Great Zhou Martial Immortal

Chapter 32 Battle
"Lord Lu, how have you been?"

Hui Yeqing's voice, like a chilling wind from the depths of hell, swept in the instant the bronze door opened.

The sound was not an ordinary sound wave, but rather incorporated the secret technique of "Soul-Destroying Chant". Each word was like a poisoned needle, piercing deep into the eardrum and disturbing the mind.

The black mist surged and instantly engulfed the entire passageway. The mist was mixed with the extremely poisonous "Bewitching Powder" from the Turks, which seeped into the skin upon contact, numbing the five senses and causing people to sink into a dreamlike state from which they could not extricate themselves.

Xie Tingyun immediately stood in front of Lu Chenyuan along with the bronze corpse. Her blood-red protective aura enveloped her, but the poisonous mist ignored it and swiftly drifted backward. Suddenly, her vision changed, and an extremely eerie and sinister scene unfolded before her eyes, as if she were in the underworld. The River Styx, stretching for eight hundred miles, was surging with blood-red waves, and countless pale ghostly hands reached out from the river, tearing at the body of a middle-aged man.

The man's face bore a striking resemblance to hers; he was her father, the current head of the Xiangxi corpse-driving family.

The man's body was torn to pieces, and he cried out Xie Tingyun's name in agony.

The demons tore at his flesh and stuffed it into their mouths...

[Bewitching Powder]...

Xie Tingyun thought to himself that they had really gone all out. This kind of thing was a royal treasure in the Turkic Khaganate and was extremely rare.

At the same time, he cursed the thief's wickedness in his heart, immediately bit the tip of his tongue, and while on guard, silently recited the "Purifying Heart Mantra".

For this type of toxic smoke, it is always difficult to achieve both lethality and diffusion. The faster it spreads, the lower the mortality rate. Conversely, the slower it spreads, the more likely it is to cause fatal injuries.

For Xie Tingyun, who was at the fourth level, it was wishful thinking to try to kill her directly with poisonous smoke. Even though it was the most poisonous substance in the Turkic world, the mind-numbing powder did not kill people, but only paralyzed the five senses. The illusion and reality were mixed together, and the scene in front of her was a dream, so she was still affected in the end.

Xie Tingyun simply closed his eyes, released his divine sense, and sensed the enemy's aura.

The scene before Wang Yizhi's eyes changed.

His pupils trembled as he saw his sister, Wang Shu, tied up in the wedding hall. Lai Junchen grinned maliciously as he lifted her veil. The girl's eyes were full of tears, but her lips were sewn shut with gold thread, preventing her from making a sound.

"Illusion..."

Seeing this scene, Wang Yizhi's eyes turned bloodshot, and his murderous intent surged. However, he was not affected by anger. He held his breath and focused his mind. With a string plucked, he heard the pure and benevolent sound of the "Pure Heart and Universal Benevolence Mantra," which cleared his mind.

A golden light flashed in Lu Chenyuan's discerning eyes.

He also saw a nightmarish scene: the Luo River was littered with corpses, among which two bodies floated: his father, Lu Yashan, had a Turkic scimitar stuck in his chest, and his sister, Lu Ke'er, had a purplish-black ligature mark on her neck. The hallucination deliberately magnified the details of the corpses' decomposition, with maggots crawling out of their eye sockets.
"I don't have a long memory!"

Lu Chenyuan was completely unfazed, sneering inwardly. "Unless you poison my eyes and blind me, no matter how much you try to influence me, my discerning eyes are still discerning eyes. I can still see through the illusion and point straight to the truth."

Golden light flashes.

He saw two figures lurking in the shadows behind the door, hidden behind the thick black fog.

The man was tall and slender, dressed in a dark silk robe. He appeared to be in his early thirties, with a handsome face and an imposing presence. However, his hands, which were unusually blood-red, made him look very strange.

The other man was hunched over, like a withered old tree. His face, which was over forty years old, was deeply lined with wrinkles and his temples were gray. His left hand hung naturally at his sides, while his right hand had unusually large knuckles and was holding a black soft sword.

Lu Chenyuan had seen portraits of these two people.

Pei Jiulang, Xue Wuyu.

