Miaoyin City.
The City Lord's Residence.
A beautiful woman sat in the seat of honor.
Her features were exquisite, and she wore a one-piece goose-yellow dress that revealed her graceful figure. She looked to be in her thirties, yet age only added to her allure, enough to make all living beings fall head over heels.
In her arms, a crystal toad that looked as though it had been carved from ice lay quietly, its eyes staring at the sky.
Below.
A burly middle-aged man with thick, imposing brows sat upright, saber across his knees and horse beneath him. Behind him, Zuo Xiao and Luo Junxia stood ramrod straight.
There was only one person in the world who could make the two of them so respectful.
That person was the Return to Truth Sect's leader, Zhuge Chongyang, known as the Peerless Tyrant Saber!
With Zhuge Chongyang here, the identity of the beautiful woman in the seat of honor was naturally obvious—
"Fairy Miaoyin, I have come this time over a family disgrace. There are three siblings in the southern city. The second is a menial disciple of my Return to Truth Sect, while the eldest and youngest are villagers from Jiuzhai County. Their dispositions are unruly. After stealing a cultivation method, they fled and came to Miaoyin City, causing trouble for you."
Zhuge Chongyang was known as the Peerless Tyrant Saber, yet before the seemingly frail woman who ruled Miaoyin City, he displayed not the slightest trace of arrogance.
Behind him, Zuo Xiao and Luo Junxia remained expressionless, but inwardly, they were wary of this woman to the extreme.
"Fighting is forbidden in Miaoyin City. Sect Leader Zhuge, if you came for this matter, you may return."
Daoist Miaoyin's eyes rippled like waves as her delicate hand stroked the Ice Toad in her arms. She spoke indifferently.
At her words, Zhuge Chongyang's eyes narrowed slightly. He said nothing more, simply rose and smiled. "In that case, Chongyang shall take his leave!"
He had spoken courteously, only to be rejected outright by Daoist Miaoyin, yet Zhuge Chongyang did not entangle himself in the matter at all. He rose and left.
In truth, this was the real Zhuge Chongyang!
The leader of a sect!
The Peerless Tyrant Saber!
Zuo Xiao and Luo Junxia hurried after him, their hearts uneasy, not daring to speak.
Meanwhile, in the City Lord's Residence, Daoist Miaoyin lowered her head with a faint smile and looked at the Ice Toad, teasing it playfully. "The big dummy's angry!"
After leaving the City Lord's Residence.
Luo Junxia furrowed his brows and asked unwillingly, "Master, should we send people in secret and simply abduct those three vile wretches?"
"That method is inappropriate."
Upon hearing this, Zuo Xiao hurriedly spoke. "Our goal is only to force out the person behind them and prevent that person's power from growing. Now that the Lu siblings' livelihood has been cut off, that person will soon reveal himself. This subordinate believes the three siblings are insignificant. Our main efforts must be focused on the person hiding in the shadows."
The reason the Return to Truth Sect had targeted Lu Qingshan, Lu Qingfeng, and Lu Qingyu so relentlessly was not only because Lu Qingshan had betrayed them, while Lu Qingfeng and Lu Qingyu were fugitives who had killed disciples of their Return to Truth Sect.
More importantly, the Return to Truth Sect believed that a powerful expert stood behind the three of them.
That person was stirring up trouble and had chosen the Return to Truth Sect as the place to strike. Their intentions were clearly hostile.
The Return to Truth Sect would never permit such an unstable factor to exist.
Through Lu Qingfeng and the other two, "that person" had established an industry in a sensitive place like Miaoyin City. He had also gathered various ores, metals, beast sinews, and the like, seemingly intending to forge armor. He showed every sign of putting down roots there!
The Return to Truth Sect did not want its enemy to grow stronger.
The Azure Jade Sect did not want another major power to appear in Guangyuan Prefecture.
Thus, they were happy to stand by and watch. They had even cooperated with the Return to Truth Sect through inaction, hoping to draw out the person behind the Lu siblings and then reap the benefits like the Fisherman.
The appearance of the puppet last night had further convinced them—
There was certainly a powerful expert guiding the Lu siblings from behind, along with a hidden force lurking in the shadows.
Yet both the Return to Truth Sect and the Azure Jade Sect were merely imagining things.
They had never imagined that there was no one behind the Lu siblings, and that the three of them could nevertheless advance by leaps and bounds in such a short time, come to Miaoyin City, and carry out all sorts of strange acts.
The materials they had assumed were for "forging armor and preparing for war" were merely what Lu Qingfeng used to refine Truth-Destroying Type One!
