Chapter 189: Right here

Ji Ji Ji Tianrui did not answer. She merely watched Yin Yin Ruihua with a faint smile, neither stepping forward to take his hand nor refusing him.

No one knew what she was thinking, nor did anyone know what she truly wanted.

Yin Yin Ruihua did not know, the Yang family did not know, the Ming Cult did not know, and not even the deceased Ji Ji Ji Tianrui—or the second Miao King who had birthed and raised her—knew.

She was like a wild beast wandering between the mountains and forests, while all other people were merely the clear springs, winding trees, scattered stones, and blowing breezes of the mountains—yet there was not a single one among them worthy of her lingering.

If one speaks of loneliness, it is nothing compared to this.

Yang Yang Lizhang frowned as he looked at her, falling silent for a moment, already prepared to strike at her.

The area fell into a dead silence, locked in a stalemate.

Ji Ji Ji Tianrui, however, cast her gaze to the side, looking far off toward the mausoleum of the Jiajing Emperor.

"I wonder how Magistrate Li is faring over there?"

She thought to herself.

————————

Wang Zhi's preparations could hardly be called anything but thorough.

The gap between Heaven-Man realm experts was no longer as profound as that between the Peerless and Heaven-Man realms. Whether it was one, two, or three paths, it was merely a difference in "quantity," not a difference in "quality."

Ten Heaven-Man experts of two paths, even if five were diverted to the Xiaoling Mausoleum, should have been more than enough to take down a single Heaven-Man expert, even if he were a three-path fusion.

No matter how one looked at it, the battle strength was five to one; the advantage should have been his!

But the current situation made cold sweat stream down Wang Zhi's face.

At his feet lay a mass of blurred flesh and blood.

That was the corpse of the Venerable Zhou... or rather, the main portion of the corpse.

As for the rest of him, it was everywhere.

Internal organs were splashed about, clothing was scattered, and the head had vanished without a trace. The lower half of the body hung crookedly from a tree, blood dripping slowly.

The remaining four venerables were already beginning to struggle.

The venerable from the Tang Men had his left hand broken, half his Wu Gong ruined, and could only use his right hand to continuously fire hidden weapons, attempting to pin Li Miao down.

The Venerable Venerable Qian, who was locked in close-quarters combat with Li Miao, was already panting like an ox, blood flowing from his seven orifices. Li Miao had already struck him fifteen times with the "Zhao Wuji Vibration Zen"; his internal organs were now riddled with holes, and his vision was turning black.

As for the two venerables guarding the flanks, they were uninjured, but their expressions were extremely ugly.

Suddenly, the Venerable Tang could no longer hold back.

"What on earth is this thing!!!"

"Is he a three-path fusion or a three-path perfectionist!? Is there even a human being left under that mask!?"

She turned her head abruptly to look at Wang Zhi.

"Eunuch Wang, you said earlier, 'Even if you were the reincarnation of Zhang Zhang Zhang Zhang Sanfeng'—is there any basis for that statement?"

"Is he truly the reincarnation of Zhang Zhang Zhang Zhang Sanfeng?"

Wang Zhi thought, *Screw your mother. *

Can't I even brag a little?

If he were really the reincarnation of Zhang Zhang Zhang Zhang Sanfeng, would you all still be alive right now?

Yet, in his heart, he was actually starting to doubt—had his words become a prophecy? Was he truly a reincarnation of Zhang Zhang Zhang Zhang Sanfeng or Bodhidharma? Was that why he attacked Shaolin, and why no Heaven-Man experts from Shaolin stepped out—because they dared not offend their ancestor?

Reincarnation was a very eerie business; logically, Wang Zhi shouldn't have such absurd thoughts.

But no matter how eerie it was, it couldn't be more eerie than Li Miao.

If one really had to say, he was just a Heaven-Man expert of three-path fusion and two-path perfection.

But those two perfected paths kept changing!

When he was pounding people, it was Sumeru plus Atom; no one could withstand a single strike. When he was taking a beating, it was Jin Gang plus Sumeru; his muscles and bones were as solid as rock, and with a layer of Sumeru protective Qi on the outside, ordinary attacks couldn't even break his skin.

