Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

Chapter 278 The Effects of "Internal Force"!
As Chen Zhan opened his eyes, the charred scabs on his eyes immediately fell off, and two sharp beams of light seemed to emanate from his eyes, piercing through the dimly lit cell.

Chen Zhan's face was only visible around his eyes; the rest of his face was charred, as if he had a natural mask and didn't need to cover himself anymore.

He slowly stood up, stretched his neck, and heard a soft "click, click" sound from his bones.

The clothes beside her were left behind by Zhou Miaoyun.

Dressed in black, he stepped out of the cell, his steps light and graceful, as if walking on flat ground.

Strangely, the cell door, which had been locked, had somehow been opened, as if someone had deliberately led the way for him.

The guards in the imperial prison had long been transferred to defend against foreign enemies, leaving the prison deserted.

Chen Zhan moved smoothly through the dark passageway, his blood and qi circulating slightly, dispelling the chill.

His eyes were cold and expressionless. He neither helped Pei Qian nor lingered. With a flash, he crushed a small piece of stone on the spot.

His figure was hidden in the darkness as he discerned his direction in the air and headed south of the city.

With Liu Yizhu abducted, the Imperial Guards within the Zhenfu Division quickly organized a joint operation. Using crossbows and a sword formation, they suppressed the Black Stone experts disguised as agents of the Eastern Depot, and they were quickly defeated.

Some were killed, and some were captured.

Even Ghost Swordsman Xie Wuchang was no match for Pei Qian. After exchanging more than thirty blows, he was forced to retreat violently after taking a single palm strike.

The Unpredictable Sword cleared a path, its sword energy crisscrossing, making it impossible for ordinary Imperial Guards to withstand.

He took it.

If a master of innate level wants to leave, it would take at least two masters of innate level to keep them there.

Pei Qian chased after him for a few steps, but he had already disappeared without a trace.

He returned with a livid face and began to tally the losses and conduct interrogations.

Shortly after, Shen Tong came up to report.

"Reporting to you, sir, we have lost more than forty brothers. All those we captured have committed suicide by poisoning themselves!"

"Oh!"

Pei Qian struck the beam beside Shen Tong with a palm strike, and "Bang!" The thick beam instantly shattered.

"Issue an arrest warrant! A kill order! A soul-capturing order!"

Three orders were issued simultaneously.

It was already the highest-level wanted order issued by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and only the "Soul-Capturing Order" could be used by the Commander-in-Chief.

The meaning is that, above ground and below ground, in the deepest hell and the underworld, life and death are irrelevant.

"yes!."

Shen Tong didn't dare say a word and left the room, while Pei Qian was furious.

He had just guessed Blackstone's purpose and hadn't yet decided how to deal with it, or whether to report it to the commander, when suddenly...
The person is gone!
Not only were they ineffective in their work, but the secrets surrounding Liu Yiju were also difficult to uncover.

Pei Qian remained silent for a moment, then leaped away from the Zhenfu Division and headed straight for the residence of Xu Long, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The streets and alleys in the southern part of the capital were quiet, with only the occasional bark of a dog breaking the night sky.

Dressed in black, Chen Zhan moved like a ghost between rooftops and corners.

He moved with the Bagua steps, his strides were extremely small and his landings were silent. His qi and blood were gathered to the extreme, and even his breathing blended into the night.

Hundreds of feet away, three dark figures were holding the dazed Liu Yizhu hostage, constantly changing direction, sometimes diving into narrow alleys, sometimes climbing over courtyard walls, clearly checking for pursuers.

"They changed directions eight times, which is quite cautious."

Chen Zhan was hundreds of feet away, and it was pitch black at night, so he couldn't see anything at all, but he relied on his hearing.

In the martial arts world of the Ming Dynasty, each sect has its own unique lightness skill and footwork, which laymen cannot perceive. However, Chen Zhan can distinguish between people using different skills by observing the frequency, weight, and speed of their footwork.

A quarter of an hour.

The three dark figures finally stopped in front of a tightly closed blacksmith shop. The man in the lead, who was holding a sword, raised his hand and knocked on the shop door, three long knocks and two short knocks, with a distinct rhythm.

A moment later, the shop door creaked open a crack, and the dark figure quickly led Liu Yijuan inside. The door then closed again, blending into the surrounding darkness. Unless you looked closely, you wouldn't be able to tell that someone was hiding there.