At this moment, the two men had blank eyes and were half-dead. Hundreds of invisible threads made of true energy were inserted into their joints. These threads stretched backward, gradually converged, and finally merged into the ten fingers of a strong man in front of the third door. That man was the Turkic warrior and also a member of the delegation, Tielekun!
"The Puppet Technique of Strings... yet another secret art from the Central Plains..."

Lu Chenyuan noticed that Tielekun's killing intent was particularly strong, and that his target was him. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that there was a red string on Tielekun's wrist, exactly the same as the one on Hongxiao's wrist.

Lu Chenyuan instantly understood and decided to play along.

He suddenly staggered half a step, his eyes unfocused, as if he had completely fallen into a hallucination.

Tielekun's eyes lit up.

Who among these people has the lowest cultivation level? Lu Chenyuan.

Of these people, who poses the greatest threat to the Mechanized City? Lu Chenyuan.

We must eliminate this person in order to continue using the traps of the Mechanized City to buy time and obtain the "Heavenly Craft Scroll"!
These mechanisms were built with the lives of countless mechanics, and they were their greatest means of survival. But with Lu Chenyuan here, all of these things have become mere decorations!
Whether considering the bigger picture or personal feelings, Tielekun wanted him dead!
"Do it!"

Without hesitation, Tielekun gave the order!
With a slight twitch of his fingers, the puppet threads pulled, and Pei Jiulang and Xue Wushe darted out.

Hui Yeqing had no choice but to cooperate and follow suit. He raised his right hand from the shadows, and a mechanical hand covered it, enveloping his entire right arm. This hand was made of millennium-old black jade, and its surface was engraved with three major rune arrays: [Thousand Jun], [Ingenuity], and [Meteor]. Its complexity far exceeded that of the toy [Lü Lü Yi].

—A creation of the Hidden Immortals, Grade 5 [Spiritual Pivot Arm].

The mechanism on Hui Yeqing's right arm suddenly unfolded, and the Xuan Yu joints emitted a clanging sound like a dragon's roar. The [Meteor] rune array burst forth with dazzling cold light.

"Zheng!"

With a sharp, tearing sound, thirty-six cold rays shot out from her arm armor!

Those were no ordinary steel needles, but "Heavenly Net Needles" tempered with "Zhenmai San"—the needles were entirely black with three scarlet points at the tip, specifically designed to break through the body's protective true energy! When the needles were drawn, they were like a torrential downpour, weaving a net that was impossible to avoid!
A deadly threat is looming!
Xie Tingyun closed his eyes and listened intently, sensing the killing intent emanating from the man.

With a thought, the four bronze corpses immediately formed an array, lined up like an iron wall, their hands protecting their chests and blocking in front of them.

"Ding Ding Ding-"

Thirty-one Heavenly Net Needles were driven into the bronze corpse's body, and the Vibration Pulse instantly eroded the corpse puppet's meridians.

The remaining five, however, emerged like poisonous dragons from their caves, striking Xie Tingyun directly through the gaps in the bronze corpse!
Although her five senses were blurred by the illusion, her position remained unchanged. Xie Tingyun knew she couldn't dodge, because Lu Chenyuan was right behind her!
To break through this mechanical city, only Lu Chenyuan can do it.

She took a deep breath, and with lightning speed, her two fingers swiftly caught the five poisoned needles that were shot at her. Unexpectedly, the needles were incredibly powerful, causing her to stagger back three steps. The bricks cracked, and blood seeped from between her fingers.

"What a powerful hidden weapon!"

She was secretly alarmed, knowing that it was yet another creation of a hidden immortal. Although it was not as powerful as the divine artifact [Yuanrong Divine Crossbow], its destructive power should not be underestimated.

Just as she was blocked, Pei Jiulang and Xue Wushe arrived like ghosts.

Pei Jiulang's palms suddenly turned crimson, it was Pei Ji's ultimate technique "Crimson Rainbow Hand" - before the palm wind arrived, the scorching poison gas had already rushed towards him!

In that instant, a cold glint appeared at Xue Wushe's waist, and a three-foot-long soft sword emerged like a silver snake, aiming straight for Lu Chenyuan's throat!

That sword strike was unbelievably fast!
However, this was the moment Lu Chenyuan had been waiting for.

