Chapter 323

"Shuntian! Shuntian Prefecture!"

Shou Xia cried out in pain repeatedly. Cao Hanyan's fingers, like steel hooks, dug into his temples. The intense pain made his sanity dim, and even lies were difficult to organize clearly.

"How much wealth was transported!" Cao Hanyan shouted sternly.

"Gold, twenty thousand taels, silver one million..."

Cao Hanyan and Zheng Yi looked at each other, both with wide eyes.

This amount... was already more than double the annual revenue of the imperial court! Even without knowing what kind of scheme was hidden behind it, just from this huge quantity, one could know that this matter was absolutely not small!

Cao Hanyan's fingers tightened again, this time with both strength and True Qi changing accordingly, having used the interrogation technique Li Miao gave him to the fullest: "Who did you give it to!"

Shou Xia cried out in pain, saliva flowing from the corners of his mouth, until Cao Hanyan slightly relaxed his strength, and he hurriedly said.

"Liu, Liu Jin..."

"What was it used for!"

"Dharma—"

Just as he spat out a word, Zheng Yi's eyes condensed. She reached out, pulled Cao Hanyan behind her, and drew a group of sword light!

Ding ding ding ding ding—

A cluster of cow-hair fine needles glowing with a faint blue light inserted into the ground, the sword light exploded, and a sharp, peerless sword stabbed out from it, heading straight for Shou Xia's face!

It collided with a pitch-black long knife!

Holding the hilt was a pair of hands with bulging veins, and above that was a pitch-black night-traveling suit and mask, revealing only a pair of emotionless eyes.

Zheng Yi killed her way forward, forcing him back several yards, then chased after him, forcing him further away from Cao Hanyan and Shou Xia. Finally, the two chased and fled, disappearing in a flash.

Cao Hanyan hurriedly stepped forward to grip Shou Xia's back neck, wanting to continue the interrogation, but he was stunned. When he turned him over, he was already bleeding from seven orifices and on the verge of death.

But clearly, that person hadn't even touched Shou Xia!

Cao Hanyan gritted his teeth and ran toward the outside of the palace with the corpse.

Li Miao and Zheng Yi were both fighting; now the only one who could save Shou Xia was Xiao Si.

————————

Li Miao punched Zheng Anqi high into the air again, his figure blurred, and he appeared in front of Zheng Anqi again, smashing down with a leg axe in mid-air!

Boom!

Zheng Anqi only had time to raise his hand to protect his chest before flying down like a meteorite! Huge stones splashed out, and several surrounding streets shook accordingly!

But the next moment, he rushed out of the dust and smoke again, chopping toward Li Miao with a palm!

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The movements of the two, ordinary Jianghu experts probably couldn't even see clearly. In a breath, dozens of white rings exploded in mid-air, suddenly expanding—followed by a loud, huge sound!

Between the collision of fists and palms, the two gazes collided.

"I see it clearly."

Li Miao's mouth curled up, he blocked Zheng Anqi's arm with a punch, and his single arm turned into a claw, sweeping across Zheng Anqi's chest from bottom to top.

"What protective True Qi, what immortal arts, are all just 'usages' of this realm. Its foundation is nothing more than the four words 'Life and Nature are intertwined'!"

Zheng Anqi's eyes condensed.

Between the two's fighting, they had already plowed the entire Heavenly Street. The civilian houses on both sides had become ruins, the ground had sunk several feet, and the corpses lying on the Heavenly Street had been beaten into powder.

But even with such a huge scene, the two had only been fighting for two sticks of incense until now... just two sticks of incense, and the foundation of Xuanlan had already been pointed out by Li Miao!

That's right, the so-called Xuanlan is actually the most simple and unadorned realm among the three natures. Its wonder can be summarized in one word—"Mastery."

Mastering one's own nature and life.

During the fight, consciously feeding back one's own "nature" to "life," thereby obtaining a more solid and powerful life-cultivation realm.

The so-called protective True Qi, its foundation is just "Sumeru" strengthened by "Xuanlan"!

"So what if you see it clearly!"

Zheng Anqi said in a deep voice while fighting Li Miao.

"It doesn't matter, I just discovered some interesting things."

Li Miao's mouth curled up, revealing a playful smile.

"If Xuanlan could feed back multiple realms simultaneously, you should have strengthened all three life-cultivation realms long ago; if Xuanlan could change the fed-back realm at any time, then your moves should have changed several times more, and I estimate I would have fallen into a disadvantage long ago."

"This realm, at the time of cultivation, the life-cultivation realm to be fed back is already fixed, right? Just like you have always been feeding back Sumeru and simply not strengthening the other two life-cultivation realms."

"But this has a problem—"

Zheng Anqi's face was as heavy as water, the gloom in it almost tangible, about to drip down. The veins on his forehead bulged!

He pounced forward fiercely, piercing both ears with both peaks!

Striking toward Li Miao's face, he even gave up defense entirely, as if possessed, wanting to stop Li Miao's next words!

"Anxious, anxious."

Li Miao raised his arm to block Zheng Anqi's palms.

"The more anxious you are, the more I want to say it."

"All things have different natures, let alone the human heart. Even with identical experiences, backgrounds, and memories, it is impossible to shape two completely identical hearts—let alone shape two completely identical 'Xuanlan'."

"But how do yours and that Penglai remnant's Xuanlan look exactly the same... unless it is, same root and same source!"

Zheng Anqi roared: "Shut up!"

Pouncing forward.

Li Miao, however, withdrew at this moment, avoided Zheng Anqi's moves, and said playfully.

"Your realms are not your own."

"Your martial arts are not your own."

"Even your faces are not your own."

"You were manufactured to store other people's 'nature', fakes!"

Zheng Anqi's eyeballs were blood-red, and he had even lost control when attacking. The escaping True Qi drifted like clouds and smoke—boom!

It collapsed dozens of yards of civilian houses!

And Li Miao had no intention of fighting him at all, avoiding while constantly attacking his heart.

"No wonder you all look about the same. Nature and life are one body. You were deliberately made into a shape—just to better carry the Xuanlan that doesn't belong to you."

"The distinction between your Yingzhou main family and outer sect is actually the difference between finished products and defective products... The closer to that standard template, the closer the Xuanlan you can carry is to perfection, and the higher your status."

"But to put it bluntly—"

Zheng Anqi seemed to have been completely robbed of his sanity by anger.

In Jianghu fighting, the more angry you are, the more you must suppress your anger. Your heart can be chaotic, but your fists cannot be unstable.

But the protective True Qi on Zheng Anqi's body moved without wind, suddenly expanding, and from the dharma robe worn on his body, it turned into ribbons several yards long again.

This was a manifestation of his fluctuating state of mind, unable to restrain his "nature."

"Don't say anymore."

Zheng Anqi said hoarsely.

"I don't hate you, I just want to decide life and death with you... because you and I are in the same boat, it's just that you are luckier. Even if you win in the end, I can accept it calmly."

"But if you say any more, even if I have to die with you, I will kill you."

Killing intent was awe-inspiring; he was serious.

But Li Miao's mouth curled up.

"I need something like you to empathize with me? Are you worthy?"

White teeth opened, bloodstains connected, and cold words were spat out.

"What Yingzhou, Penglai..."

"It's just a group of... pots, made to catch the stinking urine of an old immortal, with even the shape prescribed, and you were even complacent about dividing yourselves into three, six, or nine grades according to the shape..."

"Just, pots."