Dream of the Red Chamber: Starting from Immortal Martial Arts

Chapter 125 The Reason for the Battle!

"Zheng"

A clear and crisp sword cry resounded, and a swordsman whose face was not visible emerged from the vast torrent of literary energy. His magnificent sword intent soared into the sky, shattering layers of clouds. With a wave of his hand, a sharp and blazing hundred-foot sword aura roared out, carrying the force of thunder and lightning as it swept across the sky!

Such a powerful attack attracted the attention of the cultivators who were hiding in the surrounding mountains and forests, who secretly watched from afar!

Upon seeing this, Shi Cuiyue's eyes narrowed. This single move alone revealed the difference between ordinary literary cultivators and those from the Confucian school.

But in an instant, boundless ferocity surged within him, his entire body radiating brilliant purple energy, and a surge of immense divine power erupted forth, chilling the air around him and darkening the sky!

A fierce wind howled, accompanied by lightning and thunder!

"Boom!"

A massive, winding lightning serpent surged through the clouds, and a vast, heavy, terrifying pressure descended from the sky, accompanied by a purple light that seemed to cleave the heavens and earth, colliding heavily with the sword energy!

"A deafening roar erupted where the two collided, and both the Thunder Serpent and the Swordsman vanished into nothingness in an instant. The violent shockwave swept across the surroundings, obliterating the peak of Yuliang Mountain below!"

Upon seeing this, Shi Cuiyue channeled his inner energy, his eyes flashing with a small martial talisman. He swept up the primordial energy of heaven and earth and condensed it into a stone mountain a hundred feet high above Wen Yu Zhenren. The mountain was entirely black from being struck by lightning, and rolling blue lightning surged from the cracks in the stone, crashing down fiercely.

"Sizzle—"

Upon seeing this, Kong Hua's eyes turned sinister. Without thinking, he hurriedly activated his literary energy. As his meridians throbbed with pain and his face gradually turned pale, he used the scriptures to fight back.

"Having slaughtered a million soldiers south of the Yangtze, the blood on my sword still lingers!"

As the poem materialized on the scriptures, the literary energy surged like a tide, spreading across the sky. A pair of indifferent and majestic imperial eyes appeared in mid-air, unleashing boundless and chilling killing intent that pressed down on the surrounding area for over ten miles, casting a shadow over everyone's hearts and causing even the heavens and earth to tremble slightly.

The Emperor's eyes opened and closed, and a shattered black and red divine light shot out from it, growing to a hundred feet in size against the wind. Dragon-shaped patterns were engraved on it, and the gleaming sword reflected a scarlet phantom, piercing through space and shooting straight at you!

"Boom! The towering Stone Thunder Mountain exploded, and as Shi Cuiyue's expression changed drastically, it continued its attack with undiminished force!"

Shi Cuiyue was firmly locked in by the boundless killing intent of heaven and earth, as if he had fallen into an ice cave, his limbs were extremely cold, and his heart sank little by little. At this moment, the essence blood in his body exploded, and the thick blood mist transformed into qi, which he vigorously used to unleash his supernatural powers.

A vast sea of ​​lightning brewed within the clouds, gradually expanding from a hundred feet in size to a hundred and twenty feet, with thousands of thick, crimson-black lightning bolts flashing...

Mian slashed down at the Emperor's Sword, and the sound of lightning crackling rang out repeatedly!

At the same time, Shi Cuiyue took out a small shield from his bosom, on which tiny tortoise shells were carved. Violent qi surged into it, causing the tortoise shells to expand instantly into a size of tens of feet, which stood horizontally in front of the Emperor's Sword!

This is a rare treasure from another land, given to him by Jia Tang for protection: the Rock Tortoise Shield!

In an instant, the Emperor's Sword annihilated the sea of ​​lightning, its tip colliding directly with the brown tortoise shell, the two forces clashing against each other!

"Clang! The aftershocks from the collision of the two cut huge cracks, hundreds of feet long and more than ten feet deep, into the ground below. Even the hard mountain of Yuliang Mountain was scratched with countless sword marks!"

