The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 145 Unrivaled in Sweeping Across the Land

Zhou Yan was taught by Shen Cangming.

The old border troops fought all the way, and they were very vigilant and resourceful.

The assassin seemed completely unprepared for the sleeping young Taoist's abilities. Startled, he leaped into the air, spun around, and brought his sword down. Zhou Yan stood up, holding the Earth Soul Heaven-Shattering Sword in both hands.

The Earth Soul Heaven Tilt Blade lengthened, transforming into a heavy blade that could be gripped by both hands.

With a whirlwind of fierce killing intent, the opponent seemed completely unprepared for Zhou Yan's blade to grow larger. He had originally relied on his own skills to dodge, but now he had no choice but to take the blow head-on with his own sword.

With a sharp crack, the man was pulled out of the shadows.

Zhou Yan paused as he walked forward.

Vines appeared, spreading like snakes, binding Zhou Yan's ankles, and even growing barbs, as if to poison him. At the same time, the earth's veins throbbed, and Zhou Yan's perception increased dramatically.

In the distance, there was a mass of energy, like fire, holding a bow in its hand.

The bow was wreathed in wind, and the arrows exuded an aura of explosive thunder.

Human race, three-person assassination squad.

Among them were a sorcerer from the Sanmen sect, suspected to be one of the seven major lineages; an assassin who cultivated his soul; and an archer from afar, who was undoubtedly a martial arts archer. The swordsman with the sword used magic brought by cultivating his Yin Soul to hide himself; the sorcerer quickly cast a spell to trap Zhou Yan; and the martial artist sniped him from a distance.

The collaboration is meticulous. It is not one of the four most common lineages of the imperial court: academies, battlefields, Taoism, and Zen Buddhism. Instead, it is a lineage that extends from three other stone tablets that have been scattered throughout the world. Of the seven major lineages, apart from the four above, the other three stone tablets have also evolved in their own way.

It includes all-encompassing miscellaneous paths, also known as side paths.

Various methods of practice are available, and rapid combinations are used to pursue breakthroughs in realm and strength.

His lineage traces back to the miscellaneous school of Lü Buwei, the prime minister of Qin Shi Huang.

There is a lineage of Yinshan practitioners who abandon their physical bodies and focus on cultivating their inner spirits and souls.

The core of cultivation is the three souls and seven spirits. The three souls are Tai Guang, Shuang Ling, and You Jing, and the seven spirits are turbid ghosts such as Shi Gou and Fu Shi. The highest level is the Corpse-Dissolving Immortal.

There's also the Celestial-Human lineage, which abandons spiritual cultivation and goes to an even more extreme level than the Military lineage, seeking only physical immortality. This time, three of the seven major lineages, those not under the control of the imperial court, have emerged.

That's too deliberate.

She is neither a weaver, nor the master of the Qingming workshop, nor does she resemble a mountain god or earth deity.

Such tight coordination could only come from the Humanitarian Dynasty. It seems that Li Heng sent Li Fuguo because he realized that he couldn't confront Zhou Yan head-on, so he wanted to take advantage of Zhou Yan's absence to send these people to assassinate him.

Was it an assassination attempt, or a test?
However, that's not the point anymore.

That unorthodox sorcerer was already at the seventh rank, skilled in talismans, witchcraft, and ghost arts. This vine technique was a ghost vine he cultivated in an extremely yin place, growing on white bone corpses, naturally carrying the poison of rotting corpses and the corrosive yin energy.

It was executed swiftly and even included a barb.

Although sorcerers are not good at direct combat, they have plenty of insidious methods. Even an ordinary seventh-rank Xuan official would suffer greatly from the vine's poison. He has used this move to deal with many troublesome enemies.

Before he could even get close, Zhou Yan paused with his right foot.

Three hundred years of cultivation naturally transformed into flames, which swirled around his body.

The vines summoned by the spell froze, withered rapidly, and were then shattered by Zhou Yan's powerful energy. The sorcerer's expression changed, and he spat out blood. The [Ghost Vines] that were connected to his mind and body were directly shattered, causing him so much pain that his brow was about to split open.

The horror in my heart was even greater than the fear.

"This, this is..."

"The Buddha's light protects you, and the Tao follows its natural way."

"It's a monster with a century of cultivation... Oh no, the intelligence is wrong!"

"He is not from an ordinary military lineage!"

But he didn't have time to speak, didn't have time to tell his teammates. The Yinshan lineage cultivator wielding the sword felt a burst of intense fire explode above the Earthly Soul and Heavenly Collapse. The military lineage, in terms of strength and physique, is second only to the lineage that pursues extreme physical sainthood.

The Yinshan lineage excels at surprise attacks.

He was struck head-on by the Earth-Shattering, Heaven-Shattering attack and immediately spat out blood.

He still made the decision, and hurriedly said:

"May the fetal light prolong life, may the spirit be refreshed and prosperous, and may the hidden essence be free from death!"

