Chapter 530: Cao Changqing Concludes the Game and Drops the Piece

Inside the Imperial Palace.

Dozens of phantom experts, condensed from Luck, surged toward Murong Tonghuang to kill him.

Yu Liancheng's Qi was released completely, vast and imposing; even the Imperial Guards and many experts who had snuck into the Imperial Palace to watch from a hundred paces away felt as if they were struggling to breathe, their bodies trembling uncontrollably, the air seemingly solidified and constantly compressing, making even the slightest movement require immense effort.

Today, they had already witnessed too many inconceivable things.

They had even seen peerless experts they had never dared to imagine before.

Yet, as Murong Tonghuang's Qi erupted and vented, they still felt terrified and uneasy.

At the same time, a sense of despondency could not help but arise in their hearts.

In the Edo, a Third Grade expert could already be called a master, receiving offerings or establishing a sect.

A Second Grade expert was a Small Grandmaster, a one-in-a-hundred expert whether in the military or the Edo.

As for the First Grade, they were even rarer than phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

The legendary Land Immortals were, to the vast majority of people, something that existed only in myths.

But today's series of battles could be described as First-Rank Experts being as common as dogs, and Land Immortals walking everywhere.

Vajra and Finger Profound were already insignificant minor characters, peak Heavenly Phenomenon could be defeated or killed at any moment, and even the Land Immortals summoned by the Qintian Bureau were either suppressed or slaughtered.

Was the world truly so distant?

Many experts looked at that black-clad figure, their eyes flickering with intense shock and longing.

One man fighting a city alone.

This was Murong Wudi.

Murong Tonghuang naturally could not be bothered to pay attention to these people.

He was currently clashing with those dozens of phantom experts made of Luck.

Although these phantoms did not have the peak level of supreme experts, every one of them was a thorny opponent.

At this moment, under the control of the aged eunuch, they were not fighting individually as they had at the Huishan Snow Gathering, and for a time, they could not all be broken through.

Suddenly, Yu Liancheng's expression tightened slightly, and for some reason, he sighed.

His palm technique shifted; one palm transformed in mid-air, one becoming ten, ten becoming a hundred, a hundred becoming a thousand... he used the Shaolin secret "Thousand-Hand Tathagata Palm," striking at the shadows in the void from afar, shattering them.

The moment the palm force was about to exhaust, a sharp whistle suddenly erupted, the sound waves like thunder, exploding with a boom, tearing apart the floor and the several Luck phantoms in front of him.

For some reason, everyone felt that Murong Tonghuang's two strikes to shatter the phantoms were much simpler than before.

Bang!

Yu Liancheng stomped his feet violently on the ground, his entire body piercing through the air as if to head straight into the clouds.

The next moment, his figure flipped, he opened his palm and reached out toward the ground from afar.

Amidst ethereal Buddhist chants, this palm seemed to grow infinitely, filling the heavens and earth, sealing off all space, blotting out the sky and sun as it pressed downward.

Boom!

The entire Imperial Palace shook violently.

Amidst the deafening roar, a huge and clear palm print was imprinted on the ground, with long cracks spreading out to the distant palace walls, which quickly collapsed and toppled over.

With this single strike, thirty or forty Luck phantoms were slapped into a pool of airflow and dissipated into nothingness.

Yu Liancheng slowly withdrew his palm and blew a light breath, like a fierce hurricane sweeping across the ground, completely blowing away the remaining few nearly transparent Luck phantoms.

Suddenly, Murong Tonghuang turned around and pushed out a palm, blocking a punch that was meant to strike his back.

"So the last phantom is indeed myself?"

Yu Liancheng looked at the beautiful face before him, examined it carefully, and shook his head: "A fake is always a fake; in terms of appearance, it is still a cut below. Piracy is not advisable."

With a burst of violent Qi, the final Luck phantom finally dissipated and vanished.

Murong Tonghuang walked slowly and arrived before the aged eunuch.

He looked down at this eunuch who had been Proving Longevity in the Human Realm, only to see the latter sitting cross-legged, hunched over, eyes closed, with a look of relief on his face, giving one the feeling of a high-ranking Buddhist monk passing away.

Yu Liancheng let out another light sigh.

A gust of wind blew by.

The aged eunuch turned into a pile of powder and drifted away, disappearing.

The one who sought longevity did not attain it.

In reality, ten or so breaths ago, the aged eunuch had already dissipated his final trace of breath. It was precisely because of this that Yu Liancheng was able to easily resolve the Luck phantoms.

To seek longevity, the nameless eunuch had absorbed two hundred years of the Zhao Family's Luck.

Yet in the end, he abandoned longevity and sacrificed his own life for the sake of the Zhao Family; was this worth it or not? Perhaps only he himself knew.

Yu Liancheng raised his gaze and looked toward a certain palace, as if he had heard something very interesting, and a smile flickered at the corner of his mouth: "One million shi of grain transport, that is truly frightening. It seems you brat still don't understand your current situation. Could it be you really think I dare not kill?"

He tossed the Willow Leaf Broken Sword into the air.

