Under One Person: Dressed as Lü Liang, with vests all over

Chapter 188 The Demon Sword Disappears, Undercurrents Surge

The next day, inside the hotel.

It was barely dawn when, after everyone had a quick breakfast, Lü Ci was the first to stand up.

His brows furrowed, his gaze fixed on Ishikawa Shin, his tone urging:

"Didn't you say you sensed the location of the Demon Blade? We're already in the Northeast, what are you dawdling for? Take us there now!"

"Our people have only sensed the general location, saying it's near the Sky-Piercing Cave, but we still need to explore the exact location."

Ishikawa Shin looked embarrassed and quickly explained.

“A gaping hole in the sky…” Upon hearing this location, a look of reminiscence flashed in Lü Ci’s eyes, before he coldly said, “Fine, then let’s go there to look.”

Soon, everyone set off together.

The person leading the way was Gao Lian's assistant, Lao Zhang, who introduced the place as they walked:

"After receiving Mr. Zhao's call, Brother Gao immediately sent people there to search, but unfortunately, they didn't find anything special."

"Heh, no need for words, just lead the way."

Lu Ci snorted impatiently, his fiery temper as usual.

Zhang Chulan kept an eye on Lao Zhang's every move while observing the surrounding environment.

The so-called "sky-piercing hole" is actually a naturally formed karst cave.

Legend has it that the cave's passages are crisscrossing and interconnected, yet extremely complex, making it easy for people to lose their way once inside.

The information about the through-hole was detailed in the materials Zhao Fangxu had previously sent.

During the Battle of Mianshan, the Tang Clan's leader successfully killed the leader of the Bihe Ninja.

After the ninja leader was killed, the group of ninjas immediately went to the Tang Clan, vowing to avenge him.

The Tang Clan also suffered heavy losses in that battle. Of the ten Tang Clan disciples who went to fight, only Dong Chang, Xu Xin, and Yang Lie survived.

The Tang Clan disciples were naturally burning with anger.

Thus, conflicts between the two sides continued, battles broke out frequently, and the death toll continued to rise.

The turning point came some time later when a member of the ninja clan suddenly came to the door and delivered a challenge from the new ninja leader.

The challenge letter reads: The Tang Clan and the Biheren each send ten people to engage in a ten-on-ten battle in the Toutian Cave in the northeast. The winner is the one who eliminates ten of the opposing team's members and has survivors on their side.

Moreover, they made an agreement.

If the ninja are defeated, they will never again be enemies with the Tang Clan and will never set foot on Chinese soil again; but if the Tang Clan loses, the ninja will demand the head of Tang Bingwen, the former head of the Tang Clan.

Tang Bingwen agreed.

Among the ten people who fought against Higanbana, one of them was the wielder of the demon sword, named Majin Eita.

That demonic sword was named "Hirumaru." Hiruma is a parasitic creature that is adept at sucking blood...

Once someone picks up this demonic sword, they will be controlled by it and become a so-called demon. While gaining great power, they will also become the demonic sword's puppet.

Moreover, the demon sword possesses the bizarre ability to copy the supernatural powers of those it slays...

Using the demon sword, Eita killed many members of the Tang Clan in the Battle of Mianshan. Even earlier, he had killed the eldest son of the Lü family, Lü Ci's older brother.

That's why, among the ten people sent by the Tang Clan in the decisive battle at the Sky Pit, one was Lü Ci, who had insisted on joining despite being persuaded.

Thinking of this, Zhang Chulan couldn't help but look towards Lü Ci in front of him.

Judging from this, Xu Xin and Lü Ci are old acquaintances, no wonder they were bickering so much on the plane.

At this moment, Lü Ci and Xu Xin were walking side by side, with Ishikawa Shin beside them.

Lu Ci tilted his head, looking impatient as he asked Ishikawa Shin something, and the words "demon sword" could be faintly heard.

……

Zhang Chulan's gaze slowly shifted to Ishikawa Shin.

He clearly remembered that the document mentioned that before the battle of Toutian Cave, the manager of Jianghu Xiaozhan had secretly sent the Tang Clan a detailed document about Bihe Ren.

The provider of this information was the Ishikawa family.

Because of the demon sword, the Ishikawa family and the Higashikazuchi family are sworn enemies.

It can be said that they were the ones who understood Bihe Ren the most. At that time, they hoped that the Tang Sect could eliminate the demon and help them retrieve or destroy the demon sword.

The battle that took place in the deep cave was still very fierce. In the end, even the new ninja leader of the Hira ninja clan was killed, but the demon escaped with the demon sword.

After this escape, there was no news of the Demon Blade for decades.

