Accompanied by his Personal Guard, Ruan Tai strode out of the City Lord’s Mansion, where a few people imdiately ca forward to greet him.
"Brother Ruan," asked ng Liangzuo, a man dressed as a middle-aged scholar.
"How did it go?"
"Just as you predicted, Brother ng," Ruan Tai nodded.
"Every ti I ntioned seeing the City Lord, Situ Kongli would just change the subject. She simply wouldn’t let see him."
"I’m afraid the City Lord’s condition has deteriorated to a critical point."
"There’s no doubt about it," ng Liangzuo said with a smile.
"Although the Life-Locking Pill can extend a severely injured person’s life by a year, their condition will worsen after six months."
"The last two months are filled with agonizing pain and suffering. Very few actually live for the full year."
"Sigh!" Ruan Tai glanced back with a complicated expression.
"The City Lord and I have supported each other for decades. We’ve been through so much to get where we are today; it truly hasn’t been easy."
"However..."
"Despite our decades of friendship, we must each look to our own futures."
"Exactly!" ng Liangzuo nodded.
"Once the ng Family takes charge of Yidu, a ng will be City Lord and a Ruan will be General. This promise will stand for three hundred years."
"Besides, it’s not like we intend to wipe out the Situ Family. As long as Situ Kongli marries into the ng Family, how could the ng Family possibly mistreat the Situ descendants?"
"This way, Brother Ruan, you can consider your old friendship honored."
"Mm," Ruan Tai said, his eyes narrowing.
"Situ Kongli said the City Lord will make an appearance in a few days to reassure the people. I’m afraid he can still hold on for a while longer."
"A bluff!" ng Liangzuo snorted coldly.
"Perfect."
"We can cause a small disturbance on the day Situ Sheng shows up to test his true condition."
"My thoughts exactly," Ruan Tai nodded.
"Let’s get in the carriage first."
"Alright," ng Liangzuo said with a smile, gesturing.
"We can talk more in the carriage."
Escorted by at least two Mages, over thirty Magicians, and a contingent of Evil Soldiers, the carriage drove off into the distance.
...
City Lord’s Mansion.
Observatory Pavilion.
Situ Kongli and Yun Zhiyu stood side-by-side on the top floor, watching from a distance as Ruan Tai’s carriage slowly departed.
"He acts like he owns the place!"
Yun Zhiyu said in a low voice:
"He enters the City Lord’s Mansion with his ard Personal Guard, and the mansion guards don’t even dare to speak up and stop them."
"Traveling with such a large entourage... anyone who didn’t know better would think he, Ruan Tai, is the City Lord of Yidu City."
Situ Kongli’s beautiful eyes were downcast, but they glinted with killing intent.
For months, Ruan Tai had been brazenly coming and going from the City Lord’s Mansion as he pleased, with his Personal Guard in tow.
Even back then,
he had already begun to harbor rebellious intentions.
"That’s just how the world is," Yun Zhiyu said slowly, glancing at Situ Kongli.
"The weak are prey for the strong, and the victor is king."
"The foundation the Situ Family has today was also taken from the hands of others. Don’t be resentful."
"Yes," Situ Kongli replied.
"I understand."
"However..." Yun Zhiyu’s expression turned thoughtful.
"This helper you’ve called... how does he plan to deal with Ruan Tai? That man is a tough nut to crack."
’Dealing with Ruan Tai alone wouldn’t be difficult.’
’But Ruan Tai is protected by Mages, Magicians, and a host of personal soldiers, not to ntion experts from the ng Family.’
’Killing him will be no easy feat!’
"I know of a Magic called the Nail-Head Seven Arrows Book," Yun Zhiyu began.
"A person struck by this technique will have their Soul dissipate and their Physical Body dissolve into yellow water within seven days. Not even a True Man can escape it."
"Oh!" Situ Kongli looked surprised.
"Does such a Magic really exist?"
"Perhaps," Yun Zhiyu shrugged.
"You know that Young Master Zhu better than I do. Can’t you guess what kind of thod he’ll use?"
"He did say he’d take Ruan Tai’s head tonight. The Nail-Head Seven Arrows Book would take too long for that."
Situ Kongli slowly shook her head.
’She had seen Zhu Ju fight before, but it was always in direct combat; she’d never seen him use any Mysterious Techniques.’
’It’s just that...’
’Ruan Tai is always accompanied by his personal guard when he goes out, making a direct assassination difficult.’
"Then let’s just watch and see."