"Murong Tonghuang returns the sword to the Emperor of the Zhao Family."

The Emperor of the Zhao Family saw the Flying Sword.

This Flying Sword was one the Emperor of the Zhao Family had commissioned the Dongyue Sword Pool to forge, and he was quite familiar with it.

Originally, this sword was a zhang long, the willow leaf slender and long.

It could kill people, and it could also sever Luck.

Now it was broken, the tip missing, but it was no shorter than an ordinary sword, still emitting a chilling sharpness.

Although this sword no longer had a tip, the Emperor of the Zhao Family understood one principle: one could still stab someone to death without a sword tip.

The young Emperor was afraid of death after all, so he could not help but feel terror.

This emotion had been building in his chest ever since he learned of Murong Tonghuang entering the city, and now it finally erupted like a volcano; he was terrified and dissatisfied, his face deathly pale. The past events flashed before his eyes like a horse passing a gap.

And the reason the young Emperor could have so many thoughts was not only because his ideas were numerous and chaotic, but also because this sword was not fast, even giving people a feeling of being leisurely and unhurried.

Yet, the young Emperor was locked in place by the Qi of the sword, unable to move a muscle.

It was as if that sword were the Emperor, the true master.

It not only controlled the young Emperor's life but also dominated everything about him.

Even every breath and every blink of the young Emperor was a gift from that sword.

This made the young Emperor feel increasingly humiliated.

The sword drew closer and closer.

Fortunately, there was no need for the scholar Chen Wang to deflect the sword.

Three figures had already appeared silently before the young Emperor.

These three, ranging from old to young, could be considered the final reserves of the Liyang Zhao Family.

Among the three, the elderly, lame man was surnamed Yao; like Liu Haoshi, he was a gatekeeper of Taian City and one of the leaders of the Zhao Gou hidden in the shadows.

The fellow who looked to be in his prime was also one of the Zhao Gou leaders, and furthermore, a Qi Practitioner of the Qintian Bureau.

The last was a "youth" with a short blade slung across his waist. This person was similar to the Longhu Mountain Land Immortal Zhao Xuansu, who had been killed by Murong Tonghuang; relying on secret arts, he had taken the path of rejuvenation, becoming younger the further he fell.

All three were First-Rank Experts, especially the "youth" with the short blade, who was only one step away from entering the Heavenly Phenomenon realm.

But as the three watched the slow-moving broken sword, they could not help but reveal grave expressions.

The three exchanged a glance, let out a sharp shout in unison, and attacked the incoming Flying Sword.

The seemingly frail, lame old man acted the most domineeringly; he rose from the ground, raised his fist, his entire body's Qi surging to whip up a hurricane within the palace, and then smashed his fist heavily onto the sword body.

Unfortunately, it was useless.

The Qi Practitioner held a finger upright, and a Flying Sword appeared from his sleeve, its tip pressing against the broken sword. The Flying Sword was gradually bent and deformed by the broken sword until it finally shattered into fragments with a boom.

Still useless.

Finally, it was the "youth" with the short blade at his waist. His cultivation realm was the highest, but his strike was the most plain and simple, looking no different from an ordinary wandering swordsman.

It was just that his hand gripping the hilt moved suddenly, swinging the blade in a slash.

Clang!

In an instant, blade and sword collided.

However, although the short-blade youth had the highest cultivation, he suffered the heaviest backlash.

A burst of Sword Qi erupted from the broken sword, and the "youth" was sent flying backward, crashing through a palace wall, his entire body a bloody mess, as if he had been sliced by a thousand blades in an instant; the sight was terrifying.

"Your Majesty, we cannot block this sword. Please, Your Majesty, leave first." The lame old man walked up to the young Emperor.

The young Emperor's mouth tasted bitter; he desperately wanted to say, 'This is the Imperial Palace, I am the Emperor, why should I retreat?' But looking at the approaching broken sword, that fear grew stronger, and how could he open his mouth?

Moreover, he was currently held fast by the Sword Qi, making it difficult even to move his lips.

Just as the lame old man and the middle-aged Qi Practitioner were about to take the young Emperor away, a flash of sword light suddenly appeared before their eyes, and a sense of impending danger arose.

The broken sword had suddenly accelerated, piercing into the young Emperor's chest and even carrying him several yards backward until he slammed heavily against the wall.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

The lame old man and the middle-aged Qi Practitioner were shocked.

Chen Wang also hurriedly stopped the approaching eunuchs, his expression flustered, telling them to quickly fetch the imperial physicians.

"So... this is what it feels like to be pierced by a sword..."

The young Emperor leaned against the wall, gasping for air, his dragon robe completely soaked in blood. Feeling the cold, stabbing pain in his chest, he suddenly understood how Xu Weixiong felt when she took that sword.

It really was quite unpleasant.

The middle-aged Qi Practitioner knew a little medicine; he dared not easily remove the sword from the young Emperor's chest, so he merely sealed the acupoints around the wound, took his pulse, and his brow relaxed slightly as he let out a long breath: "Fortunately, that sword did not injure the heart or lungs."

