Great Zhou Martial Immortal

Chapter 92 Weiyang·Xiaoji Yuanchen
The Rat Armor has many functions.

For example, it also has the Four Realms Qi Furnace, which not only maintains the body but also nourishes [Heavenly Punishment].

Wearing the armor can produce a synergistic effect, and when combined with the "Heavenly Punishment Sword Song," the combat power far exceeds that of ordinary early-stage fourth realm cultivators. Furthermore, the armor and the human complement each other, allowing for seamless flow of energy and enabling the user to maintain peak combat power for an extended period.

Lu Chenyuan's cultivation level was insufficient, so he could only rely on his battle armor to unilaterally deploy the sword formation and control the Heavenly Punishment, which greatly reduced the battle time. However, even so, he could still maintain the strength of the fourth realm for three quarters of an hour.

The armor is impervious to external poisons, and the sword formation allows for both advance and retreat. Even when facing a fifth-level opponent, it is not without the ability to retaliate. It is more than sufficient for reconnaissance.

Lu Chenyuan rushed towards Mount Song.

The Four Skeletons revealed themselves and acted together.

Half an hour later, the five arrived at the foot of Mount Song.

As the afternoon sun slanted down, the peaks of Mount Song stood like cast iron beneath the sky.

Smoke curls from chimneys in Linsong Town at the foot of the mountain, and the streets are sparsely populated with people. A few stray dogs lazily lie dozing under the tea stall banner.

Lu Chenyuan stood atop Jiming Peak, looking across the Ten Pools Canyon towards Xuanlian Peak: "First, find the Five Ghosts. They arrived before us and can use corpses to gather intelligence, so they should already have some information."

Yue Sha closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "There is indeed a smell of death, and it's very close..."

The Four Dead Bones also practiced Yin-attribute techniques and were particularly sensitive to corpse energy. The four of them turned southeast at the same time to a mountain hollow in the canyon.

Lu Chenyuan turned his head and heard faint sounds of fighting.

Nian Sha gestured: "Second and third brothers, first go underground to check the situation on the outskirts, don't go in."

The Moon Demon and the Sun Demon nodded, just about to take action.

Lu Chenyuan added, "Don't rush to interfere with anyone you encounter. The most crucial thing right now is intelligence. The person who managed to keep Yuan Qingshuang and the Twenty-Fourth Division from making a fuss is most likely a master of poison. We must be extremely cautious!"

"understand!"

The two evil spirits spun around and disappeared underground.

The art of earth-遁 (earth-遁术) is one of the Five Elements Escape Techniques. The true energy cultivated is quite special. Just as metal-attribute true energy can control weapons, wood-attribute true energy can nurture flowers and plants, and fire-attribute true energy can scorch all things, different true energies have different characteristics.

The essence of the Earth-遁术 (Earth-遁术) is to use earth-attribute true energy to "transform" the soil, causing the surrounding land to liquefy, allowing people to pass through it.

Lu Chenyuan had once considered cultivation, as it could be a life-saving method in critical moments. Unfortunately, the "Golden Treasure Scroll" was too extreme, and the Geng metal energy could not be assimilated with the soil.

The metal-elemental true energy in his body can only be used for escape techniques of the same metal element—the "Gold Escape Flowing Light Technique." Unfortunately, this technique is extremely powerful, allowing him to move freely and quickly, but correspondingly, its difficulty is much higher than that of earth-遁术 (earth-遁术 is a type of escape technique).

With his current level of cultivation, he is far from being able to reach the "Transformation into Light" stage, and therefore cannot use the Golden Escape technique.

"Strength..."

Lu Chenyuan quickly realized that he still needed to seize the time to cultivate his divine sense. Whether it was the "Heavenly Craft Scroll" or other secret techniques of the metal element, they all required a sufficient level of cultivation.

The third realm is just too low...

The two evil spirits were very fast, and in no time, the Moon Evil Spirit had returned.

