Starting as the young master of a medicine shop, he practiced swordsmanship for twenty years.

Chapter 369 As you wish!
"Father?"

Lu Xuan's lips curled up slightly, and golden light shimmered in his eyes.

He could clearly see countless black currents writhing beneath the other's skin, like... a puppet being pulled on strings.

"My good son..."

Emperor Zhenwu's mouth opened and closed mechanically, but his voice seemed to come from a very far place.

Aren't you curious about how I look...?

As they spoke, the temperature inside the hall suddenly dropped.

Thick, black, malevolent energy began to seep from the ground, pillars, and even the dragon throne.

The yin energy, as if alive, slowly spread towards Lu Xuan's feet...

Lu Xuan suddenly laughed.

He stomped his foot lightly, and a golden ripple spread outwards.

Wherever it passed, the black liquid evaporated instantly as if it were exposed to the scorching sun!
"My son..."

The voice of Emperor Zhenwu seemed to come from near and far, like an echo drifting from the abyss.

His ashen face was contorted, sometimes contorted like a demon, and sometimes revealing a hint of human pain.

Pale fingers emerged from the sleeves of the dragon robe, their fingernails now a strange bluish-black.

"I never imagined... that all of this was real..."

His head was tilted at an abnormal angle, and his full head of white hair danced in the air like a venomous snake.

Those pale, pupil-less eyes stared intently at Lu Xuan, a chilling greed churning within them: "What...what happened to you?"

As he spoke, Emperor Zhenwu's body began to twitch unnaturally, as if something was struggling inside him.

The bright yellow dragon robe was torn open by some force, revealing skin covered with black patterns underneath.

The lines writhed like living things, forming pained human faces.

"I...I can feel it..."

The Zhenwu Emperor suddenly appeared strangely close by, exuding an aura of decay.

He stretched out his withered, claw-like hand, wanting to touch Lu Xuan's face: "My son, the power within you... does not belong to this world..."

Ever since the moment Lu Yi and the other two died half a month ago, Emperor Zhenwu had received a secret report.

The imperial guards who followed Lu Xuan recorded a chilling truth with trembling pens—

"His Highness the Crown Prince... appears to have reached the peak of the Grandmaster realm in martial arts!"

Inside the imperial study, Emperor Zhenwu crushed the secret report to dust with his withered fingers.

Those cloudy eyes were now filled with disbelief and horror: "Impossible... This is absolutely impossible!"

He knows his son too well.

That prince who was frail and sickly since childhood, that heir apparent who needed elixirs to even reach the first-rate martial arts realm.

How could it be possible to cross the martial arts chasm that ordinary people can hardly reach in a lifetime in just a dozen days?

"It's fake! This is absolutely fake! Who is impersonating the Crown Prince? My son is definitely not him!!!" Emperor Zhenwu's roar echoed through the deep palace.

He dispatched his most elite imperial guards and even deployed spies who had been hidden in the Eastern Palace for decades.

The messages that came back were more and more terrifying—a strange phenomenon of hundreds of golden dragons soaring into the sky outside Qianfu Town.

The method of casually crippling the Ninth Prince Lu Xuyang in front of the prison gate.

And just now, there was that terrifying pressure that made even his own younger brother, King Shangwu, kneel and admit defeat…
Emperor Zhenwu's face was distorted by the candlelight, and dark lines could be faintly seen writhing beneath his skin: "My good son... what secrets are you hiding?"

At this moment, what surged in the emperor's heart was not only shock, but also an almost insane greed!

Beneath Emperor Zhenwu's skin, countless black Yin energies writhed wildly.

He deliberately spared Peng Lie's life in order to force his son, the Crown Prince, to return to the palace.

And now... that prince who harbors a shocking secret has finally stood before him!
"Let me see..."

Thick black liquid began to seep from Emperor Zhenwu's body: "What kind of heaven-defying fortune did you obtain that allowed you to rise to the top in such a short time!"

"well.….."

Lu Xuan sighed softly, golden light swirling in his eyes.

He gazed calmly at the unrecognizable "old emperor" before him, his voice filled with an indescribable complexity.

"Was it all really worth it?"

Emperor Zhenwu's body suddenly stiffened.

On that face with bulging veins, humanity and demonic nature intertwined and shifted.

His left eye still glowed with an eerie, ghostly green, but his right eye suddenly regained its clarity for a moment.

That's the look that humans should have.

"worth?"

Emperor Zhenwu's voice suddenly became hoarse and broken, as if two people were speaking at the same time.

His withered fingers gripped the dragon robe tightly at his chest, and the dark lines beneath his skin writhed violently, as if engaged in some kind of terrifying tug-of-war.

“My royal son…”

In the right eye of Emperor Zhenwu, which had briefly regained its clarity, tears mixed with black blood rolled down.

In that instant, Lu Xuan saw countless complex emotions.

It has the heroic spirit of pioneering and expanding territory.
There is a lingering pain that keeps me awake at night.

There is a desire for immortality.

