The world of martial arts, the immortal swordsman in the mortal realm.

Chapter 181, page 196: Tell all the factions of the Demonic Sect that the Evil Emperor's Relic is in Chang'an!

In a secret underground room in a certain neighborhood of Chang'an.

"The effects of the secret medicine seem to be less than satisfactory."

"Hmm. The secret medicine is not yet perfected. Although it can greatly enhance one's power, it has too great an impact on the mind, causing one to lose some of their rationality. This is a fatal weakness in a duel between masters. Furthermore, Lu Chen and the two women beside him are too strong in martial arts. The gap between Chang Shumou and the other two and them is too great. Even the secret medicine cannot make up for it."

"It's not surprising that Dugu Feng is highly skilled in martial arts, after all, she is a young sword master whose reputation is on par with You Chuhong. But who is the other woman who uses a sword?"

"We don't know for now; we need to investigate carefully. That said, this test has at least verified that Lu Chen's martial arts skills are indeed top-notch, perhaps even on par with Empress Zhu Yuyan."

"He was by no means inferior to Empress Yin. Otherwise, how could he have parried Empress Yin's powerful attacks while simultaneously killing Qu Ao with his back?"

"It's a pity we couldn't test his 'indestructible body'."

"He did not use his neck to withstand Changshu Mou's flying shield, which shows that the so-called 'indestructible body' is either a rumor or has its limits. On the Mangshan battlefield that day, he used his throat to withstand Li Mi's spear, which may have been some kind of trick."

"For safety's sake, it's best not to confront him directly."

"That's natural. I intend to stir things up even more. Which of the two sects and six factions of the Demonic Path, and the eight great masters, doesn't covet the Evil Emperor's Relic? Let's spread the word and announce the location of the Evil Emperor's Relic, luring all those demons who plot against it to Chang'an. Let's see if Lu Chen really has three heads and six arms!"

"But in this way, our chances of obtaining the Evil Emperor's Relic are much smaller."

"With Lu Chen, who has close ties with Kou Xu, our chances of success have already been greatly reduced. In that case, we might as well stir up the waters even more, perhaps creating an opportunity to fish in troubled waters. Even if we fail, we can still weaken the power of the Demonic Sect, which would greatly benefit our missionary work!"

……

midnight.

Wanwan flew directly across the Yong'an Canal and landed on the terrace of the waterside pavilion in the backyard of the Lu residence. She saw Lu Chen standing in front of the window looking at her.

Wanwan stuck out her tongue and smiled mischievously:
"Don't you ever sleep?"

Lu Chen nodded:

"Since I started practicing martial arts, I have indeed slept very little."

Even at the beginning of his martial arts training, he only slept four hours a night.

Nowadays, sleep is almost irrelevant to him; a good night's sleep is a reward for himself.

Wanwan lightly leaped onto the windowsill, placed her hands on it, gently swung her legs, and said with a smile:

"Are you really going to become a god?!"

Lu Chen smiled:
"Isn't the purpose of cultivation to become an immortal?"

Wanwan's eyes widened:

"Huh, are you serious?"

Although the ultimate pursuit of the Holy Sect's cultivation is the legendary "shattering of the void," there has never been a precedent of any Holy Sect cultivator breaking through the void.

The same is true of Cihang Jingzhai, the nemesis of the Yin Gui Sect. None of the practitioners of the Cihang Sword Manual have ever broken through the void.

In Wanwan's view, shattering the void might truly just be a vague and ethereal legend—

The Evil Emperor Xiang Yutian ascended secretly and even created the illusion of dying of old age, so even for Zhu Yuyan, breaking through the void was just a legend, let alone for a new generation like Wanwan.

"I am certainly serious about cultivation."

"So, you really can become a god?"

"I am on the path of spiritual practice."

Wanwan sighed softly:
"I just don't know if it will work out!"

She has found the path to the Heavenly Demon Art, but even if she cultivates the Heavenly Demon Art to the eighteenth level, will she be able to shatter the void?

It feels like it's missing something.

Lu Chen reminded her:
"Even if the Heavenly Demon Technique fails, you still have the Sword Spirit Mark."

Wanwan pouted her little lips:
“I know that with the sword spirit mark, even if I can't cultivate to enlightenment on my own, my primordial spirit can follow you after I die. But I don't want to be a female ghost, drifting around you all day long…”

Lu Chen shook his head with amusement:
"Sword spirits are not ghosts."

"But they're not living people either."

Wanwan blinked:
"You also prefer a soft, living person, right?"

Lu Chen chuckled and said:

"So you must work hard to cultivate yourself. But now that you have found the right path, I believe that immortality should not be a dream."

Wanwan tilted her head, her smile radiant:
"Then I'll accept your kind words!"

Lu Chen smiled:
"Let's encourage each other."

He paused, then asked her:
"Have you found out any news about the Great Ming Venerable Sect?"

