Outside the Great Capital, deep within the dark Nine Horizontal Mountain Range.
The dark Sea of Trees swayed continuously in the night breeze, rippling in layers.
A strong, spotted leopard cat silently approached a Black-Robed Figure was sitting cross-legged in the forest ahead.
The leopard cat's eyes gleamed with ferocity, and the muscles in its abdomen and throat twitched constantly, ready to pounce on the Black-Robed Figure and then devour him.
"Those bastards from the Ling Ting are up to their tricks again. Those four idiots, Spring Summer Autumn Winter, have been lured over there and become henchmen for nothing." A deep female voice suddenly came from behind the leopard cat.
The leopard cat trembled with fear and was about to let out a scream.
But before the scream could escape his throat, it was gripped tightly by a large, strong hand, preventing him from making a sound.
Click.
The leopard cat, about the size of a tiger, had its head twisted 360 degrees in an instant.
Behind it, a huge Shadow, at least two and a half meters tall, dressed in a black robe, quietly appeared in the moonlight.
"Demon Eagle Xia Long, since you invited me here, what are your plans now?" The massive Shadow spoke again, his gaze fixed on the Black-Robed Figure sitting cross-legged on the ground.
"My Ji Chang, it has been fifteen years since we parted ways and each established our own power."
Now that the Eastern Sect has collapsed, the Ling Ting is in turmoil, and the few people in the Surveillance Division are too busy to help themselves, this is the perfect time for our Secret Teaching to make its grand plans.
The meditating Black-Robed Figure slowly rose, turned around, and revealed a hideous face that had been burned, with only his eyes intact.
"Old friend, have you forgotten the grudge we once committed?" He gently reached out and touched his face.
"My face, and your own brother's, both became the price in that great war."
"So what? The Ling Ting is powerful now, and our Thousand Sect Alliance has long been reduced to a pile of loose sand after several major defeats. Do you really intend to rebel?" the massive figure said coldly.
"Why not?" The meditating Shadow laughed. "The Imperial Tutor Damir, who once suffocated us, has died young and has been dead for five years."
The once-powerful Eastern Sect has now completely collapsed. What is there to fear from the remaining Western Sect and the Daoist Sect? They are nothing but clay chickens and earthen dogs.
"That bastard Damir has been dead for five years!?" The massive Shadow trembled. "Where did you get this information!?"
"I have my own channels, but this matter is absolutely true. Damir has devoted himself to the cause, but unfortunately, after a lifetime of hard work, he was sold out by Ling Emperor and stripped of all responsibility. How laughable!" The meditating figure sneered.
"If he is truly dead, then this is feasible," the massive Shadow's tone softened.
"What do you plan to do?" she asked, looking at the other person.
Among the Thousand Sect Alliance, this Demon Eagle is known for his exceptional scheming and resourcefulness. Since he invited her here, he must have already devised a comprehensive plan.
"The rest has already been arranged. Now, the Western Sect of Buddhist School is just missing a spark. The Great Dao Sect has been hiding for so many years, and it is definitely not willing to continue to lie dormant."
Now we have a perfect opportunity. All we need to do is put a little extra pressure on us from behind, give it a push.
How can we give it another push?
"It's very simple. Yue Dewen has recently taken in a precious disciple, who has become the focus of attention for the Western Sect of the True One Sect and the Ling Emperor. It seems that these people want to use gentle means to deliberately cripple that young man."
"Tell me, if we wait until they use their methods and then secretly strike to completely kill Yue Dewen's apprentice, Yue Dewen, who would they think was behind it?"
The massive Shadow shook its head slightly.
"It's that simple?"
"Of course not. Then, in a fit of rage, Yue Dewen killed several high-ranking experts from the True One Sect and the Western Sect Lian Qingyi."
"You're personally taking action? Are you confident?" the massive Shadow asked in a deep voice.
"Not much, it all depends on how much that disciple means to Yue Dewen," the meditating figure chuckled.
Neither of them mentioned whether the apprentice could be killed.
In their minds, a Ninth Grade official might be considered good in other small places, but here, in this level of competition, he was just a pawn.
If you don't Super Grade, you're nothing but an ant.
When the time comes, as long as we leave Great Capital, Heavenly Treasure Palace will no longer be able to let those two monsters from the Jade Void Palace follow us, and everything will be easy and a natural outcome.