Even more so... the guilt of being a father.

"Father just... just doesn't want to die... that's all!"

The almost pleading whisper was immediately drowned out by a monstrous roar.

Emperor Zhenwu's face twisted again, and black energy gushed out from his seven orifices.

But that fleeting glimmer of humanity was enough for Lu Xuan to understand everything.

That emperor who once reigned supreme over the land was ultimately just a mortal who feared death.

Between life and death lies the deepest fear in the world.

Emperor Zhenwu's hunched body trembled violently, and his cloudy eyes reflected the extreme fear of death.

What does death mean?
It is the dragon throne of the supreme ruler turning to dust, the illustrious reputation of a lifetime of conquest vanishing with the wind, and the grand ambitions and empires pursued throughout life turning into nothingness.

"I really don't want to die..."

Emperor Zhenwu's hoarse murmur expressed the sentiments of all ordinary people.

Even the emperor who rules the world is nothing more than a fearful mortal in the face of death.

Those achievements that once made him proud—suppressing kings, expanding territory, and dominating the world.

Before the eternal night, they are nothing but fleeting fireworks.

Lu Xuan gazed silently at the pathetic yet detestable figure before him, a sense of resonance rising within him.

Yes, who isn't afraid of death?

Even someone as powerful as Lu Xuan is now, isn't he desperately trying to break free from the constraints of this mortal body?
Emperor Zhenwu's body trembled violently, and in his cloudy pupils, Lu Xuan's figure was reflected, as if he were seeing his younger self in a daze—

The Zhenwu King, who stood proudly before a thousand troops,

That war god who struck fear into the hearts of the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions

The supreme ruler who looked down upon his ministers from the throne hall.
Heh. Heh....
He looked down at his withered hands, the dark blue veins of which were as dense as a spider web.

Beneath the bright yellow dragon robe lies no longer the robust body of an emperor, but a decaying shell.

"Why...did it turn out like this...?"

Dark tears of blood slid down his wrinkled face, spreading into shocking black flowers on his dragon robe.

Suddenly, Emperor Zhenwu went berserk and tore at his clothes, revealing his decaying and dried-out chest—a body that was not human!
"Do not!!!"

A heart-wrenching scream echoed throughout the hall.

The sound sometimes resembled the lament of a dying emperor, and sometimes the shriek of a demon.

The glazed tiles on the roof of the palace shattered amidst the sound, revealing the sky outside.

"What did I do wrong?" "Why are you treating me like this?"

Emperor Zhenwu frantically scratched his face, each scratch tearing off large pieces of rotting flesh.

But what's even more terrifying is that what gushed out of those wounds wasn't fresh blood, but a thick, black mist!
Lu Xuan watched all of this quietly, golden light flowing around his body.

He witnessed a terrible struggle unfolding within Emperor Zhenwu's body—the remnants of humanity making a final stand against the invading demons.

Suddenly, Zhenwu Emperor stopped roaring, slowly raised his head, and his right eye regained its brief clarity.

"My son...kill me."

Although the plea was barely audible, it sent a shiver down Lu Xuan's spine.

But the next second, countless black lines gushed out from his seven orifices, instantly extinguishing that last glimmer of humanity...
"as you wish."

Lu Xuan's voice was soft, yet it was like the Daoist chant from the heavens, echoing solemnly in the empty hall.

He slowly raised his right hand, and a dazzling golden vortex appeared out of thin air in his palm.

"Om-"

As the golden vortex swirled, countless golden dragon phantoms burst forth.

Each golden dragon is lifelike, with its scales and claws flying, and its whiskers swaying, accompanied by bursts of sacred chants.

The dazzling golden light dispelled all the gloom in the hall, making this eerie palace look like a celestial palace.

"Roar--"

Hundreds of golden dragon phantoms roared simultaneously, the sound waves shaking the palace.

They swirled and intertwined, forming a sacred halo around Lu Xuan.

The light was so pure it seemed otherworldly; even the air itself became clear and transparent in its golden glow.

The sight of the Zhenwu Emperor opposite was utterly terrifying—

Emperor Zhenwu's body had completely merged with that sinister entity, and they could no longer be distinguished from each other.

His hunched figure hovered in mid-air, thick black mist constantly seeping from his pores.

The black mist twisted and deformed in the air, transforming into billions of human faces with different expressions.

It has the appearance of a ferocious, roaring demon.

It has the compassionate, tearful countenance of a Bodhisattva.

He had a maniacal, laughing expression.

It also includes the joys and sorrows of countless ordinary people…
"Rumble--"

The entire Purple Gold Palace began to crumble under the corrosive influence of this terrifying Yin energy.

Those coiled dragon golden pillars, which require ten people to encircle, are covered with decaying patterns at a visible speed.

The golden tiles that have been laid for hundreds of years are turning into dust piece by piece.

Even the dilapidated dome was crumbling and falling debris under the corrosive influence of the black mist.

The most terrifying thing is that these decaying dust particles did not fall to the ground, but instead remained suspended in mid-air, forming a black mist of death.

