Great Zhou Martial Immortal

Chapter 56 Using one's own spear to attack one's own shield

Inside the underground palace, all was silent.

Everyone held their breath, watching the scene unfold before them—

The goddess remained kneeling on one knee, displaying both the dashing spirit of a warrior and the ethereal grace of a deity. The armor plates forged from Xuanming Cold Iron gently collided with her movements, producing a clear, melodious sound like wind chimes that echoed throughout the underground palace.

When still, it resembles a work of art sculpted from ice and jade; yet when in motion, it exudes a captivating spirituality. Though it is merely a rat with a human body, at this moment, everyone felt an extraordinary beauty emanating from it.

Lu Chenyuan possessed keen insight; the beauty he saw was more direct, and he had already seen through this mechanical puppet to its core essence.

Yan Bingning and Song Zhenyue were overjoyed.

A treasure has appeared, and the one who obtains it is Lu Chenyuan!

They moved closer to him discreetly, to prevent others from stealing the treasure.

As the superior officer stationed in the Mechanized City and in charge of this cracking operation, Yan Bingning had more information—the Hidden Immortal created the Twelve Yuan Chen, each with its own focus. The Divine Queen was the first of the Twelve Yuan Chen, but she was the last one to be created. If you really want to count, she was the "youngest sister." Her eyes were a treasure of the world, and her mastery of mechanical arts and puppetry was also extremely high. She was an excellent help left by the Hidden Immortal for her successor, but her realm was only around the fourth level.

It is not a primary combat mechanical robot, and relying solely on it is not safe enough.

Yan Bingning was starting to regret it. If she had known that Lu Chenyuan could solve the problem himself, she should have asked for permission to leave Ying Wuqiu, Jiang Zhanqiu, and Nuoga outside, ostensibly to "assist." In the end, they were of no help at all and had become a hidden danger. Although they were in the Mechanized City, beneath the underground river, heavily guarded, it concerned the secret techniques of the Hidden Immortals. Better safe than sorry...

Everyone has different expressions.

Huiming's expression remained calm.

Jiang Zhanqiu's face was gloomy.

Ying Wuqiu was naturally pleased to be under Li Lingyue's command.

From the perspective of a craftsman, Mao Polu was also very happy.

There's no need to talk about Song Zhenyue.

Only Noga kept her head slightly lowered, her expression unreadable.

Zhang Xuanxiao and Zhuge Yun both knew the trials Lu Chenyuan had endured, and they had no dissatisfaction with him obtaining the treasure. Apart from a little regret, they only had admiration. Dongfang Ming felt the same way. He was saved by Lu Chenyuan, and without Lu Chenyuan's righteous help, he would probably have been buried by the white tiger carrying his corpse. Naturally, he had no ill will towards his savior.

"Crack!"

Suddenly, a crisp click of a mechanism broke the delicate atmosphere in the underground palace.

Everyone's expression tightened, and they looked up to see that fine silver patterns suddenly appeared on the Empress's chest. These patterns moved like living things, and soon outlined a blooming lotus flower pattern on her chest.

At the heart of the lotus, metal petals slowly rotated and opened, revealing the treasures hidden within.

In an instant!
A dazzling ray of light burst forth from the lotus heart, then revealed its true form: a bluish-white jade slip with a water-like halo flowing across its surface.

The front of the jade slip is inscribed with three regular script characters, "Tiangong Juan" (Scroll of Heavenly Craftsmanship), in star sand. What's amazing is that countless tiny golden runes float around the jade slip, slowly rotating like stars in a galaxy.

"This is……"

Dongfang Ming's voice trembled slightly.

Everyone stared wide-eyed at the piece of jade.

The goddess gracefully raised her right hand, her fingertips lightly touching the jade slip. The golden runes immediately came to life, forming dynamic diagrams on the slip. There were ingenious mechanisms, profound rune drawings, and even a complete process for crafting mechanical puppets. Each diagram was exquisite and breathtaking.

