Chapter 21

"Courting death!"

Feeling the killing intent, Lu Qingfeng abruptly raised his Nine-Ring Saber.

He shifted his feet, unleashing the Smoke-Wisp Step.

Instantly!

Lu Qingfeng's figure darted about like a ghost, completely erratic!

With only a flash of blade-light and a blur of motion, the five figures who had charged forward crashed to the ground one by one, the major tendons of their hands and feet severed, leaving them with no power to resist!

"Hiss!"

"Agh!"

"How is this possible!"

Yan Zhang and the others felt pain that split their eye sockets, unable to believe that the five of them joining forces could not even last a single round in Lu Qingfeng's hands!

They had thought Lu Qingfeng and his group were lambs to the slaughter, decoys to draw the black bear's attention for them. Who would have thought the lambs would bare ferocious iron fangs, turning the hunters into lambs instead?

That saber technique—

Truly terrifying!

"Damn it!"

Yan Zhang collapsed to the ground, pain wracking his entire body. His thoughts raced as he sought a way to survive.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

Delayed by this brief clash, the black bear had already caught up, charging straight toward the spot where Lu Qingfeng and the others stood.

"Vile beast!"

"Courting your own doom!"

After switching to cultivate the orthodox-grade Azure Origin Sword Art, Lu Qingfeng's internal breath had doubled once again compared to when he used the unorthodox-grade!

Even though he was only at the Third Layer of the Embryonic Breath Realm, the sheer thickness of his internal breath surpassed those at the Ninth Layer of the Embryonic Breath Realm who practiced ordinary techniques! Paired with the Cloak Saber Technique, he was truly invincible!

Powerful though the black bear was, it still could not withstand a single strike of his blade.

Bang!

Lu Qingfeng's saber descended along an uncanny angle, cleaving through the black bear's hide as effortlessly as a master butcher carving an ox. Following the gaps in the bones, he split it straight down the middle in one stroke!

The black bear was dead!

"My current strength is fully capable of rivaling the True Qi Realm!"

Lu Qingfeng glanced down at the fallen black bear, gaining a rough estimate of his own battle prowess, before returning to the sides of Lu Qingfang and Qingyu.

The five men he had downed had all the tendons in their wrists and ankles severed. They could only roll around on the ground, wailing hoarsely, completely devoid of the ability to move!

"What people are you?!"

Enduring the agonizing pain with a ferocious expression, Yan Zhang glared at Lu Qingfeng with a pair of tiger-like eyes, roaring out the question.

Ignoring him, Lu Qingfeng looked toward the other four and said, "My siblings and I have descended the mountain on master's orders to temper ourselves, and we do not wish to cause excessive bloodshed. If you cooperate, your hand and foot injuries can be treated for you. If you refuse, I can only apologize."

Lu Qingfeng lacked interrogation experience, so he could only use this simple and brutal method.

Hearing this, a glimmer of hope ignited in the eyes of the other four, and they chimed in hurriedly, "We are willing to cooperate! We only ask the young hero to spare our lives!"

Regardless of whether Lu Qingfeng's words were true or false, non-cooperation meant death, while cooperating might just keep them alive!

"Spare me your glib tongue! I, Yan Zhang, don't buy your tricks!"

Yan Zhang gave a cold sneer, not believing a single half-word of Lu Qingfeng's.

"Oh."

"Then excuse me."

Hearing this, Lu Qingfeng circulated his internal breath, compressing it to the extreme.

In a flash, a flickering sword qi shot out from his fingertips. Under Yan Zhang's horrified gaze, it slashed across his neck, ending his suffering.

Perhaps Yan Zhang had merely been putting up a front, but Lu Qingfeng had no patience to entangle himself with him. Killing their leader outright might make the interrogation go smoother!

Yan Zhang was dead, but his four subordinates were absolute cowards.

Half an hour later.

The three of them resumed their journey.

"Flying Bird Hall!"

"Azure Jade Sect!"

Recalling the information those two had just revealed, Lu Qingfang furrowed his brow and said, "Eldest Brother, we offended the Return to Truth Sect, and now we've killed people from the Azure Jade Sect. What should we do now?"

"If those two men weren't lying, the Azure Jade Sect occupies Yushan and Shuwang counties, comprising four inner halls and four outer halls in total. The Flying Bird Hall is one of the four outer halls, and those five were merely insignificant small fries within it. Vanishing deep into the mountains, no one will pay them much attention, let alone alert the Azure Jade Sect."

