Chapter 387: To Kill the World's Number One

Crack!

Above Hushan, the clouds and mist dispersed; beyond the mountains, the wind and rain were still fierce.

In the pouring rain, Ink Dragon strode forward like a black azure dragon, roaming through the storm, black Qi billowing behind him, wrapping around Yan Yan Chunyang's mangled corpse.

"Long Long Yingchan!"

Lightning streaked across the sky. Ink Dragon's face was cold, the killing intent in his heart nearly impossible to restrain.

"Huff!"

Beyond the mountains, he suddenly turned his head. Even through the layers of wind and rain, he could see the Dragon-Tiger Tower glowing with a faint, eerie light.

His eyesight was extremely sharp. Not only could he see the flickering light of the Dragon-Tiger Tower, he could even see a black-and-white cat lying beneath the eighteenth-floor eaves.

"Dragon-Tiger Nourishing Furnace…"

A flash crossed his eyes, and he vanished into the curtain of rain. A few shifts of movement, and he was already out of Mount Hengshan, arriving at a stretch of wilderness.

"Lord Ink Dragon!"

In the wilderness, the rain poured like a waterfall, visibility very low, yet someone had been waiting here for a long time. Seeing Ink Dragon, they emerged one after another from the shadows and knelt prostrate on the ground.

"His Lordship, he…"

Someone sharp-eyed noticed the mangled corpse wrapped in black mist. Though it had no head, they still recognized it:

"His Lordship is dead?!"

Everyone in the rain curtain was horrified.

Ink Dragon naturally had no intention of paying them any heed. He raised a hand, snatched a string of beads from the corpse's grip, and crushed it to powder.

"Puff!"

The beads shattered, yet streams of true Qi dispersed outward. Quickly, where the true Qi intertwined, a deep, gloomy cave was reflected, with faint bloody light flickering within:

"Wan… hmm? Ink Dragon, it's you. Where is Brother Wan?"

In the light screen, there seemed to be a person sitting cross-legged amid the bloody light. Looking closer, they saw that person's body was incomplete, like a corpse gnawed by wild dogs in the wilderness for many days.

"His Highness is not here."

Ink Dragon flicked his hand, and the mangled corpse behind him tumbled into the mud:

"Dead for less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Can he still be saved?"

"Don't speak of one cup of tea—even a day and a night would be no problem, as long as you can spare the Offering…"

In the light screen, the mangled corpse opened its eyes, scrutinized for a moment, then fell silent:

"…Where is the head?"

……

……

Can a person live without a heart?

In the Nourishing Mi Jing, within the Dragon Residence, the three great leaders of Dragon-Tiger Temple each took their seats. Li Yuan sat nearby, listening to the three converse, his mind still somewhat dazed.

The Jiang Mo Chu is a pestle, belonging to hammer-type weapons rather than a spear. That strike of his poured out all his strength, and with the augmentation of thirty thousand jun of great force, the rebounding force left half his body numb for a long time.

Unless that Yan Yan Chunyang was also wearing iron armor over his internal organs, his viscera must have been completely shattered.

'Too bad I didn't get to see in time…'

Li Yuan wasn't entirely certain in his heart. After all, Tian Xia Wu Gong were numerous; that Yan Yan Chunyang might have cultivated some secret art for tempering the internal organs.

The heart is the core of the human circulatory system, and Qi and blood are the foundation of martial cultivation. Unless one is not human, how could one possibly have no heart?

"That surnamed Yan, was his heart growing backward too?"

The speaker was Nie Xianshan. The old Daoist frowned slightly, holding a copy of 'Biography of the Town Martial King':

"Could the condition for Wan Wan Zhuliu to take disciples be that, like him, one's heart grows backward?"

"A dead man, no need to discuss."

Long Xi Xiang had no interest in this. His focus was on Ink Dragon:

"That Wan Wan Zhuliu's splitting off a spirit incarnation to come—was it only to save this junior?"

The moment he spoke, the others all looked toward Long Long Yingchan. The latter was also holding a copy of 'Biography of the Town Martial King', lost in thought. Hearing the words, he raised his head:

"More or less as we guessed. This Wan Wan Zhuliu wants to borrow the Nourishing Furnace."

Borrow the Dragon-Tiger Nourishing Furnace?