When it held the jade slip with both hands and respectfully presented it to Lu Chenyuan, all the runes suddenly froze, then turned into a golden light and disappeared into the slip. The entire jade slip became less radiant, leaving only a warm and smooth texture like jade.

Everyone was stunned.

Lu Chenyuan reached out and took the jade slip in his hand. At that very moment, a sudden change occurred!
Boom——

With a deafening roar, the entire mechanical city suddenly trembled violently, and rubble from the dome rained down!

The ground beneath their feet undulated like waves, the tremors were extraordinary, as if some enormous creature was churning deep within the earth's veins!
"what happened?"

Caught off guard, Zhuge Yun staggered, quickly using the Thousand-Pound Drop technique to steady himself. He exclaimed in surprise, "This is a mechanical city built by the Hidden Immortal, how could such a disturbance occur!"

Zhang Xuanxiao also sensed something was wrong, so he immediately formed a hand seal and activated the [Yin Yang Eyes], revealing the movement of the world's primordial energy to him.

He looked around and pondered, "After Mr. Lu deciphered the Four Symbols Revolving Heart Wheel, the Mechanized City stopped operating. The entire active array spontaneously returned to the earth's energy and water veins, and the flow of vital energy returned to normal, so the defense was somewhat weakened... But even so, it was still created by a hidden immortal, so how could it be..."

Before he could finish speaking, the ground shook again.

Boom!

This time the tremor was much stronger!

The entire mechanical city emitted a sickening, metallic, twisting sound.

Those intricately meshed gears and bearings were now emitting a deathly groan.

Yan Bingning's expression turned grave. She immediately stood protectively in front of Lu Chenyuan and raised her communication ring: "Xie Qianling, what happened!"

The ring glowed, and Xie Tingyun's voice came through: "We're investigating. It looks like a [Nether Serpent]! We've already sent a message to the princess. Be careful!"

"Nether Serpent?"

Upon hearing this name, everyone present paled, for it was an extremely ferocious and powerful beast.

The Book of Strange Things records: At the extreme of the North Sea there is a giant snake called the Dark Serpent, which coils in the abyss of Guixu. It looks like a giant viper with black armor covered in thorns and spines like bronze halberds. When Yu was controlling the floods, the Dark Serpent lurked through the earth's veins, traveled through mountains and rivers, and cracked the dike of Jizhou. Yinglong cut off its left eye, and the serpent's blood seeped into the soil and transformed into the Yin Sui.

"This is impossible!"

Dongfang Ming said decisively, "This is the capital city, a strategically important area with two major protective formations and two saints overseeing it. How could such a ferocious creature possibly break through unimpeded?"

"Do not."

Yan Bingning seemed to remember something, and turned her gaze to the Goddess standing quietly to the side: "Ordinary [Nether Serpents] would naturally find it difficult to evade the eyes of the Two Saints and advance unimpeded... Ordinary beasts could not possibly breach the Mechanized City to this extent! The city built by the Hidden Immortal can only be broken by things created by the Hidden Immortal..."

Dongfang Ming's expression changed slightly: "Lord Yan means..."

"The Twelve Earthly Branches, the Snake [Taiyi]!"

Yan Bingning's expression was more solemn than ever before: "Among the Twelve Yuan Chen, Taiyi Yuan Chen is modeled after the Nether Serpent, possessing stealth abilities and is an absolute ferocious beast! The Hidden Immortal created it specifically for conquering cities and strongholds, and its whereabouts have remained unknown... If it is indeed hiding in the earth's veins, waiting for an opportunity to attack, everyone must be extremely careful—"

Another mechanical puppet?
The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, their expressions showing surprise. Wasn't this all too much of a coincidence?
As soon as Lu Chenyuan took out the "Heavenly Craft Scroll", a colossal creature hidden in the shadows began to attack the city.
Zhuge Yun narrowed his eyes, his blue gaze sweeping over the crowd: "Among us, I fear there may be someone who has tipped us off..."

