Huangxiu

Chapter 1150 Bounty
They happily stepped forward, joined in, took the wine glasses, and began to talk and laugh loudly.

In the empty valley, the two of them tilted their heads back and drank as if they were drinking, and laughed heartily.

"These experts in the capital and those idiots in the army are truly laughable!"

"Haha...exactly, exactly!"

"I have already killed twenty-three experts, all of whom were utterly no match for me!"

“I have twenty, three fewer than you.”

"We're far behind. Old Fu has already killed over a hundred."

"Of course, not all one hundred can be experts; many don't even know martial arts. This guy isn't picky; he'll eat anything, big or small! ...But there's no reward for killing these people; he just has a quirky streak!"

"Hahaha...hahahaha...the imperial court's experts are all useless; they could never catch up with us."

Chu Zhiyuan frowned, watching the two of them laughing and talking nonsense.

Then the illusion continued, and they seemed to be on the verge of getting drunk, continuing to drink and laugh as they talked.

……

An hour later, the two collapsed to the ground, their cheeks flushed as if they were drunk.

Chu Zhiyuan couldn't help but marvel at the power of the Heavenly Illusion Pavilion; having experienced it firsthand, he knew it was truly amazing.

Even though he hadn't been drinking, he managed to get drunk.

He lightly stepped forward and sealed his acupoints one by one.

Then it floated along and arrived at the city gate.

Ding Huanchun and his men remained at the city gate, their eyes gleaming with golden light as they used their Candle Demon Eyes to observe the pedestrians entering the city.

Upon seeing Chu Zhiyuan appear, Ding Huanchun hurriedly came forward, looking curiously at the two middle-aged men.

The four youths who were using the Candle Demon Eyes widened their eyes when their gazes fell on them.

"Lord Ding, it's a demon!" a young man shouted.

Ding Huanchun glanced at the two unconscious middle-aged men, nodded calmly, indicating that he understood.

He smiled and looked at Chu Zhiyuan: "Mr. Chu, who are these two...?"

"I caught him in the valley," Chu Zhiyuan said. "I was lucky enough to capture him alive. Let's see if we can get any information out of him."

"Thank you, sir!" Ding Huanchun's eyes gleamed: "There's actually hope of getting some information out of a comatose demon!"

They can hardly catch any living demons; they all have secret techniques to destroy themselves in time.

They also knew that being captured alive would be worse than death, and if that failed, they would resort to mutual destruction if given the chance.

Preparations are required to perform the "mutual destruction" technique. If there is not enough time, a secret technique can be used directly to release the spirit.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "We should prevent them from using secret techniques."

"Understood." Ding Huanchun said solemnly, "I will ask the royal treasurers to see if we can get anything out of them."

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Then I'll leave it to you, Brother Ding."

Ding Huanchun said, "Don't worry, sir, I will report it."

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and waved his hand: "I'll go back to the sect first, and come back in a couple of days to deal with these evil spirits!"

"Thank you, sir!" Ding Huanchun said solemnly.

He held Chu Zhiyuan in high esteem.

Now, all sects and factions keep their distance from the evil spirits near the imperial city, as if avoiding snakes and scorpions, and are trying to find excuses to stay away.

Chu Zhiyuan offered his help, and his kindness alone was enough to earn everyone's respect.

Chu Zhiyuan handed the two middle-aged men to him, then smiled, clasped his hands in a fist salute, nodded to the other city guards, and drifted away.

Ding Huanchun caught the two middle-aged men, his expression immediately turning serious. When the other city guards inquired about their whereabouts, he gave them a few perfunctory answers and directly led them into the city.

……

Tianjian Peak

Sect Leader Hall
Chu Zhiyuan carefully took out the letter and presented it to Lu Wanshan with both hands.

Lu Wanshan took the letter and said casually, "I heard from Junior Brother Gu that you want to go to the capital to help?"

Chu Zhiyuan's face darkened, and he slowly said, "This disciple simply cannot stand by and watch!"

Lu Wanshan said, "There are so many masters in the world who can turn a blind eye, why do you insist on helping them?"

Chu Zhiyuan frowned and said, "Are they deliberately not helping and just sitting on the sidelines?"

Lu Wanshan snorted and said, "You're a smart man, you should be able to figure this out."

