Walking alone with a sword, slaying ghosts and gods

Chapter 55 Earth-shattering
According to the escape route planned in advance, earth escape, water escape, and wood escape, using these three talismans, he traveled through more than a dozen locations.

Then Lu Cheng randomly chose a location and hid Chen Tianxiong's Qiankun Ring in a pile of rocks using the earth escape technique.

Then he used magic fire to remove the night clothes on his body and washed them away with the water.

After confirming that you remember this place, return to Wenjianzhai.

The night was cold and the disciples living in the sword hall had already gone to bed.

Lu Cheng returned to the room alone, closed the door and let out a long breath.

All kinds of emotions and fatigue came to my mind:
“Have I cleaned up my mess?”

"Will the City Patrol Officer track us down?"

"Can Liu Baihong escape? Will he betray me?"

"Will Lin Qingyue betray us?"

Lu Cheng sat on the cushion in the room, calming himself and watching the many thoughts and fears that emerged in his mind.

Only when you can calm your mind first can you calm your spirit.

Lu Cheng watched these thoughts, and as time went by, these thoughts were refined one by one, turned into medicine, and returned to his mind.

When the Taoist on the cushion opened his eyes again, the clear and fresh sunlight was already shining on his body, making his whole body warm.

"Master, Master is having breakfast!"

The voice coming from outside the door was that of He Guo.

A new day begins.

In the morning, at the sword hall.

Lu Cheng was sitting on a high cushion as usual, reading a Taoist book, while many disciples were practicing swordsmanship below him.

"Thank you Yan."

"Master, you called me?"

"Why didn't Lin Qingxue come today?"

"Uh." Xie Yan turned around and looked at the team. After confirming it, he turned back and said:
"I'm not sure. She was fine yesterday. I'll go to her house after class today."

"That's not necessary."

Of course Lu Cheng knew why Lin Qingxue didn't come, he just needed to ask.

Moreover, the sword hall is different from the school in the previous life. As long as you pay the tuition, it is your freedom not to come. It is ten spirit stones a month anyway.

Wenjianzhai does not provide meals, but most of the disciples who can afford to attend this sword hall will not lack the money for a meal. There is half an hour of free time at noon, which allows these half-grown children to have fun.

But today, when the children from Wenjianzhai Sword Hall were rushing out, they were blocked by a group of patrol officers from the City Patrol Department.

"Who is Master Lin here?"

"My name is Lin Lie."

Lu Cheng had expected this in his heart, but there was still a hint of doubt in his expression.

At this moment, Lu Cheng tried his best to remain calm, and the patrolman with a silver badge who stepped out from among the many patrolmen was a man with an ordinary face but eyes full of desire and ambition. One could feel his eagerness just by looking into his eyes.

"I am Zhang Shou, and I have heard of Master Lin's great name for a long time."

"A small name"

"I heard that Master Lin and Liu Baihong are close friends?" Zhang Shou, who had been smiling a moment ago, suddenly looked up and stared straight into Lu Cheng's eyes.

"He's a man of real talent!"

Such a thought popped up in Lu Cheng’s mind.

"...Liu Baihong, the Sword Immortal Ape, is the strongest swordsman I have ever met. Brother Liu and I hit it off right away."

If Lu Cheng did not have the state of mind of Zhishui, then when faced with the silver-badged patrolman's rhetoric, he would probably have given a few more explanations, but at a time like this, the more explanations he made, the more mistakes he would make.

"How much does Master Lin know about Liu Baihong?"

“…He is only one step away from completing the foundation-building stage. Once he takes that step, his future will be limitless.”

"Would you kill someone to help him?"

"Maybe, maybe not."

"you"

"Are you interrogating me as a criminal?" The young Taoist suddenly frowned slightly, but the sharpness in his eyes fell into Zhang Shou's eyes.

Even the most vicious criminals had never oppressed this young Silver Badge Patrolman so much:
It felt as if I had been cut in half by the sword of the swordsman in front of me.

"...Of course not, it's just that Liu Baihong committed a serious crime yesterday. He and you are close friends. Can I ask where you were last night?"

"After dinner last night, I was practicing in my room. He Guo, come here. You were practicing sword in the backyard last night. You should have seen me, right?"

"Yes, yesterday Master was meditating and practicing in his room as usual."

He Guo nodded without hesitation. The illusion that Lu Cheng cast with the power of Chijun could even point out He Guo from a distance. With his level of cultivation, he certainly couldn't see anything unusual, and he certainly wasn't lying.

"Uh, can we go in and check it out?"

Although it was obvious that He Guo was not lying, Silver Seal Patrolman Zhang Shou had no intention of letting him off easily, so he said this.