Chen Zhan quietly landed under the eaves of the house diagonally opposite the blacksmith's shop, hiding in the shadow of the beam, and listened intently.

His physical injuries had not fully healed; after all, he was on the verge of death, and his entire body was almost carbonized. He survived only because of his vital energy and blood, which was shattered and frantically repairing itself.

However, his mental state remained completely unaffected, even reaching a higher level, with his five senses becoming extremely acute. After more than a month, he roughly understood the extraordinary abilities of these martial arts practitioners.

The "internal force" flowing within the body has the effect of "amplification".

The internal energy flowed to the arms, greatly increasing their strength. Then it flowed to the legs, allowing for the execution of various lightness techniques, leaving no trace on the snow.

The method of cultivating internal strength is similar to that of cultivating hidden strength.

Both involve opening all the orifices, but the difference is that hidden force opens the orifices and can then penetrate the body to activate major acupoints, while internal force trains the orifices in order to store internal force.

Internal energy cultivation techniques can continuously strengthen internal power. Once all the orifices are filled with internal power, one can attempt to break through to the innate level.

At the Innate Realm, internal energy is released outwards and solidified, resulting in a crisscrossing sword aura.

Their power is incomparable.

The sounds from inside the shop reached my ears clearly: the crisp clanging of metal, the rustling of tables and chairs being moved, and the faint sounds of conversation.

Inside the shop, Liu Yizhu was thrown onto a cold anvil, his head spinning and feeling like it was about to split open.

A man in black, carrying a wine jar, pried open the mud seal, forcibly grabbed his chin, and poured the strong liquor down his throat.

"Ahem—"

Liu Yizhu coughed violently, and wine dripped from the corner of his mouth. Before long, his eyes became glazed, and his whole body went limp. Clearly, something had been added to the wine.

The man with the sword stood to the side with his arms crossed, staring coldly at Liu Yijing: "No rush, we'll ask when the boss arrives."

"Does this old Liu really know the whereabouts of the relic?" someone nearby asked.

“Wen Yuheng was his most beloved student. He resigned from his official post a year ago after returning from Mount Putuo, and soon after committed suicide, leaving no one alive in his entire family.”

The man with the sword said in a deep voice, "Black Stone has been investigating for half a year and has only found out that Wen Yuheng brought back a Buddha relic from Mount Putuo. He is only familiar with this mentor in the capital. Besides this person, who else could know this?"

Just as he finished speaking, a soft footstep sound came from outside the shop.

A middle-aged man wearing a gray robe, with an ordinary face and two very black, straight beards walked in.

He was not tall, but he exuded an invisible pressure that caused the three Black Stone experts in the room to instinctively bow and greet him: "Greetings, King of the Wheel!"

King Yama nodded, his gaze falling on Liu Yijun, his voice calm yet carrying an undeniable authority: "Lord Liu, wake up."

He raised his hand and waved it, sending out a burst of internal energy that struck Liu Yizhu's philtrum precisely.

Liu Yiju shuddered, slightly waking up from his daze, but he was still confused, unable to see clearly, and his mind was a complete mess.

Where is the Buddha relic that Wen Yuheng brought back from Mount Putuo?

The Wheel King's words carried an aura that made Liu Yiju's eyes even more unfocused.

"Relics? What relics?" Liu Yiju's eyes flickered, but he was still trying to stay calm.

"Before Wen Yuheng committed suicide, he wrote you a secret letter. Did you think Black Stone wouldn't be able to find it?"

King Yama's tone suddenly turned cold: "His whole family is dead, do you think you can survive? That relic is not something you can hide."

"Pour the Soul-Sealing Soup again."

"Glug glug~" After swallowing a large bowl of the Soul-Capturing Soup, Liu Yijing's expression quickly became even more bewildered.

"Where are the relics? Where? Where~"

“Yes, yes, Guangyuan Temple,” Liu Yijing said tremblingly.

"Bang!" King Yama knocked him unconscious. "Don't let him die yet."

"Yes."

Just as King Yama was about to leave, his gaze sharpened, and three "silver buttons" appeared from his fingertips, gleaming coldly.

"who!"

The silver-tipped concealed weapon shattered the wall, and the person hiding behind it was gone.

But King Yama was faster, and he rushed out of the blacksmith's shop in an instant, heading straight out of the city.

Chen Zhan, standing a hundred feet away, listened to the commotion and slowly followed from behind.

(End of this chapter)