Yun Zhiyu waved her arm lightly, and ripples like the surface of water appeared in the empty air before them. An image of Ruan Tai’s carriage convoy was reflected upon it.
"The Water Mirror Technique?"
Situ Kongli’s beautiful eyes flickered.
"How is that possible?"
The Water Mirror Technique is a variation of the Round Light Technique, sowhat similar to the Profound Light Technique that Zhu Ju had mastered.
Both are types of Magic that use the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi to spy on distant scenes.
However, unlike the Profound Light Technique, the Water Mirror Technique requires a specific physical object to be cast.
’Which ans...’
’Yun Zhiyu must have planted sothing on or near Ruan Tai—maybe it’s a person, or maybe it’s one of his personal belongings.’
"Since your auntie ca to help you, did you really think I’d co empty-handed?"
Yun Zhiyu smiled, pressing her lips together.
"Let’s watch the show!"
"I just hope this helper you found isn’t all flash and no substance, that he hasn’t just given you so empty words and already left Yidu."
"He won’t," Situ Kongli said, shaking her head.
"I trust Brother Zhu."
"Hee hee..." Yun Zhiyu’s laughter was crisp and clear.
"I used to trust people like you when I was young. But you’ll understand when you get older."
"In this world, you can’t trust anyone but yourself."
Situ Kongli remained silent, simply watching the Water Mirror before her and the figures reflected within it.
"They’re about to reach the Commander’s Mansion."
Yun Zhiyu’s voice sounded in her ear:
"Once he’s inside the Commander’s Mansion, Ruan Tai won’t co out again tonight. It’ll be even harder to kill him when he’s surrounded by his army."
"Not even a True Man could necessarily pull it off."
"Shh..." Situ Kongli’s beautiful eyes shifted.
"Look."
"Hm?" Yun Zhiyu’s expression changed.
"The nerve of him!"
*
*
*
WHOOSH!
Zhu Ju’s figure appeared on top of a wall overlooking the street.
Not far from him was the Commander’s Mansion, where patrolling Soldiers raised their long spears to greet the approaching carriage convoy.
The convoy,
belonged to Ruan Tai!
Zhu Ju could clearly sense the powerful spiritual fluctuations and pure Qi Blood emanating from within the convoy.
Two of those auras were particularly distinct.
VMMMM...
With a flip of his hand, five palm-sized rings flew out in sequence, beginning to circle around his wrist.
The Five Elents Ring!
As the True Qi in his body ebbed and flowed, the speed of the Five Elents Ring varied, and a five-colored halo appeared upon it.
A High Grade Spiritual Artifact!
This was the first ti Zhu Ju had ever obtained a High Grade Spiritual Artifact.
Among the many disciples of the Bright Void Three Veins, very few aside from the Core True Inheritance possessed a High Grade Spiritual Artifact.
HUFF...
’A High Grade Spiritual Artifact indeed. The True Qi consumption is astounding. If I were still an Innate who had only broken two Acupoints...’
’There are no ’ifs’!’
Zhu Ju broke into a carefree smile.
He had already broken open four Acupoints and even opened his Forehead Ancestral Acupoint. His True Qi was more than enough to wield a High Grade Spiritual Artifact.
Although,
it was a bit draining.
’Perfect. You can’t test a Magical Artifact’s power on re rocks and fake mountains. Today, I’ll use a Great Mage to see what it’s really made of.’
"Go!"
As he thrust his hand forward, the Five-Colored Ring shot out like a bolt of lightning, streaking across the night sky like a five-colored rainbow as it headed straight for the luxurious carriage in the center of the convoy.
A distance of a hundred ters,
was crossed in an instant.
"What is that?"
"Watch out!"
"Who’s there?"
"..."
The Cultivators of this world possessed powerful Divine Soul Power and keen perception. Coupled with the fact that Zhu Ju had no intention of hiding, the Magical Artifact was detected the mont he unleashed it.
But the Five Elents Ring was too fast—so fast that even if the Magicians detected it, they had no ti to react.
Only the Mages and the Great Mage had ti.
WHOOSH!
A cloud of black smoke billowed out from the carriage.
From within the black smoke, hundreds of arms of varying lengths and thicknesses reached out, grasping for the incoming Five Elents Ring.
This carriage,
was actually a Magic Altar!
A Magic Altar that housed hundreds of Vengeful Spirits and Fierce Ghosts!
"How dare you!"
Seated inside the carriage, Ruan Tai’s eyes flew wide as rage surged within him.
"You dare to assassinate ?"
BOOM!