He was answered by another long silence.

"Haha, if Master Lin minds..."

"Let my sword hall disciples go out to eat, and I will only give you half an hour. Also, I hope I don't have to see Zhang Xunshou again in the future."

"Hahahaha, Master Lin, I'm really sorry. It's my duty."

That was a polite statement, but Zhang Shou and his men used special tools to search the entire Wenjianzhai thoroughly inside and out.

If Lu Cheng had taken back the Qiankun Ring from Chen Tianxiong last night, he would have been caught red-handed today.

Now, of course, Zhang Shou and his men could not find anything.

Although it was lunchtime, many disciples of Wenjianzhai skipped their meals today. Instead, they gathered together out of curiosity and watched the patrol officers from the City Patrol Division searching everywhere.

"Master Lin, this Zhang Lang is cruel and vicious, you must be careful of him."

At this time, a disciple came to Lu Cheng and said this.

Lu Cheng looked sideways and saw that it was Wu Dayong, the son of Silver Badge Patrolman Wu Cheng. A mantis was standing on the shoulder of this chubby boy.

"Zhang Lang?" "Yes, that's right. My father said that this Zhang is like a wolf, cruel and vicious. Once bitten by it, you will never let go."

"Hearing your father's description, this person is a capable and competent official... Unfortunately, his stance is different." Lu Cheng only spoke the rest to himself, and of course no one could hear clearly.

Half an hour later, Zhang Shou, who had gained nothing, turned back with a wry smile on his face.

"Master Lin, I..."

"Sir, I'm sorry I can't see you off."

Lu Cheng has run a sword gym in this city that never sleeps for more than half a year. He is no longer a rootless duckweed. As long as no one commits any crime against him, there is no need to mind his small silver badge patrol.

Zhang Shou continued to smile bitterly upon hearing this, then left with his men behind him.

But the moment he walked out of Wenjianzhai, the smile on his face disappeared completely.

At this time, a bronze badge patrolman came over to him and said:

"Brother Zhang, this Lin is a big suspect. He has a grudge against Chen Tengjiao. If Liu Baihong wants to kill Chen Tianxiong, he will definitely help. Are we just going to leave like this?"

"That He Guo did not lie, I can be sure of that."

"Could it be an illusion?"

"Master Lin of Wenjianzhai is famous in Never-Sleeping City for his 49 Heavenly Swords. I have never heard anyone mention that he is good at illusion. Could it be that he has never used his full strength before?"

As for Lin Lie, Zhang Shou only had slight suspicions when there was already evidence pointing to him. The entire South Building was almost burned to ashes. Apart from the ruins with the words "Murderer Liu Baihong" written on them, there were not many clues left.

Lin Qingyue was seriously injured and nearly dead. If she hadn't been rescued by her servants who risked their lives to save her and almost burned to ashes, even now, she would be seriously injured and poisoned, and it would be difficult for her to wake up in a short period of time.

Liu Baihong has begun searching the entire city, but it is almost impossible to dig him out in a city with a population of one million when he has tried his best to hide.

Because the case involves the Ranmushan Lin family, the City Patrol Officer is under a lot of pressure, so his superiors sent him, Zhang Shou, out. If this case is completed, he may even get a gold seal.

However, the Wenjianzhai behind him had only been established for half a year, and it had already included many disciples from prestigious families. The relationships were already complicated. If there was sufficient evidence, it would be fine. But if there was no evidence and he conducted a forced investigation, he would not be able to withstand the pressure.

During this period of time, Lucheng has also begun to gradually recruit more disciples, all of whom are children from immortal cultivation families and officials in the City That Never Sleeps.

It was explained before they came in that it might be difficult to take care of all the people who were admitted with such an expansion, but many children from aristocratic families came in not to learn swordsmanship, but to make friends and form relationships with each other to pave the way for their future business and official careers.

In fact, these people are not suitable for the righteous sword, nor the evil sword. Instead, they have some subtle thoughts and are suitable for the strange sword skills taught by Lu Cheng.

These disciples played a very important role in this matter, forcing Zhang Shou to not dare to touch Wenjianzhai easily again due to pressure.

The power at the bottom, the power at the top; and sometimes, the power in the middle when combined together can be terrifying.

"With the atmosphere in the City That Never Sleeps, the death of a sword master, Chen Tianxiong, would cause such a big fuss? The whole city has been searched, and even the patrols entering the city have begun posting notices to check and capture Liu Baihong. I'm afraid Chen Tianxiong didn't have such a status when he was alive."

To this day, Lu Cheng still remembers what Tang Shi said to him before entering the City That Never Sleeps:
"In this city that never sleeps, if you kill someone, it doesn't count as murder unless you're caught by law enforcement. Of course, the same applies to someone killing you."

