Starting from the imperial palace guards, his clones spread all over the world.

Chapter 497 The Power of Crushing Power!
At this moment, the cave was in complete disarray, and the deathly silence was instantly shattered by a loud bang.

"Bang!!!"

From the large cave in the stone wall, Shen Cangming burst out like a maddened beast.

His clothes were tattered, his hair was flying wildly in disarray, and his face was filled with resentment and anger as he roared repeatedly:

"I haven't lost yet!"

Wen Hengrong could see all of this clearly from the top of the cave.

Although Shen Cangming below looked disheveled and had bloodstains all over her body, she knew in her heart that this third-rank martial artist had obviously not suffered serious injuries.

The power of third-rank martial artists was on full display at this moment. They not only possessed terrifying offensive power, but their defensive capabilities were also astonishingly strong.

Take that violent explosion just now, for example. If it were Wen Hengrong herself, she would probably have been pulverized and turned into dust.

Shen Cangming had clearly just recovered from the shock of the bombardment. His eyes were bloodshot, and his gaze swept around like an eagle's as he shouted hoarsely:

"Where have you been hiding?!"

"Come out! Come out now!"

At the same time, he quickly assumed a defensive stance, holding his longsword horizontally in front of his chest, the blade trembling slightly as if accumulating boundless power.

His internal energy surged wildly, like a raging sea, and violent sword energy began to swirl and surge around him, gradually forming a sword energy storm.

Shen Cangming was like the eye of the storm, radiating a chilling aura.

at this time.

A powerful and mysterious aura surged forth from the deep cave below.

Shen Cangming's eyes narrowed, a resolute glint in them, and he uttered a low shout:

So you were down there!

Without hesitation, he pointed his longsword at the endless abyss below.

In an instant, the sword energy storm around him seemed to be drawn together by an invisible hand, fiercely converging together. Countless sword energies intertwined and entwined, forming a torrent of sword energy like a raging storm, roaring towards the endless abyss.

Wherever it went, the air was torn apart, emitting a sharp whistling sound.

Such an attack should have been ferocious and incredibly powerful.

However, the cave below was far too huge and deep.

So much so that when Shen Cangming's sword energy entered the deep underground cave, it was like a tiny trickle of water the thickness of a chopstick flowing into a bottomless well, appearing so insignificant that it was instantly swallowed by the darkness.

But the next moment!
Suddenly, a gigantic fist burst forth from the massive hole in the ground!

This enormous fist was formed from a powerful burst of energy, and it was none other than the move that Liang Jin had just used.

Although it's the same move, its power is not diminished at all; it remains incredibly strong!

The enormous fist hurtled towards the raging sword energy. The sword energy relentlessly scraped against the fist, and the fist's power dissipated under the erosion of the sword energy, causing the fist to shrink in size.

Even so, the giant fist was still unstoppable, flying upwards at an extremely fast speed against the raging wind of sword energy, and in the blink of an eye, it slammed into Shen Cangming's face.

Seeing this, Shen Cangming roared, his muscles tensing, and raised his sword high, forcefully slashing at the fist that was inches away, shouting:

"Open it!!!"

With all his strength and anger, the longsword slashed fiercely at the fist formed from concentrated energy.

"boom!!!!!!!"

An immense, world-destroying force collided instantly, causing the entire grotto to tremble violently, as if it might collapse at any moment.

The longsword in Shen Cangming's hand was blasted out of his grasp by the powerful impact, flying upwards like a meteor. With a "whoosh," it pierced the top of the cave, almost touching Wen Hengrong.

The remaining power of the fist imprint struck Shen Cangming directly, sending him flying like a cannonball.

"Bang!!!"

Shen Cangming was once again slammed into the stone wall, leaving a human-shaped dent in the wall.

"puff!"

A mouthful of blood spurted from Shen Cangming's mouth, tracing an arc in the air.

His chest was deeply caved in, clearly indicating that he was no longer able to defend against the punch, which caused the remaining force of the blow to strike him with tremendous ferocity.

Such terrifying injuries could only be endured by a third-rank martial artist with a strong physique like Shen Cangming.

If it were an ordinary person, their chest would be sunken to this extent, and they would have died long ago.

Shen Cangming was clearly also seriously injured, his face ashen.

He leaned weakly against the large cave in the stone wall, his breath faint, and he didn't even have the strength to continue rushing out.

Wen Hengrong watched this scene and muttered to herself:
"Two punches... just two punches and the outcome was decided?!"

"Is the difference between three ranks really that big?"

