You, a tyrannical ruler, roam the heavens; you cannot understand my joy.

The next day, the morning light shone through the carved windows, scattering across the palace and creating a hazy, dreamlike atmosphere.

Zhang Lihua lay on her side on the bed, her black hair cascading down like a waterfall. The thin gauze that clung to her graceful body was disheveled and wrinkled, looking completely ravaged.

Yesterday's fierce winds and torrential rain gave her a languid beauty, like a crabapple blossom after a downpour...

"So fragile?"

Lu Zuo, who had already woken up, stood by the window, glanced at Zhang Lihua, and then turned to look at the scenery outside the window.

But thinking about it carefully, my physical attributes also enhance that aspect.

Even with her exceptional cultivation, Zhang Lihua couldn't withstand her own relentless self-discipline.

Recalling his encounter with Chu Yunlong last night, Lu Zuo muttered to himself, "A traitor..."

Although Lu Zuo was a fake emperor, he still had to participate in the morning court occasionally, appear in front of the ministers, and review memorials in the imperial study according to Shi Wenqing's instructions.

Having access to information channels, they naturally gained some understanding of the situation in Nanchen.

Looking at the entire Southern Chen Dynasty, there weren't many peasant uprisings; in recent years, there was only one in Nantong.

It's not that the common people don't want to rebel, it's just that they lack access to martial arts training and their strength is insufficient to start a rebellion...

Therefore, Lu Zuo could almost conclude that Chu Yunlong was the Nantong rebel that Ren Zhong had reported!

"So..."

"Can the power of these rebels be used to my advantage?"

To turn the tide and eliminate two powerful and influential ministers, Lu Zuo needs to improve his own strength.

They should also do everything possible to win over more allies and strengthen their own power.

That way, we'll have a better chance of success.

Upon closer examination, this possibility is not entirely out of the question, but we still need to observe Chu Yunlong's attitude and demands.

If someone really wants to be emperor, if they really want to rebel, then there's nothing Lu Zuo can do...

After a moment of contemplation, he summoned his character panel and glanced at the cultivation techniques section.

Cultivation techniques: Imperial Path Ultimate Scripture, Level 1; Nine Yang Return to Origin Great Method; Thousand Blade Flow Slash Technique, Level 1 (2399/10000).

The Thousand Blade Flow Slash Technique is divided into nine levels, each corresponding to a move, a different method of channeling energy, a different path of energy flow, and a different martial arts principle.

The first level, "Thousands of Blades Return to One," means that all the blades are broken down into one.

It implicitly contains the principle that the Tao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things, as well as the method of "returning to the infinite".

After studying various schools of thought and classic texts for many days, Lu Zuo was able to quickly understand this technique and added it to the technique list to help Zhang Lihua practice.

but……

He couldn't understand the second level, the Thousand Blades Chasing the Moon, the mechanism of transformation from Yin to Yang.

Each subsequent layer is more obscure and difficult to understand, more profound than the last. With Lu Zuo's current knowledge, he simply cannot comprehend it.

If you can't understand it, you naturally can't add it to the skill list.

"Literary and moral knowledge are closely related to the principles of martial arts."

"After dealing with the Bone-Painting Demoness, I need to find a renowned teacher to study the classics of various schools of thought."

Suddenly, a soft groan came from behind.

Lu Zuo turned around and saw Zhang Lihua rubbing her eyes, waking up from her sleep, her soft moans tinged with the hoarseness of a night of wind and rain...

"Now that you're awake, let's get back to work."

He thought to himself and slowly walked to the bedside.

Zhang Lihua's face turned pale!

No way?

They won't even let you breathe?

Are you livestock?

……

Several days later, at the foot of a mountain.

"Is this really true?"

A woman in her early thirties, dressed in a crimson silk dress, with delicate features and stunning beauty, smiled sweetly: "A seemingly insignificant village actually harbors two masters?"

She paused, then looked ahead with a gentle smile: "One hundred and twenty-three, and you're the only one who came back?"

The burly man kneeling before the woman was deathly pale, drenched in sweat, and his massive body trembled uncontrollably: "Yes."

"Okay."

"I already know what happened, so you're no longer of any use to me."

As soon as she finished speaking, the woman raised her hand and gently waved it, sending out a crimson stream of light that disappeared into the burly man's brow.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, spare my life!"

"Spare me!"

"I will do anything, even risk my life, to bring you the finest human bones, Your Majesty. Please spare my life..."

The burly man knelt on the ground, banging his head against it repeatedly, his forehead a bloody mess, but the Bone-Painting Demoness ignored him and turned to leave.

"Aaaaaaahh ...

After she had taken a dozen or so steps, a heart-wrenching scream suddenly echoed across the wilderness, lasting for a long time.

Crimson flames erupted from the burly man's seven orifices, and his skin melted away like dripping wax, revealing fresh red flesh.

But soon, his fascia and flesh also melted and dissolved...

Before long, it turned into a pile of charred skeletons, completely lifeless.

"Aha..."

The Painted Skin Demoness stretched lazily and yawned: "Boring..."

"Hopefully, these two petty thieves will pique my interest."

……

Meanwhile, outside Jiankang City, in the villages.

A tall, fair-skinned, middle-aged man in a deep blue robe, with a beaming smile and a rather amiable appearance, looked at Chu Yunlong beside him and asked:

"Boss, with just the few of us, we're probably no match for the Painted Skin Demoness, aren't we?"

Chu Yunlong waved his hand: "A true man acts only by asking whether it is right or wrong, not by asking whether it can succeed."

"We have all received the kindness of our fellow villagers."

"Now that they are facing imminent disaster, I, Chu Yunlong, will not be a coward who deserts his post!"

"As for whether you two stay or leave, that's your decision."

Beside him, a woman in a light yellow dress, with delicate and pretty features, stood up: "You underestimate me, Huang Ye."

"You remember the kindness of your fellow villagers."

"How could Huang Ye be such an ungrateful person?"

"That's right!" the middle-aged man said in a deep voice, "If we can win, we win; if we can't, we'll just lose our lives!"

Chu Yunlong looked at his two subordinates and grinned.

Then, she sighed softly again: "Sigh..."

"Unfortunately, that man was a coward and ran away in fear."

"Otherwise, we should have a 30% chance of winning."

……

In the distance, atop the mountain cliffs.

The Soul-Reaping Ghost stood on a tree branch, looking down at the village below: "Judging from the aura of these people, they should be martial artists around the Great Perfection of the Acquired Realm."

"Do you think we can win if we join forces with them?"

Judge Yin shook his head and sighed softly, "Alas..."

"I originally thought that Chu Yunlong could gather ten or eight helpers, but now he only has two at the acquired level."

"This battle is almost certainly going to be lost."

The Soul-Reaping Demon frowned, scratched his head, and said, "I really don't understand, why does His Majesty insist on fighting the Bone-Painting Demoness head-on?"

"Isn't this a dead end?"

Judge Yin: "There are indeed many puzzling aspects about His Majesty."

"But he has already made his decision, and we have no choice but to comply."

"Once he fights her, he'll realize just how terrifying the Bone-Painting Demoness is, and how wrong his decision was."

"Then, we'll find a way to escape with His Majesty."

……

The Imperial Palace, Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Lu Zuo sat on the dragon bed, closed the character panel, and thought to himself, "The Thousand Blade Flow Slash Technique has now been mastered."

"It's time to reverse the human body's hexagram and step into the realm of the innate."