Wanwan looked at him with a smile:
"The intelligence has been gathered. However, I've been running around for more than two hours since this evening, and my feet are sore. Could you massage them for me?"

As she spoke, she raised her right leg, pointed her snow-white toes straight, and rubbed them against Lu Chen's hand.

Although Wanwan is not very good at it, her playful spirit is very encouraging.

So Lu Chen held her soft little feet, gently played with her delicate toes, kneaded her tender and smooth soles, and pressed her acupoints lightly and heavily from time to time.

Wanwan did a really good job today.

Although her eyes quickly became hazy, her jade-like neck unconsciously tilted back frequently, her delicate nose occasionally let out a few soft "hmm" sounds, and her skin flushed a light pink, she still managed to hold on and not pull her feet back.

Until Lu Chen's large hand gradually moved over her rounded heel and delicate ankle, pinching her slender and straight calf, gently kneading her soft and silky calf for a while, and then moving up to her knee, she hurriedly pulled her foot back and stammered:
"Okay, okay, time to switch legs..."

As he spoke, he quickly pulled back his right leg, raised his left leg, and handed his left foot to Lu Chen's palm.

Not bad, you've persisted for so long, that's progress.

Thinking this to himself, Lu Chen repeated the process, kneading her left foot and saying:

"Have you found any information about Xu Kaishan?"

Wanwan's eyes sparkled, her cheeks flushed, and she let out a soft hum, her voice ethereal:
"Xu Kaishan... is the leader of the 'Northern Horse Gang,' who has been buying horses in the border regions for many years and selling them in the south. Everyone thought he was just a smooth horse trader, but no one expected that he would be the 'Great Venerable' of the Great Ming Venerable Sect."

"The leader of the Northern Horse Gang? Is he in Chang'an now?"

"It is indeed in Chang'an. Some time ago, the Northern Horse Caravan brought a batch of fine horses from beyond the Great Wall. Most of them were sold to the Tang army, and a small portion was sold in the Horse Market Street in the south of the city. However, Xu Kaishan does not live in the Horse Market Street. He often frequents the West Market, likes to hang out in brothels, and especially likes Hu women. Now it seems that all of this was just a cover."

"Is Xu Kaishan in the West Market tonight?" "I was just about to tell you. Xu Kaishan was indeed drinking at a brothel in the West Market this evening, around the same time we were drinking at Fujiulou. But when I went to check, Xu Kaishan was no longer at that brothel, nor was he on Mashi Street."

"Did they run away? Or are they hiding?"

"I don't think so. Even my master doesn't know the identity of the Great Venerable. How could Xu Kaishan have imagined that he would be exposed?"

Wanwan gently bit her lip with her pearly teeth, her four toes curled up, and her big toe slightly raised, looking quite pleased with the massage Lu Chen was giving her. She continued, "..."
"He probably went to discuss the next plan against you with Shafang after seeing that the three assassins, including Changshumou, had failed in their assassination attempt."

Lu Chen shook his head:
"I was originally planning to take revenge without holding back overnight..."

Given his temperament, once he finds the whereabouts of Grand Master Xu Kaishan and Good Mother Shafang, he will definitely rush over immediately, utterly annihilate the Great Ming Venerable Sect, harvest a wave of calamity energy, and incidentally seize the "Scripture of Wisdom that Controls All Laws and Their Origins".

Unfortunately, we don't know where Grandmaster Xu Kaishan went tonight.

“Xu Kaishan is unaware that his identity has been exposed, and he will likely continue his public activities. Wan'er will personally follow him then, and we'll surely find out the whereabouts of that benevolent mother, Sha Fang. Hmm…”

It's unclear which acupoint Lu Chen pinched, but Wanwan's body trembled again, her calves involuntarily pulled back, and her feet slipped out of Lu Chen's grasp.

Seeing Lu Chen raise his eyebrows slightly and smile, Wanwan sensed that he was about to laugh at her, so she quickly jumped down from the windowsill and grabbed his hand:

"I haven't done my homework yet. Hmm, if I don't want to become a female ghost, I have to work hard to cultivate. It's getting late, let's hurry up and cultivate together to catch up on our homework."

As she spoke, she stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the lips.

Lu Chen smiled silently, not actually making fun of her, and nodded:
"Alright, let's begin our cultivation."

After cultivating with Wanwan in the waterside pavilion for an hour, Wanwan obediently returned to her room to rest, while Lu Chen went back to his bedroom on the third floor of the main house. He glanced at Dugu Feng, who was sleeping soundly, and continued to meditate and refine the tribulation energy.

There was still a lot of calamity energy clinging to him.

It will probably take another month or so to refine them all.

Once he has refined all the calamity energy, and with the results of his dual cultivation with Wanwan and Dugu Feng, his "bones and muscles tempering" cultivation will be able to cover more vital points, and his physical strength will become even stronger.

His skill level might even improve to be similar to that of the Empress Yin.

