Chapter 228: Divine Foot (Combined Two-in-One)

Hush~

In the night, Li Yuan lightly tapped his left foot, exerting little force, and drifted out; shifting his form several times, he had already left the Divine Guard Army's encampment.

Light,

Lightness.

In the night wind, Li Yuan felt the changes after cultivating the Divine Foot Sutra.

After altering his bone structure many times, his entire body of sinews and bones was like cast copper and iron; at his normal height of under 1.9 meters, he weighed nearly three hundred jin.

Relying on his own powerful blood qi and internal qi as the drive, he could explode forth and shift at high speed.

Once the Divine Foot Sutra was formed, his instantaneous explosive speed became faster, and even more astonishingly, amidst the rising and falling shifts, his body seemed to have no weight, like straw, able to move with the wind.

"Old Han has altered his Wind Form technique; in terms of lightness, he is not as good as me... this is with just one foot; if it were two feet, could I not drift away with the wind?"

Li Yuan was amazed in his heart.

Normally, after a Wu Gong is cultivated to completion, its improvement is relatively fixed; for instance, the Mang Niu Gong, at great perfection, increases strength by a thousand jin.

But this Divine Foot Sutra, based on his original foundation of lightness, increases by multiples.

The faster his own speed, the greater the benefit after the Divine Foot is cultivated...

"What if we add the control enhancement?"

Amidst the hushing wind sounds, a thought stirred in Li Yuan's heart, and the 'Supreme Six-Heavens Boots' and 'Thirteen Spirit Leather Boots' under his control instantly enhanced his body.

Before the Divine Foot Sutra was formed, relying on the enhancement of these two fourth-tier boots, his lightness skill already surpassed all in Dechang and Zhe Long Prefecture; even a Wu Gong master of the Unblocked Meridian Great Perfection realm, proficient in lightness, could not catch him.

What about now?

Buzz!

The instant the control enhancement took hold on his body, Li Yuan's form vanished from the spot; he only felt the strong wind strike his face like knives, the airflow carrying a sluggishness like running in water, forcing him to urge forth his internal qi to swirl around his exterior.

And almost simultaneously, he heard a tremendous roar explode.

Li Yuan turned back and saw the accumulated snow on both sides of the long street rise high like curtains being drawn up, a visible shockwave slowly vanishing until it settled behind him.

Sonic boom cloud?

The thought flashed through his mind; hearing the cursing and shouting from the civilian houses on both sides, Li Yuan tapped his foot once more, already passing through two long streets, the accumulated snow behind him and miscellaneous objects by the road all swept up by the strong wind.

Before those miscellaneous objects could hit the ground, Li Yuan had vanished without a trace.

"The control enhancement has not diminished; under the superposition of the two... speed has skyrocketed!"

How could it be just skyrocketing?

Amidst the swirling internal qi, Li Yuan's heart beat like a war drum; his sword heart, clear as a mirror, reflected the surrounding environment, making the drifting snow and falling leaves all appear slow.

He knew this was because his speed was too fast.

"Old Han absolutely cannot catch up to me!"

Li Yuan was overjoyed in his heart.

With the Divine Armor enhancement, Old Han's speed and strength would both increase greatly; in the previous month and a half, through soft coaxing and hard pleading, he had once made Old Han use it.

But he could be certain that even Old Han with the Divine Armor on his body, in terms of speed, could no longer compare to him.

"With this speed, if anyone stood in front of me, I fear they would be smashed to pieces by me, right?"

In the night, Li Yuan slowed his steps, not touching that layer of barrier; the thunderous rumbling behind him was too loud.

Yet even so, his speed was much faster than before, and his shifting and changing were also very seamless.

"With this speed, under instantaneous explosion, with my heavy hammer, against a Unblocked Meridian Great Perfection master like Feng Feng Yuanqing, without needing to summon the Hundred Beasts Thunder Dragon, I can kill him in a single move!"

His thoughts scattered; Li Yuan was extremely excited in his heart; the improvement in speed and power was far more intuitive than Bi Qi Wu Gong.

With the entry-level Divine Foot Sutra plus two pairs of fourth-tier boots, his speed was already this fast.

