After the Great Dao died

Chapter 102 Crown Prince's Martial Arts Instructor Zhong Wuzhu

After sealing the cave, Chen Ling wanted to return to Qiaoji Mountain.

Xi Mu remained a few feet behind him, surrounded by mist, like a ghost.

Until the outline of Qiaojishan Mountain was faintly visible in the night.

The short pines on both sides of the mountain road rustled in the north wind, and the moonlight peeked through the gaps in the clouds, illuminating the winding mountain road in a pale white light.

Chen Lingxi suddenly stopped in her tracks.

He tilted his head slightly, his brows furrowing gently beneath the ghost mask.

With his perception, he had not yet sensed anything, but Xi Muxing, who was on the sixth floor, could hear a commotion in the far distance.

"Is someone searching the mountains?"

Chen Lingxi frowned.

He and Xi Mu were connected by heart; as long as they weren't too far apart, he could immediately know what Xi Mu felt.

There were rustling sounds in the distance, as if someone was carefully moving by, and there was more than one person. He did not approach, but with a slight thought, he sent Xi Mu out quietly, hiding in a swirling night fog.

He then moved several hundred feet closer to perceive what Xi Mu was feeling.

It was a gentle slope on the western foot of Qiaoji Mountain. More than ten martial artists dressed in tight-fitting clothes were scattered on this slope, several feet apart, and slowly advancing towards the mountaintop in a fan shape.

Their movements were very methodical. Every few steps they would stop and carefully examine the surrounding cracks in the rocks, tree roots, and craters in the ground. Some even used their knife sheaths to part the dense bushes and peer inside.

This is like plowing the land, inch by inch, leaving no crevice untouched as a possible hiding place.

"These martial artists' cultivation levels aren't very high."

Their bodies were filled with surging blood and qi, and a faint silver-white light emanated from deep within their bones. The highest level of cultivation among them was only at the Great Perfection of Silver Bone.

"However, being able to search the mountains with Silver Bones figures..."

Chen Lingxi's heart stirred slightly, because Xi Mu's senses landed on the four people on a cliff not far away.

"Three...Jade Aura!"

Chen Lingxi's gaze sharpened slightly: "And what about the leader..."

The leader was a middle-aged man, about forty years old, not particularly tall or strong. He stood with his hands behind his back on a protruding rock at the top of the slope, looking down at the search party covering the mountain. He wore a blue official robe with a patch embroidered with a golden pheasant with outstretched wings. The stitches were fine and dense, gleaming faintly in the moonlight.

That was the color of the robes worn by a fifth-rank civil official in the Dali Kingdom.

But the spirit of this civil official was far beyond that of ordinary civil servants.

He stood there, his back straight as a pine tree, his shoulders broad and his chin slightly raised, like a famous sword hidden in its sheath. Although it had not yet been drawn, its sharpness was already faintly revealed through the sheath.

This person must hold a high position and wield real power. Just the posture of standing with his hands behind his back reveals a composure that can only be cultivated by someone who has long held the power of life and death.

Just then, a man with an elegant air behind him spoke up: "Lord Zhong."

"We have searched the western foothills of Qiaoji Mountain again, leaving no stone crevices, caves, streams, or dense forests unchecked."

But the government slave... was still nowhere to be found.

The middle-aged man did not answer, his expression indifferent.

The martial artist with the jade aura seemed to sense the silent pressure, and lowered his head even further: "Not just Qiaoji Mountain."

Over the past few days, our subordinates have meticulously fenced off every inch of the twenty-seven mountains, twelve towns, and four cities surrounding Yuanjiang Prefecture.

"We've searched Cuojin Mountain, Mangyang Mountain, Zushan Mountain, and now Qiaoji Mountain, even along the banks of the Xiahe and Zhuzhao Rivers. We haven't found a single hair on that government slave's head, let alone a person."

He paused here, then cautiously said, "My lord, His Highness the Crown Prince has already issued the order that he will be arriving soon. At that time... how should we explain ourselves to His Highness?"

The middle-aged man finally turned around.

He wasn't particularly fierce-looking; his features were even quite handsome, with sword-like eyebrows, a straight nose, and lips with distinct, knife-cut lines.

But the look in those eyes sent chills down your spine.

"The person His Highness the Crown Prince wants must be found even if we have to dig three feet into the ground. If you cannot find him, you will have to go to the Crown Prince's palace."

The martial artist who reported the news trembled and lowered his head even further.

Through Xi Mu's senses, Chen Lingxi heard the entire conversation clearly.

"Is the Crown Prince coming again?"

Chen Lingxi frowned.

Several months ago, Ying Chi visited Yuanjiang Prefecture once, taking advantage of the beast-fighting banquet to replenish the array on Lin Longyue's body.

Now that the formation is being dissipated by his spiritual energy and profound energy day by day, Ying Chi will surely be able to detect it upon his arrival. "Moreover, Ying Chi's arrival must be to find me again."

He stopped thinking about these things, instead concealing his true intentions and moving closer, disappearing into the wild grass, gazing at the middle-aged man from afar.

