Daqin Zhentiansi

Chapter 556 If it weren't for killing a Grandmaster, why would I, this Marquis, need to go to such lengths?

Jiujiang Prefecture

Outside the city.

The wharf on the banks of the Yuncang River.

The river mist shrouded the bluish-gray moonlight at the East Market Wharf, sending a chill across the river's surface.

On the riverbank, a three-story pleasure boat.

The prefect's son, Tang Yujue, stroked the rim of the glass cup with his fingertips, and the amber-colored strong liquor from the Eastern Wei Dynasty rippled in the cup.

Eight songstresses, draped in silk gauze, walked barefoot across the soft carpet, their golden ankle bells mingling with the sound of the waves lapping against the shore outside the cabin.

"Young Master, the Prefect has instructed that the caravan should head to Eastern Wei as quickly as possible. If you have any favorite singers or dancers, feel free to take them with you." Behind Tang Yujue, the one-eyed old man bowed and handed over a gilded box.

The incense sticks, solidified with ice crystals, emitted a three-foot-long plume of cold smoke from inside the box.

"This is a gift from the Snow Regions, sent by the Prefect. It's an aphrodisiac, mild and gentle, extremely beneficial to health. The Prefect instructed me to persuade the Young Master to stop indulging in wine and women—"

Before the one-eyed old man could finish speaking, Tang Yujue sneered and kicked over the table, causing the pearls inlaid on it to roll into the singer's snow-white breasts.

Several songstresses, amidst their panic and laughter, rushed to snatch the pearls, creating a flurry of white, trembling pearls.

"My father is incapable, but I am?" Tang Yujue pointed to the singing girls in the cabin. "Ask them if I am capable or not."

These words caused the singers in the cabin to burst into laughter again.

The one-eyed old man shook his head and said in a low voice, "Young master, the prefect said that someone from the Linshui Prefecture Martial Guard Office secretly kept the account books last time. To avoid any unforeseen problems, you should take the caravan to Eastern Wei first..."

"Hmph." Tang Yujue stepped on the "Great Qin Canal Transport Map" that had fallen from the table, the spilled scarlet wine meandering along the red-marked smuggling routes on the parchment. "Even if those black-skinned dogs had a hundred lives, they wouldn't dare trace it back to this young master—"

Before he finished speaking, the one-eyed old man's expression changed, and he took a step forward.

"call out--"

A two-foot-long black iron arrow shot in from outside the cabin, carrying a dim whistling sound.

The one-eyed old man unleashed the Vajra Master's aura, reached out and grabbed the arrow, his face grim.

"Armor-piercing arrow".

"Black Ice Platform!"

Black ice platform!
Tang Yuqiu's expression immediately darkened, and before he could speak, a series of sharp whistles resounded.

"Shhhhh-"

Arrows pierced the portholes and entered the cabin.

The one-eyed old man spread his sleeves to block the arrows.

"call out!"

As a crossbow bolt pierced the songstress's chest, the Snow Dragon Saliva she was holding exploded, filling the cabin with a rich fragrance.

The scattered arrows did not harm Tang Yujue, but several of the singers and dancers were pierced through the body by the arrows and fell to the ground.

Screams erupted throughout the cabin.

"Protect the young master—"

The old man shouted, and dozens of black-robed warriors wielding swords rushed out from outside the cabin.

"Wow!"

Outside the porthole, the sound of hundreds of black iron chains tearing through the air erupted as twelve massive warships disguised as grain ships were blasted into pieces by the Thunderfire Talisman.

As the burning wreckage of the ship fell into the river, Tang Yujue saw the black flag of the Zhen Tian Si (Heavenly Guard) wrapped around the end of the iron chain.

"The Heavenly Bureau is handling a case—"

Lei Hao's voice, enveloped in purple thunder, pierced through the mist, and his nine-section thunder whip shattered the Shu brocade canopy above Tang Yujue's head.

Amidst the flying wood chips, twenty Immortal-Slaying Crossbows emerged from behind the reefs on both banks, their chilling arrowheads gleaming like fish scales in the dawn light.