The cultivation of "Heart Sword" can also reach a higher level, making it easier to guide and capture the emotions of others.

The accumulated "killing aura" might be strong enough to slice off all the true energy of a grandmaster with a single sword strike.

……

The next morning.

Li Xiuning paid another visit.

Today she was still dressed in a fiery red riding outfit, with slightly long sleeves that resembled two wispy clouds. She wore a deep red belt with gold trim around her waist, riding boots, and a long sword hanging from her waist, giving her a bright, generous, and heroic appearance.

"Brother Lu, the Western Turkic delegation led by Commander Yun will arrive in Chang'an at noon today. Father will host a banquet in the Liangyi Hall to entertain them, at the beginning of the 5-7 PM."

At present, the Tang Dynasty is just a separatist force.

The territory was not large among the various lords, and it was also under great pressure from Xue Ju in the west, Liang Shidu and Liu Wuzhou in the north, as well as the Turks behind Liang and Liu.

Therefore, the Tang Dynasty also hoped to have an ally to help share the pressure from the Turks, and showed great importance to the Western Turkic delegation led by Commander Yun.

"Xiuning, would you like to come pick up Brother Lu at Shenshizhong?" Li Xiuning asked with a smile.

Lu Chen nodded and said, "Okay."

According to custom, one should learn etiquette before attending the emperor's banquet, but neither Li Xiuning nor Lu Chen mentioned this.

With Lu Chen's current power, he no longer needs to accommodate anyone.

Even the future emperor who unifies the country will not be entitled to make concessions to Lu Chen.

Because at that time, Lu Chen will only be more terrifying than he is now.

Let’s get down to business.

Li Xiuning then asked Lu Chen for advice on martial arts, mainly wanting to discuss battle formations with him—she was more interested in battle formations than personal martial arts skills.

When the Li clan started their uprising, she also made great contributions. With a force of several hundred men, she snowballed her influence, subdued a large number of heroes from the martial arts world, incorporated several rebel armies, and gathered tens of thousands of troops. She conquered cities and seized large tracts of land in Guanzhong, making great contributions to the Li clan's army's entry into Guanzhong and the capture of Chang'an.

Even now, Li Xiuning still has her own shogunate, retainers and generals under her command, as well as an army under her command.

Although Lu Chen had no known command experience, Li Xiuning believed that Lu Chen, who had twice achieved the feat of beheading a king and breaking through an army, must also possess extremely high military talent.

Perhaps he is like Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Chu, a military strategist who can instantly capture the enemy's weaknesses on the battlefield and then defeat them with lightning speed.

"Brother Lu, when you and Sister Feng'er broke through Garuda King's old camp and killed Garuda King Zhu Can in one fell swoop, what was your secret?"

"Hmm... I've spotted Zhu Can. I'll rush over and kill him. Once Zhu Can is dead, the Garuda army will be thrown into chaos and their fighting spirit will falter. If I go on a killing spree, I'll also take down Zhu Mei, who is still barely keeping the army's morale up. Then the Garuda army will completely collapse."

"..."

Li Xiuning's expression was somewhat subtle:
"Then, what about Li Mi? Li Mi's main force of 40,000, though exhausted, is still a seasoned veteran. In particular, the 8,000 troops of the Pushan Public Camp are among the strongest in the land... Brother Lu, you took the lead and charged into the enemy lines, did you see through the weaknesses in Li Mi's army formation at a glance?"

Lu Chen looked surprised:
"Have you discovered the weaknesses in Li Mi's army formation? What makes you say that, Princess Xiuning? Li Mi's army... isn't it full of weaknesses that don't need to be deliberately searched for?"

"..."

Li Xiuning's smile was a little awkward. She suddenly realized that she had made a mistake because she knew too much about military affairs.

Lu Chen is a strange... well, a god-like person who can carry two heavy hammers, each weighing over 370 jin, and can run faster on foot than cavalry charging on horseback, and is invulnerable to swords and spears.

He didn't need to find the weak points in Li Mi's army formation to attack.

To him, even if Li Mijun was not exhausted, even if he was at his peak, and even if his formation was as orderly as a mountain, he would still be no match for him under his double hammers, like an egg that he could crush at will.

Military strategist...

Okay, Lu Chen isn't a military strategist, he is...

Well, he is a unique master of the battlefield.

Dominate the battlefield with absolute power.

Perhaps only a powerful figure like Martial Venerable Bi Xuan, who is proficient in battle formations and possesses unparalleled martial arts skills, could withstand Lu Chen's charge.

However, if Bi Xuan cannot break through Lu Chen's indestructible body, the best outcome will be to entangle Lu Chen and exchange blows with him. Bi Xuan's own battlefield deterrent power will also be unable to be exerted.

For a moment, Li Xiuning couldn't help but feel a faint sense of anticipation:
If Lu Chen led his cavalry to clash with Bi Xuan's Turkic cavalry, what would the outcome be?
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(End of this chapter)