Until recently, Ishikawa Shin entered the country, claiming to have sensed the demon sword reappearing in the world...

Zhang Chulan knew that Ishikawa Shin and his group's purpose in coming to the Northeast was not only to find the Demon Blade, but also to destroy it.

However, it is said that the demonic sword can only be countered by a skilled swordsman, and cannot be destroyed by any other means.

Over the long years, the demon sword had fallen into the hands of those who wanted to destroy it, but all sorts of methods had been tried, and even using modern machinery to impact it would cause the machine to suddenly malfunction.

Thinking of this, Zhang Chulan subconsciously looked at Feng Baobao.

Bao'er is the best at dealing with all sorts of fancy tricks. Someone like her, who is truly selfless, is the most likely to resist the temptation of the demon sword.

In the end, we might really have to rely on Sister Bao'er to resolve this matter.

If that time really comes, he will definitely try to squeeze some money out of the Fish Dragon Society, the Tang Clan, and Lü Ci to get more benefits for Bao'er.

……

After half an hour.

The group finally arrived near the cave.

When they reached the entrance to the sky-piercing cave, both Xu Xin and Lü Ci looked somewhat wistful.

Especially Lü Ci, who stood there with his eyes narrowed, seemingly lost in thought.

Ishikawa Shin's expression was completely different; he was full of excitement and couldn't wait to step into the cave.

However, he stopped after taking only a few steps.

Upon entering the cave, the light suddenly dimmed, and several forks in the road appeared ahead, leaving one unsure of which way to go next.

Ishikawa Shin hesitated for a moment, then suggested, "There seem to be many paths here. Why don't we split up and search?"

“No need!” Lu Ci said, a slight smile playing on his lips, which also caused the scars on his face to twitch. “I’ll just scout the way for you all for now.”

As he spoke, he slowly squatted down, placing his right hand on his knee and his left hand gently on the ground.

In an instant, a powerful and vigorous flow of Qi surged out from his left palm and spread rapidly in all directions along the ground.

In the next instant, the surrounding soil, sand, and stone walls seemed to resonate in a wonderful way with this flow of Qi.

Lu Ci closed his eyes and sensed for a moment, then stood up, his brows furrowed, and said:

"Based on my perception, there is no trace of the demon sword in this hole."

Xu Xin seemed unsurprised by this conclusion. He stroked his beard gently and said slowly:
He stroked his beard and said, "After the ten-on-ten battle ended back then, the Tang Clan searched this place for a long time, turning the cave inside and out, but they couldn't find any trace of the Demon Blade. The Demon Blade is most likely not in the cave."

"However, that demon was poisoned by Qi back then, and we chased him all the way, even making him jump off a cliff. He was seriously injured and shouldn't have escaped far. We can use the Sky-Piercing Cave as the center and search outwards step by step."

Xu Xin's suggestion was reasonable, and everyone nodded in agreement before walking out of the hole together.

As they walked out, Xu Xin jokingly teased Lü Ci:
"Lu Ci, your Ruyi Jin skill has improved a lot. In the past, you could only explore a range of ten zhang, but now you can explore the entire cave clearly."

After hearing this, Lü Ci scoffed and said disdainfully:
"Hmph, I don't need your praise, old man. If all these years have passed and my methods are still the same as they were back then, then I've lived in vain!"

While listening to the two old men bickering, Zhang Chulan secretly pondered his next course of action.

If the information provided by Ishikawa Shin is correct, then the demon sword is in a cave nearby.

However, there are quite a few caves in this area, and it would probably take a lot of time to search for them one by one.

Zhang Chulan took out his phone and entered the question into the search app: "What caves are near the Sky-Piercing Cave?"

Unfortunately, the search results were scarce, and most of them were shared by fellow travelers, offering little reference value.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Chulan exited the search page and opened a messaging app, entering a group chat.

This group chat was created during the last Biyou Village operation and has not been disbanded since.

Zhang Chulan's gaze swept across the group chat members, and he quickly locked onto a member with the nickname 【‐＾▽＾‐】. He requested to add the member as a friend and noted the member's name as "Gao Erzhuang".

[Zhang Chulan: Erzhuang, hello there!]

[Gao Erzhuang: Hehe, Bilian, welcome to Northeast China!]

[Zhang Chulan: Did you know I'm in Northeast China?]

[Gao Erzhuang: Of course! Hehe (), don't worry, I didn't look at you guys randomly, my dad told me.]

[Gao Erzhuang: Is there anything I can help with right now? I'm so bored lying around all day ヽ(▽)ノ]

[Zhang Chulan: There really is.]