If the Divine Foot Sutra reached great perfection, and he could pile up six pairs of sixth-tier boots...

"Flying through the sky and burrowing through the earth!"

The moment this thought arose in his heart, Li Yuan trembled all over with excitement; this was hardly practicing martial arts, it was clearly cultivating immortality!

Hush-hush!

After being excited for quite a while, Li Yuan stopped in a small alley; behind him, the wind blew the snow, drifting and scattering.

The only two shortcomings were that his internal qi was too thin; with such extreme speed explosions, he could not maintain it for long, and...

"One Divine Foot is still awkward, one foot deep and one foot shallow..."

Dispersing the internal qi swirling around his body, Li Yuan was very satisfied in his heart and also somewhat expectant; he had merely used the Divine Foot Sutra to 'find the Divine Foot'.

According to the wording of the Bai Shen Fa's entry chapter, this is called Seeking the Divine; afterwards there are Seeing the Divine, Describing the Divine, Worshipping the Divine, Seeking the Divine, and Soul Transformation, six major realms.

The thirteen Divine Arts under the Bai Shen Fa all have seven major realms.

"The Divine Foot Sutra, Divine Palm Sutra, and the other thirteen Wu Gong all belong to branches under the Bai Shen Fa; the complete thirteen are Divine Arts, but a single one is at the level of a supreme art, or is it a fragment of a Divine Art?"

Li Yuan relaxed his sinews and bones; under instantaneous explosion, his sinews and bones were slightly sore; under multiple enhancements, this speed had already exceeded the limit his physique could bear.

If not for his hardening practice not having fallen behind, one explosion would likely cause injury each time...

"Pity, it is severely incomplete..."

Suppressing the regret in his heart, Li Yuan made no visible movement with his form and already entered this small courtyard.

Now, he very well understood why martial arts experts in the Jianghu disliked using doors; such a wall was no different from the small pebbles under his feet to him.

"Unlucky, unlucky..."

Beside the oil lamp, Linghu Linghu Baiwan sighed heavily; he had only come to deliver a message, and when he came everything was fine, but now he actually could not return.

"Brother Brother Shentu inviting Brother Brother Huangfu to meet so openly and boldly, I fear the matter is very grave..."

Linghu Linghu Baiwan sighed in his heart, his mind unsettled.

He had joined the Wutang merely to make a living, to find a big thigh to cling to; he had not the slightest interest in suppressing or exterminating sects.

"What is it?"

"Naturally... Who?!"

Linghu Linghu Baiwan instinctively replied, then his face changed drastically; he turned around, and cold sweat instantly poured down.

In the shadow where the oil lamp could not reach, the newcomer's gaze was like fire, brighter than the oil lamp itself.

"F-f-forgive me, Senior, you, you are here again."

Linghu Linghu Baiwan nearly fell to the ground, cold sweat streaming, his scalp going numb.

That person wore a ghost-face mask and a hemp robe; though he did not hold the heavy hammer, how could he not know who this was?

'I knew it, I knew it...'

He wailed inwardly and slumped his head in despair.

"Brother Huangfu Kun invited Brother Shentu Hong to meet; what is the purpose?"

Glancing at Linghu Linghu Baiwan, who looked as if he had lost his parents, Li Yuan's heart tightened slightly; just from this reaction, he knew he had come to the right place.

"S-s-senior..."

Linghu Linghu Baiwan blew out the oil lamp, closed the doors and windows tightly, and only then lowered his voice:

"Senior, leave quickly; they are all looking for you!"

Indeed, they had come for him.

Li Yuan had expected this in his heart and was not particularly surprised; instead, he asked:

"What else do you know? Speak, the more detailed the better."

"Th-this is..."

Linghu Linghu Baiwan was somewhat unsteady on his feet, so he simply sat down on the ground, lowered his voice, and recounted the matter of Brother Shentu Hong and Brother Huangfu Kun arriving one after another.

He did not conceal anything, mainly because the events of that day had already leaked out, and he dared not tell lies.

Whether this senior hides or not is another matter; if he tells lies, he will not survive the night.

"Brother Huangfu Kun..."

Li Yuan clasped his hands behind his back, his gaze flickering.

