Chapter 792

So the two volumes at Shenlong Sect, though crucial, aren't that significant."

Though Long Er is breathtakingly beautiful, Duoge's mind is deep and calculating, and with the Qinglong Society's pressure looming, he didn't think of Long Er at all, but instead spoke of the Forty-Two Chapters Sutra.

Nalan Xiuji, after listening to Duoge's detailed explanation, learned that the Forty-Two Chapters Sutra wasn't just divided into eight volumes, but scattered across various locations.

Although Shenlong Sect's Long Er holds two volumes, they are in fact useless.

That is to say, keeping Shenlong Sect to draw the attention of incoming factions is better than the Great Qing now attempting to seize those two volumes of the Forty-Two Chapters Sutra.

After understanding, Nalan Xiuji immediately accepted the order and withdrew.

Fu Qingzhu's Wu Gong is at late-stage Grandmaster level, already barely touching the threshold of the Peerless level.

He was naturally brilliant and initially entered the martial path through Confucian and Daoist principles.

Later, due to his service in the Ministry of Justice, he learned extensive medical arts and fused medicine, Confucianism, and martial arts into one.

With his insight, had he been outside the Great Qing, he would long ago have entered the Peerless level.

But he was naturally tranquil and loved to right wrongs.

The people under the Great Qing's rule suffered greatly. Thus, though he knew leaving the Great Qing would accelerate his cultivation, he refused to depart.

This time, he trailed Feng Huo Liancheng's army and secretly rescued many.

Unfortunately, he was alone and weak, and Feng Huo Liancheng's Wu Gong was no inferior to his own.

Therefore, he dared not appear openly, only acting covertly.

Today, he revealed himself openly for two reasons: first, he saw a severed head hanging on the flagpole—it was an intimate friend he had known when he came west.

Second, he saw the Heavenly Way Hundred Flowers List appear, anticipating that soon, factions from all over would enter the Great Qing.

He decided to abandon concealment, determined to retrieve his friend's head and bury him properly.

Using the momentum from Shan Zhi's strike, he burst out of the small town and raced across the distant desert using lightness skill.

With his late-stage Grandmaster's speed, if undisturbed, he would vanish without a trace in moments to bury his friend.

Unexpectedly, a frantic cry came from behind,

"Old fool Fu Qingzhu, how dare you make Shan Zhi's Grandpa humiliate himself in public? Stop right now and surrender to die!"

Fu Qingzhu glanced back slightly, recognized Shan Zhi's face—it was the very man who had attacked him earlier.

He knew this man was one of Feng Huo Liancheng's Weishier Sect generals.

Though his Wu Gong was inferior to Fu Qingzhu's, defeating him wouldn't be accomplished in a moment.

If he got entangled with him, and the other Weishier Sect generals—or even Feng Huo Liancheng himself—arrived,

Fu Qingzhu would surely die!

Immediately, Fu Qingzhu ignored Shan Zhi's frantic cries, carrying all the severed heads, and continued using lightness skill toward the distant desert.

Shan Zhi kept shouting and cursing, but could only watch Fu Qingzhu gradually fade into the distance.

After all, though Shan Zhi's lightness skill was outstanding among the Weishier Sect generals, it still couldn't match Fu Qingzhu's profound cultivation.

He could barely keep pace, but catching up was impossible.

Yet Shan Zhi had been publicly humiliated by Fu Qingzhu, and Feng Huo Liancheng had explicitly ordered him to pursue Fu Qingzhu.

So even though he couldn't catch him, he dared not slacken his pursuit.

Thus, the two ran, one ahead and one behind, heading north.

But as they ran, after Fu Qingzhu entered the desert, he suddenly turned east.

Feng Huo Liancheng's target, Wu Zhuang, lay to the west.

If he continued following Fu Qingzhu, he would grow ever farther from Feng Huo Liancheng's objective.

Shan Zhi hesitated, and his pace gradually slowed.

In truth, after chasing so long, he had realized his cultivation was far inferior to Fu Qingzhu's.

Even if he caught up, killing or capturing Fu Qingzhu would be extremely difficult.

