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

Chapter 190, page 205: The higher the martial arts skill, the more it resembles magic!

Lu Zhai.

The pavilion is surrounded by lotus ponds on all sides, where red carp swim freely.

Lu Chen sat cross-legged on a rosewood couch, his body swirling with yin and yang energies, the surrounding light flickering, giving people a mysterious feeling.

Suddenly, a gentle breeze swept by, rippling the surface of the lotus pond. Then, with a tinkling sound, streams of water leaped up, coalescing into jets of water that shot towards Lu Chen like powerful arrows.

Lu Chen sat motionless, his eyes suddenly opened, his palms facing upwards, and with a slight lift, a crystal-clear curtain of water surged up from the surface of the lotus pond around him, as if an invisible hand had pulled up a curtain from the water, completely covering the pavilion from all sides.

The water arrows struck the water curtain, producing a crisp crackling sound and creating ripples, but none of them could penetrate it, all shattering upon impact.

A mist of water splashed and spread everywhere, and the morning sunlight shone on the mist, creating dazzling rainbows.

Ah……

Amidst light and melodious laughter.

A girl in white, barefoot, flew over. Her bare feet lightly touched the water's surface, and as her toes touched the water, the surface suddenly froze, as if turning into a solid rock.

The girl's snow-white toes touched the frozen water surface, stirring up a shallow ripple. Her feet did not sink in, but rather, as if she were stepping on solid ground, she used the momentum to float up again, and with her fingers forming a sword, she thrust it towards the crystal-clear water curtain.

Bang!
With a deafening roar, the solid water curtain trembled violently, then with a splash, it shattered instantly like a broken glass curtain wall, turning into a shower of water that fell back into the lotus pond.

However, the girl was also thrown backward by the recoil from the water curtain.

At this moment, another petite and exquisite girl in black flew over, holding a long sword. She became one with the sword, and the sword light was like a streak of azure lightning that flew across the sky, stabbing towards Lu Chen in the pavilion.

Lu Chen smiled slightly, flipped his palm, and pressed down.

Outside the pavilion, the air above the girl in black instantly solidified, as if an invisible rock had descended from the sky and pressed down on her.

The girl was in mid-air with nowhere to grab her weight, but she suddenly twisted her slender waist and, like a fish swimming, drew a light arc in the air, avoiding the invisible rock that was pressing down on her, and continued to stab Lu Chen with her flying sword.

Unfortunately, although she could change direction in mid-air, she still couldn't fly into the pavilion.

Lu Chen raised his index and middle fingers together and gently flicked them upwards. The water surface beside the pavilion suddenly surged violently, and with a whoosh, a thick column of water shot up, like a giant sword, striking the black-clad girl's chest and abdomen from below.

With her inner energy nearly depleted, the girl in black could no longer change direction and had no choice but to alter the trajectory of her sword light, slashing downwards at the giant water column.

The azure sword light, like a bolt of lightning, struck the water column. With a deafening explosion, the water column disintegrated, and the girl was thrown diagonally backward by the recoil.

In the distance, amidst the ornately decorated covered walkways.

Seeing Lu Chen, Wanwan, and Dugu Feng manipulating the water and even the air as if they were immortals fighting, Shi Feixuan, who had just come with her maid, couldn't help but be amazed.

It's only been a short time since we last met, and Brother Lu and the others' methods have become so mysterious?

Also, what happened to Wanwan?

Why is she here too?

Was her attack on Brother Lu just now a test or an assassination attempt?

Shi Feixuan was completely bewildered.

The maid leading the way dared not go over and bowed to Shi Feixuan:
"The young lady instructed that if Fairy Shi were to visit, she could go directly to the young lady or Young Master Lu."

Shi Feixuan nodded in thanks:
"Thank you for leading the way, young lady."

After pausing for a while and seeing that the three had stopped practicing, he then walked towards the pond.

"Master Fairy".

Dugu Feng, who had fought alongside Shi Feixuan, greeted her warmly.

