The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 454 Nitre
The two, who had just decided the outcome of their battle moments before, met again in the Wenhua Hall. The emperor was pale, his lips bloodless, clearly still recovering from his serious injuries. An Qisheng, though outwardly disheveled, was inwardly unharmed.

Their gazes met.

boom! ! !
The ground exploded with a deafening roar. Without exchanging a single word, the two attacked each other the instant they met! Fists and palms clashed, creating a sonic boom!

An Qisheng's eyes narrowed, and he stepped forward to strike again!
The emperor blocked the palm strike aimed at his chest with a horizontal punch. A flush rose to his pale face, and he staggered back several steps, crushing a path of stone bricks, before finally coming to a stop.

Although he suffered a loss and was no match for the opponent, he actually took the blow head-on.

"Xuanlan?"

An Qisheng frowned and looked at the emperor.

"Your illusion of true mind has been shattered, and you are temporarily unable to use Silent Illumination. Yet you were able to withstand this attack from me despite your severe injuries... You have cultivated the Profound Vision? No, that's not right. You do not possess the extraordinary abilities of the Profound Vision realm. You are simply stronger in terms of physical strength and the Vajra realm."

He spoke with absolute certainty. Indeed, probably no one in the world understood Xuanlan better than him; with just one exchange, he had ascertained the emperor's true nature.

The emperor did not deny it.

An Qisheng suddenly remembered something and exclaimed in realization.

"I see... Shaolin, Da Tan Dan."

"Just now I killed a Shaolin Celestial, and it was he who gave this item to you."

The emperor still did not deny it.

An Qisheng's guess was correct. The reason the emperor was still able to confront him head-on despite his serious injuries was because of the supreme treasure carried by the abbots of Shaolin Temple throughout the ages—the Great Tan Dan. Its effect was to allow the user to cultivate a flawed form of Xuanlan, capable only of strengthening Vajra, at the cost of severing their path to enlightenment and shortening their lifespan.

Xingchi forced Ji Tianrui to retreat, and Yongjie killed the Miao King, both after consuming this pill. Their Vajra, stronger than the Perfect Vajra, was the result of their incomplete Xuanlan cultivation and their life-or-death struggle.

If it weren't for Li Miao's friendship with Xing Chi and Yong Jie, Shaolin would have only sent celestial beings to help, and would never have handed over the Great Tan Dan.

Now, let's get back to the present.

Although An Qisheng guessed everything correctly, his heart still sank.

The emperor was still seriously injured and unable to activate the illusion of Jizhao. His martial arts skills were only at half their original level. It would only take him the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to kill the emperor.

Can Liu Jin protect those 'supplies' for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea amidst Li Miao's desperate offensive?

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"We've been held up."

Liu Jin gazed at the Wenhua Hall from afar.

The deafening roar of the battle between the Emperor and An Qisheng reverberated in all directions, so much so that there was no need to listen for it. Although he didn't know the situation, Liu Jin understood that this meant An Qisheng was temporarily unable to end the fight.

This road is blocked.

"bypass."

With a wave of his hand, Liu Jin sent several celestial beings from the Eastern Depot around the crowd, bypassing the Wenhua Hall and proceeding along the side of the square toward the third checkpoint—the Imperial Road.

Everyone was on high alert.

The Imperial Guards at Zuoshun Gate just now disobeyed An Ziyang's orders. Even when An Qisheng was right in front of them, they kept firing. Even when An Qisheng slaughtered them all, none of them retreated. Now it is a life-or-death struggle, and Li Miao's side will do everything in their power to kill them.

But even after walking all the way to the middle of the imperial road, there was still no movement.

It's as if this third checkpoint has been abandoned.

Liu Jin knew this was absolutely impossible. If Li Miao's side still had any tricks up their sleeve, they would undoubtedly be on this imperial road.

First, there's the time factor; they had to act before An Qisheng defeated the emperor and returned. Second, there's the space factor; just beyond the Imperial Road is Fengtian Gate, and between it and the Hall of Supreme Harmony is only a wide square. Setting up an ambush there is no better option than launching an attack on the narrow Imperial Road.
Liu Jin walked ahead, flanked by guards from the Eastern Depot, proceeding cautiously.

