A journey through the world of martial arts

Chapter 68 The End
"Heh, I never expected that I would be stopped by two juniors today. It's truly a case of a tiger falling into the plains being bullied by dogs."

Looking at the bleak situation, Liu Xi felt uneasy. This little fish was already difficult to deal with on its own, and with the addition of Jiang Yuyan, whose martial arts were not weak, this fight was a sure thing.

"Even on the verge of death, you still spout nonsense, you dog! Prepare to die!" Seeing Jiang Yuyan guarding Liu Xi's retreat, Xiao Yu'er had no more scruples. With his inner strength activated, his longsword flashed with a cold light, and the chilling sword energy made Liu Xi very uncomfortable.

"This little fish's internal strength and moves are quite impressive. No wonder he's so confident that he dares to challenge me all by himself. However, I have no interest in getting entangled with him. I should head back to the Eastern Depot as soon as possible."

As Liu Xi dodged the sword strikes, his left palm suddenly unleashed a foul-smelling palm wind. This was the Corrosive Bone Palm, practiced by the fourth disciple of the Five Poisons Ancestor. Liu Xi had absorbed his power and thus learned this palm technique.

If struck by the poisonous palm, all the bones in one's body will turn black and the flesh will wither.

Xiaoyuer realized that the move was insidious and dared not take it head-on. He quickly withdrew to avoid it, but at the same time he unleashed a sword aura to prevent Liu Xi from taking the opportunity to retreat. Jiang Yuyan also made a move, and the two cooperated to block Liu Xi's retreat.

Although his retreat was blocked, Liu Xi didn't care at all. He reached out and drew in two Eastern Depot agents who were not far from him. They quickly came to his side and with a quick movement, they caught the two sword energies and died on the spot. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Liu Xi used his lightness skill to leap out of their encirclement.

Liu Xi used a clever trick to resolve his predicament, and from then on, he was no longer at the mercy of others in deciding whether to fight or retreat.

“When I return to the Eastern Depot, none of you will escape.”

This is the capital city. I can mobilize more forces here. Once the soldiers arrive, no matter how skilled you are in martial arts, you will still die.

Liu Xi shouted sternly, "You brats, you wait! I will avenge this!" After saying that, he flashed and hurriedly ran down the mountain.

"Oh no!" Jiang Yuyan and Xiaoyuer's expressions changed, and they thought to themselves.

If Liu Xi were to escape back to the Eastern Depot, things would get complicated. The two hurriedly gave chase, but when they reached the mountainside, they saw that Liu Xi was being blocked and unable to break free.

"Divine Nun!" Jiang Yuyan and Xiaoyuer exclaimed in surprise, for it was the South China Sea Divine Nun who had fought with Liu Xi.

The South Sea Divine Nun was entrusted by Murong Wudi to protect Jiang Yuyan and other juniors. She did not need to show herself in time. She only needed to stop Liu Xi at the right opportunity, which is why the scene before us is what it is today.

"Old nun, don't try to cause trouble just because you have some skills. I'll send you to the Western Paradise to see your Buddha right now."

Blocked by the South Sea Goddess, Liu Xi lost his last chance to escape. As Jiang Yuyan and Xiaoyuer gradually approached, his attacks became increasingly fierce, with various martial arts techniques emerging one after another.

With her left palm wielding the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms and her right palm unleashing the Corroding Bone Palm, she combined her palms, the dragon-shaped palm energy infused with the poisonous mist, making it even more powerful. Although it hadn't reached her body yet, the pressure was immense. The South Sea Divine Nun dared not underestimate her, and she added even more power to her Boundless Thirteen Swords. The gleaming sword blades emitted white light, and the chilling sword energy shot out like arrows, colliding with the palm wind. Both sides were shocked.

The South Sea Goddess turned pale, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. The fierce clash had severely injured her internal organs, rendering her temporarily unable to fight. Liu Xi, on the other hand, was in slightly better condition, but his blood was churning and his body was trembling uncontrollably.