Meanwhile, in Luoyang, Wanwan, who was being fought side-by-side by Dugu Feng and Shi Feixuan, glanced at the vermilion mark between Shi Feixuan's brows, a mysterious smile playing on her lips, and said sweetly:

"Feixuan is here!"

Shi Feixuan always felt that Wanwan's smile and tone were a bit subtle, but she had no idea what she was up to.

However, since Wanwan did not threaten to kill, after responding to Dugu Feng's greeting, she returned a polite smile to Wanwan.

"Is the Fairy Master here to see Brother Lu?"

Dugu Feng smiled and led Shi Feixuan into the pavilion.

Wanwan followed her in and sat down on a bench by the pavilion railing.

"Brother Lu."

Shi Feixuan bowed to Lu Chen with her hands clasped in greeting:
"I apologize for my unauthorized visit, Brother Lu."

"You're too kind, Fairy Master."

Lu Chen nodded in return, invited her to sit down, and then asked her:
"What brings you here today, Master Immortal?"

"Don't dare."

Shi Feixuan said solemnly:

"I have come today to report something to Brother Lu. Fei Xuan has received news that Xi Ying, the 'Heavenly Lord' of the Demonic Sect's Extinction of Emotions Path, as well as You Niaojuan, Ding Jiuzhong, Jin Huanzhen, and Zhou Laotan, the four disciples of the Evil Extreme Sect, have all appeared near Chang'an. Zhao Deyan, the 'Demon Commander' of the Demonic Appearance Sect, has also headed south, with Chang'an as his destination."

"Oh?" Lu Chen remained calm. "Why are these demons coming to Chang'an?"

Shi Feixuan glanced at Wanwan, hesitated for a moment, and then told the truth:
"It's all because of the Evil Emperor's Relic! Someone claimed that the Evil Emperor's Relic is in Chang'an, causing the demons to stir up trouble and rush to Chang'an. Although we have only found the aforementioned individuals so far, the rest of the demons will probably not sit idly by, and they will likely gather in Chang'an soon."

"What's even more worrying is that someone is spreading rumors that the clue to the Evil Emperor's Relic is on Brother Lu."

Shi Feixuan's expression was solemn:
"The He Shi Bi is only useful to feudal lords who aspire to rule the world. With Brother Lu in charge of the He Shi Bi, many demons will not be tempted. But the Evil Emperor's Relic is coveted not only by the demons of the Demon Sect, but also by many experts who have nothing to do with the Demon Sect."

Lu Chen nodded and said:
"I understand. What Master Fairy means is that I am about to become the target of everyone's criticism."

As for the person who spread the news, he thought of Xu Kaishan, the riddle master, whom he had killed a while ago.

When Xu Kaishan was dying, he said something like "the news has been sent out," but he only said half of it, which made Lu Chen very unhappy. It wasn't until today that the mystery was solved and Lu Chen finally knew what news Xu Kaishan had sent out.

Lu Chen has been living a secluded life during this time, and while opening up the return point, he has been studying the "Mastery of the Root of All Laws Wisdom Scripture" with Dugu Feng and Wanwan. So far, they have made some progress.

Wanwan was also busy studying how to integrate techniques such as the "Blood Hand Skill" from the Zhijing into the Heavenly Demon Skill.

Aside from informing Zhu Yuyan of the truth about the near-total annihilation of the high-ranking members of the Great Ming Sect through a special channel of one-on-one communication, he had not returned to the Yin Gui Sect's stronghold. Wanwan was also unaware of the news of the gathering of demons.

So Shi Feixuan's news came at a relatively timely time.

“Brother Lu, although the whereabouts of the Evil King Shi Zhixuan are a mystery, he will definitely make a move this time because it concerns the Evil Emperor's Relic. While the two paths and six sects of the Demonic Sect are not united, and many Demonic Sect experts even have grudges against each other, Brother Lu's achievements are already widely known. It's likely that the demons will reach a tacit agreement to target you.” Seeing Shi Feixuan's serious expression and earnest tone, Lu Chen nodded and smiled.
"Thank you for the reminder, Fairy Master."