Yan Bingning reacted immediately, and the silk chain was instantly unleashed, the silver chain striking like a snake's tongue, aiming straight for Nuoga's throat!

Of all these people, only his origins are questionable.

The attack was as fast as lightning, but Noga seemed to have been prepared. His body twisted strangely, rippled like a reflection in water, and he easily dodged the powerful move.

"Why is Lord Yan in such a hurry?"

When Nuoga spoke again, his Miao accent had completely disappeared, replaced by standard and clear Central Plains Mandarin.

He slowly straightened his sleeves, revealing a chilling smile—a smile that exuded an indescribable evil, completely different from his previous wooden demeanor.

Yan Bingning's pupils suddenly contracted.

With a flick of her wrist, the silken chain instantly taut, its surface gleaming with a chilling blue light, clearly imbued with her full power. She said coldly, "It really is you! Who are you?"

"hehe."

Nuoga chuckled, ignoring the hostility of the crowd, and looked at Yan Bingning, saying, "No need to rush. In these six years, the most foolish one was Li Zhaotang, who recruited me into his palace for the sake of the [Youth-Preserving Cream]. The second most foolish one was the Empress! Just because Li Zhaotang recommended me, and because I made good cream in the past and pleased her, she dared to let me in without careful investigation, wasting all my efforts..."

Anti-Wu!

Upon hearing that title, everyone immediately understood where Noga came from.

Then it becomes clear which faction the mechanical puppets attacking the city below belong to.

No wonder... The Twelve Zodiac Stars are not something ordinary people can obtain; only the descendants of the Li Tang imperial family and the Wang and Xiao families might have the information and opportunity to acquire them.

"so……"

Noga laughed and said, "The one who should be punished the most is herself; the blame for negligence does not fall on you."

"presumptuous!"

With a sharp shout, Song Zhenyue drew her soft sword from its sheath with a clang, the sword light cascading like a silver river.

Nuoga coldly opened his palm, and suddenly the skin and flesh of his palm writhed and cracked open, and the Thought Gu [Foolish Marrow Silkworm] broke out of his body, spitting out a drop of emerald green essence blood.

Noga swung his hand backhand.

In an instant, the essence and blood exploded in the air, turning into a sky full of poisonous miasma that swept in all directions.

Wherever the poisonous fog passed, bronze groaned, black iron rotted, and the entire mechanical city instantly fell into the abyss!

The bronze ground turned into scorched, dark earth, and wisps of smoke rose from all around, while the harsh sound of chains dragging on the ground echoed in the distance.

The dome transformed into a blood moon hanging in the sky. Under the pale, blood-red moonlight, countless cracks appeared in the ground, and skeletal hands emerged from the earth.

The surface of the bronze pillar twisted and revealed a pained human face, its lips opening and closing repeatedly in the shape of "save me".

In the distance, the mechanical gears had transformed into a spinning mountain of knives, piercing countless wailing souls, their mournful cries piercing the eardrums.

Everything in this ghostly illusion—the biting cold of the wind, the stench of rotting corpses, the echoes of the wailing of the dead—stimulates everyone's senses with unparalleled realism.

"what!"

Having lost her target, Song Zhenyue was about to draw her sword and charge towards Nuoga's location when she suddenly screamed as a rotting corpse grabbed her ankle.

The cold, sticky sensation sent shivers down her spine. Instinctively, she swung her sword, but the blade met real resistance as it pierced the rotting corpse.

"do not move!"

Ying Wuqiu's shout suddenly rang in her ears. Song Zhenyue felt her sword tip lighten, and then heard the sound of fabric tearing—her sword had almost injured Ying Wuqiu in reality!

"This illusion distorts perception!" Ying Wuqiu's voice was close at hand, but Song Zhenyue couldn't see him; only ghostly figures drifted around. "Moving around recklessly will only cause danger!"

Song Zhenyue's heart tightened, and a chill ran through her.

The others also became secretly alert.

They appear to be very close, but in reality, each is trapped and struggling in their own independent illusions.

