You, a tyrannical ruler, roam the heavens; you cannot understand my joy.

Welcome to the boundless fantasy continent, the entrance is here:

After listening to the two women's story, Donghuang Taiyi took a deep breath of the cold mountain wind: "Such a prodigy exists in the world?"

One man against a thousand, crippling the Lord of the Underworld.

It only took him about twenty days to successfully enter the Soul Dragon Soaring cultivation stage?

Donghuang Taiyi, who always prided himself on his extraordinary talent, felt deeply discouraged...

He quickly asked, "Where is that Young Master Lu now?"

Feiyan shook her head: "This person disappeared after entering the Yin-Yang Illusionary Realm."

"I don't know exactly where they went."

The Moon Goddess added, "I once sent someone to Xinzheng City to investigate. Lu Zuo has always acted in a mysterious manner."

"Previously, in Xinzheng, he had disappeared for as long as half a year."

.......

The hall was filled with the aroma of tea. Gongshu Chou sat in the main seat, took a sip of tea, and asked in a slow voice, "Young Master Lu, what mechanical weapons do you wish to purchase this time?"

Lu Zuo didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point: "One hundred and fifty repeating crossbow carts and thirty thousand vortex arrow magazines."

Hiss!

Gongshu Chou gasped, his wrist trembling, nearly spilling the tea from his cup.

He looked up abruptly, his eyes wide with astonishment: "Thirty thousand?!"

This is no small amount!

At market price, one vortex arrow cassette costs ten gold coins, so thirty thousand cassettes would cost a full three hundred thousand gold coins!

This only includes the crossbow cartridges, not counting the 150 costly repeating crossbow carts.

Such a huge transaction is beyond the reach of this young South Korean envoy.

Even if he could, the Gongshu family would have no chance of assembling such a large quantity of finished products in a short period of time.

More importantly...

Although the Gongshu family made their living through mechanical arts, they were deeply controlled by the Qin royal family.

Selling such a large quantity of military and political weapons to envoys of other countries is tantamount to aiding the enemy, which is intolerable under Qin law, and the generals and censors in the court would certainly not agree to it.

"Young Master Lu, I'm afraid..." Gongshu Chou looked troubled, carefully considering his words, and was about to politely decline.

Lu Zuo had anticipated this, and calmly took out a scroll of silk from his bosom and handed it to Gongshu Chou.

The latter took it with a puzzled look, unfolded it, and his pupils suddenly contracted. He exclaimed in a low voice, "The King of Qin's decree?"

The contents of the silk scroll are concise, but it bears the genuine seal of the King of Qin, authorizing the Gongshu family to sell the corresponding number of mechanical weapons as requested by Lu Zuo, without delay or shirking responsibility.

"This... His Majesty actually granted permission?"

Gongshu Chou found it hard to believe.

Selling such a massive amount of military equipment to foreign countries would be a decision that even allies would be extremely cautious about, let alone South Korea.

But this is Xianyang!

Forging royal decrees and illegally engraving imperial seals...

Unless Lu Zuo is insane, there is absolutely no way he could fake it.

But why would the king issue such an order?

This royal decree was naturally written by Zhao Ji.

With King Zhuangxiang of Qin bedridden, Zhao Ji gradually took control of the harem and the court. The use of imperial seals and other official documents was not a difficult matter for her.

Since Lu Zuo had a request, she naturally responded.

How dare I refuse?

I won't push her anymore!

"Since the king's decree is here, we, the Gongshu family, shall naturally obey it."

Gongshu Chou suppressed the myriad doubts in his heart, respectfully handed back the silk scroll, but a bitter smile appeared on his face, "It's just..."

"Young Master Lu, even if the Gongshu family exerts all its efforts, it would be extremely difficult to complete the production of 30,000 vortex arrow caskets in less than three to five years."

"It's alright."

Lu Zuo waved his hand: "I can wait."

Five years?

In the Qin Dynasty world, it's five years, but in the Tang Dynasty world, it's only half a year.

