Those who block the path—die!"

Another sword strike was swung out.