In an instant, he, who had been staggering and with a dazed look in his eyes, suddenly stood up straight as a spear, his eyes flashing with a sharp light, and the two fingers of his left hand suddenly turned into a golden luster, clamping upwards like an iron clamp!
"Qiang!"

He gripped the tip of the soft sword tightly.

Tielekun was startled and realized something was wrong. Just as he was about to control Xue Wushe to change his move, Lu Chenyuan released a burst of energy from his fingertips, which snapped the sword straight with a "crack". Immediately afterward, his right palm struck out like Mount Tai pressing down!
This palm strike was devoid of any fancy moves, yet it carried a powerful force capable of shattering mountains and breaking peaks!
Tielekun's fingers moved rapidly, manipulating Xue Wushe to hastily parry, but before the soft sword could be infused with true energy to straighten it, the palm force had already slammed into his chest! Upon closer inspection, it even bore a resemblance to Wu Chengsi's "Twelve Mountains and Rivers Seal," only lacking the feminine softness and adding more fierce and domineering power, revealing its sharp edge and destroying everything in its path!
Xue Wushe was sent flying backward like a broken sack, crashing hard into the stone wall. Most of his ribs were broken, and blood mixed with fragments of his internal organs gushed from his mouth.

The thirteen puppet threads snapped!

Tielekun's left ring finger was instantly torn open, blood dripping down the silken threads. He groaned, a twisted pleasure flashing in his eyes amidst his fear: Let's see how you dodge another move!
Pei Jiulang's poisonous palm was already at his face!

His palms turned completely crimson red, and even the air seemed to sizzle from the corrosion.

Lu Chenyuan neither dodged nor evaded, but instead turned around and struck with a palm!
The two powerful palm strikes collided, and the shockwave sent all the surrounding stone slabs flying!
Pei Jiulang possessed the power of the third realm, with abundant internal energy. His power was unleashed after being gathered, making him extremely fierce. However, Lu Chenyuan's Gengjin Qi was also incomparably sharp. Furthermore, he had absorbed two sixth-grade spiritual weapons to forge his body, making him indestructible and possessing superhuman strength. Even in a hasty response, under the pressure of divine power, he could only retreat several steps, his palms turning red.

With a final, heavy stomp, he dissipated the force, causing the blue bricks beneath his feet to crack, while he himself stood upright like a pine tree!

The smile on Tielekun's face froze.

Two attacks from the third realm resulted in this outcome...

"Don't be distracted!"

Hui Yeqing let out a sharp shout, but it was too late—

Xie Tingyun appeared behind Pei Jiulang at some point, his eyes closed, yet he precisely placed his palm on a vital acupoint on Pei Jiulang's back.

Blood-Coagulating Divine Palm!
Pei Jiulang's body trembled violently, his blank eyes instantly filled with blood, and a strange "gurgling" sound came from his throat. His skin turned deathly pale at a visible speed, and his veins bulged out, but in the next second—

solidification!

The blood stopped flowing and instead solidified into a scarlet, ice-crystal-like substance, forming eerie patterns under the skin.

His muscles were stiff, his joints were frozen, and he looked like a statue that had been frozen to death instantly.

"Snap..."

With a soft crack, Pei Jiulang's fingertips began to shatter, and then the cracks spread like a spider web across his entire body—skin, muscles, and bones.

It's crumbling, inch by inch!

"Wow--"

A complete body shattered into dark red ice shards in full view of everyone. There was no blood splattering, no bloody mess, only a ground covered with frozen, frost-covered blood clots, radiating a bone-chilling cold.

Hui Yeqing's pupils shrank sharply, and the talisman array on Ling Shu's arm flickered, clearly also shocked by the terror of this palm strike.

Tielekun's face turned ashen, and his fingers twitched involuntarily. Then, the backlash from all the broken puppet threads struck at once, and his face turned deathly pale. The puppet threads of the "Puppet Thread Technique" are connected to the puppet's will and are also a continuation of the caster's consciousness. Every time a thread breaks, the consciousness is severely damaged, as if the brain has been stabbed with a knife.

When hundreds of puppet threads collapsed simultaneously, indescribable pain descended.

"what!!!"

Tielekun's head was throbbing with pain, and he couldn't help but clutch his head and scream in agony.