Only one person was unaffected.

The earth continued to tremble, and the mechanical city became increasingly unstable, teetering on the brink of collapse.

Lu Chenyuan stood alone in the mist, motionless and as steady as Mount Tai, a stark contrast to the others around him who were in the illusion, their muscles tense and their faces tense.

The goddess stood still as if covered in frost, her silver armor gleaming with a cold, sharp light, like a peerless divine weapon guarding him.

Noga emerged from the shadows, toying with the silkworm with her fingertips, a smile on her face.

Lu Chenyuan looked up at him and scoffed, "You really love acting. If the 'joy' is gone, what's the point of laughing?"

"..."

Noga's smile froze slightly as she touched her face: "I can pretend I have it."

Looking at his expression, Lu Chenyuan suddenly realized: "I almost forgot, your 'anger' is gone, so there's no point in 'provoking' you."

Noga: "..."

Lu Chenyuan looked at the surrounding poisonous miasma: "The Illusionary Spider Dream-Eroding Technique?"

Noga's expression turned serious, and he said earnestly, "Your eyes are truly terrifying!"

Lu Chenyuan shook his head: "What need is there for eyes? 'Using poisonous spiders as a medium, refining essence blood into illusion poison, those who are affected will fall into a nightmare, and all five senses will be confused.' This is written in the Record of Extraordinary Skills, it's not a secret. You used essence blood to activate the illusion, and I'm not blind. Matching the two together, isn't that enough to do with a brain?"

Noga: "..."

Lu Chenyuan said, "This technique is difficult to cultivate and takes a long time. It requires feeding the Dream-Eating Spider with one's own essence blood for more than ten years to allow the spider venom to completely fuse with the essence blood before it can be mastered. The fact that your drop of essence blood can be mistaken for the real thing means that the person who consumed the Thought Gu has at least twenty years of cultivation experience. The Thought Gu on your body was refined fifteen years ago. Within the past fifteen years, there has only been one person who has reached the Grandmaster level in cultivating the Dream-Eating Spider Technique: 'Nightmare Old Monster' Xue Mingling."

Noga's expression changed.

Lu Chenyuan continued, "In the first year of Yonglong, a bloodbath occurred in Yuanzhou. Xue Mingling was driven to the brink of despair by his enemies, so he activated the 'Ten Thousand Spiders Devouring Dreams' technique of the Illusion Spider Dream Erosion Technique. On the night of the Lantern Festival, on the long street, he cut his wrists and spilled blood. The blood droplets turned into a sky full of green mist, covering the entire street. Three thousand lantern viewers were simultaneously trapped in an illusion. What they saw was not lanterns, but poisonous spiders, rotting corpses, and evil spirits everywhere. The crowd went mad and killed each other. Overnight, Yuanzhou fell into chaos. The people either jumped into wells or killed each other. More than a thousand people died, and the streets were filled with blood. He himself disappeared without a trace in the chaos."

The court was furious. Emperor Gaozong ordered half of the Hidden Dragon Guard to be mobilized, working with Quan Yi, the Prefect of Yuanzhou and Imperial Son-in-Law, to capture the thief. They ultimately apprehended the villain and displayed his head publicly… However, the case files of the Iris Terrace contain another account: Xue Mingling mysteriously disappeared the night before his execution, and the one whose head was displayed was merely a decoy… This also fits.

Noga stared intently at him, her brows furrowed.

Lu Chenyuan said, "In the first year of Yonglong, which was ten years ago, with your abilities, you couldn't have 'eaten' Xue Mingling on your own. If you weren't related, Governor Quan Yi wouldn't have used a substitute to cover for you. Therefore, you must be connected to Quan Yi. You call yourself the Demon Empress, so you must be a rebel against Wu Zetian. Quan Yi happens to have someone connected to the rebellion against Wu Zetian by his side—his wife, Princess Yiyang, who is also Consort Xiao's daughter. Xue Mingling was probably given to you by him because of Princess Yiyang's influence... As for why you can get Princess Yiyang to treat you differently, it's obvious..."