Right now, it had become Jin Gang plus Atom; his fists fell like raindrops, and he simply ignored the attacks of the other three venerables to chase and pummel the Venerable Venerable Qian.

Li Miao stomped on the ground and delivered a straight punch toward the Venerable Venerable Qian's face.

Seeing it was the "Horizontal-Vertical Fist," the Venerable Venerable Qian raised his arms to block. But suddenly, he let out a cry of pain. Looking at his arm, it was a bloody mess; he knew that in that instant, Li Miao had changed his technique to "Leaf-Plucking," tearing his flesh apart.

Li Miao slapped his palm toward the Venerable Venerable Qian's chest. He channeled his protective Qi to withstand this "Great Nine Heavens Palm," but his whole body shook, and he spat out a mouthful of blood with a "puff."

Zhao Wuji Vibration Zen!

"Switch!"

The Venerable Venerable Qian cried out in pain and retreated.

He couldn't take it anymore. If he were vibrated two more times, he feared his brains would flow out through his eye sockets. He could only let the other venerables stall for a while; he needed to regulate his breath and heal his wounds.

Li Miao pressed in, showing no intention of letting him go.

The Venerable Venerable Qian did not wait for anyone to take his place in blocking Li Miao.

He looked back in despair, only to see three pairs of eyes faintly revealing cowardice.

That was it. No one dared to take on the job of pinning Li Miao down anymore.

Those who were willing to submit to the imperial court were all Heaven-Man experts who feared death; otherwise, who would be willing to lie around like a corpse, living their lives through dreams?

They were already afraid.

No one wanted to die.

If Wang Zhi hadn't been present, they would have long since abandoned their duties and fled for their lives.

Right now, the Venerable Tang had already quietly moved to the side. It was clear that once he died at Li Miao's hands, she would immediately turn and flee.

The Venerable Venerable Qian's heart turned to ash.

In the martial arts struggles of the Great Ming, once one reached the Peerless level, the influence of one's state of mind was immense, and this was even more true for the struggles of Heaven-Man experts. If one's state of mind was flawed, the techniques lost their spirit, and their power would be cut by more than half.

And no matter what martial art it was, using it with the mindset of "It's over, I'm going to die" was simply offering one's own neck to the opponent's blade.

Li Miao naturally would not let this opportunity pass. He raised his right hand and delivered three punches to the Venerable Venerable Qian.

Zhao Wuji Vibration Zen!

Zhao Wuji Vibration Zen!

Zhao Wuji Vibration Zen!

Three consecutive vibrations had already turned the Venerable Venerable Qian's brains into mush. His skin cracked, and blood beads the size of beans seeped from every pore on his body. His body collapsed softly, and he was already silent.

When Li Miao's ferocious bronze mask turned to face the Venerable Tang, she could no longer muster the courage to strike at Li Miao.

She forgot that she was a long-renowned Heaven-Man expert, as if she had returned to the days when she first entered the Ordinary Ordinary Ordinary Jianghu, and suddenly let out an irrepressible scream.

*Swish! *

Her figure flashed, and she turned to flee, regardless of anything else.

The Venerable Liu and the Venerable Attendant Ruan showed expressions of unbearable pity and closed their eyes.

*Bang! *

The Venerable Tang's figure, flying high, fell like a bird with broken wings, crashing heavily to the ground. Her face aged rapidly, and her eyes, looking toward the sky, gradually lost their luster.

Li Miao looked at Wang Zhi.

In his hand, he was clutching the crushed corpse of a Gu insect.

"So that's how it is."

Li Miao realized.

"I was wondering, since the imperial mausoleum hides the court's secrets, how could they let Ji Ji Ji Tianrui sneak in and hide? That Miao King's notebook was left by Ji Ji Ji Tianrui with the Miao King; why would she deliberately leave behind a means to expose her own location?"

"So, the butterfly that Li Xiaosi refined that day wasn't sensing Ji Ji Ji Tianrui at all."

"What it sensed was here—it was this very place."

(End of Chapter)