Liu Xi glanced hatefully at the South Sea Goddess, suppressed his murderous intent, and hurriedly ran away. However, a snow-white ribbon blocked his way. As he slowed down, two sword energies shot out at him simultaneously.

"Liu Xi, today is your death day!" Xiao Yu'er and Jiang Yuyan attacked from the left and right, their swords overlapping. Upon seeing this, Liu Xi reached out with both hands like claws, grabbing at the two swords.

"Be careful, this is the Shaolin School's Dragon Claw Hand," the South Sea Divine Nun warned from the side.

Liu Xi learned the Dragon Claw Hand from a Shaolin master. Although he was not yet proficient, its power should not be underestimated. If someone were caught by the Dragon Claw Hand, they would be seriously injured.

"Old nun," Liu Xi's eyes sharpened, his hands continuing their work. He could now see that most of Jiang Yuyan and Xiaoyuer's skills lay in their swordsmanship. If they destroyed the longsword, most of their abilities would be lost.

I didn't use this move earlier in order to get away as soon as possible. Now that Yan Nantian and the others are far away, if I can defeat the three of them within three to five rounds, things will take a turn for the better.

The sword in Xiaoyuer's hand was just an ordinary one, and it shattered into several pieces when Liu Xi grabbed it with his Dragon Claw Hand. However, the sword in Jiang Yuyan's hand was a divine weapon, and Liu Xi failed to achieve his goal.

With a series of swift movements, Jiang Yuyan wielded a white ribbon in her left hand and swung her longsword three times in quick succession in her right. Liu Xi was caught off guard and his arm was immediately injured.

However, Liu Xi saw that only Jiang Yuyan was left with a weapon, while Xiaoyuer was unarmed, which greatly reduced the threat to him.

Just as Liu Xi was pondering, a domineering fist suddenly struck out. Jiang Yuyan, who was beside him, immediately used the Jade Maiden Sword Technique to assist, advancing with both forces simultaneously. The sword energy and fist wind intertwined, combining yin and yang with fierceness, presenting an indescribable scene.

Upon seeing this, Liu Xi was immediately alarmed, realizing that he had misjudged the other party and lost the initiative.

Taking a deep breath, Liu Xi channeled his inner energy, releasing a powerful suction force from his palms. The surrounding rocks and trees trembled from these three forces, and the South Sea Divine Nun hurriedly steadied herself.

The sword energy and fist wind rushed into Liu Xi's suction vortex without causing any fluctuations, but Liu Xi's face was extremely ugly. On the surface, he had easily neutralized the two people's attacks, but in fact, this was only a temporary delay. If he had not neutralized them in time, that force would have continuously damaged his meridians, resulting in serious injury or even death.

After taking the full force of their attacks, Liu Xi dared not linger. He struck back the South Sea Goddess with a palm strike, his face paling even more. He then desperately fled down the mountain to save his life.

Xiaoyuer and Jiang Yuyan followed closely behind. They knew that Liu Xi was now at his last gasp and they couldn't let him go no matter what.

In just four or five breaths, Xiaoyuer and Jiang Yuyan caught up with Liu Xi again and trapped him tightly, making it difficult for him to break free.

After fighting for more than ten rounds, Liu Xi's injuries became uncontrollable. He coughed up blood, his face turned pale, his hair was disheveled, and his face was contorted into a hideous expression, like a demon from hell, sending chills down one's spine.

"Even if I die, I will take you two little thieves with me."

Since becoming the head of the Eastern Depot, Liu Xi had never been so down on his luck. Coupled with his failure to master the Absorption Technique, the psychological gap drove him to madness, and his attacks became chaotic and violent.

Wherever the palm strikes, rocks crumble and vegetation is destroyed. Xiaoyuer and Jiang Yuyan stabilized their positions, prioritizing protection. They seized the opportunity to strike at the right moment. In no time, Liu Xi had several more wounds that exposed bone.