Once these 30,000 crossbow magazines and 150 repeating crossbow carts are in place...

hum!

This is enough to give the Sui army a run for its money!

After a pause, Lu Zuo continued, "Since the number of vortex arrow cassettes is currently insufficient, does Master Gongshu have any mechanical beasts on site?"

Gongshu Chou nodded and stood up from his seat: "Young Master Lu, please follow me."

"The Gongshu family happens to possess something that might catch your eye, young master."

.......

A moment later, Lu Zuo followed Gongshu Chou to the backyard.

As soon as he stepped into this place, his gaze was immediately drawn to the enormous creature not far away.

It was a ferocious behemoth cast in bronze!

Its ancient yet fierce appearance, even when lying quietly on the ground, exudes a chilling sense of oppression.

Its enormous size almost occupies half of this vast backyard, and it gleams with a cold, hard metallic luster in the sunlight.

"Young Master Lu, please take a look."

"This is the culmination of my Gongshu family's recent creations, the domineering mechanical beast: Taotie!"

He led Lu Zuo a few steps closer and explained, "The entire front of the Taotie, from its chest and abdomen to its head, is a meticulously designed structure for attack and breaching; it is a weapon in itself!"

"The main body stands approximately 1.5 feet tall, 30 feet long, and 20 feet wide, weighing over 10,000 jin!"

"Its defense is so strong that ordinary swords and arrows break upon contact, and even the sword energy and palm wind of martial arts masters cannot harm it in the slightest."

"The Taotie conceals 360 finely crafted steel serrated flywheels around its body. Once activated, these can instantly spring forth, spinning at high speed, capable of slicing through gold and jade, sweeping across an area several feet around it!"

"Not to mention ordinary soldiers, even solid rock can be easily cut and pulverized!"

After hearing the introduction, Lu Zuo was once again slightly shocked by Qin Shi's cutting-edge technology.

This is more than just a weapon of war!

If used for land reclamation, thorny thickets, dense forests, hills, and mounds would probably be as fragile as paper in front of it!

Other activities include mining, road construction, and river dredging...

This is absolutely a colossal engineering behemoth!

"I wonder how many gluttons the Gongshu family has?"

How much does one cost?

Gongshu Chou chuckled: "Right now, the entire Gongshu family has only produced three Taotie. As for the price..."

"One worth 100,000 gold!"

Good heavens, the gold obtained from confiscating homes and temples is barely enough to purchase three domineering mechanical beasts.

Lu Zuo once again felt that he was seriously short of money...

However, the accumulated wealth of the Shen family of Wuxing over generations, as well as the family fortunes of the various prominent families in Dongyang, will soon be sent to Nantong County.

As for the Buddhist temples in Dongyang, the Soul-Snatching Ghosts did not have enough troops, so Lu Zuo could only wait until he went there in person before carrying out the anti-Buddhist campaign.

Next, the two began to haggle over the price.

Ultimately, due to the significance of the Qin King's decree, Gongshu Chou made a slight concession and the deal was completed at a price of 98,000 gold coins per statue.

However, Lu Zuo's personal space has limited capacity, and he can only transport one Taotie at a time. Moreover, it is inconvenient for him to directly take out the mountain of gold out of thin air in front of Gongshu Chou.

The two parties first signed a contract, stipulating that Lu Zuo would come to pick up the first Taotie in three days and pay the corresponding deposit. The next two Taotie would be delivered one month at a time, and the final payment would be settled in installments as the goods were delivered.

……

After leaving the Gongshu family, Lu Zuo headed straight for Zhaixing Mountain.

But as soon as they stepped out of the city gate, they saw the figures of the Moon Goddess and Scarlet Smoke, with another person beside them.

This person was tall and upright, with long, flowing hair. He wore a long robe embroidered with mysterious patterns of the sun, moon, and stars, and his face was covered by a metal mask, revealing only two beams of purple light.

He walked slowly along the official road, his aura blending with the heavens and earth.

It is clearly a unique phenomenon that can only be found in the realm of inner creation.