The stalemate lasted less than a moment before the tortoise shell was pierced, the shield was knocked away, and the slightly illusory Emperor's Sword struck Shi Cuiyue's body directly, slashing him down from the sky and crashing heavily into the ground!

"Bang!"

Where it crashed, a human-shaped crater appeared, with spiderweb-like cracks spreading around it, and billowing smoke and dust shooting straight into the sky like pillars of fire!

High in the sky, Kong Hua was breathing rapidly and looked listless. Feeling the depletion of his literary energy, he quickly descended from the sky. As soon as he reached the ground, he swayed and leaned against a piece of rubble.

He took two deep breaths, pulled a bottle of pills from his robes, tilted his head back and swallowed them in quick succession, then hurriedly refined them, finally managing to...

A wisp of color returned to his face!

Kong Hua then slowly got up, leisurely floated to the front of the pit, sensed the martial artist inside with barely breathing energy, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Let me see for myself which side these traitors are!"

Suddenly, Kong Hua's hair stood on end, his eyebrows and eyes bulged wildly, and before he could think, he vanished from the spot.

Just as his figure was about to disappear, a slender but pure bolt of lightning pierced through space and chased after his back.

"Bang!"

Kong Hua appeared a hundred feet away. The impact from his back made him stagger and almost fall, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

He didn't have time to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth; his gloomy eyes were fixed on what was ahead.

"Cough cough cough~"

A coughing sound rang out, and Shi Cuiyue, whose mask was half torn apart, leaped up to the ground. His clothes were tattered, and a sword wound ran diagonally down his shoulder, with flesh turned outwards and internal organs writhing vaguely visible, almost splitting him in two.

Fortunately, he had a rare and exotic medicine called the "Azure Lotus Nirvana Pill," which Jia Tang had given him, in his mouth, which kept him alive.

Shi Cuiyue felt his internal energy and spiritual sense rapidly recovering, along with the intense pain surging through his soul. A blood-stained smile tugged from his lips.

A sinister smile spread across his face.

"Confucian scholars, round two has begun!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his body vanished in an instant, and a streak of intense lightning streaked away!

Kong Hua felt the stinging pain and dwindling spiritual energy within his body with a grim expression, his limbs gradually growing cold!

..

March 15th, Quzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, the land of the Southern Confucian clan.

In a quaint and elegant courtyard, Xiu Lan, dressed in brocade robes, had a gloomy face. His fingers, gripping the letter tightly, turned white from the force. His body was filled with a violent surge of literary energy, and his aura was wild and chilling!

"Wenwu Master Wenyu fought a fierce battle for a day against a third-tier lightning-attribute martial artist in the Yuliang Mountain area. He was defeated and killed, while his opponent escaped severely wounded!"

The martial arts master was surrounded and killed by two fire-attribute level three cultivators in Kaihua County. He was killed on the spot in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea!

"Bang!"

He slammed his large hand down on the stone table, shattering the secret letter into dust along with it!

"Damn brute! Damn Jia!"

Xiu Lan's eyes flashed with killing intent. Such conspicuous lightning and fire, such formidable combat power, must be the foundation of Wu Xun.

The clan's territory had just been attacked by a third-tier enemy, and then two third-tier enemies, both of whom were fire-attribute, were surrounded and killed!

He couldn't think of anyone else besides Jia Tang.

Moreover, the clan has forbidden anyone from going out these past few days, they must have sensed something!

Suddenly, Xiu Lan's eyes turned sinister, like a vengeful ghost, and he stared intently at Huang Qinglin and Zhang Moyun to the side, shouting, "How did he know about the Literary and Martial Arts Association?"

"Did you two slip up in some way?"

Huang Qinglin looked haggard. The destruction of his family had made him very cautious in his actions recently. He replied, "I handled matters of the Literary and Martial Arts Association without getting involved in anything northward!"

Zhang Moyun, standing to the side with a terrified expression, trembled and replied in a shaky voice, "Brother Xiulan, it wasn't me! I've been busy with the blood soil planting within Fujian and haven't been paying attention to the outside world!"