"When Liu Xi goes berserk, he's truly terrifying," Jiang Yuyan said, looking somewhat dejected after being struck by a palm strike.

"No matter what, Liu the eunuch is destined to die, so I'll give him one last push." ​​Xiaoyuer wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, leaped into the air, and roared as a fierce and powerful force descended from mid-air, striking Liu Xi's head.

Liu Xi's eyes were bloodshot, he had gone mad with internal energy, and his true energy was running rampant. He raised his hands high and caught two powerful punches. The force of the impact scattered the air, and Liu Xi's feet sank half a foot into the ground.

Jiang Yuyan sheathed her longsword, and taking advantage of Liu Xi's inability to move, Bai Lian immediately wrapped him up layer by layer.

"Wow!" Little Fish pulled back, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Jiang Yuyan hurriedly asked, "Brother Fish, are you alright?"

"It's alright. Liu the eunuch's injuries are more serious than mine. Let's see if he survives this time."

Those two powerful punches had exhausted all of Xiaoyuer's internal energy, while Liu Xi, after many fierce battles, was already running out of true energy and was probably exhausted by now.

"Sizzle, sizzle," Jiang Yuyan and Xiaoyuer heard the sound and turned around. They saw many small cracks appear on the white silk, which then grew larger and larger until the white silk broke into pieces, and Liu Xi reappeared.

Jiang Yuyan held her sword in her hand, protecting Xiaoyuer in front of her, her eyes fixed on Liu Xi, but the latter kept his eyes closed and stood still, not knowing what he was planning.

Just as Jiang Yuyan was about to make a move, a sword light struck Liu Xi, who was completely unaware and did not react at all.

"Master!" Little Fish shouted when he saw the person who came. It was Yan Nantian.

Yan Nantian nodded to Jiang Yuyan and Xiaoyuer, took a step forward, and confirmed that Liu Xi's meridians were all severed and he was dead.

“Liu Xi is dead. Little Fish, Miss Jiang, you did a good job,” Yan Nantian praised.

Although Liu Xi was of questionable character, his martial arts skills were extraordinary. While he had the help of others, the most important credit went to Xiao Yu'er and Jiang Yuyan.

"You flatter me, Master Yan. If Brother Yu hadn't fought so hard, Liu Xi wouldn't have died so quickly," Jiang Yuyan said modestly.

Yan Nantian nodded upon hearing this, walked to Xiaoyuer's side, sat down cross-legged, placed his palms against Xiaoyuer's back, and channeled his true energy into Xiaoyuer's body.

Seeing this, Jiang Yuyan automatically took on the role of protector, vigilantly scanning her surroundings. Just as Yan Nantian was healing Xiaoyuer, the South Sea Divine Nun arrived with Hua Wuque, and Jiang Yuyan finally relaxed.

"Miss Jiang, how is Brother Yu?" Hua Wuque asked in a low voice, looking at Xiao Yu'er's listless expression with some concern.

"It's nothing serious. Master Yan is channeling his inner energy into him, so Young Master Hua can rest assured."

"By the way, Young Master Hua, how is the situation on the mountain?" Although he and Xiaoyuer had killed Liu Xi, the power of those Eastern Depot agents was not to be underestimated.

"Apart from a few who escaped, the rest have been dealt with by Master Tie and Master Yan. This time, the Eastern Depot is going to suffer a major blow. Master Tie has already left."

Hua Wuque glanced at the two men who were healing and said in a deep voice, "Once Hero Yan and the others have finished healing, we need to leave the capital as soon as possible. Such a commotion has surely attracted the attention of the palace. If we provoke the city's guards, we'll be in trouble."

Although the Yihua Palace is powerful, it is far from being able to compete with the power of a country. Moreover, Jiang Yuyan's identity is sensitive. If people find out that she comes from Murong Manor, it will not be good news for the Murong family.