"That kid is so young, and Shen Cangming has been famous for decades, how could he be like this?"

The fight between Liang Jin and Shen Cangming was a one-sided thrashing!
This was something Wen Hengrong found hard to understand. Why was there such a big difference between the two, who were both of the third rank?
They were so large that it was as if they were on completely different levels!

At this moment, Wen Hengrong finally realized why Liang Jin had acted so indifferently and nonchalantly.

Because he possesses absolute power, he remains indifferent to those plots and schemes that attempt to harm him.

"No wonder Jiang Duanchao didn't kill him directly, but instead sent us to deal with him first."

Wen Hengrong continued to ponder, and suddenly a realization dawned on her:
"It seems that Jiang Duanchao wants to wear down his strength in various ways before engaging in a decisive battle with him."

Jiang Duanchao had long known that he was a formidable rival!

Thinking of this, Wen Hengrong felt a surge of intense hatred.

She was not familiar with Jiang Duanchao. Given her status and strength, she was far from qualified to get acquainted with him.

However, she was very familiar with Ye Xianqing.

In some ways, Ye Xianqing could be considered her backer, which is why she was willing to be driven by him.

This time, Ye Xianqing ordered her to deal with Liang Jin, and she agreed without much thought.

But now she finally understood that Ye Xianqing had sent her to her death!
Her life was of no importance to Ye Xianqing.

The same was true of her companions.

Even Shen Cangming was nothing more than a dispensable pawn!

Even if all these people are dead, it's enough if they can harm Liang Jin.

If Liang Jin is injured, Jiang Duanchao's chances of winning against him will undoubtedly increase significantly!
Thinking of this, Wen Hengrong felt utterly helpless.

Someone as insignificant as her, if she doesn't do things right, will be dealt with by Ye Xianqing.

If she were to take her work seriously, Liang Jin would punish her.

The fact that Liang Jin almost gouged out her eyes and killed her still haunts her.

She doesn't want to die!

But fate, like a merciless hand, gripped her tightly, leaving her no choice but to resist.

But she also knew who she was more afraid of.

In contrast, Ye Xianqing only knew how to intimidate others with her power, while Liang Jin's extreme indifference and ruthlessness when he hurt her brought her even deeper fear.

That fear was ingrained in my very bones!
And at this time.

"call!!!"

With a whooshing sound, a figure flew out quickly from the giant hole in the ground.

This person is none other than Liang Jin!

Suddenly, Liang Jin, accompanied by a gust of wind, rushed towards Shen Cangming, who was embedded in the stone wall, like a black lightning bolt.

One of his hands, like an iron clamp, swiftly gripped Shen Cangming's neck, while his other hand clenched into a fist and raised high, veins bulging on the knuckles, as if gathering boundless power, ready to smash down fiercely on Shen Cangming.

At this moment, Shen Cangming was powerless to resist and could only watch helplessly as Liang Jin was about to launch his attack.

His eyes were filled with despair, and his body trembled slightly from fear and serious injury.

If Liang Jin's punch lands, Shen Cangming will definitely be smashed into a pile of minced meat!
At this moment, Liang Jin's face was full of indifference, like an iceberg that had never melted for a thousand years, but his eyes were filled with murderous intent, which was like a tangible flame, burning fiercely.

His terrifying killing intent alone was like an invisible mountain, pressing down on Shen Cangming and causing his injuries to worsen, resulting in more blood gushing from his mouth and staining his white beard red.

Shen Cangming looked utterly hopeless.

Faced with Liang Jin's overwhelming power, his previous resistance seemed so vulnerable, as thin as paper.

Now that his life and death were completely in Liang Jin's hands, Shen Cangming had lost all will to fight in the face of such overwhelming power. He could only stare at Liang Jin's fist and wait for his final fate to arrive.

however.

Liang Jin's fist did not fall immediately.

His eyes flickered for a moment, as if he were thinking about something, before he spoke:
"The High Priest is dead, everything is settled and cannot be undone."

"Now, only you and I remain of the Youhuan Clan."

“If I kill you, I will abandon my identity as a member of the Youhuan Clan and live a good life outside. Everything here will be irrelevant to me, and the blood debts and hatred of the Youhuan Clan will vanish.”

"I will spare your life. We will put aside our past grievances and search for any surviving members of our clan. With me leading the Youhuan Clan, there may still be a chance in the future."

"What do you think I should do?"

If Liang Jin wanted to kill Shen Cangming now, it would indeed be a matter of just one punch.