"Young Master Lu?"

Feiyan arrived near the city gate and immediately spotted Lu Zuo standing there. After exclaiming softly, she said to Donghuang Taiyi, "Lord Donghuang, this is Lu Zuo, Young Master Lu."

Whoosh!

Donghuang Taiyi moved swiftly, like a bolt of lightning, and was instantly in front of Lu Zuo.

His left hand gathered dark true energy like a dark moon, while his right hand shone with golden light like a blazing sun. When they joined their palms together, the force of the sun and moon shining together enveloped Lu Zuo's head!

but……

Although its offensive was fierce, it contained not a trace of killing intent.

Was he trying to test my strength?

With this in mind, Lu Zuo activated his inner energy, quickly overlapping his hands and precisely cutting into the gap where the energy of the sun and moon intertwined, then gently flicking and guiding it.

boom!

After a muffled thud, the illusory images of the sun and moon dissipated.

Donghuang Taiyi felt an overwhelming force rebounding from him, and his body involuntarily staggered back several steps, his hands inside his sleeves feeling slightly sore and numb.

A look of surprise flashed in his eyes, followed by a low, approving exclamation: "Excellent!"

"To see through illusion and point directly to the source—truly a peerless genius!"

After a pause, Donghuang Taiyi cupped his hands in a respectful bow: "Sect Leader of the Yin Yang School, I thank Young Master Lu for his great kindness."

"Just now, I saw your refined and natural aura, as if you were in harmony with heaven and earth. I was momentarily captivated by your presence. I hope you will forgive my abruptness."

"It's alright."

Lu Zuo waved his hand and returned the greeting: "So you are Mr. Donghuang, I have long admired you."

"When did Mr. Donghuang return?"

Donghuang Taiyi: "I just arrived and heard about Young Master Lu's amazing deeds as soon as I got back, so I rushed over to see the Venerable One."

Lu Zuo smiled and said, "What a coincidence, I was just about to consult the Yin-Yang School."

He then got straight to the point, stating directly that he wanted to practice the Yin-Yang School of martial arts.

Upon hearing this, Donghuang Taiyi pondered for a moment and said, "Young Master Lu has done a great favor for my Yin-Yang School, and my Yin-Yang School should teach him everything we know."

"but……"

"Our founder established a rule that those who are not disciples of the Yin-Yang School may not practice Yin-Yang arts."

"The only thing that can be passed on to you, Young Master, is the Soul of Dragon Soaring; the Eastern Lord and the Moon Goddess have already taught it to you..."

Upon hearing this, the Moon Goddess and Fei Yan exchanged a glance. Just as they were about to step forward to say something, Donghuang Taiyi secretly waved his hand to stop them.

"Unless Young Master Lu agrees to take over the position of leader of the Yin-Yang School after I reach the end of my life, otherwise..."

At this point, Donghuang Taiyi sighed softly, "The ancestral precepts are hard to disobey."

Lu Zuo pondered for a moment, feeling like this old guy was setting a trap for him.

but……

As long as I can learn martial arts, who cares about this or that, there's no harm in it anyway.

With that in mind, he nodded in agreement: "Okay."

Upon hearing this, Donghuang Taiyi was secretly delighted. With such a talented person taking over the Yin-Yang School, the inheritance for the next few hundred years would be worry-free...

……

After a brief chat, the group headed back towards Zhaixing Mountain.

"Mr. Donghuang".

Upon arriving at the foot of Zhaixing Mountain, Lu Zuo suddenly remembered Xiangfei and asked, "I've heard that if given a strong stimulus, Miss Xiangfei might be able to return to normal?"

"That's right."

Donghuang Taiyi nodded: "But there is nothing in this world that can provoke her anymore."

Lu Zuo looked at the mountain peak where Xiangfei lived and said, "Perhaps, I can give it a try."

"Ha, it's useless."

Donghuang Taiyi waved his hand: "Now, Xiangfei is completely in her own spiritual world and cannot sense the changes in the outside world."