"Young Master Hua is right. Shu'er has already sent word that you should return to the manor on the outskirts of the capital as soon as possible and escape from there."

"It turns out that Consort Shu already had a plan; I was overthinking it."

As the three spoke in hushed tones, Yan Nantian slowly withdrew his hands, stood up, and Xiaoyuer's originally pale face regained some color.

"Please wait patiently, everyone. How is the situation outside?"

"A message just arrived that the palace has received the news and is now sealing off the capital. If Xiaoyuer is alright for the time being, let's leave immediately." The South Sea Divine Nun was worried that delay would lead to unforeseen changes. The death of the Eastern Depot's chief supervisor was no small matter; if things went wrong, the entire court could be thrown into turmoil.

"Alright, let's leave right away," Yan Nantian decided decisively, leading everyone to prepare to leave. Xiaoyuer walked to Liu Xi's corpse, cut off his head with his sword, and pushed the body down the mountain.

"Let's go!" Yan Nantian looked at the neat rows of torches appearing in the distance, used his lightness skill to rush down the mountain, heading straight for the outskirts of the capital.

suburban manor
"Thanks to Consort Shu's help this time, otherwise we might not have been able to escape the soldiers' search," Jiang Yuyan said, watching the soldiers leave and letting out a sigh of relief.

"Master Yan, we shouldn't linger any longer. There's a river near this manor. Let's take advantage of the moonlight and, before they notice us, head south along it and leave the capital."

Yan Nantian nodded. “What the nun said makes sense. With Liu Xi dead, the palace will definitely investigate. Fortunately, we are all masked, so outsiders can’t figure out our background for a while. We can take this opportunity to escape.”

"We should not delay, let's set off immediately," Jiang Yuyan said, worried that Consort Shu's situation had already been exposed and not wanting to implicate her further.

It was already late midnight when the group arrived at the riverbank, boarded a small boat, and sailed downstream.

Just as Yan Nantian and his group were sailing away, the emperor in the palace received news that a group of martial arts practitioners had conspired to kill Liu Xi, the head of the Eastern Depot, and even his head had been cut off.

Upon hearing this, the emperor was both shocked and furious. He smashed many utensils, silencing the servants around him, and ordered that Gu Zhen, who was guarding the capital, be summoned.

The emperor's personal eunuch, Kang En, guessed some of the emperor's thoughts. The capital had always been under the control of the royal family, but now such a huge blunder had occurred, and even the head of the Eastern Depot was killed without hesitation. It was hard to imagine that even the emperor's life would be in danger one day. How could the emperor not be furious?

"What kind of work is Gu Zhen doing? He was completely unaware that martial arts figures had infiltrated the capital, and he even brazenly killed my men. How can I entrust the defense of the capital to him?"

The emperor grew angrier and more frightened as he thought about it. Seeing this, Kang En poured him a cup of tea and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, Gu Zhen has disregarded the Emperor's grace and failed in his duties. He should be severely punished. However, the supervision of the Jianghu has always been handled personally by Supervisor Liu. He also bears responsibility for this major mess."

"Oh, what's going on?" The emperor took a sip of tea, calmed himself down, and asked in a low voice.

"Your Majesty, I have just learned that this was all planned by Supervisor Liu, but it was thwarted in the end, which led to this turmoil."

Kang En recounted the matter to the emperor in detail, and the emperor's face turned extremely ugly after listening.

"This Liu Xi is truly useless. He should just practice martial arts, but how did he cause such a big disaster?" The emperor was not unaware of what Liu Xi was doing in private. He usually turned a blind eye, but later, because of Consort Shu, he suppressed him, but did not give up on him.

In the end, this whole mess was Liu Xi's own fault. If he had informed me beforehand, things wouldn't have turned out this way. Now, I've lost face, and Liu Xi is dead. Who will be willing to do things for me now?

Thinking of this, the emperor cursed inwardly. Just as the emperor was getting angry, the city's garrison general, Gu Zhen, arrived.