Originally, the young Emperor's main goal was to cut off the Luck of Beiliang and severely injure Xu Weixiong, not to kill her; it was because Xie Guanying had meddled that the situation became increasingly uncontrollable.

Therefore, Murong Tonghuang's sword was also meant to leave the young Emperor severely injured.

After all, the one who wanted his life was someone else entirely.

He, Murong Tonghuang, was merely a martial artist and did not have the guts to commit regicide.

"That is good, that is good." The lame old man realized his own back had been soaked in cold sweat without him noticing.

The atmosphere in the hall eased slightly.

And in the Imperial Palace, there were no longer those intense sounds of fighting from before.

Clearly, after Murong Tonghuang collected the debt owed, he had left.

As long as that fellow was gone and the imperial physician arrived, the Emperor would be safe.

"Alliance Leader Murong is still unwilling to take things to the extreme. Very well, let Cao Zhangqing finish this game of chess." A clear, resonant voice rang out, and Cao Zhangqing had arrived, his green robes fluttering.

"Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor!"

The lame old man's eyes widened, revealing a look of panic.

The sounds of armor and weapons clashing rang out incessantly, and with the sound of heavy footsteps, squads of elite Imperial Guards finally rushed over.

"Cao Zhangqing, you dare!"

The lame old man looked at Cao Zhangqing, who was walking step by step into the hall, and shouted sharply: "The situation in Guangling Dao is now settled. If you insist on going your own way, you will implicate not only yourself but the entire Western Chu."

"In the Spring and Autumn, amidst the wind and rain, some borrow umbrellas and wear straw capes. Only my Great Chu refuses to avoid the rain; we would rather sing and die in the rain than live under another's roof."

Cao Zhangqing stood with his hands behind his back; in his fingers, a black chess piece had appeared, a piece infused with the Luck of Western Chu and the Qi of a Confucian Sage.

"Kill!"

"Protect the Emperor, protect the Emperor!"

Led by a general, the Imperial Guards launched an offensive against Cao Zhangqing.

Cao Zhangqing merely flicked his sleeves, and the group of Imperial Guards were sent flying backward, vomiting blood, as if struck by cannonballs.

The middle-aged Qi Practitioner and the lame old man attacked simultaneously, but how could they be a match for the newly ascended Confucian Sage, Cao Guanzi? With a push of his palms, the two were instantly sent crashing backward as well.

"Your life and death are in this Great Chu, and so am I; I have always been here. Cao Zhangqing has spent his life unable to walk out of that Imperial Palace, so I will not walk out. Today, let me, Cao Guanzi, place one more piece for you, and place one more piece for Western Chu."

Cao Zhangqing picked up a piece, raised his arm high, and then placed the piece onto the chessboard in the void.

The clouds rolled and tumbled, descending in unison.

High above the Central Plains, they hung low by a hundred zhang.

Boom!

A streak of Luck descended from the sky, striking into the palace.

……

This day in the deep winter of the first year of Xiangfu was destined to be recorded in history, and would also evolve into countless tales of gods and monsters.

One person holding a sword broke into Taian City, crushing tens of thousands of soldiers and martial arts experts guarding the Capital.

Then, an immortal from the Qintian Bureau came to stop this person; Sanskrit chants lingered, and rainbows hung in the sky several times, yet they were forcefully suppressed, and the immortal vanished without a trace. The Qintian Bureau was destroyed, and eight hundred Qi Practitioners suffered heavy casualties. Furthermore, the Ink Cloud Heavenly Blade descended from the sky, carving a blade mark a hundred zhang long in the south of the city, magnificent and terrifying.

Thereafter.

One person and one sword killed their way into the Imperial Palace, where they encountered another figure akin to a Land Immortal.

These two enemies of ten thousand moved as swiftly as a Flood Dragon entering the sea; in the process of their slaughter, they plowed through more than half of the entire Imperial Palace, leaving it in a state of Broken ruin everywhere, their momentum unstoppable wherever they passed. The Imperial Guards responsible for protection suffered even heavier casualties; they had clearly not participated much in this battle, but because they were too close, they were caught in the crossfire.

It is said that afterwards, the immortal guarding the Imperial Palace used a special immortal art to summon countless experts to assist.

Yet the result in return was a voice heard throughout the entire Capital: "Murong Tonghuang returns the sword to the Son of Heaven of the Zhao Family."

Afterwards, the young Son of Heaven was severely wounded and bedridden.

Rumors also spread among the common folk that the Son of Heaven of the Zhao Family was killed by Murong Tonghuang during the "returning of the sword" that day and had already passed away.

Others said that the Son of Heaven of the Zhao Family was only injured at the time, but the green-clad Cao Guanzi entered the Imperial Palace five times and killed the young Son of Heaven.

Regardless of whether that young Son of Heaven is dead or alive, the Central Plains is once again about to be in turmoil.

And once spring arrives, Northern Mang will again invade Beiliang from the south.

A chaotic era is approaching.

And who will come to establish peace?