"Protect the young master and leave—"

The one-eyed old man was surrounded by explosive energy, and his single eye revealed a resolute determination.

He recognized the Immortal-Slaying Crossbow.

He had been lying on the mountain path outside the sect, watching as his sect was covered by crossbow bolts, and the body of the Grand Elder, a Grandmaster-level cultivator, was torn apart by the arrows.

Tang Yujue's hands and feet trembled at this moment, and he frantically crushed the jade pendant at his waist.

Two Innate Realm guards stepped forward, one on each side, to protect him and try to take him away.

The two had barely reached Tang Yuqiu's side when three netherworld chains pierced their throats.

Before the blood mist could spread across the silk curtains, the distinctive buzzing sound of the Immortal-Slaying Crossbow tore through the night sky and vibrated eardrums.

"Bam—"

The chilling arrows, like lightning, pierced directly through the deck and the bodies of the guards on the merchant ships surrounding the pleasure boat.

Inside the cabin, the martial artists who were protecting Tang Yuqiu were pierced by arrows half a zhang long, strung together, crashed through the cabin, and fell into the river.

Ice crystals mixed with blood and flesh splattered inside the cabin, freezing Tang Yujue's luxurious sable cloak into a hard shell.

He tumbled awkwardly behind the bronze lamppost, watching as the black iron crossbow bolt pinned the one-eyed old man to the gilded screen like a cockroach, the beam of light shooting into the sky.

Even a Grandmaster-level expert couldn't withstand these Immortal-Slaying Crossbow bolts!

"Father, save me!" Tang Yujue screamed in panic, clutching the shattered jade pendant.

Through the shattered cabin, he saw hundreds of charred corpses floating on the river—these were the assassins his father had arranged for him, as well as warriors from the Eastern Wei who were there to meet him.

All dead...

As Lei Hao landed on the deck, stepping on the lightning patterns, the entire pleasure boat was disintegrating within the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation.

“Mercy, mercy…”

Tang Yuqiu, who had fallen to the ground, trembled as if playing a piano, and begged for mercy.

Lei Hao didn't even glance at him, his gaze fixed on the blood-stained geomantic map on the ground, his eyes brimming with murderous intent.

"Those who betray their country shall be executed."

In his hand, the lightning patterns on the nine-section lightning whip lit up.

Jiujiang Prefectural Governor's Office.

The jade pendant in Prefect Tang Zheng's hand was stained with blood and then shattered.

Tang Zheng was pale and slowly stood up.

"Jade ring, jade ring..."

"Grandmaster Yuwen!" With a roar, Tang Zheng rushed out of the study, crushed the Eastern Wei Tiger Tally in the secret chamber, and the Blood Sacrifice Array lit up with ferocious runes on the blue bricks. "Yu Jue is in Chenjiao Bay, please rescue me."

Heaving heavily, Tang Zheng's eyes were filled with madness.

"As long as Yu Jue can safely enter Wei, I will immediately declare Jiujiang Commandery to be under the rule of Great Wei!"

The runes flowed, conveying all of Tang Zheng's words.

"boom!"

Suddenly, a hundred-foot-high wave surged up on the Yuncang River, a hundred miles away. A figure in purple robes stood on the crest of the wave, blood-red patterns flowing in his hands.

Yuwen Jue, the Grand Master of Wei!
Yuwen Jue, ranked seventh on the Heavenly Ranking, the Purple Cloud Blade Master, a Grandmaster of the Eastern Wei Dynasty, and a direct descendant of the Nine Absolute Blade Sect of Yangtianzhou.

He rose to fame two hundred years ago, before the heavens and earth had ascended to a higher realm, and was one of the strongest masters in the Eastern Wei Dynasty.

His signature weapon, the Nine-Ringed Golden Dragon Blade, was forged with the souls of nine thousand-year-old dragons. When the blade is drawn, it can draw upon the dragon veins of rivers and seas, thus amplifying his combat power by harnessing the power of the rivers. When fighting in water, the blade's energy is boundless.