*** Black Cloud Pavilion.
Zhang Rongfang carefully and attentively compared the two Golden Toad Skill manuals.
Actually, during his time reviewing the manual, he occasionally sensed something was amiss. He just couldn't quite pinpoint the problem at the moment.
His alchemy skills have now reached the basic mastery level. He has a good understanding of the basic combinations of medicinal properties and the principles of various basic prescriptions.
That's why, when he read the prescription for the Golden Toad Skill, he felt more and more that the style of the prescriptions and the way the medicines were prepared seemed inconsistent.
This is the real reason why he came back to verify this again.
He wanted to dispel these doubts.
Zhang Rongfang examined every single toad anatomy diagram on the Golden Toad Skill, scrutinizing every symbol and line.
But even after finishing the whole book, I still couldn't find the source of that feeling of unease.
He closed the manual, slowly rose, and sighed deeply. He had no choice but to give up.
Since there were no errors or omissions in the rubbing of the manual, and he couldn't find any problems, he could only get up and put the Golden Toad Skill manual back in its original place.
'It seems that if all else fails, we will have to wait until we reach Citong to collect the Hundred-Year Red Ganoderma and refine it into elixirs.'
Once we reach a port with such a huge volume of cargo, I refuse to believe that Master still has such powerful methods.
Zhang Rongfang sighed inwardly, realizing that the journey from Great Capital to Citong would take at least a month.
This is still their faster calculation.
In the past month or so, without the protection of their master, no one can say for sure what will happen.
He didn't believe that the forces behind Yan Shuang would genuinely be kind enough to help him achieve his goals.
They must have a purpose.
Now that the Eastern Sect has collapsed and only one-tenth of the Golden Wing Tower remains, he also has a secret Secret Cache in his possession.
'Once we leave Great Capital, we will increase our military strength as quickly as possible.'
Immediately, Zhang Rongfang checked his Attribute Points, which had accumulated to twelve.
With this reserve, plus Super Grade Secret Medicine and Secret Art at hand, everything is just waiting for us to escape the strict surveillance of our master and uncle.
After that, he looked through the topographical map of Citong in the library.
Do your homework before you go.
After finding the map, Zhang Rongfang gently unfolded it and took a look.
His eyes flickered instantly.
'This is!?'
Suddenly, the image of the Golden Pattern Key he had obtained earlier and the mysterious map that had been rolled up flashed through his mind.
That mysterious map was remarkably similar to a section in the lower right corner of the Citong Map before him! 'Could it be that the Secret Cache is in Ci Tong Port?!' Zhang Rongfang a chill run down his spine as this thought flashed through his mind.
Immediately, he used the tools in the Black Cloud Pavilion to make a rubbing of the map.
Once we get back, we can compare the map we took from the key roll with the map and see if this is really the place.
'If this is really the place, then I just happened to be sent here. What a coincidence.' Zhang Rongfang's eyes narrowed slightly, and a thought flashed through his mind.
With the rubbing of the map in hand, he returned to his room, turned off the lights, and, by the moonlight, quietly took out the map he had rubbed with the key and carefully compared it.
The result was that the pattern imprinted on the key was indeed a part of the map of the city of Citong!
This result further solidified Zhang Rongfang's suspicions.
The next day, very early in the morning.
He carried his packed luggage and, together with the three Daoist priests who accompanied him, headed towards the exit of Great Capital Beijing).
There, Zhang Rongfang will join forces with Princess Yongxiang and travel together to Citong.
Yue Dewen did not personally see them off, but instead had Ming Yuan and Zhang Qingzhi accompany them out of the palace.
Heavenly Treasure Palace.
Zhang Rongfang slowly carried his luggage out of the tall palace gate.
He walked down the long stone steps, which were as clean and tidy as when he first arrived, with pilgrims and tourists coming to offer Worship God on both sides.
Turning around, he saw that most of the Sunny Flower in the Heavenly Treasure Palace had already withered. Only the exposed black branches and emerald green leaves remained, swaying constantly in the wind.
"Senior brother, I'm entrusting my pet to you now," Zhang Rongfang said earnestly to Zhang Qingzhi.
"Don't worry, junior brother, I'll definitely give you a healthy Xiao Hong when you come back!" Zhang Qingzhi nodded earnestly.
He glanced at the three people next to his junior brother.
These three people were unremarkable; apart from their strong physiques, they had no other distinguishing features.