But if we can avoid killing him, the benefits will definitely be much greater than killing him.

In this world today, Shen Cangming is probably the only one who knows much about the Youhuan Clan. If he could be kept on the sidelines, a third-rank martial artist like him could undoubtedly be of great help in many matters. If it were anyone else, Liang Jin would have killed them with a single punch long ago, and would not have trusted them at all.

But Shen Cangming is different. He mistakenly believes that Liang Jin is also an orphan of the Youhuan Clan, which means that Liang Jin can make good use of this.

But whether he lives or dies depends on Shen Cangming's own choice.

Shen Cangming looked at Liang Jin's fist, a look of struggle and hesitation flashing in his eyes.

He was torn between anger over the death of the High Priest and concern for the future of the Youhuan Clan.

Finally, his gaze fell upon Liang Jin's fist, which displayed scale-like patterns, causing him to sigh deeply, as if he had made a difficult decision:

“You have the purest bloodline, making you a natural candidate for clan leader.”

"Although you killed the High Priest, as you said, everything is beyond redemption, but the Youhuan Clan cannot be completely wiped out."

"I'll listen to you this once and be at your beck and call."

"But if you cannot avenge my Youhuan clan, I will no longer obey you!"

Upon hearing this, Liang Jin finally lowered his fist in satisfaction.

Upon seeing this, Shen Cangming immediately seized the time to heal his injuries. His hands moved rapidly on acupoints, and his internal energy circulated slowly within his body, attempting to repair the damaged meridians.

At the same time, he took out an old-fashioned medicine bottle from his body, poured out a few pills, put them in his mouth, and as soon as the pills entered his stomach, a warm current quickly spread through his body, relieving his pain.

Liang Jin's gaze then turned back to the endless cave below.

What's below?

Liang Jin asked.

At this moment, the gaze from that endless depth had long since vanished, as if the giant underground cavern had returned to deathly silence, with only endless darkness remaining.

Shen Cangming assumed that Liang Jin had been wandering outside for too long and that his parents had not taught him properly, so much so that he did not even know about the sacred land and traditions of the Youhuan Clan.

So Shen Cangming replied:

"That is the netherworld."

What Liang Jin wanted to hear was not the myths and legends of these remote mountain tribes.

He rephrased the question and continued:
Have you gone down to check?

"Or, has anyone else in the clan gone to see it?"

Has anything come up from below?

Shen Cangming continued to answer:
Only the dead would want to go to the underworld.

"Only the dead can go to the underworld."

"And the dead cannot return to the world of the living."

"If you die one day, the Kui dragon below will crawl out through this passage and guide your soul to the underworld."

"This has been the case for thousands of years."

Liang Jin shook his head helplessly. It seemed that Shen Cangming's understanding of this place was limited to myths and legends.

Perhaps the only one who truly understands the secrets of this place is the so-called high priest.

However, Liang Jin's attempt to save Zhao Bao indirectly led to the High Priest's death.

After all, who could have imagined that Liang Jin would simply pull Zhao Bao out of the cycle of reincarnation and then the high priest would die?
"We should go out now."

Liang Jin said.

This enormous, seemingly endless cavern is far beyond Liang Jin's current ability to explore.

It seems that only when his strength grows enough to deal with the dangers below will he be able to come and explore again.

If we stay here now, who knows what unknown dangers we might encounter?

If that mysterious being from underground were to emerge, Liang Jin would truly be unable to handle it.

Immediately, Liang Jin stretched out his hand, and his powerful internal force, like a surging tide, grabbed towards Shen Canghai, Wen Hengrong, and Zhao Bao.

After enveloping the three with his internal energy, Liang Jin carried them out of the cave.

His figure darted swiftly through the darkness, like a black eagle.

Soon, they flew out of the cave.

As soon as Liang Jin arrived at the cave entrance, he heard a "squeak!" sound.

There was a figure at the entrance of the cave!
Upon closer inspection, he realized it was the Jade-Faced Fire Monkey.

The Jade-Faced Fire Monkey clearly wanted to enter the cave, but it sensed the danger posed by the blood vines.

This made it jump around at the cave entrance, scratching its ears and cheeks in frustration, and constantly making "squeak" sounds.

Upon seeing Liang Jin, it immediately began to bow and wave repeatedly, clearly trying to get Liang Jin's attention.

"How did you come?"

Liang Jinfei flew up to the Jade-Faced Fire Monkey and asked in surprise.