When engaging in combat, his sword strikes were like surging waves of a river, and his power increased exponentially after nine strikes, creating the legendary saying, "One strike can cleave a river, nine strikes can slay an immortal."

Its body is protected by purple aura, which can transform into nine illusory dragons, combining offense and defense.

During the Battle of Tianlang Pass, Yuwen Jue once fought two Grandmasters of the Qin Dynasty alone, cleaving Qingyun Peak in two with his sword and causing the Yuncang River to overflow for three hundred miles, forcing the Qin Dynasty to abandon the outer defense line of Tianlang Pass.

After this battle, the eighteen fortresses of Canglang in the eastern border of the Great Qin sank into the water, the disciples perished, and the martial arts lineage was severed.

Before Yuwen Jue had even drawn his nine-ringed golden sword, its aura had already carved hundreds of ravines into the cliffs on both sides of the river.

The river water froze into an ice dragon at his feet, and the dragon's roar shook the river waves.

“Three hours.” Yuwen Jue’s voice made the fish at the bottom of the river turn their bellies white. “I want to see Lord Tang’s letter of submission.”

As the voice faded, his figure surged with a fierce aura, accompanied by purple clouds, and headed towards Chenjiao Bay.

Riverbank.

The river wind swirled ice shards into Lei Hao's black iron mask, and he chuckled as he looked at the approaching purple clouds on the horizon.

As lightning patterns flickered in his palm, the seventy-two dragon-imprisoning pillars emitted faint lightning light from the bottom of the river.

Three thousand Immortal Slayer Sword Guards, clad in dark scale armor, hid in the gaps between fishing boats. Their sword sheaths were wrapped in fishing nets, and the "Breaking Evil" thunder patterns engraved on the spines of each sword blended with the river mist and water vapor, quietly forming the foundation of the Nine Heavens Thunder Sword Array.

On the dock, five hundred Xuanjia Dragon Riders, their warhorses mounted on grain carts, lay still, their dragon scale armor reflecting a deep blue luster beneath the hay.

Tie Xing stood atop the mast, holding an iron halberd. Beside him were twelve Immortal-Slaying Crossbows disguised as cargo boxes, the sound of their triggers hidden in the waves.

The Blood Spider Guard leader, Spider Lady, sat upright on the riverbank, her fingertips piercing the skulls of the seven major canal gang leaders with three thousand Soul-Devouring Spider Silks.

At the dockside warehouse, where the ledgers were spread out, a dim light and shadow floated in Yin Jiuyou's hand, with soldiers of the Netherworld Army gathered behind him.

On the second floor of the warehouse, several cultivators of different shapes and with their auras concealed sat cross-legged, led by two half-step Grandmasters.

In the river, Yu Wanjun stood on the deck of a merchant ship, dragging his coiled dragon halberd backwards. The blood-red tip of the halberd intertwined with the dragon vein at the bottom of the river, forming a nine-headed dragon shadow.

On the distant city wall, Xiao Lingyun, the Grand Elder of the Qingyun Sword Sect and a sword expert at the half-step Grandmaster level, stood with his sword in his arms. Liang Qiyuan and others were beside him.

On the river embankment outside the East Market, the wooden carriage remained still.

Inside the carriage, Zhang Yuan held a chess piece in his hand and placed it on the chessboard in front of him.

"Master Chu, it's your turn."

Zhang Yuan spoke lightly.

Opposite him, the old man holding a white chess piece chuckled and slowly placed his piece.

Chu Chaoyang, Grandmaster of Martial Arts, Zhen Tian Si of the Great Qin Dynasty.

"Lord Qingyang, is your plan truly intended to ambush and kill a Grandmaster?"

Chu Chaoyang looked up.

"Why should I go to such lengths to kill a Grandmaster?" Zhang Yuan placed a chess piece, blocking Chu Chaoyang's large white dragon.

"boom--"

On the mighty river, towering waves roared in from the opposite direction.

Yuwen Jue, the Grand Master of Wei, has arrived.

(End of this chapter)