Li Yuan's spirit jolted. A sidelong glance showed that the old dragon-head and Nie Xianshan were both very calm, as if they had long anticipated this.

"Wan Wan Zhuliu's ambitions are no small matter. With the Subduing Demon Dragon God Blade in hand he still finds it insufficient—he also wants to completely master the Town Sea Mystic Tortoise Armor."

Nie Xianshan closed the book in his hand and gave a cold snort.

The Nourishing Furnace is involved in controlling multiple Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing?

Li Yuan's heart stirred, and he was somewhat enlightened: "No wonder that Ink Dragon was always somewhat restrained. Turns out he didn't want to completely tear off all pretense…"

"Sheer wishful thinking."

Long Xi Xiang's face was dark as water. Mentioning Wan Wan Zhuliu, a dull ache throbbed in his chest.

"Given Wan Wan Zhuliu's talent and Wu Gong, he might have already cleared the Dao Child trial of the Dragon God Gate sixty years ago. He can't be unaware of the dangers and taboos of dual-wielding Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing…"

Long Long Yingchan frowned slightly:

"Or is it that there are secrets in this we don't know about?"

'Dragon God Gate… a remnant sect within the Subduing Demon Dragon God Blade? That would mean all twelve Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing truly each contain a remnant sect?'

Li Yuan listened intently. These secrets—he had never heard the old dragon-head mention them before. At this moment, he was quite interested.

Dual-wielding Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing is dangerous… he noted this silently in his heart.

"Perhaps?"

Long Xi Xiang shook his head: "The great Daoist sects haven't produced a Dao Child in two thousand years. The specifics, no one knows."

A Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing cannot be wielded by two masters at once — this is a saying passed down from the Patriarch's daily records, and there is no need to debate its truth; the Wudadao Sect, the imperial court, and even some Jianghuda Sect all hold similar teachings.

"Xuanjing Daozi…"

Nie Xianshan glanced at Li Yuan, and Long Long Yingchan and Long Xi Xiang both looked over at the same time.

"…"

Li Yuan hurriedly rose to his feet and said solemnly, "This disciple will give it his all."

"There's no rushing it, either."

Long Long Yingchan waved his hand, telling Li Yuan to sit back down.

"Given that boy Li's talent, in as little as ten years, or as many as fifteen, he can hope to fully comprehend yin and yang. By then, he may be able to break through the Yangsheng Gate's true-lineage trial — but the Xuanjing Daozi trial…"

Long Xi Xiang gave a light cough and added:

"The daily records mention that Patriarch Long Yin and Patriarch Yan Chunyang only broke through the final Xuanjing Daozi trial and took full command of the Dragon-Tiger Yangsheng Furnace after reaching the Tian Gang Jing."

The three conversed, also explaining to Li Yuan the various taboos and rules of the Yangsheng Gate's trials, and from time to time citing other great sects as examples.

Among the Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing, each one contains a relic sect.

From the three men's explanations, Li Yuan could now be certain in his heart.

'The Sea-Splitting Divine Script is found across several major relic sects… it seems, just as I guessed, these relic sects all originate from the Sea-Splitting Star!'

Li Yuan focused his mind, committing each point to memory, and from time to time asked about the secrets of other sects.

Long Xi Xiang held nothing back, but after all, he had a gap of more than forty years, so most of the time it was still Old Daoist Nie and Sect Master Long doing the talking.

"Enough. You haven't slept all night — go back and rest early."

A moment later, Long Long Yingchan spoke, and Li Yuan rose to take his leave.

"Wan Wan Zhuliu is arrogant and domineering. His disciple was killed — openly he won't make a move, but in secret he will surely strike."

After watching Li Yuan depart, Long Xi Xiang finally spoke; he had some reservations about this.

"Inferior in skill, dead is dead — what can Wan Wan Zhuliu do about it?"

Nie Xianshan shook his head: "With or without this affair, if the imperial court wants to move against us, that boy Li cannot dodge it."

"Even so, we shouldn't have pushed him out."

Long Xi Xiang's expression grew Solemn.

"Compared to eradicating Wan Wan Zhuliu's blade intent, what does the mere life or death of one Yan Yan Chunyang amount to?"