Noga swung his right arm, and the soft sword in his sleeve popped out, suddenly straightening and exuding a chilling killing intent.

Lu Chenyuan ignored him and said calmly, "So, is there any need to continue acting, Xiao Hanchuan?"

Xiao Hanchuan, longsword in hand, remained calm: "You suspected it was me all along?"

Lu Chenyuan said, "When we met that day, I could tell you were missing at least two of the seven emotions. To pay such a high price for power, it's definitely not to become a guest advisor to the princess. The greater the goal, the more one must endure. Moreover, the timing is too coincidental. Originally, you and Pei Jiulang had no connection, but five years ago, Pei Jiulang discovered the underground palace's mechanical city and used it to create the musical scale. Not long after, he handed over the business to Xue Wushe and began to acquire more mechanical arts, secretly arresting other mechanical masters for this purpose. Coincidentally, you also started frequently going out to collect herbs around that time, and the timing always seems to match up..."

Just recently, after capturing Ashina Yan and Hui Yeqing, we discovered that 'Xiao Hanchuan' was arresting people in Jiannan Road. I specifically investigated, and during that period, 'Nuoga' was also gathering herbs… Once or twice could be considered a coincidence, but so many times, it can't just be a coincidence. You're incredibly bold, daring to use your true appearance to infiltrate Princess Qianjin's residence.”

"Whether it's a real face or a fake face makes no sense to me. Since a real face is safer, why not use it?"

Xiao Hanchuan looked at Lu Chenyuan seriously: "I am very glad that I used my true face six years ago, otherwise I would not have this excellent opportunity today to take away the Heavenly Craft Scroll, the Empress, and you in one fell swoop!"

"..."

Lu Chenyuan understood that the main reason he wanted to capture him was to control the Goddess.

But that's an oversimplification.

Lu Chenyuan turned to the Empress beside him: "You underestimate her a bit too much."

"This is not underestimating them, this is intelligence."

Xiao Hanchuan said solemnly, "The Divine Empress is not good at fighting and only has the cultivation of the early stage of the fourth realm. I have devoured three top experts, and I am confident that I can defeat her in terms of both realm and experience. I have absolute confidence that I can capture you before the Taiyi City breaks through!"

"is it?"

Lu Chenyuan smiled and tapped his forehead: "I received some different information just now, and I really want to know who is right and who is wrong... Empress."

The Empress's eyes flashed, and her voice was cold: "Yes."

"kill."

At Lu Chenyuan's command, a cold glint suddenly flashed in the Empress's eyes.

next moment.

Zheng——

A clear, resonant sword cry, like thunder from the heavens, tore through the sky!
The mechanism behind the goddess suddenly activated, and a three-foot-nine-inch silver-white longsword was drawn from its sheath in mid-air. The blade was like jade that had been tempered in fire, and the image of the Big Dipper was faintly visible as lightning patterns moved around it. The seven stars were aligned at the hilt, and the cold light was chilling—its name was [Heavenly Punishment]!
With another bang, the Heavenly Punishment Sword split apart in mid-air!

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!—"

Twelve slender secondary swords unfolded like a peacock's tail, suddenly spreading out in a fan shape. The ancient seal script names and phonetic symbols engraved on the sword blades lit up one by one, overflowing with clear light.
"Huangzhong, Dalu, Taicu, Jiazhong..."

With each ring of the name of the law, a sword aura resonated, and the twelve swords resonated, creating layers of sonic booms in the air!
—Divine Weapon: [The Twelve Laws of Heavenly Punishment]!
The goddess stomped her foot on the ground, and the bluestone ground cracked violently, with fragments of stone floating in the air!
Holding the main sword, Heavenly Punishment, she leaped into the air, the Twelve Laws Swords transforming into wings, hovering behind her like shadows, as if a galaxy were falling, with sword energy crisscrossing everywhere!
(End of this chapter)