The unique supernatural power of the seventh-grade Yinshan lineage can bind the three souls, and it has an almost crushing effect on non-Daoist cultivators below the sixth grade. However, this spell to bind the three souls was directly dispersed when it was injected into Zhou Yan's body.

The sword-wielding man's pupils contracted: "His three souls and seven spirits have been forged into one?!"

In close combat, sometimes a misuse of a supernatural power, or failure to produce the expected effect, can lead to gaps in the transition between moves. Before the man could mobilize his Yin soldiers, Zhou Yan charged forward with his sword.

The frontal impact left him pale-faced, his internal organs shattered.

A sound broke through the air.

The arrow spun toward Zhou Yan's back.

However, the surrounding wind seemed to have naturally acquired a spirit. In the eyes of the Xuan Guan who was cultivating his physical body in the distance, the weapons, talismans and arrows he had made with the magician were getting slower and slower, and finally the wind turned into a visible blue vortex.

The arrows inscribed with the Heavenly Thunder Exorcism Talisman were moving slower and slower.

Finally, it stopped behind Zhou Yan.

Blue lightning swirled and exploded. The young Taoist stretched out his hand, his five fingers spread, dark red flames burning in his palm. He then clenched his fingers and grasped the arrow. Then, in the despairing gazes of the trio, the lightning was no match for the drought demon fire.

The archer's pupils contracted sharply.

All three of them were at the seventh-rank Xuan Guan realm, and they followed a less orthodox path. Their moves were simple and direct. It should be noted that the Xuan Guan lineage only provides magical power and physical enhancement. Their swordsmanship, movement techniques, martial arts, and teamwork were all their own.

A few unorthodox Taoist priests, martial artists of the Heavenly Human Dharma lineage, and Yin Souls of the Yin Mountain Dharma lineage.

They worked together seamlessly, and at their peak, they assassinated a high-ranking Taoist master of the sixth rank.

But this time...

As he hesitated, he suddenly noticed that the young Taoist had grabbed the arrow and turned to look at him. For some reason, his instincts, honed by years of killing, kicked in, and the hairs on his body stood on end. The next moment, he noticed his shadow swaying.

A fierce storm arose, and the calm face of the young Taoist appeared before him.

[Dark shadows].

The archer's expression changed drastically, and the next moment, a hand struck his forehead.

Zhou Yan spun around, gripping the arrow tightly in his right hand; the arrow was stained with the fire from the beacon tower.

Military Strategy: Beacon Tower Slaying, Transformation!

The military lineage has many weaknesses: weak magical power and slow recovery. However, its overall explosive power surpasses even the Celestial Lineage, which pursues the ultimate physical body. This is the magic of the Military Xuanguan Lineage.

High burst damage, low endurance. And—

Instantaneous.

The arrow, wreathed in flames, caused the archer to instinctively grip the bow and arrow, using it as a knife. He bent down and slashed at Zhou Yan's neck, then stepped back, grabbing the knife behind him with his left hand, his muscles bulging.

The next moment, the arrow pierced through the bow and arrow and stabbed into the man's neck.

Archer Lü Taiyu's eyes were bloodshot, and he gritted his teeth:
"Hold on, hold on!"

The Seven Great Lineages - Celestial Lineage - originates from Qi and Blood, opens all the acupoints in the body, forges an immortal golden body, and ascends to the realm of Celestials and Humans, fundamentally transcending the level of human beings, unlike other lineages that wield magical power to cast spells.

The Heavenly Human Lineage seeks to integrate magical power into the body's energy and blood.

When the flow of Qi and blood is mobilized, magical power will also naturally flow and change.

Zhou Yan sensed that the arrow was encountering an obstacle.

The man before him had layers of golden-iron skin, and his physique was so powerful that he could push away the arrows of Zhou Yan, a Xuan Guan of the military lineage. There was a strong desire to survive in Lu Taiyu's eyes.

The heart rate slows down, and blood and qi flow backward.

Increased strength.

Zhou Yan's eyes remained calm, and a cluster of dark red flames ignited on the arrow.

【Drought Demon Fire】, an ancient calamity, is effective against all flesh and blood. In the next moment, the seventh-rank Xuan official, whose body seemed to have turned into steel, had no time to react before his neck was pierced by an arrow that pierced his head. The Drought Demon Fire instantly corroded his flesh and blood.

Zhou Yan released his hand.

This powerful, resilient cultivator, capable of going seven days and seven nights without food or drink and immune to all poisons, knelt on the ground. His strong life-restoring power clashed with the terrifying flesh-eroding power of the drought demon fire.

It brought immense torment and suffering.

As an experienced assassin, Lü Taiyu had seen many opponents, but none were more terrifying than the young Taoist priest before him. From his perspective, his seasoned Taoist teammate's trump card had been completely broken.

The Yinshan lineage swordsman was defeated in one move.