Long Long Yingchan lifted his teacup and took a small sip — naturally, he had given this thought:

"Although I cut away the traces in time, Wan Wan Zhuliu may well have sensed it. The Dragon Shadow Guards and Ink Dragon coming here one after another may well carry the intent to investigate."

Saying so, he glanced at Long Xi Xiang, whose brow only then smoothed out:

"I pushed Li Yuan to act, and the Ink Dragon saw it with his own eyes, so naturally he won't suspect Li Yuan. As for killing his disciple… you underestimate Wan Wan Zhuliu far too much."

"Mm?"

Nie Xianshan raised a brow: "How so?"

"Wan Wan Zhuliu considers himself the greatest under heaven. If he means to strike, the first he would kill would be the three of us."

Long Long Yingchan pinched his long brows, his expression calm.

The room fell silent. Long Xi Xiang nodded, no longer dwelling on it, and shifted the topic:

"Since Wan Wan Zhuliu has conceived the idea of merging forces, he won't give it up lightly. In my view, we should take advantage of this Dao Martial Exhibition to settle this trouble once and for all!"

Whoo—

The clouds and mist spread out, enveloping the small hut.

Long Long Yingchan was very cautious. He looked at the other two and gave a slight nod:

"Eight years ago, on the shores of the East Sea, when I met Fang Fang Sanyun and True Person Feng Yuanqing, I sensed they shared this same thought…"

"They had the same idea?"

Nie Xianshan's expression was unchanged, but Long Xi Xiang was somewhat surprised, suddenly realizing he might have missed a great many things during those forty-plus years.

"Given Wan Wan Zhuliu's talent and Wu Gong, if anyone today can touch the 'Divine Palace,' those who can't sit still are hardly limited to you and me…"

The expressions of the three men in the room all grew somewhat Solemn.

More than forty years ago, had it not been for the Star-Plucking Tower's assassination of the king, the imperial court had already been preparing to 'Trample the Jianghu Under Horse,' and the one to carry it out would have been Wan Wan Zhuliu.

"The only concern is Wei Wei Tianzuo."

"Wei Wei Tianzuo?"

Long Xi Xiang frowned slightly — toward the Changhong Sword Sect, he truly harbored not the slightest good feeling.

"That sword-crazed fool has always regarded Wan Wan Zhuliu as his lifelong rival, wanting only to face him one-on-one with a single sword to decide victory or defeat. Not only can we not count on him, if he catches wind of it, he may even ruin things."

Long Long Yingchan's long brows trembled. Everyone in the Changhong Sword Sect was madly obsessed with the sword, usually going their own way, and their relations with the Sidadao Sect were all poor — they were the odd ones out among the Dao Sects.

"What about the Qinglong Pavilion?"

Nie Xianshan asked.

"Qinglong Pavilion…"

Long Long Yingchan glanced at Long Xi Xiang, who paused briefly, then understood at once.

Ever since the Qinglong Pavilion was forced to give up the Da Huang Jia Hai Purple-Gold Spear, it had for a time cut off contact with the other houses. Though relations had improved somewhat in recent years, it remained very limited.

But Long Xi Xiang naturally understood his meaning.

"Tian Tian Shezi was raised from infancy by the Heavenly Silkworm Daoist. If we could eradicate Wan Wan Zhuliu's blade intent on his behalf…"

……

……

The wind and rain over Hushan dispersed, and the downpour over Longshan had also lessened considerably.

"Yu Xuanjing Gate, Yangsheng Gate, Dragon God Gate, Yiqi Gate, Qinglong Gate… twelve relic sects in all."

Inside the room, Li Yuan reflected on the conversation of the three people in the Dragon Residence, analyzing and mulling it over. He had had similar guesses before, so he wasn't too surprised now.

"Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing not held by two people, hmm, this can be ignored… hmm, can't say it so certainly, after all I only have one Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing myself."

After sorting things out briefly, Li Yuan stood up and opened the door.

"Woof~"

The little tiger cub shook the rainwater off its body, walked into the room, silently leapt back onto the windowsill, lay down, and fell asleep.

"Always running off."

Li Yuan didn't mind either. He closed the room door, took off his shoes, and got onto the bed.

He sat cross-legged, took out several booklets from his bosom — these were the experiences of predecessors in marrow refining and blood exchanging.