Upon hearing this, Xiu Lan's anger intensified, but he also knew that it was true. After killing Xu Yuan's double in Huai'an Prefecture, he had arranged for these two to be stationed in Fujian Province, and he could monitor all their communication methods!

But the more it is like this, the less I understand.

After the deaths of the two True Immortals of the Literary and Martial Arts Association, the Fujian Songbai Pavilion was taken over by a person who called himself the Mountain Thunder True Immortal. He brought with him two late-stage second-tier pavilion masters and instantly seized control of the entire territory, turning against the Literary and Martial Arts Association.

The Deer Alliance in Jiangxi was the same. Under the leadership of their leader, True Man Qinglu, they sensed the weakness of the Martial Arts Association and frantically led their cultivators from Raozhou and Guangxin prefectures to attack and plunder the Martial Arts Association's territory.

The clan's decades-long plans in Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Fujian provinces crumbled and collapsed completely within days following the deaths of two third-tier members!

This infuriated Xiu Lan, who treated the surrounding three provinces as his own backyard, to the point that he nearly vomited blood.

Furthermore, some time ago, due to the bloodshed in Lianghuai, Ze'e and another third-tier hunter went north to pursue him, which led to their deaths at the hands of Jia Tang!

Now that two more have died, Xiu Lan only has one Blood Crane True Person left at his side as a third-tier cultivator. Moreover, this person is an ancestral figure in the clan, so he cannot forcibly assign him a position!

The third tier is not the first or second tier; it is the greatest foundation of a top-tier power. The clan only had two palm-sized individuals who had broken through to this level, but four of them were lost because of him, not to mention the Venerable Wen Yu!

Master Wenyu was an old cultivator in the clan who had broken through to the mid-stage. He was highly skilled and had a detached nature. If it weren't for Ancestor Nan Kong personally inviting him, given his status, there would have been no need for him to be present at the Martial Arts Conference.

Therefore, the negative news about Xiu Lan in the clan is getting worse. Fortunately, the only late-stage third-order cultivator is his ancestor, and there is a consensus within the clan to target the Jia family. Otherwise, they would have been in serious trouble!

Xiu Lan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and gradually suppressed the killing intent in his heart.

When he opened his eyes again, they were calm and still, yet a cold ripple still lingered deep within them.

He turned his gaze to Huang Qinglin and Zhang Moyun. Since Huang Zhentao, who was trapped in Jinling, was the only remaining high-level combatant of the Huang clan, he said to Zhang Moyun, "Moyun, do you still remember what I taught you?"

Zhang Moyun hurriedly bowed and replied, "Money is merely an appendage of power—"

"Shut up!"

Xiu Lan narrowed his eyes and said indifferently, "We must be of one mind and one heart; those who are half-hearted will die first!"

"Yes, yes, yes, I've always followed Brother Xiulan's lead!"

Xiu Lan stared intently at Zhang Moyun's trembling body, and asked again, "So, Brother Yun, what way do you have to break this deadlock?"

"Ah? Unlike Brother Xiu Lan, who has a deep understanding of strategy, I can only follow orders—"

"Whatever Brother Xiulan says, I'll do!"

Xiu Lan chuckled twice upon hearing this and said, "How about this, we ask your grandfather to travel south and help the Kong family regain control of the three provinces?"

"Grandfather?"

Zhang Moyun seemed taken aback for a moment, then a slight smile appeared on his face: "Very good, I will send a message home immediately and ask my grandfather to come and help Brother Xiulan."

Upon seeing this, Xiu Lan laughed loudly: "Excellent!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Moyun bowed and saluted, then turned and quickly walked out of the courtyard, leaving the two people staring at his back with inscrutable expressions.

Huang Qinglin pondered for a moment, then asked, "Has Mo Yun harbored ulterior motives?"

Xiu Lan shook his head, and just as Huang Qinglin breathed a sigh of relief, he uttered a shocking statement.

"He was never of one mind with us, so how can you say he's different from us?"

Huang Qinglin was shocked: "Mo Yun grew up with us and we have a very close relationship. Zhang and Kong also exchange things. Aren't they of one mind?"