Hearing Linghu Linghu Baiwan's retelling of how Brother Huangfu Kun reconstructed his assassination of Feng Feng Yuanqing, he felt slightly surprised; after so much time, could that old fellow actually reconstruct it with nine or eight out of ten parts correct?

'These old fellows cannot be underestimated.'

Li Yuan's heart grew slightly cold.

"He... he said that the imperial court needs evidence to handle affairs; I fear, I fear they are about to move against the Divine Weapon Valley."

Linghu Linghu Baiwan let out a long breath.

Since Brother Huangfu Kun mentioned 'Li Li Yuanba' yesterday, he had been somewhat unsettled; now, inexplicably, he felt relaxed.

"Is that so?"

Li Yuan felt something subtle in his heart.

Brother Huangfu Kun moving against the Divine Weapon Valley must be true, but he openly invited Brother Shentu Hong to meet, and the news leaked so quickly...

"Beating the grass to startle the snake?"

Li Yuan's mind turned; was he suspecting that the people of the Dragon and Tiger Temple had not truly left?

But thinking it over carefully, he felt it was not quite right.

Brother Huangfu Kun alone would be enough to achieve the effect of beating the grass to startle the snake; why drag Brother Shentu Hong into it?

"Anything else?"

Pondering in his heart, Li Yuan asked for details.

"After he finished speaking, he and the Shentutang Hall Master left one after the other; afterwards, he never appeared again; only An San Yuan Wu was gathering the experts of the Zhenwutang..."

Linghu Linghu Baiwan lowered his head; when he raised it again, where was the person's shadow in the room?

Outside, the wind blew in.

Linghu Linghu Baiwan tightened his collar, quickly closed the door, yet still felt cold all over:

"His lightness skill, how does it seem even more formidable than before? Wait, where is my token?!"

Reaching out to touch his sleeve cuff, Linghu Linghu Baiwan nearly burst into curses; that old fellow had not only stolen his Zhenwutang waist token but also stolen his Zhixinglou waist token...

"Two Marrow-Refining realms."

Leaving this alley, Li Yuan turned and went to a civilian house, winding through a tunnel to enter the Zhixinglou stronghold.

After winding around seven or eight times, he arrived at the large cave where the reward stone stele was located.

From a distance, he glimpsed many masked assassins around the reward stone stele; his heart stirred slightly, so he approached and discovered that the line marked in red for 'Li Li Yuanba' had gained many more rewards.

The feat of assassinating Feng Feng Yuanqing had also been added.

"This beast is extremely ruthless; suspected to have reached the Great Perfection of the Pulse-Opening realm!"

Li Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly.

The cave was very quiet; the assassins coming and going were taciturn, making not a single sound, and many had their swords and blades covered with black cloth.

"Is Old Fox here?"

Suddenly, a voice came; a thin assassin wearing a cloak walked over quickly, his voice hoarse, obviously not his real voice.

And hanging at his waist was, unmistakably, a golden waist token.

"Gold-Rank Assassin!"

The assassins before and behind the stele all stepped back; someone could not help but let out a cry of shock.

Zhixinglou is very loose; there is no compulsion for its assassins below; except for the waist tokens, the wooden, iron, silver, and gold four-colored tokens are never issued lightly, and the requirements are extremely harsh.

A Silver-Rank Assassin must complete over a hundred missions; a Gold-Rank Assassin must not only complete a large number of missions but is also not allowed to fail; failing once automatically demotes them to Silver-Rank.

"Gold Medal Assassin!"

Li Yuan's heart trembled slightly; he remembered that the Zhe Long Manor had only one Gold Medal Assassin, and though Dechang Manor had more, it was no more than three.

"Cough, cough~"

From a nearby cave emerged an old man wearing a fox-shaped iron mask; his features were unseen, but his beard and hair were gray, and a silver plaque hung at his waist.

"Faceless, you just came yesterday, didn't you? Why have you come again?"

The fox-faced old man stepped forward to meet him.

"I need information!"

The Gold Medal Assassin wearing the Faceless mask pressed his voice low.

As an assassin organization, the Star-Picking Tower naturally gathered intelligence; indeed, many of its affairs were related to searching for information.