Shi Feixuan glanced at Wanwan again, and without trying to hide it, said to Lu Chen:
“Brother Lu, Feixuan doesn’t know what relationship you have with Senior Sister Wanwan, but she is, after all, a disciple of the Yin Empress. The Yin Empress has always had the ambition to unify the Demonic Sect, and she probably won’t miss the chance to compete for the Evil Emperor’s Relic this time.”

The main reason is that the Empress would never allow the Evil Emperor's Relic to fall into Shi Zhixuan's hands.

Lu Chen nodded and said:
"Thank you, Fairy Master. I know what I'm doing."

If the Yin Gui Sect dares to cause him trouble again, he is confident that this time he can kill as many of them as possible.

The problem is that among the two paths and six sects of the Demonic Sect, the Yin Gui Sect knows his strength best.

Even the Empress of Yin didn't want to face him anymore. How many other members of the Yin Gui Sect would dare to show their faces in front of him?

……

Outside Chang'an City, on the Hibiscus Pond, which is located at the southeast corner of the city's outer perimeter.

A painted boat is moored in the center of this artificial lake.

A small bamboo-awning boat sailed from the shore, gradually approaching the painted boat, and finally stopped three zhang away from it.

As soon as it came to a stop, a tall, burly, bald old man emerged from the bamboo hut.

The old man had a protruding belly, a broad jaw, a shiny bald head, a beautiful white beard, and long, white eyebrows. He looked quite like the God of Longevity in a New Year's painting.

It was none other than Chao Gongcuo, the "Immortal of the South Sea".

Chao Gongcuo looked up at the painted boat and saw a handsome, elegant, and refined middle-aged scholar with a bronze flute hanging from his waist standing by the railing, smiling at him. He immediately burst into laughter.
"It is truly an honor to have Brother Pi personally come to greet me!"

As he spoke, he leaped onto the deck.

That refined and elegant scholar was none other than Pi Shouxuan, the elder of the Demonic Sect who practiced "dual cultivation of clouds and rain".

He was the Yin Empress's uncle, older than Chao Gongcuo, but because he was proficient in "dual cultivation of clouds and rain" and skilled in replenishing yang by absorbing yin, he was well-preserved and looked only in his thirties or forties, which made Chao Gongcuo secretly envious.

"Brother Chao, you're too kind. It's been a long time since we last met. After we've met the sect leader, I'll treat you to a meal at the best brothel in Chang'an so we can drink until we drop."

"Then thank you very much, Brother Pi!"

After exchanging a few casual words, Chao Gongcuo lowered his voice and said:
"What exactly is Yu Yan's plan regarding the Holy Emperor's Relic?"

Although Chao Gongcuo was older and of higher seniority, he had once been infatuated with and pursued Zhu Yuyan, and still harbors feelings for her to this day.

On the matter of dealing with the Song Clan, the South China Sea Faction and the Yin Gui Faction shared a common goal: Lin Shihong, a disciple of Bi Shouxuan, wanted to expand his influence in the south, and the Song Clan was an unavoidable obstacle. Only by overthrowing the Song Clan could Lin Shihong have more room for development.

As for the South China Sea faction, it has always had conflicts with the Song Clan, and even under pressure from the Song Clan, it had to go north to find a way out.

Therefore, in dealing with the Song Clan, at least Chao Gongcuo and Bi Shouxuan were able to reach an agreement immediately.

The South China Sea faction is also having a bit of bad luck these days.

After Li Mi's death in battle and the collapse of the Wagang Army, with all the strategists and generals going their separate ways, the Nanhai faction originally intended to join the Li clan in Guanzhong.

Given Chao Gongcuo's martial arts skills, any warlord should have been happy to accept his and the South China Sea faction's allegiance. However, the problem was that Chao Gongcuo had offended Lu Chen.

He and Mei Tian, ​​the "Eyebrow-Level Staff," personally destroyed the waterside pavilion of Lu Chen's Luoyang residence!

This is absolutely outrageous!

