My cultivation method shines upon all heavens.

Lu Ming, who was the first to be affected, was deeply shaken, his face filled with solemnity.

The image of the mandarin duck and the mysterious purple true qi reminded him of the scene when he faced Yun Changfeng.

It was a feeling of powerlessness, like carrying a mountain on your back or facing the vastness of the world.

Liu Zhiyuan...has he completely broken through the barriers of the mortal realm?

Lu Ming's expression changed slightly, and he instinctively wanted to escape.

But soon, he remembered what Wang An had said before he died, and he forced himself to steady himself, his eyes narrowing slightly:

"No—that's not right!"

The aura of the profound purple energy was terrifying, rushing straight at him like a barrage of arrows.

A strong wind hit my face, and my blood and qi suddenly became sluggish and stagnant.

The azure energy beneath his feet had been weakened by the impact, leaving him as fragile as a flickering candle, and he was about to fall.

But he remained unfazed, his back straight as a pine tree.

Just as the Xuanzi Qi touched his brow, it suddenly stopped!

They then retreated with lightning speed, barely covering the area around the county government office.

"really."

Sweat dripped down Lu Ming's face, but he breathed a sigh of relief.

He believed that the person who understood Liu Zhiyuan best was Wang An, with whom he had been locked in a struggle for years.

Given their experience, they would never make a wrong judgment.

Since he said that Liu Zhiyuan would need another month to break through, then it wouldn't be too far off.

This test further confirmed this fact.

"Lu Ming, how dare you! How dare you slaughter the four great families of Yinhu County without authorization! Don't you know that the four great families are the pillars of Yinhu County, the beams that hold up the sea?"

Inside the county government office, Liu Zhiyuan's voice boomed out, like muffled thunder rumbling across the sky and echoing throughout the entire city.

Lu Ming sneered inwardly:

Now's the time to play the good guy?

If you truly wish to save the people of the four great families, you may speak up now.

He waited until he had wiped out the entire clan before speaking out; he was certainly shrewd in his calculations.

Not only did they gain something from the inside out, they could also promote him to the outside world and silence the gossips of the Da Zhao aristocratic family.

Powerful families are united and interdependent, fighting each other but never breaking apart. It's not that I, Liu Zhiyuan, broke the rules, but that this subordinate is lawless.

Thinking of this, his expression remained unchanged, and he bowed respectfully towards the county government office:

"Lord Liu, you may not know this, but when I killed the Taoist priest of Taiping Dao, I learned that he was colluding with people from the four major families."

"I intended to inform you first, but upon entering the city today, I discovered that the other party has begun to flee."

"I was worried that the evil Taoists would obtain important information such as the city's defenses, so I had no choice but to act first and report later... I hope you will understand, sir!"

His words were measured and watertight.

Anyway, Taipingdao is a brick; it can be moved wherever it's needed.

The county government office fell silent.

Liu Zhiyuan hadn't expected Lu Ming to be so cunning, spouting off without warning.

This made it impossible for him to find an opportunity to take advantage of the other party before he had fully developed his power.

After a long pause, the voices inside the county government office rang out again:

"Is that so? In that case... Come to the county office tomorrow and report the truth. If you conceal anything, you will be punished severely!"

Lu Ming remained calm and responded slowly:

"Lord Liu, the influence of the four great families is immense, and their lingering poison runs deep. I need a week to purge the remaining forces. If anything goes wrong after a week, I am willing to commit suicide before you, my lord."

His words were resolute, and his face was full of loyalty.

Just kidding, what's the difference between going now and going to your death? Of course, we should wait until we're fully prepared.

"good--"

It took a while for the other party to respond.

Liu Zhiyuan clearly knew his plan, but still did not refuse.

In his view, there is no difference between a week and a night.

The seven realms of martial arts ultimately lead to mortal existence, but he... has already sought the truth!

Above the government office, the divine bird's form slowly receded, and the dark purple energy receded like a tide, dissipating into the night sky.

Lu Ming slowly descended, looking at the group of Yin Tiger Guards who were prostrate on the ground, still shaken, and chuckled:

"Look at how pathetic you all are."

The group looked at each other, then slowly stood up.