The one who remained had a scar on his face, empty eyes, and stood ramrod straight, like a block of ice, only following behind Zhang Rongfang.
These three were guards assigned to my junior brother by our master.
As a scholarly and physically weak Wen Xiu, my junior brother absolutely needs a powerful bodyguard to protect him.
"Junior brother, you must not be fond of martial arts and show off your strength. Although you have martial arts skills, they are far less important than the troubles in Citong."
"This matter should primarily be handled by Princess Yongxiang. You are merely going there as a representative of our sect to show your support. Therefore, you must remember not to act impulsively and argue with the princess," Zhang Qingzhi instructed.
Clearly, he has done a lot of research in the past two days.
"Don't worry, I understand." Zhang Rongfang glanced at the twelve attribute points that had accumulated in his Attribute Panel.
Now that we have enough Attribute Points, Secret Medicine Secret Art at our disposal, everything is ready except for the final push.
As long as he is out of the sight of his master and uncle, he can quickly improve himself and reach the Super Grade.
Golden Toad Skill, Illusory Image Talisman Method, Supreme Bright Void Skill.
Zhang Rongfang had a premonition that perhaps this time when he left and returned, he would be in a completely different guise.
"In that case, I'll head over now."
He bowed to Zhang Qingzhi and his Martial Uncle Ming Yuan.
"Take care," Zhang Qingzhi replied.
"."
Ming Yuan remained silent, but still returned the greeting with a cupped hand.
Zhang Rongfang turned around and quickly walked down the stone steps.
He continued down the steps until he reached the end of the stone steps leading to the Heavenly Treasure Palace, where he looked back once more.
Zhang Qingzhi and Martial Uncle Ming Yuan remained standing there, watching from afar.
Behind him, at the palace gate, there was a figure with flowing sleeves standing there, gazing at him from afar.
Zhang Rongfang recognized it as his master Chongxuan.
He bowed respectfully and solemnly to him.
Then he got up and boarded the Black and White Carriage marked by the Heavenly Treasure Palace.
The carriage moved slowly forward, gradually disappearing into the distance, following the Official Road all the way towards the Chongde Gate Great Capital.
Zhang Rongfang sat upright in the carriage, while the three people accompanying him walked briskly beside the carriage with indifferent expressions.
He didn't look away until he could no longer see Heavenly Treasure Palace behind him.
'Master, perhaps I will fail to live up to your expectations.'
He sighed softly, a feeling of deep emotion washing over him.
From the very beginning, he decided not to Worship God, so the Spirit General was just a castle in the air, a flower in the water, or the moon in a mirror.
Listen to the sound of the carriage wheels rolling over the muddy ground.
Zhang Rongfang understood.
Next, the eggshell of the Great Dao Sect will crack open, and what will hatch from it will depend entirely on yourself. Close your eyes.
Since the elixir of the Golden Toad Skill has not been successfully obtained for so long.
The Attribute Panel quickly appeared before his eyes. Without the slightest hesitation, Zhang Rongfang immediately clicked on the plus sign for the last Talisman Art, the Gathering Spirit Talisman.
Swish.
As the number of Free Attribute Points decreases.
The writing on the back of the Gathering Spirit Talisman also began to change rapidly.
From beginner to mastery, to perfection, and finally, Breaking Limits.
Thus, the last Talisman Art Martial Skill was completely perfected.
And the parentheses following the Breaking Limit Skill.
In addition to the previous Breaking Limit Skill, new characters have reappeared.
'Breaking Limit Skill — Shrink Step, Heavy Mountain, Pine Cloud, Yin Stream.'
Yin Stream is the last Breaking Limit Skill in the martial arts of the Great Dao Sect that Zhang Rongfang has not mastered.
In an instant, a loud bang resounded in his mind.
Countless memories of practicing the Gathering Spirit Talisman flooded his mind.
At the same time, his body emitted a series of popping sounds, his muscles were contracting, and his bones were vibrating.
The muscle groups involved in the Breaking Limit Skill twitched rapidly on his body, as if he were being electrocuted.
The three Breaking Limit Skill belonging to the Great Dao Sect were all connected at this moment, like a fishing net.
A feeling of smooth, flawless muscles and fascia all over his body, as soft as water, naturally led him to a moment of enlightenment.
The ultimate Limit State of martial arts in the Great Dao Sect is the Yin Yang Harmony.
It was finally finished.