Before the words were even out of his mouth, he felt a terrifying Giant Power descend from the sky and slam into the carriage.
Hundreds of ghostly beings were torn to shreds by that furious power, and the sturdy carriage was smashed to pieces.
’How could this be?’
The expressions of Ruan Tai and ng Liangzuo changed drastically at the sa ti.
’This carriage is the Hundred Ghosts Celestial Gaze Altar, made from thousand-year-old Soul Nourishing Wood! How could it be so fragile?’
’A True Man!’
’Only a True Man could possess such power.’
"Watch out!"
ng Liangzuo shouted, flicking his wrist to throw out two wooden plaques.
The plaques resembled ancestral tablets and flashed with golden light, instantly manifesting two Golden Armor Illusions.
The Golden Armor Illusions roared and threw their fists at the Five-Colored Ring.
CLANG...
The Five-Colored Ring only trembled slightly, but the force it carried was like a collapsing mountain, shattering the two Golden Armor Illusions on the spot.
WHOOSH!
The Five Elents Ring smashed through everything in its path, shrugging off all kinds of magical Spiritual Lights and slamming into Ruan Tai’s chest with Giant Power.
THUD!
Ruan Tai fell stiffly to the ground.
"Huh?"
On the wall, Zhu Ju raised an eyebrow.
"The Object Storage Technique!"
The so-called Object Storage Technique was a thod that used Magic, Talismans, or other ans to entrust a person’s life to another object.
Any damage inflicted on the user of the Object Storage Technique would be transferred via Magic to the substitute item.
Of course,
this type of Magic had a limit to how much damage it could absorb.
If an attack exceeded that limit in a single mont, the user would still be hard despite the Object Storage Technique.
PTUI!
Ruan Tai coughed up a mouthful of blood and staggered backward, supporting himself. It was clear that the object he had entrusted his life to could not completely nullify the damage from the Five Elents Ring.
"It’s a Treasure Artifact True Man!"
ng Liangzuo’s eyes twitched.
"Quick!"
"The caster is nearby! Find him and kill him! Without soone controlling it, the Treasure will be useless."
As he spoke,
the surrounding personal soldiers and Mages were already rushing madly toward the Five Elents Ring.
In the distance, the Soldiers patrolling near the Commander’s Mansion had also spotted Zhu Ju on the wall and were charging toward him, shouting.
VMMMM...
The Five Elents Ring trembled violently.
Its five-colored halo flared brilliantly across the area.
Its terrifying power was like a rolling mountain, easily crushing anything in its path.
The Physical Bodies of Cultivators in the Magic World were far too frail; they had almost no way to resist a High Grade Spiritual Artifact.
"Hundred Eyes!"
Ruan Tai roared as his Divine Soul Dharma Form leaped from his Sea of Consciousness, transforming into a monster covered in black fur with a hundred eyes growing from its abdon.
ROAR!
The monster roared at the sky, and its hundred eyes burst forth with Spiritual Light.
A hundred beams of ghastly white Spiritual Light struck the Five Elents Ring, causing the advancing artifact to halt abruptly.
A Spiritual Soul Attack!
At that mont,
long sabers and arrows laced with Iron Evil Stone, along with all sorts of Magic, also struck the Five Elents Ring.
The five-colored spiritual light flickered wildly, showing faint signs of instability.
"That’s about enough."
Zhu Ju raised his hand and beckoned lightly.
"The Cultivators of the Magic World may have frail Physical Bodies, but their thods are strange. A brute force kill is indeed a bit troubleso."
"However..."
"it’s not too difficult either."
WHOOSH!
The Five Elents Ring flew back in a flash, transforming into a five-colored halo that completely enveloped his body.
Compared to offense, this High Grade Spiritual Artifact was actually more focused on defense. The incoming arrows were instantly deflected by the five-colored halo.
With a light tap of his foot, Zhu Ju appeared in the middle of the chaotic convoy as if by Instant Teleportation.
ZING!
The Cross and Vertical Saber was unsheathed.
Ghost God Limit!
Thousand Blades Unending!
A thousand blades of light suddenly flared, like countless, near-invisible lines sweeping across the entire area in an instant.
Dozens of guards, Magicians, and even the Mages suddenly froze in place.
One Slash Void!
The light of the saber flashed once more.
The Dharma Aspect Ruan Tai had transford into suddenly vanished, and a fissure appeared on his forehead, extending down to his groin.
THUMP!
THUMP!
Body after body fell in unison, like harvested sheaves of wheat.
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