Xiu Lan's expression darkened, and he slowly said, "I initially thought so, but my ancestor told me that the Zhang clan has a mid-stage True Person in charge, and two early-stage True Persons as well!"

Huang Qinglin was taken aback upon hearing this, and asked incredulously, "No—wasn't it only Mo Yun's grandfather who was the real person?"

Xiu Lan sighed, looked up at the sky, and said indifferently, "They really know how to hide. One thing after another, the Jia family, the Chen family, and now even the Zhang family, whom I didn't care about at first."

"The Literary and Martial Arts Association, which I thought was under my control, has also suddenly encountered a major change!"

"Difficult, so very difficult—"

-

Jiangxi, Guangxin Prefecture, Lumeng stronghold.

Li Yunqiong and Li Shouzhou met in the study, looking at the maps of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian with smiles in their eyes.

This time, they hitched a ride on a favorable wind. After deciding on the plan to assassinate the third-level martial arts practitioners of the Li family, only one of the three third-level practitioners remained to guard the area. He and Jia Tang went straight to the Kong family's territory in Quzhou Prefecture to guard against Kong family cultivators' support. Jia Kang launched a surprise attack on the third-level martial arts practitioners of the Li family, Shi Cuiyue dealt with the civil cultivators, and the other third-level practitioner from the Li family provided support from the center.

After Li Yunqiong and Jia Tang arrived in Quzhou, whether it was due to the old ghost Kong's instructions or because they simply did not notice, the two guarded the city for two days without seeing a single third-level warrior move out!

Of the two third-tier True Persons, the strongest is not Wu Lu, as everyone thought, but Wen Yu, who comes from a branch of the Kong family and established his own lineage.

This rendered Jia Kang and the third-tier martial arts cultivator from the Li family, who had come first to provide support and defense, futile in their efforts to surround Wu Lu Zhenren, and almost resulted in Shi Cuiyue being killed by Wen Yu Zhenren!

Fortunately, Jia Tang provided the elixirs and Yuan soldiers for protection; otherwise, he would have truly lost more than he gained!

Li Yunqiong said with a sigh, "Whether it's a bargain or not, we've gotten on the bus now, and our fates are truly intertwined."

Li Shouzhou, the head of the second branch of the Li family, looked somewhat puzzled. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Why must we form an alliance with the Jia family? Even considering the current situation, which is worse, the Chen family or the Northern Kong family? The Southern Kong family isn't bad either!"

"Or, can't we just focus on our own development and leave it to our own devices?"

Li Yunqiong sighed, his eyes flashing with golden light, and said wistfully, "The Chen Clan possesses a great secret. Our clan only has a third-level Qi Observation technique that I can cultivate, which allowed me to see that the Qi of heaven and earth is being absorbed by things controlled by the Chen Clan!"

"And the most severely affected are the eight prefectures of Xianjing and the civil and military officials of the imperial court!"

"Take Shouzhong for example, he's been constantly drained, or rather, his life force stolen!"

Li Yunqiong turned his head to look in the direction of Shuntian Prefecture and said, "As expected, the Jia family, which was ahead of the world before the founding of the country and could be compared with the Chen family, has become worse with each generation!"

"I originally thought that the Jia family had not produced more than three generations of high-ranking officials, and that they would decline or even be wiped out from then on."

"Shouzhong's decision to marry his eldest daughter off to them was merely out of consideration for the prestige of the Eight Prefectures of Xianjing, and out of a sliver of hope!"

"But who would have thought that more than ten years later, a pillar of fortune suddenly appeared in the Ningguo Mansion of the Jia family, reaching straight into the sky. Although it only appeared for a short while, I, who had been observing the capital, still noticed it."

"From then on, the Jia family produced Jia Tang, who began to rise to the challenge. In just over a decade, numerous second-tier cultivators emerged, along with two who had broken through to the third tier through advanced martial arts training, and even the unfathomable Jia Tang himself!"

Li Shouzhou was stunned by what he heard, and carefully looked at the old man beside him to see if he was talking nonsense.

"Luck? Can you really see and touch it?"

Li Yunqiong nodded slightly: "Indeed, your other two grandfathers and I are all visible and tangible!"

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