[Zhang Chulan: Erzhuang, could you help me find out what caves are near the Sky-Piercing Cave?]

[Gao Erzhuang: Huh? Are we looking for the Demon Sword? (ω)]

[Zhang Chulan: Okay, thank you for your help, Erzhuang]

[Gao Erzhuang: Leave it to me (o)]

……

Erzhuang was extremely efficient; just five minutes later, Zhang Chulan received a document notification on his phone.

[Gao Erzhuang: Map showing the distribution of caves around the Toutian Cave.pdf]

[Gao Erzhuang: I've finished organizing it ╰(￣▽￣)╭. Based on county records, historical documents, and comprehensive analysis of online big data, there are a total of 15 caves in the vicinity, and I've marked them all clearly on the map.]

[Gao Erzhuang: Hehe, I have good news for you. In the past hundred years, there haven't been any earthquakes or mudslides near the Sky-Piercing Cave. There's no way the Demon Sword could be buried deep in the soil... So, finding it shouldn't be too difficult...] [Zhang Chulan: Awesome, Erzhuang!]

[Gao Erzhuang: Of course! With me, Erzhuang, on the job, I'll definitely get it done! ┏(＾0＾)┛]

Zhang Chulan expressed his gratitude again, then clicked to open the document Er Zhuang had sent and began to examine it carefully.

This document is a detailed map, with the locations of each cave precisely circled in striking red, and helpful notes are also included next to it.

It must be said that Erzhuang did an extremely meticulous job of organizing things.

Zhang Chulan silently memorized the map's contents, then took his phone and quickly walked towards Xu Xin and the others.

……

Following the markings on the map, the group carefully searched each cave.

An hour later, they arrived at a marked location on the south side of the tunnel.

However, looking around, there was no sign of a cave at all. The ground was covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves, and the terrain looked very flat and there was nothing unusual about it.

Xu Xin looked at Zhang Chulan and asked:

"Zhang Chulan, this place doesn't look like a cave. Did you get the wrong map?"

"This is the result of expert analysis; it can't be wrong."

Zhang Chulan opened the map again to check, and saw that Er Zhuang had written in the notes next to it: "No one has been here for many years, the entrance may be hard to find."

He turned off his phone screen, stroked his chin thoughtfully, and muttered, "I guess I'll have to clear all these fallen leaves first."

As soon as Zhang Chulan finished speaking, Feng Baobao, who was standing next to him, had already started to act.

Feng Baobao raised her hands, and balls of Qi shot forward like a storm.

"Continuous ejaculation!!"

With Feng Baobao's shout, the mountain of leaves was instantly cleared away, and the gray-brown earth was clearly revealed to everyone without any obstruction.

However, instead of immediately going forward to check, the crowd looked at Feng Baobao and the leaves that had been blown away with surprise.

This amount of Qi, this control, is a bit outrageous!

Not far away, Ishikawa Ken stared intently at Feng Baobao, his eyes blazing with fierce fighting spirit.

He has always considered himself the strongest among the younger generation of the Ishikawa clan, and with his "Buddha Sword" skill, he has no rivals among his peers.

Unexpectedly, after only two days, I encountered such an unfathomable peer.

Aiko Yagyu noticed that Ken Ishikawa was acting strangely, so she quickly took a few steps closer and gently comforted him:
"Jian, your strength lies in swordsmanship, there's no need for that..."

Unfortunately, her words of comfort were interrupted by a sudden commotion ahead.

……

"There's a crack here!" Zhang Lingyu looked up at Zhang Chulan in surprise. "It really does look like a cave inside."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Lingyu immediately cast the Golden Light Spell, using the soft and bright golden light as a light source to carefully shine it down into the crack, continuing to examine the situation inside the cave.

A moment later, when he looked up again, his face showed surprise:

"There appear to be two corpses inside the cave."

Upon hearing this, everyone was immediately drawn to the sound and gathered around, peering down through the crack.

Despite the very dim light, the general outline of the skeleton could still be vaguely discerned in the darkness.

“This crack is too narrow for a person to fit through. There must be other entrances nearby,” Zhang Chulan asserted.

As expected, Ma Long of the Tang Clan soon made a new discovery.

"There's an entrance on the side, but it's blocked by stones."

After he moved the stone, a hole that could only accommodate one person at a time appeared before him.

After waiting a short while for the cave to be ventilated, the group jumped into the cave one by one from the entrance.

……

After entering the cave, Zhang Chulan quickly walked to the two skeletons.

One of the skeletons was lying face down, dressed in simple cloth. The bones of the upper body were almost neatly split in two, and the cuts on the bones were clean and sharp, clearly the result of a fierce strike from a master.