It could only be said that everything was a reasonable conjecture, yet everything was also coincidence and error.
Zhuge Chongyang strode like a dragon and tiger, his face expressionless. "Set this matter aside for now. First, keep the Lu siblings under surveillance. We must watch their every move."
Daoist Miaoyin's words just now had clearly shown that she intended to protect the Lu siblings. With Daoist Miaoyin watching over them, even Zhuge Chongyang had no confidence that he could abduct the three from Miaoyin City.
Rather than act rashly and offend Miaoyin City, it would be better to proceed gradually!
The three hundred Black Armored Army soldiers in Miaoyin City all possessed at least the strength of the Fourth Layer of the Embryonic Breath Realm. On top of that, Daoist Miaoyin's own strength was unfathomable, and she had spirit beasts at her command in secret.
Even Zhuge Chongyang and the Return to Truth Sect did not dare to provoke such a force recklessly.
"I really want to see just how long your Miaoyin City can remain at ease!"
Zhuge Chongyang glanced at the flower-filled city and walked straight out through the city gate.
"City Lord, Zhuge Chongyang has already left the city with Zuo Xiao and Luo Junxia. He left behind only a few disciples of the Life-Slaying Hall, who are watching outside the Lu siblings' small courtyard."
Inside the City Lord's Residence, a soldier dressed in black armor entered to report.
"Understood."
"You may withdraw."
Daoist Miaoyin nodded slightly at his report.
The black-armored soldier withdrew.
"It is time to go meet these three little fellows."
Daoist Miaoyin rose gracefully with the Ice Toad in her arms. Her steps seemed slow, yet were actually swift, and she left the City Lord's Residence.
In the small courtyard.
Lu Qingfeng lay in the inner room, galloping across the Primordial World.
Lu Qingshan and Lu Qingyu were cultivating in the courtyard.
They could not compare with Lu Qingfeng in cultivation.
Lu Qingfeng possessed unparalleled experience from the game, allowing him to advance with astonishing speed.
Lu Qingshan and Lu Qingyu, however, could only put in more arduous work: meditating to refine their qi and studying their cultivation methods. Martial techniques and arts also required diligent study and hard practice before they could master them.
More than half a year passed.
The two cultivated without pause, and with Lu Qingfeng's guidance, their progress was not too slow.
Lu Qingshan had reached the Fourth Layer of the Embryonic Breath Realm just a few days ago, greatly increasing his strength.
Lu Qingyu had also reached the Third Layer of the Embryonic Breath Realm.
Progress during the early stages of the Embryonic Breath Realm was relatively quick. With Lu Qingfeng's guidance and a sufficient supply of Yellow Dragon Pills, the two had cultivated for more than a year yet remained at the Third and Fourth Layers of the Embryonic Breath Realm. This was the burden imposed by their Root Bones.
If they had possessed Root Bones reaching four points, they could have reached the Fourth Layer of the Embryonic Breath Realm within a year without any pills to assist them.
However, the siblings had been accustomed to hardship since childhood, so the bitterness of cultivation did not bother them.
As long as their strength could improve and they would no longer be bullied, they felt happy.
On this day.
As usual, after circulating their cultivation methods to perfection, the two practiced martial techniques in the courtyard. During the mortal stage, close-combat martial arts were sometimes far more practical than cultivation arts!
Smoke-Wisp Step!
Heartburning Palm!
White Jade True Formula!
Cloak Saber Technique!
True Yang Finger Technique!
These were all mortal martial arts mastered by Lu Qingfeng. After he strengthened them through the Evolving Method, they had long since broken free of the ordinary realm and were far beyond any martial techniques found in Guangyuan Prefecture.
Even the Return to Truth Sect's top saber art, Lifeless Saber Technique, fell far short of the Cloak Saber Technique after it had been strengthened five times.
The White Jade True Formula was an even more exquisite body-tempering martial art.
The three cultivated the Orthodox-Grade Cultivation Method—Azure Origin Sword Art. Their inner breath was already deep and vigorous, and after practicing these supremely marvelous martial arts as well, the strength of the three siblings far exceeded what their apparent cultivation levels would suggest.
"Chirp, chirp!"
As Lu Qingshan and Lu Qingyu cultivated, nine palm-sized Skylark Birds landed in a neat row along the roof's eaves, seemingly observing their practice.
These Skylark Birds had followed Lu Qingfeng and the other two since they were young. They had also grown up eating Yellow Chestnut Pellets, making them extremely intelligent.
With them in the courtyard, abnormalities could be detected far more quickly than Lu Qingshan and Lu Qingyu could sense them.
Just like now—
Before you continue