Looking at Lu Ming, who seemed to have descended from heaven, and then at his own disheveled appearance, he could only awkwardly clasp his hands in a gesture of respect.

"Your Majesty's power is beyond my reach!"

Lu Ming glanced at them and said calmly:

"Alright, clean up the battlefield, eliminate the remaining enemies, and inventory the loot!"

The crowd was excited and responded enthusiastically.

……

In a dark passageway, Lu Ming slowly walked forward, holding a torch.

The firelight danced in the narrow passage, casting his shadow long and short, while a thin layer of moss covered the brick walls on either side.

A moment later, a light suddenly appeared ahead.

He walked quickly for a few steps and soon arrived at a stone chamber that was several feet square.

Inside the stone chamber, lamps of an unknown type were lit throughout, emitting a faint, sweet fragrance that mingled with the scents of old paper and medicinal herbs.

Dozens of boxes were piled up in front, their lids half-open, the gold and silver jewelry reflecting an alluring light under the lamp.

Gold ingots, silver coins, jade, coral, and jeweled jewelry... piled up layer upon layer like a small mountain.

Stone shelves have been carved into the surrounding rock walls, filled with books, medicines, elixirs, and antique treasures, a dazzling array that is hard to look away from.

"Heh, it's well hidden."

Lu Ming placed the torch aside and couldn't help but chuckle.

Although the Wang family's secret vault was hidden at the bottom of the lotus pond within the mansion, he quickly detected the unusual activity there thanks to his current keen sense of blood energy.

After finally killing an old gatekeeper, they successfully found the entrance.

He walked to the stone shelf on the left and gently ran his hands over the rows of porcelain bottles:

"Blood Circulation Pill, Tendon Strengthening Pill, Body Tempering Pill, Bone Forging Pill, Marrow Cleansing Pill, Blood Coagulation Pill..."

Lu Ming looked at the shelf full of pills, his eyes full of smiles.

Suddenly his eyes lit up, and he picked up the two bottles of pills to examine them closely:

"The Five Visceral Elixir and the Six Bowel Pill"

These two kinds of pills are auxiliary pills for the final stage of the seven realms of martial arts, the Suppressing Organs Realm.

It is said that a single pill is worth a thousand gold pieces on the black market, yet there is still no market for it.

Indeed, seizing land from the wealthy and distributing it to the rich was the fastest way to get rich.

As the head of the four powerful families, the Wang family has plundered almost all the people's wealth over hundreds of years through cunning and forceful means.

Without lingering, he continued forward and soon saw rows of jade boxes neatly arranged.

He opened the jade boxes one by one:

Dragon Flame Flower, Phoenix Blood Grass, Jade Yang Ginseng... the refreshing medicinal fragrance permeates the nose.

Each plant is hundreds of years old, and some are even over a thousand years old, with roots as intact as if they were just harvested.

At that moment, a jade box with strange patterns engraved on its surface came into view.

"This is?"

Out of curiosity, he took down the jade box and slowly opened it.

What appeared before me was a simple, ancient fragment of a tortoise shell.

It's only about the size of a palm, and its surface is covered with fine, natural textures.

Nine dark lines crisscross on the tortoise shell, forming ancient seal script and talismans, with stars flowing within them, appearing and disappearing like an inverted Milky Way.

"A pattern that appears only once every thousand years, resembling ancient seal script, growing around the armor... Could this be the legendary armor of a nine-thousand-year-old Xuan Turtle!"

Lu Ming exclaimed in surprise.

During his time on duty at the library, he read extensively and learned a great deal about these strange and unusual stories.

Legend has it that although demons have existed for a long time, due to various factors such as natural disasters, man-made calamities, racial restrictions, and mutual killing, the number of demons who can live for more than ten thousand years is still very small.

However, once they live for more than ten thousand years, the demons will undergo a radical transformation.

Lu Ming had no idea what kind of transformation it was.

But when he saw the tenth main pattern faintly emerging on the tortoise shell, his breathing quickened.

Even if the owner of this tortoise shell didn't live to be ten thousand years old, he was probably not far off.

"If I could use it in medicine, the effect would be..."