The art of observing Qi was quietly activated.

In an instant, the middle-aged man was no longer an ordinary flesh and blood body in his sight.

Chen Lingxi's pupils contracted slightly.

This person has concealed their aura far too thoroughly.

He stood there, showing no sign of any vital energy leaking out, like a stagnant pool, a stubborn rock, an ordinary middle-aged civil official.

To the average martial artist, there was absolutely no difference.

However, under the Qi observation technique, this person presented a completely different picture.

A vortex of pure white, jade-like energy slowly rotated between the person's chest and abdomen.

It is like a miniature nebula.

The edge of the vortex shimmered with an extremely faint, soft jade-colored light, while the center blazed brightly like the sun, so white that it was almost blinding. His bones were also extraordinary.

The two hundred and six bones all had a translucent, jade-like luster, and were completely clear, as if they were not human bones.

A sound emanated from deep within the marrow, like the intertwined tones of a jade chime.

And this person's eyes...

Under the method of observing Qi, he could faintly see the reflection of the rotating Jade Gang Star Cloud deep in his pupils.

It was as if two miniature moons were embedded in the eye sockets, slowly rotating, as if trying to suck the moonlight, mountain shadows, and mist into the bottomless vortex.

"Perfect jade-like aura."

Chen Ling took a deep breath.

At first, he thought that only the three people behind the middle-aged man were people of jade-like appearance.

Unexpectedly, the truly formidable one was this middle-aged man!

Ordinary jade energy is nothing more than the transformation of blood and qi into jade quality, with bones radiating a faint jade-colored luster, and the sound of jade chimes accompanying every gesture.

But the person before him had completely integrated his jade-like blood and energy with his bones, as if he had transformed into a true jade-carved immortal. This was the [Jade-Suppressing Body], which could only be achieved through the perfection of jade energy.

The so-called Jade Treasure, when activated, makes the whole body indestructible, like a statue carved from ten-thousand-year-old cold jade. Swords and blades are like eggs hitting rocks, and fists and feet are like mud oxen entering the sea.

"If one were to directly confront such power of the Zhenyu Treasure Body, it would likely be comparable to a cultivator at the sixth level of the Qi Circulation Realm, and in some aspects, it might even surpass them."

Chen Ling quickly estimated the man's combat strength in his mind.

Besides the middle-aged man, there were three other people.

The jade-like qi and blood around two of them were not yet fully solidified, and a faint jade light flowed around their bodies, but it appeared somewhat ethereal. The jade light was sometimes bright and sometimes dim, sometimes like a bright moon in the sky, and sometimes like a candle about to go out.

These signs are precisely the initial indications of entering the jade realm.

The other person was much more composed.

The jade-like light emanating from his body was concentrated and did not leak out. Only occasionally, a very faint jade-colored glimmer would escape from his pores with each breath, and then be instantly absorbed back into his body. This state of being able to control the flow of light and shadow was the beginning of the completion of jade energy.

"One has reached the peak of jade energy, one has reached the initial stage of jade energy, and two have just entered the realm of jade energy."

Chen Lingxi quickly reviewed the cultivation levels of the four people in his mind, and the eyes beneath the ghost mask narrowed slightly.

Such a display would be extremely rare even in the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace. The leading middle-aged man alone, a figure of perfected Jade Qi, with his Jade Body already formed, would be an invincible general in the Great Li army, perfectly suited to serve as a regional commander. The other three Jade Qi figures, if placed in local areas, would be true grandmasters.

But now, these four men have been sent to this desolate mountain wilderness to search for him like hunting dogs, just to find this "official slave".

"Ying Chi is certainly willing to go to great lengths to kill me."

Chen Lingxi snorted coldly in her heart.

But then he thought about it again and felt relieved.

On that day, Lu Baizhong ambushed and killed him on the riverbank.

The old eunuch was watching from the side.

The Crown Prince knew that he had Xi Mu, a person at the sixth level of Qi cultivation, by his side. If he only sent a Golden Body martial artist, it would be like sending him to his death. Naturally, he had to send a person with Jade Qi.

As Chen Lingxi pondered this, a cold glint suddenly flashed in his eyes.

"Why don't we... just kill them all?"

The Crown Prince is about to travel to Yuanjiang Prefecture.

If these four Jade Qi Realm experts were to merge with the Crown Prince, and his whereabouts were discovered, he would have to face four more Jade Qi Realm experts. It would be better to take advantage of the present and defeat them one by one.

"The four jade auras will surely make the Crown Prince feel the pinch for a few days."

Just as Chen Lingxi finished thinking about it, the middle-aged man suddenly turned around.

Those gentle, jade-like eyes stared straight in the direction where Xi Mu was hiding!

The swirling of the Jade Star Cloud within his body suddenly accelerated.

The moon-like reflection deep within his pupils also brightened, the moonlight flowing and gathering in his pupils, finally condensing into two tangible gazes that fell directly on Xi Mu.

With the jade energy complete and the jade treasure body formed, its senses have become incredibly sharp.