Now, this is obviously not the case.

Or maybe the city that never sleeps hasn't changed, but I just overlooked something...

"It's that Qiankun Ring. What's so important in it? Chen Tianxiong is a cultivator in the late stage of foundation building. What kind of extraordinary treasure can he have?"

Lu Cheng was confused, but time passed day by day.

Although the city-wide manhunt had not yet ended, Zhang Shou's attention was clearly focused on capturing Liu Baihong, and he did not come to Wenjianzhai too often.

But it was on the ninth day after the assassination of Chen Tianxiong.

The originally cloudless sky suddenly changed.

Gray-black clouds swept in from the horizon. In that cloud that was like a black tide, there were giant snakes, centipedes, scorpions, blood mosquitoes, toads, and bats.

These twelve black airs each stirred up gray-black clouds, which gathered from all directions. Then four golden lights fell from the sky and surrounded the City That Never Sleeps on all sides.

The four golden lights each condensed into a white-haired Taoist priest in different clothing. The old Taoist priest in brocade clothes in the southeast raised his hand and threw a formation diagram downwards.

The formation diagram was spinning in the air, getting bigger and bigger, and finally, it seemed to cover the entire City That Never Sleeps below and descended.

"The Heaven and Earth Resentful Souls Myriad Poison Formation, rise!"

With the infusion of magic power from the twelve Condensing Evil monks and the guidance and urging of the four Refining Gang Taoists, the entire city that never sleeps became like a ghost prison in the blink of an eye, and the sky and the earth became dark.

"Bugs, lots and lots of bugs!"

“Ahhh, ahhhhhh!”

Where the sky and earth were covered by dark shadows, it seemed that countless poisonous insects were breeding in the shadows. People standing in the light where the shadows had not yet covered them could see that the people in the shadows seemed to have suddenly gone crazy, scratching themselves frantically, rolling around, trying to shake off the poisonous insects crawling on their bodies, but it looked like there was nothing there.

However, after a while, black blood began to flow out of this person's seven orifices and he died of poisoning.

Seeing this horrifying and strange scene, the mortals and even the monks in the City That Never Sleeps felt horrified.

Wenjianzhai was also within the range of the dark clouds.

The Sword Questioning Pavilion was full of cultivators, and they were much more alert than ordinary people. At this moment, Xie Yan looked at the scene in the distance, turned around and said anxiously:
"Master?"

He Guo, Yu Liang and even other disciples were also anxious. The shadow was moving faster and faster.

Clang.

It was at this moment that Lu Cheng bent his hand and flicked the sword beside him.

As the sword rang, the statue of the Red Heart God in the backyard of Wenjianzhai suddenly lit up. The red light spread, gathering Lu Cheng's thoughts and magic power to form a domain of law, and forming a barrier with the entire Wenjianzhai as the center.

Even though that strange shadow passed by, nothing happened within the barrier.

"I have seen today how a giant sect of the demonic path would set up a killing array and take the lives of tens of thousands of people at will."

While protecting Wenjianzhai, Lu Cheng did not show any joy, but looked up to the sky. He saw dozens of figures in the surging black tide, casting cold and distant glances downwards, treating all living beings as insignificant.

This is the power of Xiu on Ranmu Mountain.

There are both humans and immortals living together in the City That Never Sleeps, and many families have certain means of defense and self-rescue. However, as this formation is constantly refined and its power increases, if no one stops it, the Heaven and Earth Resentful Souls and Ten Thousand Poison Formation on the Burning Wood Mountain can really exterminate all the millions of lives in this city.

Fortunately, not long after, accompanied by a golden mirror-shaped magic weapon rising in the center of the City That Never Sleeps, various magic weapons such as zithers, zhengs, swords, and tripods rose in various parts of the city, forming a golden cloud and layered brilliance, covering the entire city from the inside out.

The city, which had originally fallen into madness, gradually calmed down.

The city defense formation, the Eight Scenery Golden Light Formation.

At the same time, twelve figures rose into the sky from the City That Never Sleeps and headed towards the sixteen monks in the dark cloud of murderous aura.

The Council of Elders, five elders and seven constellations.

The cultivators from the top sects and big schools can achieve the two steps of Condensing Sha and Refining Gang. Because they have tempered their minds and inherited sufficient skills, the outstanding ones among them can often achieve success in a short period of time.

But for cultivation forces like the City That Never Sleeps and the Burning Wood Mountain, the techniques for the two steps of Condensing the Evil and Refining the Gang may not be suitable, and they often remain in a certain realm for many years or even a lifetime.

(End of this chapter)