Suddenly, a person appeared at the end of the imperial road.

An Ziyang.

His face was pale, his waist was wrapped in strips of cloth, and the bloodstains on his body were still wet. He was helped out by Mei Qinghe and leaned against the door at the end of the imperial road, looking over.

Liu Jin suddenly raised his hand, stopping the group behind him.

But then he heard An Ziyang say weakly.

"Liu Daban, why did you stop?" "You still have four Celestials left, are you afraid of an injured man like me?"

Liu Jin did not answer, but simply glanced around.

A member of the Eastern Depot leaped onto the roof, looked around, and then flew down and whispered, "Master, there are no celestial beings lying in ambush."

An Ziyang shrugged.

"Right? Your subordinates have already said so, so why aren't you coming over here?"

Liu Jin's mind raced, and she spoke calmly.

"A trap? Poison? Or gunpowder?"

An Ziyang scoffed.

"Why ask questions you already know the answer to, Liu Daban? You must have investigated the Tang Clan's background. I've exhausted all my mechanisms. As for the Gu poison, you must have a way to counter it. As for gunpowder—didn't you already investigate it in Wanggongchang? That explosion that night used up half of the gunpowder, and the other half is in the hands of the Shenji Battalion, isn't it?"

"Even if some scraps are left, they won't pose a threat, right?"

Liu Jin stared into An Ziyang's eyes.

He was right. Wang Gongchang's arrangements had almost completely overturned Liu Jin's plans, so he would naturally investigate carefully to prevent a repeat of what happened with Li Miao's side. Using a clone to control the Shenji Battalion was also for the purpose of controlling the remaining gunpowder.

There were no celestial beings, no mechanisms, and no gunpowder.

An Ziyang and Mei Qinghe alone are indeed no threat to them.

Could it be that he is using himself as bait to buy time for Li Miao to recover?
Liu Jin still did not move.

An Ziyang is not someone who can be judged by ordinary standards. Once An Qisheng returns to provide assistance, everything will be settled, and he will not need to take any risks.

Stopping on this narrow imperial road actually makes it easier to guard against a surprise attack from the celestial beings.

The two sides stared at each other in silence.

“Sigh… Sister Mei, why is it so difficult to build trust between people? If what I said earlier was true, I would definitely be heartbroken by Liu Daban now.”

An Ziyang suddenly reached out his hand and gave an affected smile.

"Luckily, I was lying."

Mei Qinghe didn't reply, but reached behind the door and pulled out a rope, placing it in An Ziyang's hand.

Liu Jin narrowed his eyes: "A mechanism?"

An Ziyang smiled and said, "You could say that."

"Does Liu Daban still remember when Wu Tianren first entered the capital and forcibly broke into Wanggongchang, which triggered my trap and caused some filthy things to explode?"

Liu Jin nodded.

Of course he remembered that it was that grand scene of "exploding the golden juice" that made him realize the setup of Wang Gongchang, and he brought his fellow martial artists to test it out, which ultimately led to the explosion at Wang Gongchang that night.

But then An Ziyang laughed.

"People in the martial arts world say I'm treacherous and cunning, and that my methods are despicable. Even if I use excrement and urine to disgust people, it seems to fit my reputation, right?"

"But what if I said I didn't want to use those disgusting things to blow people up? How could a womanizer like me, who is obsessed with sex, want to make myself stink?"

"Those things are just some 'byproducts'."

Liu Jin's pupils contracted slightly.

He understood what An Ziyang meant.

The excrement itself is worthless and harmless. So why would An Ziyang collect it as if it were a prank?
Unless, of course, the excrement itself is merely a byproduct of An Ziyang's collection of other things, or a smokescreen.

For example, the saltpeter that accumulates on the walls of latrines.

That is one of the raw materials for making gunpowder.

Before he could react, An Ziyang suddenly pulled the rope.

(End of this chapter)