"What information?"

The fox-faced old man asked.

"Much."

The Faceless Assassin glanced around, then followed the fox-faced old man into a cave.

"Hmm?!"

Li Yuan's heart skipped a beat; as he drew nearer, he saw the familiar gleam of a weapon on this Faceless Assassin.

【Five-Color Lingxu Blade (Sixth Tier)】

Good heavens?!

Li Yuan's eyelid twitched.

"Valley Master?!"

Lowering his head slightly and stepping back a few paces, Li Yuan felt some shock in his heart.

He had previously suspected there were Star-Picking Tower assassins within the Divine Weapon Valley, but he never expected that Lord Master Gongyang Yu was also one...

"Wait, if he is, then what about Old Han and the others?"

Li Yuan drew in a sharp breath of cold air.

He had always thought the Star-Picking Tower was loose; now it seemed that precisely because it was loose, its assassins were likely far more mixed than he had imagined.

Li Yuan waited quite a while, scanning the bounty stone tablet from top to bottom, before waiting for Lord Master Gongyang Yu to leave.

Giving his retreating back a deep look, Li Yuan also approached that cave:

"Old Fox, I wish to see the information as well."

"Hmm?"

Glancing at the wooden plaque at his waist, the fox-faced old man didn't even lift his eyelids:

"Only Silver Medal Assassins are qualified to exchange for information; you... do you also have a Silver Medal?!"

The old man was stunned; he reached out, took the token Li Yuan handed him, checked it briefly, and found it was genuine.

"Hmm, come in."

Taking the token, Li Yuan followed slowly.

In this cave, there were many torches; deeper inside stood more than a dozen wooden racks, all filled with Juan Sect scrolls.

"The information here covers famous experts from all manors; the more famous the name, the more detailed the record. Do not bother looking for nameless small fry below the Great Success of Form-Shifting; there certainly won't be any."

"Furthermore, one piece of information costs a minimum of one hundred taels of silver; higher prices, higher prices—you probably can't afford them."

The fox-faced old man said Longhu Longhu Dandan:

"Whose information do you want?"

Seeing his tone so arrogant, Li Yuan was not polite: "Do you have any on Huang Fu Kun or Shen Tu Hong?"

"Who?"

The fox-faced old man was slightly stunned: "Why do you want both of these... cough, cough, yes, we have them; one piece costs three thousand taels of gold. Do you want it?"

Li Yuan's heart stirred; he turned and left:

"So expensive? Then I don't want it."

Coming and going without a sound, Li Yuan returned to the room silently; even the little mouse didn't notice.

"Shen Tu Hong, Huang Fu Kun..."

Lying down fully clothed, Li Yuan recalled the information obtained from Linghu Linghu Baiwan and analyzed in his heart:

"Huang Fu Kun's purpose is nothing more than the Split-Sea Black Whale Hammer; but as for Shen Tu Hong... though the Wutang has constant friction with the sects, it hardly warrants taking action against the Divine Weapon Valley, does it?"

Li Yuan pondered.

Over the past month-plus, besides practicing martial arts, Old Han would also mention other sects and the imperial court to him.

Since the Great Yun's founding emperor, Pang Pang Wenlong, successive Emperors have not lacked the desire to reclaim taxes and fiefs, and besides the Wutang, they have established violent organs such as the Jingping Bureau and the Imperial Guard.

But over so many years, neither the Wutang nor the Jingping Bureau has truly annihilated any sect in any meaningful sense.

How things were done in secret, no one knows; at least, not openly.

"The sects of the world seem like a scattered mess, but if the imperial court dares to act, they will surely attack en masse; no single sect could stand idly by..."

Sects differ from the feudal princes of his past life; their foundation lies not in land and armies, but in Grand Masters and Earthly Immortals.

"If the imperial court intends to act, it must first target the Dao Sect; it will never proceed from the bottom up!"

These were Old Han's exact words; Li Yuan remembered them vividly and deeply agreed.

"So, why has Shen Tu Hong come?"

★co

Li Yuan pondered for a long time; alas, with insufficient information, though he had some guesses, they were merely guesses.