"Have you found out who it was?" the emperor asked directly. No matter who did it, anyone who dared to disregard the law in the capital was doomed.

"Your Majesty, many people were involved in the operation, including Yan Nantian, Tie Ruyun, and people from Yihua Palace," Gu Zhen hurriedly replied.

In any case, if something goes wrong while you're in charge, you can't shirk responsibility, so you might as well try to fix it.

"Your Majesty, after they left the Western Wilderness Mountain, they went directly to the outskirts and then disappeared. They were not found at any of the four city gates. Perhaps they left by boat."

"They're all a bunch of good-for-nothings. Fine, issue arrest warrants for Yan Nantian and Tie Ruyun. As for Yihua Palace, send a large force to besiege them. These Jianghu people seem to have gotten used to a carefree life and forgotten the majesty of the imperial court."

When the emperor heard Gu Zhen mention the manor on the outskirts of the capital, he had some thoughts, but then he thought that now was not the time, especially since Liu Xi was dead and Murong Manor was no longer under control. Who knew what they might do?

"Go down"

"Yes," Gu Zhen bowed and stepped back.

"Go and see Consort Shu," the emperor said after a moment's thought.

Murong Manor
"Brother, news has come from Red Leaf Studio that Liu Xi is dead, and Hero Yan and the others have safely evacuated. However, I'm worried about the Emperor's situation."

The capital is, after all, the capital city, and its power is far beyond that of the Murong family. With such a large commotion this time, the emperor will not remain indifferent. His daughter is involved, and he doesn't know if it will have any impact.

"Brother Murong, the Emperor is not foolish. He will find out sooner or later that the Murong family is involved. He just doesn't dare to do anything to you right now. He will only give you a warning. Consort Shu should be prepared to be neglected for the next period of time."

Gu Xu never dared to underestimate the emperor. Except for a very few, no one who could reach such a position was mediocre. Although this emperor had lived in the deep palace for a long time, he had a very good grasp of the court and the martial arts world.

“Brother’s words are wise. Shu’er has been in the palace for many years and has her own way of surviving. Liu Xi has been eliminated, and it’s time for the Murong family to return to peace. Let Cangmu handle the affairs of the martial world.”

Murong Wudi has nothing left to do now. His daughter has her own destiny, and his son is being taught by Meng Guxu and will inherit the family business. It's not a problem for him to continue the family business for several more decades. As for what happens after that, he can't worry about it anymore. It's time for him to take a good rest.

"Once Shu'er gives birth to the prince, I plan to hand over the manor to Zhong'er."

"Zhong'er has grown a lot over the years and is capable of shouldering this responsibility. Zheng'er, on the other hand, is more outgoing and needs to settle down for another two years."

Murong Wudi nodded upon hearing this and looked at Gu Xu, saying, "Back then, these two children were extremely unruly. If it weren't for your guidance, they wouldn't be like this now."

Murong Wudi truly admired Gu Xu. He had been kind-hearted and had brought great help to the Murong family. Now that Murong Zhong and Murong Zheng were out, everyone would say that like father, like son. Although he was humble on the surface, he was very proud in his heart. With such a son, what more could a man ask for?

"Zhong'er and the others are also doing their best; I'm just going with the flow."

Sixteen years have passed, and Gu Xu is already quite satisfied that the Murong family has not been wiped out, the Murong sisters have not died at Liu Xi's hands, and Jiang Yuyan has not gone down that path of no return.

"After Yu Yan, Hua Wuque, and Xiao Yu'er have finished their duel, it will be time for me to leave this place."

In recent years, Gu Xu has been in seclusion. He has mastered the Pure Yang Profound Technique with the three elements of water, wood, and fire. The jade pendant in his sea of ​​consciousness has also gradually regained its luster. According to his calculations, he will leave this world in about one or two years.

"Before leaving, I still need to make sure I explain everything that needs to be explained."

(End of this chapter)