Because he was going into the mountains, Liang Jin was worried that the Jade-Faced Fire Monkey would awaken its wild nature and run off to live a free life, so he did not bring the Jade-Faced Fire Monkey along.

He entrusted the Jade-Faced Fire Monkey to Lu Qiannan's care, and even built an iron cage to keep the Jade-Faced Fire Monkey in place.

It now seems that neither Lu Qiannan nor the iron cage can stop the Jade-Faced Fire Monkey.

Furthermore, this jade-faced fire monkey was able to track them all the way until it found Liang Jin.

"Squeak!"

When the Jade-Faced Fire Monkey saw Liang Jin approaching, it rushed over and grabbed Liang Jin's clothes with its little paws, pulling him away into the distance. Then it kept pointing into the cave, revealing a threatening expression with its teeth bared.

Liang Jin seemed to be deep in thought:
"Are you trying to tell me that this cave is dangerous?"

The Jade-Faced Fire Monkey was extremely intelligent and immediately nodded, shaking its head up and down in a very comical manner.

Liang Jin smiled helplessly. Of course he knew that the cave was dangerous, after all, he had just come out of it.

"Come up."

Liang Jin pointed to his shoulder. The Jade-Faced Fire Monkey immediately and skillfully jumped onto Liang Jin's shoulder, squatted down, and its little tail gently swayed on Liang Jin's neck.

Shen Cangming and Wen Hengrong were both amazed by the monkey's intelligence, their eyes filled with surprise.

Then Liang Jin led everyone up to the crevice abyss.

Once they reached a flat area, Liang Jin waved his hand, and his inner force, like a gentle thread, gently placed the three of them on the ground.

Shen Cangming quickly sat cross-legged and continued to heal his injuries. His eyes were closed, his forehead was covered in sweat, and he was completely immersed in healing.

Zhao Bao lay motionless on the ground, still unconscious, his face as pale as paper, devoid of any color.

As soon as Liang Jingang turned his gaze to Wen Hengrong, Wen Hengrong hurriedly knelt on the ground, her body trembling violently with fear, and she spoke in panic:
"Great Teacher, I heard nothing and saw nothing!"

"I can tell you the secret recipe right now, please, please don't kill me!"

Wen Hengrong knew very well that she had come across some secrets she shouldn't have.

Who would have thought that the Great Teacher and Shen Cangming were actually from the Youhuan Clan, and that they might even threaten the princess's safety?

Now that Wen Hengrong could be silenced at any moment, she was naturally terrified!
Shen Cangming then said to Liang Jin in a deep voice:

"Don't be soft-hearted!"

"Although this woman is as beautiful as a flower, if we don't kill her, she will bring us endless trouble!"

Upon hearing this, Wen Hengrong trembled uncontrollably, her teeth chattering.

She looked up, her beautiful face filled with despair, tears welling up in her eyes.

Now that she can't fight back or poison her, Wen Hengrong is filled with deep helplessness.

Liang Jin, however, remained calm and completely indifferent.

He even said to Shen Cangming:
"So what if she said it? Can it really affect me?"

"Don't just think about killing all day long. It would be such a waste to kill such a beautiful woman."

"Beauty is like a knife; if used properly, it can have a great effect."

Upon hearing this, Shen Cangming frowned deeply.

He scrutinized Liang Jin with a critical eye, clearly unsure how serious Liang Jin was about what he was saying.

Is Liang Jin simply lusting after beautiful women, or does he genuinely want to make good use of this precious resource?

Liang Jin then turned his gaze to Wen Hengrong:
"It's impossible to release you now. From now on, join my Taiping Dao and pledge allegiance to me."

“If you are a virtuous and loyal woman, devoted only to your master, then I can give you a quick death.”

Wen Hengrong, on the other hand, became excited and nodded repeatedly, her head bobbing like a pestle being pounded.
"This humble servant is willing to become a disciple of the Great Master of Virtue!"

She's willing to do anything to survive.

As for her leaving her former patron Ye Xianqing and joining his family, she felt absolutely no psychological burden.

Ultimately, her relationship with Ye Xianqing was nothing more than mutual exploitation; there was no question of loyalty whatsoever.

Moreover, this time, Ye Xianqing clearly doesn't care about her life, so she naturally doesn't need to care about Ye Xianqing either.

At this moment, however, a murderous intent flickered in Liang Jin's eyes:

"However, before you join the Dao, you have to do something for me as a pledge of your allegiance."

"That old scoundrel Jiang Duanchao is determined to kill me, how can I allow him to continue living?"

(End of this chapter)