When the sky was about to brighten, he closed his eyes for a short nap; as soon as it was light, he rose, washed up hastily, and went to find Lord Master Gongyang Yu.

……

"Junior Nephew Li?"

Inside the barracks, Lord Master Gongyang Yu and Withered Moon were both present; both were somewhat surprised to see Li Yuan.

"Senior Uncle, Senior Aunt."

Li Yuan cupped his hands in greeting.

Before long, elders and true disciples such as Fang Fang Bao Luo, Qiu Qiu Changying, and Long Sheng also arrived.

"Last night, this old man paid a visit to Yunshu Lou."

Once everyone had gathered, Lord Master Gongyang Yu spoke: "Some days ago, a great event occurred in the jianghu — the Town Martial King has come out of seclusion!"

The Town Martial King?!

Everyone in the barracks felt a jolt in their hearts.

The Town Martial King's name was known to every sect under heaven; even though he had not appeared in recent decades, his reputation remained immensely weighty.

Land Immortal, Grand Master of the Shenbangda Sect, living master of the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing, master of the Demon-Subduing Dragon God Saber, a king by a different surname, the number one expert under heaven…

A string of titles and deeds instantly surfaced in Li Yuan's mind.

"The Town Martial King… the emergence of the Sea-Splitting Shan Xuan Whale Hammer actually alarmed even him?"

The group exchanged glances, feeling only shock.

That was the Town Martial King, after all.

"The imperial capital is in turmoil; someone is suspected to have attempted to assassinate the king. The Town Martial King struck out and drove back the assassin…"

Lord Master Gongyang Yu's face was dark as water; he had no intention of keeping them in suspense either:

"The assassin's identity is unknown, but this act has enraged the imperial court. The Town Martial King has ordered every hall and every sect under heaven — anyone who dares to harbor that assassin will have their clan exterminated, their sect exterminated!"

Another assassination attempt on the king?

Li Yuan clicked his tongue inwardly — the Emperor of this Dayun dynasty truly lived a perilous life.

He recalled that over forty years ago, the current emperor's father had been assassinated in the Golden Hall, after which a great upheaval erupted, and a Land Immortal had perished…

"This…"

Everyone in the barracks was greatly shocked. After a good while, Qiu Qiu Changying finally spoke with a furrowed brow:

"Valley Master, does this matter perhaps have something to do with us?"

"The Town Martial King coming out of seclusion naturally has something to do with us."

Lord Master Gongyang Yu sighed.

The Town Martial King had been in seclusion for over forty years; needless to say for disciples like Qiu Qiu Changying, even he had nearly forgotten — back then, this very lord, with the imperial court's support, had been determined to trample the jianghu under his horse's hooves.

Thinking of the matters mentioned in the intelligence, worry inevitably rose in his heart.

"Over forty years ago, the Town Martial King once wished to trample the jianghu…"

Elder Withered Moon's expression was solemn; she too had only recalled this after reading that intelligence last night.

"Trample the jianghu?"

The barracks immediately stirred with unrest.

'Trample the jianghu… cutting down the regional powers, is that it? No wonder the imperial capital erupted in chaos…'

Li Yuan had never heard of this matter either, but in a flash of thought, he recalled Lord Master Gongyang Yu.

If the Valley Master of the Divine Weapon Valley was an assassin of the Star-Plucking Tower, then who could say the Dao Lord of Dragon Tiger Temple, or the sect masters of the Azure Dragon Pavilion and the Unified Qi Mountain Manor could not be as well?

"Valley Master, you mean that the reason Shen Tu Hong dared to collude with Huang Fu Kun is because of this Town Martial King?"

Fang Fang Bao Luo came back to himself and asked.

He oversaw the Supervisory Hall and was very interested in old jianghu affairs. Though he had never heard the rumor of trampling the jianghu, he did know that over forty years ago the Town Martial Hall had been far more overbearing than today.

"That doesn't add up, does it?"

Long Sheng frowned and objected: "The Town Martial Hall ultimately represents the imperial court — to collude so brazenly with the Xieshen Sect, this is rather…"

"The evil gods worshipped by the Xieshen Sect are all among the 'gods' canonized by the imperial court."

