Chapter 346

Li Miao spoke lightly and casually, without any surprise.

Rather, from the moment he saw Liu Jinyi in Zhu Yijing's house, he had already guessed it. The trip to the Yan Fu tonight just confirmed his guess.

It was almost impossible for Liu Jin to master Profound Observation.

Not to mention whether the Zheng family's cultivation method was compatible with Liu Jin, even with his own aptitude, the probability of mastering Profound Observation was one in ten thousand. Because the requirements for the realm of nature cultivation were much higher than those for life cultivation. Even if the Yingzhou cultivation method were spread throughout the world, the number of people who could master it would probably not exceed the number of fingers on one hand.

So far, the people in the Great Ming who have mastered the perfect realm of nature cultivation are only Li Miao, Ji Tianrui, the Emperor, the Jianwen Emperor, and An Qisheng. Excluding An Qisheng, none of the other four mastered it normally.

The difficulty of mastering it, the interruption of inheritance, and the reason why nature cultivation has been lost for many years, besides the suppression by successive dynasties, probably also includes the factor of too high requirements for aptitude.

Back to the present.

The Emperor had been standing there for a long time without speaking.

And Li Miao also glanced at him intentionally or unintentionally. Although he didn't show it on his face, he had already secretly prepared to strike.

Would the amnesiac Emperor change because of Liu Jin's life-risking loyalty? No one could say for sure.

Liu Jin coming to see the Emperor today must have been playing this game.

Fortunately, after a while, the Emperor sighed and turned back to sit at the table.

"Like Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly... he is loyal to the butterfly, not to me. What he seeks is the me of the past. To achieve this, he must kill the me of the present."

"In the end, it is an enemy, not a friend."

Li Miao raised his eyebrows and drank tea calmly.

The hall was quiet for a while.

After another moment, Zhu Zai said in a deep voice.

"So, will Yan Song still force the palace tomorrow?"

"He should."

Li Miao said slowly.

"We are the Embroidered Uniform Guard, there aren't many people in the world whose reputation is worse than ours, not much better than eunuchs. Whether it's civil officials or military generals, they are already dissatisfied with you, it's just that they didn't act before."

"Now that Yan Song has confirmed that what the Eastern Depot said is true, he has eliminated the last trace of hesitation. If they win, with the help of Yingzhou's means, they can advance to hold the Emperor hostage to command the vassals, and retreat to restore the Emperor's memory and be a great loyal minister."

"So tomorrow is when they bring things to the table and officially declare war on us with the help of the Eastern Depot and Yingzhou's plans."

Zhu Zai stroked his beard and pondered, saying.

"At that time, I'm afraid there will be a hundred responses to one call, and the imperial clan can't hold it now."

"Still have to drag it out."

"Now the enemy is many and we are few, the Emperor's martial arts have not yet recovered, and the response arrangements have not yet been completed. For the current plan, there is only the word 'drag'."

Li Miao nodded in agreement.

"I think so too."

"My trip to the Yan Fu today was not without gains."

He held up two fingers and said with a smile.

"First, An Qisheng is already too old, his state is quite wrong, the longer we drag it out, the more likely something will happen to him."

"Second, Liu Jin can't hold on for too long."

He shifted his gaze to the pool of blood in the hall.

"Although his means are bizarre, they are also a desperate move. He hasn't mastered nature cultivation, these 'nature seeds' can't last long in the host's body and will dissipate on their own. And as time goes on, the time and degree he can influence the host will also weaken."

"I estimate that in at most half a month, 'Liu Jin' will completely disappear."

The Emperor said.

"But they know their own situation, will they let us drag it out?"

Li Miao shook his head.

"Naturally not, but they are also waiting, waiting for the moment when everything is ready. The time when the map is finished and the dagger is revealed is after today and before the end of the month."

"Besides, isn't there another piece on the chessboard that hasn't landed on the board yet?"

The Emperor and Zhu Zai looked at each other and said in unison.

"The Jianghu!"

————————

Outside the capital, on the official road.

Cao Hanyan and Gao Anyu galloped all the way.

But they subconsciously avoided pedestrians and only chose remote roads to walk. Just because their current situation was truly bizarre.

Because behind them, an old Daoist was "floating."

He was truly floating, with only one hand lightly resting on Cao Hanyan's shoulder, his whole body like a piece of weightless grass paper, floating up as they moved, lying straight in the air.

Today is October 15th, only four days have passed since the two arrived at Mount Wudang. Logically speaking, with their light-body martial arts, they shouldn't be able to reach Shuntian.

It was all because of that old Daoist.

As Cao Hanyan ran, he felt a subtle and mysterious internal energy pouring into his body from the old Daoist's hand resting on his shoulder, building a circuit in his leg meridians on its own.

And as this wisp of internal energy continued to circulate, Cao Hanyan's speed skyrocketed, and the fatigue of traveling day and night was also driven away.

After traveling for more than ten miles, the old Daoist's hand lifted lightly and rested on Gao Anyu's shoulder.

Gao Anyu's eyes immediately widened, he shouted excitedly, swung his arms, and ran forward, leaving Cao Hanyan behind.

"Brother Gao!"

It was Cao Hanyan who shouted, stopping him.

The three of them moved forward like this, and finally, at the dawn of the morning light, they saw the towering city walls in the distance.

"Brother Cao! We must be the fastest!"

Gao Anyu shouted excitedly.

"We will definitely be able to help Uncle Li!"

Cao Hanyan also nodded and slowly slowed down.

"It's not time to open the city gates yet, let's slow down and enter the city later."

"Hmm!"

When the two stopped, the old Daoist also landed.

By this time, the old Daoist still hadn't opened his eyes, and he kept muttering to himself, as if sleepwalking, his hand resting on Gao Anyu's shoulder, following them step by step.

The two were also used to the old Daoist's style, and they knew that the old Daoist couldn't hear anything they said, and politeness was useless, so they found a clean place on the side of the road to sit down, took dry food from their bags, and chewed, waiting for the city gates to open.

The three of them sat like this for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Suddenly, the old Daoist opened his eyes.

Cao Hanyan and Gao Anyu were both shocked for a moment. Along the way, the old Daoist neither ate nor relieved himself, and even when they encountered mountain bandits and he was splashed with blood while hanging behind Gao Anyu, he didn't open his eyes. Why did he open them suddenly?

There must be a demon if things are abnormal!

The two grabbed their weapons, ready to strike at any time!

Just at this moment, they heard the old Daoist say hoarsely.

"Wait a moment."

Before the words fell, Cao Hanyan and Gao Anyu's eyes blurred.

Looking again, the old Daoist had already disappeared.

The two looked at each other and sighed.

"Could it be that people who practice Dao are all this mysterious?"

Now, this old Daoist, stepped forward, his steps were not fast, but it was as if he were stepping on ice, each step covering dozens of zhang, and in the blink of an eye, he had darted far away.

A moment later, he stopped slowly.

In this short time, the old Daoist had darted several miles.

Standing in the open field, he said hoarsely.

"Come out."

No response.

All around, only the morning wind passed through, rubbing the grass leaves, and there was no other sound.

But the old Daoist didn't waver at all. After saying "Come out," he stood silently in place, without any movement, as if he could stand here until the end of time.

Time passed bit by bit.

Suddenly, the morning wind stopped.

Dust flew!

The ground at the old Daoist's feet exploded, a short man drilled out from under the ground, his short sword aimed directly at the old Daoist's face!

"Stinking bull-nose! I hid from you, and you still want to come find me!"

"Are you also here for that Profound Observation cultivation method! Good, good, good—let's see the real skills under our hands!"