His expression was grave, and he spoke rapidly: "Reporting to Lord Lu, the two sides fighting in the canyon are the Fu and Lu ghosts and the Chi Mei and Jingzhe pentads! The situation is urgent; the two ghosts are about to collapse. Should we rescue them?"

The Five-Tong Ghost is both righteous and evil, but its name is quite auspicious, using the characters for fortune, prosperity, longevity, joy, and wealth.

Both the Yearly Fiend and the Hourly Fiend looked at Lu Chenyuan at the same time.

Lu Chenyuan frowned: "Are the two ghosts moving slowly? What is the situation with the Red Plum Blossom and the three signs of Awakening of Insects?"

Yue Sha understood his meaning: "The two ghosts acted as usual, and there was no sign of them being affected by mind-controlling techniques or pills. However, the four members of Chi Mei were somewhat stiff, with blank eyes and rigid moves."

Lu Chenyuan: "Are there any other people on the outer perimeter?"

Yue Sha said, "No."

Lu Chenyuan's mind raced. He was worried that the other party was fishing—not that the person behind the scenes already knew he was coming, but more likely that they were fishing for the other three ghosts. Where were those three people? Where was Yuan Qingshuang? If they were still entangled, that would be fine, but if they had already been caught, then Yuan Qingshuang and the person behind the scenes were definitely "willing to take the bait"!
Nian Sha also considered this possibility: "Could it be a trap?"

"Do not."

Lu Chenyuan made a decisive decision: "The timing is wrong! It's broad daylight. Even if there are few people around Xuanlian Peak, making a commotion at this time will only make things worse! If it involves unrelated people and leads to a siege of the entire Songshan Mountain, it won't be in his interest. It's probably not a trap! Wutong Gui should have already gathered intelligence. Take action immediately and finish this quickly!"

Before Lu Chenyuan could finish speaking, he shot out like an arrow.

The Rat Armor gleamed with a cold metallic luster in the sunlight, and the divine weapon [Heavenly Punishment] in his hand trembled slightly, emitting a sword cry like a dragon's roar.

Upon seeing this, the three evil spirits behind felt a surge of excitement.

Why were famous generals of the past able to inspire their armies to fight to the death? It was because they always led from the front in every major battle.

Xiang Yu burned his boats and led eight thousand Jiangdong soldiers into battle; Huo Qubing led eight hundred elite cavalry on a thousand-mile raid straight to the Xiongnu royal court.

This strategy of charging ahead regardless of casualties cannot be said to be absolutely correct. After all, for the sake of final victory, it is not wrong for generals to preserve their lives and use troops ruthlessly.

But clearly, the act of sharing life and death with the entire army is more likely to boost morale!

Just like this moment.

The Four Fiends knew perfectly well how precious Lu Chenyuan's life was, and how dangerous this battle was, as could be seen from the defeat of Yuan Qingshuang and the Twenty-Four Divisions. Lu Chenyuan was exceptionally intelligent and knew all this, yet he still acted first, which was even more commendable than acting rashly without understanding the battle situation!
"Sir, please wait!"

Nian Sha drew his longsword and flew out like a ghost, surprisingly arriving first to clear a path in front of Lu Chenyuan.

Without hesitation, the Moon Demon and the Hour Demon protected the two flanks from the left and right, and the three of them charged straight into the battlefield in a wedge formation.

The mountain wind howled, swirling up the fallen leaves scattered on the ground.

Lu Chenyuan caught a glimpse of the Three Fiends' actions as he sped along, and his heart warmed. He knew that these three "Four Fiends of the Withered Bones," who were feared throughout the martial world, were genuinely trying to shield him from the first wave of attacks.

The sounds of fighting in the canyon grew closer.

A cold glint flashed in Lu Chenyuan's eyes, and the Heavenly Punishment sword rang out even louder! "Attack!"