His eyes narrowed slightly, and his heart was filled with emotion.

He suppressed his excitement, closed the jade box, and walked to the stone shelf on the right.

The manuals were neatly arranged on top, most of them still as new as ever, while a few had yellowed and curled edges on their covers.

This is his target.

He scanned the shelves one by one:

"Raging Bull Fist", "Snake Technique", "Eight-Armed Palm", "Savage Elephant Strength"...

The sheer number of second-rate martial arts manuals was dazzling, and among them were many names he used to know.

Then, the three most prominent books placed in the middle caught his attention—

"Tiger Claw", "White Tiger Seven Kills", "The King of the West Sutra".

"Hmm... what about the Wang family's 'Tiger Splitting Palm'?"

Lu Ming casually picked up the three books, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

The Wang family is renowned for their superior spiritual manual, "Tiger Splitting Palm," which allowed them to dominate Yinhu County, but surprisingly, they are not among them.

With questions in his mind, he slowly opened the book in his hands.

"Tiger Claw, a low-grade Spirit Rank martial skill, is known for its unparalleled sharpness and is the martial skill that made the Wang family's Marrow Refining Realm martial artists famous..."

"The Seven Kills of the White Tiger is a high-grade Spirit Rank martial skill. When combined with the White Tiger Spirit Body, it allows one to dominate the Mortal Transformation Realm for a time. If one awakens the White Tiger Treasure Body, it can evolve into the Thousand Kills of the White Tiger... comparable to an Earth Rank martial skill!"

Lu Ming narrowed his eyes slightly, thus understanding the origin of Wang An's killing move.

He put the two books back in their original places and picked up the third book.

The book is yellowed and the pages are curled, clearly indicating its age.

Turning to the title page, two lines of crimson blood, written in hasty, illegible handwriting, were shocking:

"The pillar of heaven collapsed, the four emperors perished, Cangwu fell, and ten thousand years of dormancy came to naught. The descendants were unworthy, and the scriptures created by the mother empress were also lost."

"Descendants of the Wang family, never forget the shame of the human race. You should carry on the legacy of the four lords, vanquish demons and monsters, and restore the righteous path to Cangwu."

Lu Ming's eyes narrowed:

"Is this a message from the Wang family's ancestors? When did it mention something from?"

"Cangwu...isn't this world called Cangming?"

"Or perhaps, the Wang family's ancestors were not from this world?"

Countless questions flashed through my mind like a tangled mess.

He forcibly suppressed his chaotic thoughts and slowly opened the book.

On the pages of the book, images outlined in ink lines slowly unfold.

In the vast, continuous mountain range, a majestic peak pierces the clouds, like a pillar supporting the sky.

Amidst the mountains, a woman with a leopard's tail, tiger's teeth, disheveled hair, and a headdress looked up to the sky and roared, her voice echoing across the surrounding wilderness.

As the pages turned, the woman leaped like lightning and ran like the wind, her tiger claws gleaming with a chilling luster as she relentlessly hunted down all sorts of ferocious demons.

Each stroke exudes a primal and wild power, making the viewer feel as if they can hear the howling wind in the painting.

After a long while, Lu Ming slowly closed the book and let out a long sigh:

"Why--"

He finally understood why the book hadn't left a mark on his heart.

Although this so-called "west Wang Jing" appears extraordinary at first glance, most of its content clearly suffers from forced continuation and an anticlimactic ending.

Clearly, the author of this book did not put any effort or talent into it; he simply copied and pasted from memory.

Even the ancestors of the Wang family were too ashamed to call it the "Western King Scripture" anymore, and could only call it the "Tiger Splitting Palm".

With such inferior talent, he was still able to create a top-grade spiritual manual. Lu Ming dared not imagine what level of cultivation technique it originally was.

Ground writing?

Or is it the Heavenly Scroll?

He put the book back in the distance with a disappointed look on his face.

Ultimately, he didn't find what he was looking for.

He shook his head helplessly and turned to leave.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a yellowed page at the bottom of the stone shelf on the lower right, its corner slightly curled up, revealing its edge in the glow of the lamp oil.

He suddenly stopped in his tracks.