Although Lu Chen held Li Mi, the mastermind behind the destruction of the waterside pavilion, responsible and even beheaded him on the battlefield, no one knew whether Lu Chen would hold a grudge against Chao Gongcuo and the South China Sea faction.

Considering that accepting Chao Gongcuo and the South China Sea faction might offend Lu Chen, even Li Yuan did not dare to accept Chao Gongcuo's offer of allegiance.

Crown Prince Li Jiancheng of the Tang Dynasty originally had some interest in the power of the South China Sea faction. He received Chao Gongcuo twice at the Crown Prince's residence, hosted a banquet for Chao Gongcuo, and exchanged gifts with him.

But when Lu Chen arrived in Chang'an, Li Jiancheng began to avoid seeing Chao Gongcuo.

Especially after news spread that Lu Chen, Dugu Feng, Li Xiuning, and others had killed the Great Venerable of the Great Ming Sect and the Good Mother, Li Jiancheng even sent people to return the gifts sent from the South China Sea...

With nowhere else to turn, Chao Gongcuo could only rely on his old friendships to seek help from the Yin Gui Sect, hoping to get them to act as a go-between and join Lin Shihong's ranks.

Of course, if he wanted to serve Lin Shih-hung, he would have to show his loyalty.

Considering that Lu Chen's existence seriously affected the development and even survival of the South China Sea Sect, Chao Gongcuo simply used the pretext of helping to seize the Evil Emperor's Relic to incite the Yin Gui Sect to join forces with his South China Sea Sect to besiege and kill Lu Chen and completely eliminate this hidden danger.

The Yin Gui Sect had besieged Lu Chen twice, creating a deep-seated enmity.

For both reason and sentiment, we should join forces with the South China Sea Faction to crush Lu Chen as soon as possible!
However, Bi Shouxuan's answer greatly disappointed Chao Gongcuo:

"The sect leader is unwilling to provoke Lu Chen any further."

Chao Gongcuo could not believe it:
"Yu Yan is afraid of Lu Chen?"

Bi Shouxuan said softly:

"The other day, the high-ranking members of the Great Ming Sect were completely wiped out by Lu Chen and his men. This one achievement alone is enough to make people keep their distance from him, not to mention all the other amazing achievements he has had."

"Therefore, regarding the matter of the Holy Relic, the Sect Master has only one principle: that is, the Holy Relic must never fall into the hands of Shi Zhixuan; everything else is irrelevant."

"So it doesn't matter if it falls into Lu Chen's hands? Is Yu Yan going to just hand over the Sacred Relic?"

Chao Gongcuo frowned and said:

"Why is Yu Yan so afraid of Lu Chen? Brother Pi, aren't you exaggerating Lu Chen's strength too much?"

"I have fought him before, and I did not find him to be so powerful that he was invincible. Looking at his previous record, every time he was besieged, he had helpers by his side. At the very least, there was Dugu Feng, and on many occasions, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and even Shi Feixuan were helping him."

"The defeat of Li Mi was not solely due to his efforts; it also involved Wang Shichong's two thousand elite armored cavalry charging into battle, as well as Kou Zhong's surprise attack from behind, setting fire to the camp and disrupting the morale of Li Mi's army."

"When Li Mi was killed in battle, Li Mi's generals and experts were also stopped by experts such as Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Dugu Feng, which allowed Lu Chen to fight Li Mi alone and behead him."

"The destruction of the Great Ming Venerable Sect was not Lu Chen's achievement alone; he also had four helpers, including Dugu Feng. These achievements prove that Lu Chen is not invincible. If we find an opportunity to kill him alone, and combine the strength of the Yin Gui Sect and the South Sea Sect, surely we can kill him?"

Pi Shouxuan chuckled lightly:
“Brother Chao is right. I think so too, but alas, the sect leader… sigh!”

He sighed and shook his head with a regretful expression:

"Later, Brother Chao, just explain the pros and cons to the sect leader. If you can persuade the sect leader, that would be the best outcome."

[This chapter has 4K words, please vote with monthly tickets!]

(End of this chapter)