Qiu Qiu Changying gave a cold laugh: "Besides, who can say the 'Brother Huangfu' in that rumor is Huang Fu Kun?"

"But…"

It wasn't only Long Sheng — Feng Feng Zhongyi and the others also frowned.

Rumors that the Bai Shen Fa could prolong life and even grant immortality were not limited to the imperial court; every sect had its share of experts nearing the end of their lifespans who secretly colluded with the Xieshen Sect, or even joined outright.

If sects were like this, naturally the imperial court was as well.

But someone in the Town Martial Hall secretly communicating with the Xieshen Sect, and the Town Martial Hall joining hands with the Xieshen Sect — these were entirely different matters.

"We've strayed too far."

Elder Withered Moon let out a long breath:

"Why the imperial court acts as it does, we cannot guess, nor need we guess."

As she spoke, she glanced at Lord Master Gongyang Yu: "Valley Master, you mean that with the imperial court's 'kill without mercy' decree, Shen Tu Hong now has an excuse to move against us?"

"Exactly!"

Lord Master Gongyang Yu nodded: "The imperial court only says those who harbor the assassin will have their clan exterminated, their sect exterminated — but whether one has harbored the assassin, doesn't that still depend on what the people of the Town Martial Hall say?"

"This…"

The people in the room exchanged glances.

Li Yuan glanced at Lord Master Gongyang Yu; he guessed that the intelligence from the Star-Plucking Tower had mentioned some precise information.

Or rather, did that Town Martial King truly intend to 'trample the jianghu,' and start from Huizhou?

"This is only this old man's guess, but one fears the one-in-ten-thousand chance."

Lord Master Gongyang Yu drew in a deep breath and rose to his feet. "We've migrated a thousand li, and our footing here is far from secure. In the end, we still need to be careful."

The others in the room rose as well.

"Until the situation is settled, no disciple may leave the premises."

Lord Master Gongyang Yu glanced at Li Yuan. The latter bowed and assented, and everyone in the room bowed and accepted the order as well.

……

Inside the barracks, the group talked for a long time.

Li Yuan realized that, whatever else might be said of his Valley Master, when it came to preparing for danger in times of peace, the man actually surpassed him.

Several years earlier, upon learning that the Xieshen Sect intended to take the Cold Pond Fire Vein, he had already begun thinking of migrating.

And now, here he was, thinking of migrating again…

He even took out a geographic chart and discussed the feasibility with the elders and disciples present.

"When it comes to running away, the Valley Master is the real professional."

Li Yuan grumbled inwardly, yet he quite agreed. As long as the people remained, the lineage remained, and the sect remained. If the Zhe Long Prefecture could be abandoned, then the De Chang Prefecture could naturally be abandoned as well.

But knowing the principle and actually possessing the resolve to act on it were two different things — not everyone could make that call.

"Nephew Li, do you have any way to contact Dragon Tiger Temple?"

After the others had dispersed, Lord Master Gongyang Yu called Li Yuan to stay.

"Well… replying to Martial Uncle, I do."

Li Yuan took out Gong Gong Jiuchuan's token.

"A Dragon Tiger Elder Token!"

At the sight of the token, even Lord Master Gongyang Yu could not help his heart skipping a beat, and Elder Withered Moon was all the more astonished. "That Gong Gong Jiuchuan actually left his own token with you?"

What I really want is that letter from my cheap master…

Li Yuan sighed inwardly.

……

Whooosh~

In a ruined temple in the wilderness, the walls were broken, the roof leaked, and wind poured in from all sides.

In one corner, Yu Yu Xuanji had lit a campfire, while Yu Yu Xuanfeng was outside dealing with a brown bear he had just hunted, briskly slicing off a pair of Xiong Zhang.

"Martial Uncle, please show yourself and grant us an audience!"

Beside the campfire, Gong Gong Jiuchuan sat cross-legged, took out the letter, and made his request in a respectful voice.

"Mm?"

After waiting a while with no response, Gong Gong Jiuchuan's face changed:

"Martial Uncle? You…"

Fwoosh!

His hand trembled, the wind stirred the fire, and the letter instantly turned to flying ash…