In the depths of the canyon, the Twin Ghosts of Fortune and Prosperity, one riding a bronze corpse, were engaged in a fierce battle with the four members of the Crimson Plum Clan.

The corpse-controlling techniques practiced by the Five Ghosts are certainly not comparable to those of orthodox corpse-driving families. Xie Tingyun can control four bronze corpses on his own with spare capacity, while the Five Ghosts can only "split their attention" and control one during battle. However, their evil magic has its unique features, which is that the corpses they refine are made from living corpses and can communicate with people.

Their bronze corpses were truly responsive and could be commanded at will, seeing what they saw and hearing what they heard.

This is the key to their ability to gather intelligence while remaining unafraid of toxins.

At this moment, the battle broke out.

In the mountain valley, a strong wind howled, and eight figures clashed and fought, amidst the flashing blades and the pervasive poisonous mist.

The two ghosts, Fu and Lu, moved like phantoms, each controlling a bronze corpse. Their poisonous palms flew about, and wherever their palm winds passed, grass and trees withered and rocks corroded. However, Chi Mei and Jingzhe Sanhou's swords were fierce, and the four long swords wove a net of swords to force back the poisonous gas.

Chi Mei's sword moved lightly and nimbly, its tip like a plum blossom in the snow, piercing towards Fu Gui's throat, forcing him to retreat. Chun Tao, Di Tang, and Qiang Wei's swords moved in a continuous barrage, their three swords intersecting to block Lu Gui's retreat. Although the copper corpse was fierce and fearless, it was ultimately a step too slow and Di Tang's sword severed its arm, causing black blood from the corpse poison to spurt out.

The two ghosts, Fu and Lu, broke out in a cold sweat and secretly thought something was wrong.

Although they were experts in using poison, they were still suppressed and forced to retreat steadily when faced with four opponents who were skilled in swordsmanship, and they could not hold out for long.

A critical moment.

Reinforcements arrived.

"boom!"

A silver figure crashed into the battle like a falling meteor!
Lu Chenyuan took a step forward, and the Qi furnace on the chest of the Rat Armor roared to life. The divine weapon in his hand, [Heavenly Punishment], split in an instant, and the Twelve Laws Swords poured out like a galaxy, instantly transforming into auxiliary wings. He then unleashed the main sword technique—[Yellow Bell Shaking the Mountain]!
Lu Chenyuan wielded his main sword, Tianxing, and slashed down from the sky. The sword's momentum was like a mountain collapsing, and the ground exploded with a thunderous roar. A three-zhang-long ravine of sword energy rushed straight towards Chimei.

Lu Chenyuan was the lowest level of cultivation. His task was to block the strongest of the four, giving the Four Bone Demons and the Fortune and Prosperity Twin Ghosts time to quickly resolve the three phases of the Awakening of Insects, and then join forces to defeat the enemy and try to capture Chi Mei alive.

at the same time.

The Four Dead Bones had already arrived like ghosts!
Nian Sha's "White Bone Instant Prison Sword" was so fast that it was just a blur. Before the sword tip even arrived, the chilling sword energy had already plowed a three-foot furrow in the ground. Rose hurriedly blocked with her sword, and with a crisp "clang", the longsword was knocked back.

Shi Sha's twin swords were even more cunning. The "Double Swords of the Withered Soul" was like two venomous snakes. One sword would slit her throat, and the other would rip out her heart. Di Tang barely managed to block the first sword, but the second sword had already pierced three inches below her ribs—again, avoiding her vitals.

The most insidious of the Sun and Moon Demons' "Netherworld Ghost Hands" are their ten hook-like fingers, each claw carrying a chilling wind. Just as Chun Tao was about to come to her rescue, she was struck on the back by the two ghost hands, the force of the palms accompanied by the deadly poison being injected into her body, causing her to spit out a mouthful of blood.

They were all from the same realm, and by joining forces to kill each other, the battle situation was instantly reversed!

Lu Chenyuan sensed something was wrong.