In the mist, countless struggling, illusory arms could be vaguely seen, as if trying to drag all living beings into eternal darkness…
In an instant, the color of the world changed!

Lu Xuan stood amidst the endless black mist, his golden dragon phantom roaring and resounding throughout the heavens.

The golden light emanating from his eyes was like two blazing suns, illuminating the entire fog of death.

"Destroy!"

A single word uttered softly, yet it was like a divine decree.

A vast golden divine light surged forth from Lu Xuan's body, like a celestial river hanging upside down, instantly engulfing all darkness.

The light was so pure it was almost divine; wherever it passed, millions of distorted human faces melted away like snow.

Countless struggling ghostly hands turned into wisps of smoke, and even the space itself distorted and trembled in the golden light!

The entire Purple Palace crumbled like a sandcastle before this force.

But even more astonishingly, the shattered bricks and rubble vanished in the golden light before they even hit the ground, turning into countless glittering starlight.

In this pure golden world, only the twisted figure of Zhenwu Emperor was still struggling.

He let out a shrill, inhuman scream, and the black energy around him surged back wildly, only to be extinguished in an instant, like moths drawn to a flame.

“My son…you…”

In the final moments, the ferocious face of Emperor Zhenwu regained a moment of clarity.

His cloudy eyes were filled with relief and contentment.

At this moment, Emperor Zhenwu stood frozen in place, and the endless black energy within his body melted away like snow in the golden light.

He stared blankly at his son, who seemed like a god, and the last vestiges of humanity brought a bitter smile of relief to Emperor Zhenwu's face.

"Good, very good..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the thickest golden dragon phantom roared over and gently wrapped around his body.

There was no pain, no struggle, only endless golden light washing away the filth...

As the last wisp of black smoke dissipated, silence returned to the flat land.

Only amidst the golden glow of the sky, a sigh of relief seemed to echo...
Host: Lu Xuan, the Immortal of the Mortal World (Third Incarnation)

Realm: Land Immortal (Minor Success)

Kung Fu: Nine Dragons Protective Scripture 11/9
Score: 2030800
Please confirm whether you wish to consume 50 system points to deduce the Nine Dragons Protection Scripture.

This thing, comparable to a terrestrial immortal, brought Lu Xuan a total of 200 million system points.

The majestic Purple Palace has vanished without a trace, replaced by a pure sea of ​​golden light.

As the golden divine light gradually dissipated, the scene before them struck everyone like a thunderbolt.

Peng Lie and King Shangwu stood frozen in place, their faces filled with disbelief.

The guards were ashen-faced, and some even collapsed to the ground.

"Brother Huanghuang..."

King Shangwu suddenly knelt down, tears streaming down his face.

His trembling hand reached out towards the vanished golden sea of ​​light, as if trying to grasp something, but he only caught a piece of falling golden radiance.

Only now did King Shangwu finally become convinced.

That ghostly thing corrupted by yin energy was truly his beloved elder brother!

"Why!"

The old prince suddenly roared to the sky, his voice filled with heart-wrenching fury.

He recognized that chilling aura—it was "that thing" that the founding patriarch of the Wenjing Kingdom had personally sealed away!
It is recorded in the royal secrets: immortal and indestructible, it erodes the mind and devours the body!
"Your Majesty, you clearly know...you know what that is!" King Shangwu pounded the ground, his knuckles bleeding profusely.

"All the previous emperors tried every means to eliminate it, yet you still insist on doing so..."

At this point, Prince Shangwu suddenly froze.

A terrible thought surfaced in his mind—perhaps it was precisely because he knew the properties of that thing that his proud elder brother would take the initiative to…indulge the evil into his body?
“Brother, you still…” King Shangwu closed his eyes in anguish, finally understanding everything.

That proud elder brother, the once arrogant Emperor Zhenwu, ultimately succumbed to the fear of death.

In order to escape the fate of mortals, he did not hesitate to negotiate with the tiger and took the initiative to accept the ghost that should have been sealed away for eternity.

Prince Shangwu slowly raised his head and looked at Lu Xuan, who was standing not far away with his hands behind his back.

At this moment, Lu Xuan's golden light had not yet dissipated, and the dragon pattern between his brows was faintly visible, making him look like a god descending to earth.

"Hahaha...Good! Good!"

King Shangwu suddenly looked up and laughed, his laughter a mixture of grief at losing a loved one and ecstatic joy at witnessing a miracle.

He struggled to his feet and bowed solemnly to Lu Xuan: "I never expected... that someone from my Wenjing royal family could actually achieve the realm of a terrestrial immortal!"

This bow was not to the crown prince, but to a being who had transcended life and death.

That evil entity, which even the Holy Ancestor could not destroy, has now been reduced to ashes in the hands of his own nephew.

What incredible power this is!
Peng Lie stood silently to the side, his eyes gleaming.

He knew better than anyone that from this day forward, the fate of the Wenjing Dynasty was about to change!

(End of this chapter)