Another skeleton lay supine on the ground, dressed in a Japanese military uniform, with a rusty machete stuck in its forehead.

Xu Xin slowly squatted down beside the second skeleton, examined it carefully, then stroked his beard and gave his assessment:

"The owner of this skeleton was a master of Qi cultivation in his lifetime, and he had been poisoned by the Qi of the Tang Clan."

Upon hearing this, Lü Ci immediately looked at the skeleton, his expression turning serious.

"Is it a demon?"

Xu Xin nodded. "Most likely."

Old Zhang, who was standing to the side, also had a strange glint in his eyes, and his hands hanging at his sides trembled slightly with excitement.

Zhang Chulan happened to notice Old Zhang's subtle reaction, and a hint of doubt flashed through his mind.

However, before he could think about it, his attention was drawn to Ishikawa Shin's sudden exclamation.

"Where's Hirumaru? Why isn't Hirumaru here?"

Shin Ishikawa's eyes searched anxiously inside the cave, his expression growing increasingly grim.

Hearing his exclamation, everyone else turned to look at him.

The death of the demon is certainly good news, but finding the demon sword is the main purpose of this trip to the Northeast.

Logically, the demon sword should be right next to the demon.

Lu Ci frowned and squatted down again, using his Ruyi Force to probe the surrounding area.

After a moment, he slowly straightened up, his face as black as the bottom of a pot, and said in a deep voice, "The demon sword is indeed not here."

For a moment, everyone's expression turned serious.

Just then, Feng Baobao pointed to the dust marks next to the bones and calmly said, "Someone has been here, within the last day or two."

As soon as she said this, everyone's eyes immediately focused on her.

Zhang Chulan, filled with curiosity, asked, "Sister Bao'er, how did you know?"

Feng Baobao revealed a clever look in her eyes and replied:

"It's based on the analysis of traces at the scene; that's what the book says."

"what book?"

Zhang Lingyu subconsciously pressed for an answer.

Feng Baobao counted on her fingers carefully: "Criminal Scene Trace Evidence Examination Techniques, Crime Scene Investigation and Physical Evidence Techniques, and..."

"Alright." Lu Ci interrupted Feng Baobao impatiently, frowning as he said, "Since the demon sword might have been taken by someone, let's hurry up and go find it."

Upon hearing this speculation, Ishikawa Shin immediately became anxious.

He said worriedly, "Now, I just hope that the demon sword wasn't taken by those Higanbana ninjas who have been hiding in China."

"The Higanbana ninja in Japan have been training new demons. If they get their hands on the demon sword, the demon and the demon sword will surely bring chaos."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chulan immediately looked at Ishikawa Shin and said:

"I'll contact the company right away and have them keep a close eye on the situation at the border."

"President Ishikawa, could you contact that Jiro from your Fish Dragon Society again and ask him to use his abilities to find the current location of the Demon Sword?"

Ishikawa Shin was taken aback for a moment, then his expression became complicated. After hesitating for a while, he slowly nodded.

The story about Jiro was fabricated by him. His previous source of information was Qu Tong, and now he can only hope that Qu Tong can provide him with some new information.

……

The group climbed out of the cave.

After coming out, Zhang Chulan remembered Lü Liang's previous instructions.

He clutched his stomach, feigning a stomachache, found a secluded spot, channeled his Qi into his communication ring, and dialed Lü Liang's number.

"Brother Lü, we found the demon's corpse, but the demon sword is gone."

"The Demon Blade is with me now. Bring Feng Baobao to my place tonight. I'll be waiting for you near Qipan Mountain," Lu Liang's voice came through the communication ring.

"Huh?" Zhang Chulan asked in surprise, quickly asking, "Brother Lü, what exactly happened?"

"It's a long story, I'll tell you in detail when we meet tonight."

At this point, Lü Liang paused, then continued:

"Don't let anyone else know about this yet. Be careful when you and Feng Baobao come over. There might be a spy from Biheren infiltrated your area."

"Brother Lü, you're not talking about Gao Lian's assistant, Lao Zhang, are you?" Zhang Chulan asked tentatively.

Upon hearing this, Lü Liang was slightly taken aback. He truly hadn't expected Zhang Chulan to be so perceptive.

However, this is a good thing, at least it makes communication much easier.

Lu Liang replied succinctly, "That's right, it's him. Be careful around him."

"Okay, Brother Lü. Is there anything else?"

"That's all. We can talk about the rest when we meet tonight."

Zhang Chulan nodded vigorously, "Okay, I'll take Bao'er there as soon as it gets dark."

　Thank you so much, Ziwei Junwang, for the monthly ticket!! Thank you!!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)