When Chi Mei faced his unleashed Great Lü Sword, she could have easily blocked it, but instead, she spun around and retreated, letting the sword energy leave a bloody gash on her arm.

Her toes always touched the three-point position, her figure like a willow in the wind—this was not a retreat, but a deliberate attempt to guide the battle.

Lu Chenyuan's heart stirred, his sword moves suddenly changed, and his figure rushed forward like lightning.

Main sword technique: [Yize Piercing the Moon]!
Tianxing slashed down diagonally, its sword force like a cascading silver river, forcing Chimei to parry with her sword.

The moment the two swords clashed, Chi Mei used the momentum to leap backward, and the two of them moved forward and backward, instantly moving more than ten feet away from the battle circle!

Amidst the withered trees, Chi Mei's eyes suddenly cleared, and her crimson lips parted slightly—

"Yan..."

Before the words were even spoken, two chilling auras suddenly rose from the forest!

Lu Chenyuan's expression changed drastically, only to see Chi Mei suddenly turn her palm and strike.

In a flash, he understood and met the attack with his own palm.

"Snapped!"

The moment their palms touched, a bamboo tube containing a message slid from Chi Mei's sleeve into his palm.

At the same time, Lu Chenyuan's sword turned back, and the Nan Lü sword emerged like a poisonous dragon from its cave, piercing Chi Mei's shoulder blade. Amidst the splattering of blood, Chi Mei let out a muffled groan and flew backward using the momentum of the sword.

"Click——"

Suddenly, the ancient pine tree ten feet away was covered with frost, and a snow-white figure broke through the mist!

Yuan Qingshuang's eyes gleamed with an eerie bluish-gray hue, and her palms carried a chilling wave that froze the air wherever they passed!
[Heavenly Punishment Returns to the Ruins]!
Lu Chenyuan's longsword trembled, and the Twelve Laws Sword suddenly shook violently, turning into streams of light and merging into the main sword. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth gathered wildly, actually condensing into a ten-zhang giant sword phantom above Lu Chenyuan's head!
The moment the sword was drawn, all the vegetation within a hundred feet bowed its head, and even Yuan Qingshuang's icy palm strike faltered!
"cut!"

The phantom of the giant sword crashed down!

Yuan Qingshuang instinctively raised both palms to the sky, and her icy true energy formed a three-foot-long ice shield above her head.

The moment the two forces collided—

"boom!!!"

The shockwave ripped up the entire soil layer within a radius of ten zhang!
Yuan Qingshuang grunted and took three steps back. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lu Chenyuan flicked his sword finger, and the Twelve Laws Swords split again: "Go!"

The Four Dead Bones immediately supported the heavily injured Fortune and Prosperity Ghosts, and the group rushed towards the outer perimeter like lightning.

"waste!"

The black-robed figure emerged from the forest, followed by the three Great Cold Marquises from the Twenty-Four Divisions. They carried the three severely injured and unconscious ghosts, Shou, Xi, and Cai. As the group departed, the black-robed figure's killing intent surged. He turned and swept his gaze over the severely injured Chi Mei and Yuan Qing Shuang, who had been a step behind in the battle. Even though his face was devoid of features, one could still feel his fury at that moment!
"It seems the [Mind-Bending Pill] is still not powerful enough. It seals off the divine sense, but it also reduces spiritual energy. It needs improvement..."

The man in black robes murmured to himself, then turned around. Beside the Three Lords of the Great Cold, Camellia held a chain in her hand, and at the other end of the chain was the Goddess in a white dress.

A pair of handcuffs appeared on her hands, engraved with runes, preventing her from getting angry. Her two pure eyes gazed in the direction Lu Chenyuan had left, a sweet smile on her face.

"hehe."

The man in black removed his mask, strode up to the Queen, and pinched her chin with two fingers: "What a perfect face! How biased you are... He's come to save you, are you happy, little sister!"

(End of this chapter)