After explaining, Lu Qingfeng continued, "I just didn't expect that the Return to Truth Sect controls far more than Jiuzhai County. Throughout the entire Guangyuan Prefecture, aside from Yushan County and Shuwang County being occupied by the Azure Jade Sect and the prefectural city being carved up by several gangs, the other three counties are all territory of the Return to Truth Sect!"

From those two men, Lu Qingfeng had gained a general understanding of their current surroundings.

Under the pursuit of the Return to Truth Sect, the three of them had blindly fled for over five months. After walking for another ten days or so recently, they had actually drawn close to the borders of Guangyuan Prefecture.

Heading further east, they would soon cross the boundary line and enter the territory of Dangyang Prefecture.

Yet right here, they found themselves situated precisely at the intersection of Yushan, Hengshan, and Lanjiang counties.

To the south was the Chengyang River.

To the northwest lay Yushan County, to the east Hengshan County, and to the northeast Lanjiang County.

Among them, Yushan County belonged to Guangyuan Prefecture, while Hengshan County and Lanjiang County already fell under the jurisdiction of Dangyang Prefecture.

"The Azure Jade Sect is fighting a two-front war, resisting the Return to Truth Sect to the west while contending with the War God Society—the overlord of Dangyang Prefecture—to the east. If we try to cross the border and enter Dangyang Prefecture, we might be captured and treated as spies for the Azure Jade Sect."

Recalling the information squeezed out from those fellows, Lu Qingfeng's gaze landed straight to the north. "To the northeast of Yushan County lies Miaoyin City. It is situated on the edge of Yushan County, nearly spanning across both Guangyuan Prefecture and Dangyang Prefecture. The city has supreme experts holding down the fort, and neither the Azure Jade Sect nor the War God Society dares to act presumptuously there."

"Miaoyin City!"

"That certainly sounds like a good destination!"

Lu Qingfeng had already formed a plan in his mind.

According to the intelligence he possessed—

Guangyuan Prefecture contained a total of five counties, one prefectural city, and one border city.

Among them, the five county towns were carved up by the Return to Truth Sect and the Azure Jade Sect.

The Return to Truth Sect occupied Jiuzhai, Shouwang, and Huaihu counties, while the Azure Jade Sect occupied Yumen and Shuwang counties.

Originally, Lu Qingfeng and even the entire Blackwood Village had assumed the Return to Truth Sect was merely the overlord of Jiuzhai County. Little did they know that besides Jiuzhai County, Shouwang and Huaihu counties were also controlled by the Return to Truth Sect.

Their influence was truly substantial.

Aside from the Return to Truth Sect, there were two other factions within Guangyuan Prefecture capable of rivaling it.

First, the Azure Jade Sect.

The five individuals they had just encountered were disciples of the Flying Bird Hall, one of the four outer halls of the Azure Jade Sect. Judging from those people, the Azure Jade Sect was probably no benevolent entity either.

Yet compared to the Return to Truth Sect, the Azure Jade Sect relied primarily on appeasement tactics to govern Yushan and Shuwang counties, attracting many refugee populations who had fled from under the Return to Truth Sect's rule.

"Since half a year ago, large-scale conflicts broke out between the Azure Jade Sect and the Return to Truth Sect, and they are now engaged in all-out warfare. Meanwhile, they remain in constant dispute with the War God Society of Dangyang Prefecture on the other side. The Flying Bird Hall is responsible for intelligence and reconnaissance; Yan Zhang and his crew appeared here precisely to sneak into Dangyang Prefecture and probe enemy movements."

Lu Qingfeng's gaze flickered.

It was precisely because the Azure Jade Sect had tied down the Return to Truth Sect's energy that the three siblings had been able to escape safely—a stroke of blind luck!

Second, the prefectural city.

In the prefectural city, several gangs banded together to resist the Return to Truth Sect and the Azure Jade Sect.

The Return to Truth Sect!

The Azure Jade Sect!

The prefectural city!

These were the three major powers of Guangyuan Prefecture.

Yet outside of these three major powers, there was yet another place known as Miaoyin City, which was even more peculiar and faintly transcendent.

The place Lu Qingfeng decided to head to was none other than this Miaoyin City!

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