But if he didn't pursue, not only would he lose face, but what excuse could he give Feng Huo Liancheng?

While pondering, he saw a cloud of dust rising ahead across the desert.

Clearly, a group of riders was approaching this way.

Shan Zhi looked far off and saw the riders wore military attire, their banners bearing the character "Nalan!"

"Is that General Nalan?"

As a Weishier Sect general, Shan Zhi naturally knew the trusted aides of Duoge, and immediately leapt forward to ask.

"Indeed! Is that the great Shan Zhi ahead?"

Nalan Xiuji, even facing Feng Huo Liancheng, could stand as an equal.

Calling Shan Zhi "Great Hero" was deliberate flattery.

"Oh! It really is General Nalan! General Nalan, ahead is the rebel Fu Qingzhu—quickly help me capture him!"

At this moment, Fu Qingzhu had heard the exchange between Nalan Xiuji and Shan Zhi, and turned again, racing deeper north into the desert.

Shan Zhi, ignoring further pleasantries with Nalan Xiuji, pleaded with him.

Fu Qingzhu joined the new regime as a martial official in the Ministry of Justice after the Qinglong Society overthrew the Great Qing.

But he held that position only briefly before the Great Qing returned.

The restored Great Qing showed no mercy to officials who had served the new regime.

Though Fu Qingzhu was merely an ordinary martial official, he came from the Wuji Sect and was one of the rare top masters within the Great Qing.

Thus, in recent days, his portrait had been circulated nationwide, and he was wanted everywhere.

Upon hearing Shan Zhi's words, Nalan Xiuji paused in surprise.

He was, of course, aware of Fu Qingzhu's wanted status.

He looked at Fu Qingzhu's figure, compared it briefly, and confirmed it was indeed Fu Qingzhu.

After pondering for a moment, he dispatched a unit to aid Shan Zhi.

At this moment, they had not yet fully confronted Fenghuo Liancheng, and Fu Qingzhu was indeed a wanted fugitive.

But Nalan Xiuji himself would never be the one to take the lead against Fu Qingzhu.

As Fu Qingzhu fled, Shan Zhi and the troop of Qing soldiers gradually vanished into the depths of the desert.

Nalan Xiuji tugged his reins, ignoring that direction, and headed toward the small town.

With the addition of this troop of Qing soldiers, even though their Wu Gong was negligible,

Fu Qingzhu could no longer change his escape route as freely as before.

Seeing Shan Zhi and the Qing soldiers closing in relentlessly, Fu Qingzhu had no choice but to change direction again, running westward.

He had come from the east, so he naturally knew that Duogeduo lay that way.

He had just run eastward only to use the desert to shake off Shan Zhi's pursuit.

Who knew he would happen to encounter Nalan Xiuji leading a force.

At present, he did not know whether any other of the Twelve Gate Generals or Qing soldiers were involved in the pursuit besides Shan Zhi and this troop.

Fu Qingzhu could only continue using his lightness skill, fleeing northwestward.

For a time, he ran ahead without pause.

Behind him, Shan Zhi used lightness skill, while the Qing soldiers galloped swiftly to encircle him.

Both sides ran from noon until dusk.

From a stretch of desert, they arrived at a grove thick with trees.

After running so long, no other figures appeared besides Shan Zhi and this troop of Qing soldiers.

Fu Qingzhu suddenly stopped beside a river, scooped up a handful of water, drank a sip, then turned back, calmly facing the rushing Shan Zhi,

"You've got quite the nerve, chasing me alone!"

In the Nine Provinces, Fu Qingzhu's talent was far from low.

In Da Qin, his Wu Gong surpassed many others.

Over these years, over eighty, if not a hundred, evil sect experts had died beneath his sword!

He could truly be said to have countless souls on his blade!

Shan Zhi, who followed Fenghuo Liancheng and killed innocents to claim credit, was precisely the kind of man Fu Qingzhu hated most.

Yet his words showed he held the Qing soldiers accompanying Shan Zhi in utter contempt.

"This..."

Shan Zhi halted far off.