"This disciple doesn't understand why this is so." Chu Zhiyuan shook his head: "Isn't the dynasty originally one with us? What benefit do we gain from letting evil run rampant? Are we supposed to weaken the court's power?"

Lu Wanshan said, "The imperial court is also thinking of weakening us." Chu Zhiyuan shook his head and said, "This disciple thinks that what Prince Zhuang said is true. Six years ago, it is very likely that there were no giant demons in the Azure Lotus Sea."

His extrasensory perception allowed him to discern the truth or falsehood of what Prince Zhuang said, and to determine that it was not a lie to deceive him.

This means that the imperial court had no intention of suppressing or weakening the Heavenly Sword Sect; it was a misunderstanding.

“Whether it’s the truth or not, it’s meaningless now,” Lu Wanshan shook his head. “It didn’t weaken our resolve six years ago, but it might not now.”

He shook the letter lightly, and it turned into dust.

Chu Zhiyuan frowned and pondered.

He didn't doubt what he said.

Once the dynasty weakens, it will suppress the four major sects and other sects in the martial arts world.

When the dynasty is powerful, it will relax its control over martial arts sects, allowing them more freedom.

Lu Wanshan asked, "You really want to go and help?"

Chu Zhiyuan nodded slowly: "This disciple really cannot bear to see the evil spirits so rampant... Moreover, something is not quite right, there are too many strange things... In short, I should go and see how the situation changes."

Lu Wanshan said, "Well, go wherever you want, but remember to be careful and don't get yourself into trouble. Be mindful of everything you do."

Chu Zhiyuan took out the Jade Heaven Sword and smiled, "With it, I can protect myself."

Lu Wanshan asked, "Has it recovered now?"

"Yes." Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

Lu Wanshan remarked, "With it around, I can truly feel at ease."

The Jade Heaven Sword would take a long time to recover if it were in the hands of someone else.

Chu Zhiyuan recovered in just a few days, his mental strength was beyond imagination.

With the Jade Heaven Sword and the Demon Subduing Blade, plus his exceptional alertness, there's no need to worry about his safety.

Chu Zhiyuan returned to his small courtyard.

Li Hongzhao arrived soon after.

Li Hongzhao, dressed in red and stunningly beautiful, gracefully walked to the stone table in the courtyard and sat down, asking him about his journey down the mountain.

Chu Zhiyuan then recounted the events in detail.

However, because he had promised Prince Zhuang, he did not reveal that the artifact was malfunctioning.

“This Prince Zhuang possesses the bloodline of the phoenix,” Chu Zhiyuan said. “It should be exactly the same as yours.”

Li Hongzhao's phoenix eyes flashed: "Truly identical?"

Chu Zhiyuan said, "There is a unique aura that only you possess and no one else has; it is the aura of the Phoenix bloodline."

"You can still sense this aura?" Li Hongzhao asked curiously, "How did you sense it?"

The Phoenix bloodline is a powerful force contained within the body.

It is neither true essence nor blood energy; it is a strange, invisible force.

This power propels the body to undergo continuous transformation, making the spirit increasingly vigorous, the meridians increasingly wide and unobstructed, and the circulation of true essence increasingly rapid.

Therefore, one can progress rapidly in cultivation, and with the assistance of divine statues, progress is beyond imagination.

This bloodline power is formidable, yet she cannot sense its outward manifestation.

I didn't expect Chu Zhiyuan to be able to sense it.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "There are faint phoenix shadows above your bodies."

"No way?" Li Hongzhao turned her head to look, but there was nothing there.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Outsiders can't see it, and you can't see it yourself either?"

Li Hongzhao shook his head.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "In short, you really do have a chance to become royalty."

Li Hongzhao's phoenix eyes flickered. After thinking for a moment, she shook her head and said, "Let's talk about it after my cultivation level is high enough."

Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

Li Hongzhao and Chu Zhiyuan then speculated about the changes in the imperial city and the madness of the evil sect.

Chu Zhiyuan explained the information he had received: it was the Evil Sect that had issued the bounty.

The bounty spurred these demons to relentlessly provoke and assassinate.

Their goal was to assassinate the city guards; ordinary civilians and martial arts masters were merely incidental targets, not the intended targets of the bounty.

(End of this chapter)