He had only fired one arrow when the young Taoist priest, who had his back to him, instantly appeared before him. With a single move, the young Taoist priest broke his Heavenly Golden Body, and with a mere gesture, the duo capable of accurately sniping a sixth-rank Xuan official was killed.

And they're all head-on collisions.

This means that the guy in front of me is not an eighth-rank official.

Zhou Yan looked into the distance. Was this a test by Li Fuguo and his group? He realized that Li Fuguo had made a guess because he hadn't made a move at Guhuai Village.

These eunuchs, having witnessed the turbulent times of the imperial court for a long time, became tainted with such methods.

Was it a test? If he were killed by this elite assassin team, it would mean he was no threat; if he went to find them in a rage, it would prove that his anger lacked substance; and if he did nothing, he would be seen as swallowing his pride.

Old eunuch, old eunuch.

Zhou Yan clenched his fists. He hadn't returned for a day and a night and was now planning to go back to Yin Zichuan's courtyard. In the fierce battle just now, Zhou Yan had hardly used any sword techniques; every move was a supernatural spell.

After finishing the fight, Zhou Yan was slightly startled and felt a bit scared.

It's true that during the time when I wore the God of Agriculture's ears of grain, I was used to fighting with great intensity and used all kinds of magic and supernatural powers as if I didn't need magic power. It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Normally, I should have exhausted my magic power two or three times.

He calmed his breathing, focused his mind, and became aware of his own state.

Discover that you are different.

Not to mention that the injury has fully recovered.

The spiritual wine he drank last night, along with the spiritual fruits sent by the local earth god from within a thousand miles, were completely digested by Zhou Yan after he ate them all. The power of the Hungry Ghost Jade Talisman erupted, and these spiritual fruits, of course, were not enough to increase his cultivation level, but his magical power did increase considerably.

How could an ordinary eighth-rank Xuan official possibly capture a thousand miles of local deities to eat their spiritual fruits?

Zhou Yan's magical power at this moment is about twice that of a normal Zhen Rong.

Despite being a military strategist, his magical power is comparable to that of Taoist priests who practice asceticism, and he is even surpassing some of the more powerful sorcerers.

Those Taoist priests had been practicing meditation for decades, much like Zhou Yan, who belonged to the military school of thought.

Don't even mention that Zhou Yan only used basic spells. Even with a powerful eighth-grade move like the Zhenrong Blade Aura, he could unleash three to five separate blade auras to kill enemies. In addition, the gift from the God of Agriculture he wore greatly enhanced his mana recovery ability.

At this moment, Zhou Yan still had one-third of his magical power remaining.

It is still recovering its magical power at a speed roughly equivalent to that of a sixth-grade Daoist cultivator.

Lu Taiyu looked at Zhou Yan, who, as a descendant of the Heavenly Humans, possessed boundless vitality and was not yet dead. He had no self in his heart, only a willingness to die to buy time for his master to leave. So he sneered, "Zhou Yan, Zhou Yan, how many people has your executioner Uncle Shen killed?"

"Aren't you from Changle Town, Wannian County, Jingzhao Prefecture?"

"I'm here to take revenge on your Zhou family!"

He found out Zhou Yan's background.

This is practically the only information about Zhou Yan's identity and background that can be found.

However, this identity was actually bought for Zhou Yan by Shen Cangming using his gold medal for military merit. When Lü Taiyu saw a hint of coldness in Zhou Yan's eyes, and that he was able to find out this fake identity in such a short time, it further confirmed his suspicions.

He planned to interrogate Lü Taiyu thoroughly, but now was not the time.

He was worried about Shen Cangming.

Tie him up first.

Lu Taiyu intended to use himself to buy time, but he saw that the young Taoist priest was calm and did not need to use any spells or methods. He simply took a half step forward, and the power of the earth veins dissipated. He then asked, "Where is the Earth God?"

Lu Taiyu's expression froze.

The Earth God is a local deity. Although he is not good at conquest, he has various mysteries related to the local earth veins. Generally speaking, Taoist priests below the rank of high priest need to set up an altar to have a chance of inviting the Earth God for consultation.

How could such a casual call be possible...?

next moment.

Ripples spread across the earth, accompanied by wisps of white smoke. Two old men emerged from the smoke, holding wooden staffs. Lu Taiyu's expression froze as he slowly raised his head to look at the young Taoist, whose expression remained calm.

Suddenly, I remembered that during the investigation, I could only investigate up to Changle Town. Even my identity in Changle Town was just a pure identity. Everything in the past was a blank. For some reason, I felt a vague unease in my heart.

The next moment, all of Lü Taiyu's emotions and schemes froze instantly. He saw the two local deities appear and respectfully bow to the young Taoist priest.

"Old man, you are the local earth god of Wugong Town."

"Ancient locust trees gather in the land."

They all said in unison:
"Greetings, True Lord."

(End of this chapter)