Wang Yizhi was startled awake by the sound. He reacted quickly, immediately sitting cross-legged on the ground, placing the Green Ripples Qin on his lap, and began to play it casually.

"The Enchanting Sounds of the Palace"!
The Wang family's secret art of Taiyuan, the "Five Aggregates Startling String Qin," uses the guqin to play "Five Aggregates Brahma Sounds." The sound is soul-capturing, capable of causing the listener's five senses to become disordered, leading to madness and self-harm. As soon as Wang Yizhi's guqin music began, Tiele Kun and Hui Yeqing, standing before the third bronze door, were simultaneously affected, their minds momentarily losing control.

Take advantage of his illness and kill him!
Xie Tingyun slowly raised his hand, his violent true energy gathering wildly, and then struck out with a palm. Instantly, a gale howled, black mist swirled, and a blood-red palm print as tall as a person rushed straight towards Tielekun!

Lu Chenyuan stomped his foot on the ground, and the soft sword on the ground flew up in response. With the infusion of Geng metal energy, the soft sword body became straight. He kicked the hilt of the sword, and the long sword turned into a golden stream of light and shot out, its target also being Tielekun!
A palm strike and a sword strike arrived one after the other.

"Ling Shu - Heavenly Origin Guardian!"

At the critical moment, Hui Yeqing endured the headache and activated the Ling Shu Arm.

The mechanical arm armor's [Mechanical Transformation] rune array lit up, and the entire mechanical arm disassembled and reassembled, sinking into the ground. The rune array connected with the earth's energy, drawing in the surrounding ten zhang of heaven and earth's primordial energy to form a semi-transparent shield in front of the two. However, Xie Tingyun's palm force at the peak of the fourth realm was too domineering, and the shield shattered after only a moment.

"puff!"

Amidst the aftershocks of the shattered shield, a golden streak of light shot through the air.

Lu Chenyuan's soft sword, accompanied by a piercing whistle, accurately pierced Tielekun's chest. The burst of Geng metal energy lifted him into the air!

Tielekun was nailed to the mountain wall by the door, the sword blade embedded a foot into the blue stone, suspending him in mid-air.

Blood dripped down the sword's edge, blooming into blood-red plum blossoms on the bluestone slab.

"Ho...ho..."

Tielekun struggled to lift his head, his bloodshot eyes filled with resentment.

"Hongxiao died at my hands."

Lu Chenyuan looked at him, his voice icy: "You too!"

Tielekun's pupils suddenly contracted, and a gurgling sound came from his throat, but he could no longer utter a word.

he died.

"Lu! Chen! Yuan!"

Hui Yeqing watched helplessly as Tielekun breathed his last. Her face turned deathly pale, then ashen, and her chest heaved violently as if a fire was burning inside.

It wasn't until this moment that she fully understood—all that talk of being timid and cowardly was fake; this man who spouted all sorts of crooked ideas had been acting from the very beginning!
He recognized her immediately.

All those gestures and words were for her benefit!

And she was like a fool, being led by the nose by him, and even arrogantly cursing him as "incorrigible" and "unfit for anything"... The shame gnawed at her heart like a venomous snake. She clenched Ling Shu's arm tightly, her knuckles turning white, wishing she could rush up and tear his face to shreds immediately.

That treacherous villain!

He not only acted and deceived her, but also took advantage of her contempt to make them sit and wait for their death. She, a dignified successor of the Wuxiang Sect and an assassin who made a living by deceiving and killing, failed to see through him and instead became the most obedient pawn on his chessboard!
"Oh, I almost forgot..."

Lu Chenyuan suddenly turned his head, as if he had just remembered her presence, and a nonchalant smile appeared on his lips.

"Thanks to you..."

These five seemingly insignificant words were like a blunt knife, slowly and deliberately carving into Hui Yeqing's heart.

She felt a rush of heat to her head, and her vision went black for a moment—

"Lu Chenyuan!!!"

With a hysterical scream, Hui Yeqing completely went berserk.

The rune array on Ling Shu Arm flickered wildly, and all seventy-two mechanisms operated to their maximum simultaneously. In an instant, the entire arm transformed into a ferocious killing weapon. Completely disregarding the risk of internal force backlash, she poured all her life's power into it, vowing to tear this bastard who had mocked her to pieces!

(End of this chapter)