Although Xi Mu concealed his figure with the mist, and the concealment technique of the sixth floor of the Qi Circulation Realm was quite exquisite, the prying gaze itself was already an extremely weak aura.

Others might not notice, but this powerful figure, who had refined all 206 bones in his body into jade, was like a spotless mirror. Any external energy that landed on the mirror would cause ripples.

He noticed!

But then the man suddenly tightened his hands behind his back, clenching his fists.

He took a step forward, and the protruding rock beneath his feet cracked inch by inch, the fissures spreading outwards from the sole of his boot in all directions, like a dense spider web. He took a deep breath, and as his chest expanded, the jade nebula within him suddenly accelerated its rotation, producing a loud jade chime, as if someone had struck a jade bell within his body!

The buzzing sound emanated from deep within the bones, passed through the skin and flesh, and echoed far and wide in the mountains and forests.

"I am Zhong Wuzhu, the Crown Prince's martial arts instructor!" he shouted, his voice booming like a bell, exploding in the silent night. The birds roosting in the forest fluttered into the air, their cries echoing through the valley: "What kind of demon is spying on us?!"

A cold glint flashed in Chen Lingxi's eyes.

Now that we've been discovered, there's no need to hide anymore.

He straightened his robes and slowly stood up from behind the low pine trees.

The moonlight fell on him, illuminating his dark robes with distinct light and shadow, the hem of which fluttered in the night wind.

Beneath the ghost mask, the eyes remained calm and still, meeting Zhong Wuzhu's gaze from afar.

His right hand, which was resting on the hilt of his sword, slowly tightened its grip.

Even before the Demon Slayer Sword was drawn, its chilling killing intent swept over the mountain-searching team like an invisible torrent of cold air, causing even the mountain winds to falter in its wake.

Not far away, Xi Mu slowly emerged from the mist.

His moon-white robe fluttered slightly in the night breeze, and his spiritual energy surged and boiled around him, unleashing his cultivation at the sixth level of Qi Circulation without reservation. A vortex of Qi flowed and swirled!

The dozen or so silver-bone warriors were pressed down by the vortex, and they felt their blood and qi suddenly stagnate, as if an invisible mountain had fallen from the sky and pressed down on their shoulders.

Someone groaned and involuntarily took half a step back, only managing to regain their balance after their back hit the tree trunk behind them.

But Zhong Wuzhu didn't utter a single unnecessary word.

He moved almost the instant Chen Lingxi stood up!

This martial arts master of the Crown Prince clearly understood the principle of striking first. Facing two mysterious figures who could have been sent by the Crown Prince, any unnecessary words would only give his opponents a chance to breathe.

His attack was as powerful as thunder!

Zhong Wuzhu suddenly thrust his hands forward from behind his back, his ten fingers spread wide, and the jade nebula in his palms exploded with a roar.

A pure white light burst forth from his palm, like a miniature moon held in his hand.

The light spread from his arms to his shoulders, and then from his shoulders to his whole body, instantly condensing into a layer of jade armor several inches thick on his body!

[Zhen Yu Bao Ti]

Chen Lingxi's pupils contracted slightly. He had seen the Jade Gang Nebula within Zhong Wuzhu's body through the Qi Observation Technique and had also speculated on the power of the Zhenyu Treasure Body, but when this powerful expert with perfected Jade Qi activated it with all his might, the sense of oppression still far exceeded his expectations.

The aura emanating from that jade armor alone made the air within several feet around it thicken, as if the entire world itself had been absorbed by his jade energy and solidified into an invisible piece of amber.

Zhong Wuzhu took a step forward.

With that one step, the rocks beneath his feet shattered into pieces.

Then he charged at Chen Lingxi like a cannonball, his body bursting through the air in a visible white ring that spread outwards, scattering the withered grass, pebbles, and fallen leaves on the slope.

How terrifying is a body with perfect jade-like energy?

The force of this impact was immense; even a small hill would be shattered into pieces.

However, at the same moment Zhong Wuzhu made his move, his left hand, which was behind his back, quietly did something else.

The hand was slightly closed, hidden in the sleeve, with a small jade pendant held between the fingertips.

The jade pendant was no bigger than a thumb, pure white, with a very simple and unadorned rune engraved on its surface.

At the same instant he activated the Jade Body, he gently closed his thumb and forefinger, and a very subtle stream of qi and blood seeped out from his fingertips, silently vibrating on the jade pendant.

The jade pendant shattered upon impact, turning into a fine dust of jade powder that fell silently from between his fingers. As the jade powder landed, a faint, almost imperceptible glimmer of light rose silently from the broken jade pendant.

The light was as thin as a hair, and its color was pale gold. It was almost imperceptible in the night unless you looked closely.

It rose into the air and then suddenly accelerated, flying towards the horizon and disappearing into the depths of the clouds in the blink of an eye.

P.S.: I didn't get 100 monthly votes yesterday, so I was thinking of just updating three chapters. But then I thought, there are still readers who voted.

So I'll add an extra chapter this time, I'll post it later.

Next time, as promised, there will be an extra chapter only if the monthly votes reach 100.