Black Wind Stronghold! Pure World White Lotus Sect!

After the Second Head and Third Head left, the stronghold hall sank into a deathly silence.

At that moment, the old man's seemingly frail and powerless body slowly began to move.

Then, the old man gradually rose to his feet. An eerie white gleam seeped from his aged eyes, and his weathered, cracked lips parted slightly, as though he were murmuring something under his breath.

"Soon, soon. Only the final step remains. The name Fang Sheng will reappear in this world."

He had waited too long for this day—from the Tianqi Era until the Tianwu Year.

The Tianwu Year was the reign title of the current ruler of the Great Xia Dynasty, the Great Xia Emperor.

The old man Fang Sheng had originally lived during the Tianqi Era. He had been the stronghold chief of Black Wind Stronghold, which had long held sway over the Official Roads between Lanshan County and several other counties.

Back then, not long after he had obtained that thing by chance, he had been targeted by one of the Great Xia Court's mysterious organizations.

That mysterious organization was the Great Xia Blackbird Guard, the most powerful force of the Great Xia Dynasty.

If Lu Xuan had been here and heard what the old man had said, he would have recalled this old man and Black Wind Stronghold.

Was this old man not the very figure recorded in the Lanshan County Chronicles that he had read some time ago?

The next moment, after recalling a certain past event, the old man's eyes brimmed with killing intent. Gritting his teeth, he spat out several words.

"Lanshan County Magistrate!"

"This old man did so many filthy deeds for those dog officials, yet they still betrayed me."

Those dog officials had actually chosen to betray him in order to keep their Black Gauze Caps.

What extermination tragedy? They had pinned it all on him.

If he had not left Black Wind Stronghold informants in the city back then, he truly would have been deceived by those dog officials.

Heh heh heh!

The old man seemed to think of something and let out two eerie chuckles.

Who would have thought that such bizarre things existed in this world—filthy things that simply could not be killed.

Those annoying Great Xia Blackbird Guard bastards probably existed to deal with those filthy things.

Fortunately, before that, this old man had already made contact with those fiends from the Pure World White Lotus Sect.

It was only because there had been a traitor within the stronghold who passed that news to the Lanshan County Magistrate.

It was because of that matter that those dog officials of Lanshan County found their chance. They passed the news to the Great Xia Blackbird Guard, hoping to kill with a borrowed knife.

The Pure World White Lotus Sect was the number one forbidden existence in the Great Xia Dynasty, an evil sect that the Great Xia Court would eradicate at any cost.

So long as anything related to the Pure World White Lotus Sect appeared, the Great Xia Blackbird Guard would certainly appear nearby.

The Great Xia Blackbird Guard would not hesitate to destroy everything connected to the Pure World White Lotus Sect.

The old man pulled open his clothes, exposing the sight within his chest.

A huge chunk of flesh was actually missing from the upper half of his chest.

On the side away from his heart, there was no flesh to shield it. His internal organs and tissue were all exposed to the air.

The strangest part was that, in that exposed area—

A blooming White Lotus rested there, its body sparkling with flecks of white light.

At the center of the White Lotus was a lump of flesh that trembled faintly, like some sort of embryo nurturing something within.

White Lotus Holy Seed!

This was the reason the Great Xia Blackbird Guard had been hunting him all this time.

When the old man looked at the White Lotus parasitizing his body, his eyes filled with an eerie white glow, and he wore an utterly infatuated expression.

"I hope what those fiends of the Pure World White Lotus Sect said is true!"

Once the White Lotus Holy Seed had fully matured, he would be able to consume and refine it.

Then, not only would his grievous injuries heal, but he might even be able to seize the moment and glimpse the might of that realm.

The Inner Qi Realm!

This realm was the distant pursuit of his entire life, as well as the ultimate aspiration of countless Blood Refinement Realm martial artists.

Early the next morning!

Lu Family Hall!

Liang Cheng hurried to the Lu Family early that morning, looking extremely anxious.

He had actually come once yesterday as well, but Lu Xuan had not been at the Lu Family then.

Clearly, Liang Cheng had come for Lu Xuan.

When a tall figure appeared outside Lu Family Hall, Liang Cheng hurriedly rose to his feet.

"Cousin!"

Liang Cheng no longer had his usual carefree, frivolous manner. He looked somewhat serious and earnest.

"Mm."

Lu Xuan answered and took the seat of honor at the front.

There were only Lu Xuan and Liang Cheng in Lu Family Hall, so Liang Cheng did not beat around the bush and directly stated his purpose.

"Xuan-ge, Zhang Heng is dead!"

"And before Zhang Heng died, he killed five people!"

"The five people who died were all from the Huang Family. One of them was the County Magistrate Assistant's nephew!"

After Liang Cheng finished speaking, he looked at Lu Xuan before him and found that his cousin still appeared as calm as drifting clouds and gentle winds.

"Alright, I understand."

Lu Xuan understood Liang Cheng's intention. He knew Liang Cheng had come specifically to warn him.

"Xuan-ge, don't worry. With me here, what Zhang Heng did won't implicate us."

"Yesterday, Chief Constable already reported the matter to County Magistrate Sir, and the case has been closed."

After all, when Zhang Heng had committed murder, a great many witnesses had already gathered around.

Therefore, in handling this case, County Magistrate Sir had not hesitated and had directly decided to close it.

Lu Xuan glanced at Liang Cheng. After Liang Cheng finished speaking, he seemed to still have something to say, yet he hesitated to open his mouth.

But how could Liang Cheng's little movements escape Lu Xuan's eyes?

Lu Xuan picked up the teacup beside him and took a sip before speaking meaningfully. "You came all this way. Don't tell me it was just for such a trivial matter?"

"You're still being formal with me? Speak. What else is it?"

After Lu Xuan exposed him with a single sentence, Liang Cheng immediately stood up, a trace of embarrassment on his face.

However, that trace of embarrassment lasted only an instant.

Then Liang Cheng broke into a foolish grin and lavishly praised Lu Xuan. "Hahaha, as expected of my cousin—wise and mighty, jade-tree-like in the wind, suave and unrestrained..."

Lu Xuan was somewhat helpless and quickly cut him off. "Stop. Quit talking nonsense and get to the point!"

Seeing Lu Xuan turn serious, Liang Cheng dropped his playful demeanor and voiced his thoughts. "Xuan-ge, you see, my Martial Realm has been stuck without any progress lately.

"So I was thinking... could I ask you to give me some guidance?"

After speaking, Liang Cheng looked a little embarrassed.

After all, his Martial Realm was only at minor accomplishment in Flesh Refining. Compared to his cousin, the difference was as vast as heaven and earth.

Liang Cheng's words made Lu Xuan smile knowingly. "You brat, you actually want to cultivate martial arts diligently now? That really is rare!"

"What, didn't you used to say that instead of wasting time on this, you might as well make a trip to Dwelling Fragrance Pavilion and enjoy yourself with the fairies there?"