Chapter 202: The Sound of the Pipa Lingering in His Ears
There was a clap of thunder that struck White Jade City Pavilion.There was a clap of thunder that struck White Jade City Pavilion.
This shocked quite a few cultivators. Lu Changkong and the rest rushed from outside the island. They did not bother finding a boat but instead simply and crudely traveled on the waves to reach the lake island.
They reached the pavilion and only relaxed when they saw Lu Fan sitting in the wheelchair, lounging near the railing and listening to the snow fall as he sipped on green plum wine.
They had really been worried that Lu Fan had been hit by thunder, and something had happened to him.
“It’s good that he’s fine.”
Lu Changkong heaved a sigh of relief.
The might of Heaven and Earth posed an indescribable pressure and terror upon ordinary people.
Lu Changkong knew the Lu Fan was powerful, but for a mortal to go up against the might of Heaven and Earth… No matter how he looked at it, it did not seem enough.
“I’m fine. There’s no need to worry.”
Lu Fan’s calm voice suddenly lingered around everyone’s ears.
In White Jade City Pavilion…
Lu Fan’s consciousness stirred. Another reward floated up in his mind—the movement technique, Thunder Movement Technique.
[“Thunder Movement Technique, a Heaven Level Mid Grade movement technique that makes you swift as thunder and allows you to move like the wind.”]
The system did not have an elaborate introduction for this skill, but movement techniques were, as their names suggested, an advanced version of the Lightness Skill.
Lu Fan operated the Thunder Movement Technique, and he felt the Spirit Qi in his body deplete by ten wisps in an instant.
His eyes immediately lit up with a brilliant, resplendent glow.
There was the indistinct sound of a thunderous roar exploding in the background.
The azure blue thunder crackled in the sky.
And Lu Fan had already disappeared from White Jade City Pavilion. When he reappeared, he carried with him a blue thunder and appeared below the pavilion.
That speed was almost ghostly, and he looked every bit like an immortal as he carried the thunder with him.
Everyone was shocked. Nie Changqing and Ning Zhao—the two cultivators who had completely refined the Internal Organs Realm—were even more shocked, gooseb.u.mps breaking out all over their body…
Because they did not even understood how Lu Fan had moved.
“Young Master’s powers… they’ve improved tremendously yet again!”
Ning Zhao took in a deep breath, her eyes gleaming brilliantly.
Even somebody as powerful as the Young Master was cultivating without stopping and working hard to increase his power, so how could she slack off?
Nie Changqing and the others had similar thoughts.
A bigger part of the crowd was more astonished by the thunder that had exploded when Lu Fan moved. Had Lu Fan used the might of Heaven and Earth?
“I’m all right.”
Lu Fan smiled as he looked at Lu Changkong, who had been beside himself with worry.
He leaned back in his wheelchair, his white s.h.i.+rt billowing in the wind. Because of the Thunder Calamity, the snowy clouds had been dispersed.
And now, the Thunder Calamity had disappeared, and the snowy clouds slowly started to gather again.
“Father, this thing is called Spirit Fluid, and it is formed by compressing Spirit Qi. Now, since it’s much purer than Spirit Qi, it increases the effects of cultivation.”
Lu Fan raised his hand.
In his palm, a Spirit Fluid appeared, which resembled a crystal teardrop.
With a gentle wave of his hand, Lu Fan sent the Spirit Fluid floating toward Lu Changkong.
As it floated over…
Lu Fan waved gently at the peach tree in the distance.
A petal drifted over.
It s.h.i.+ned like a crystal as if a drop of rain had dripped upon it.
A single peach blossom petal ferried the Spirit Fluid.
Lu Changkong stretched out a hand to receive the Spirit Fluid.
Just by touching it, he could feel the extremely pure Spirit Qi that was contained within the Spirit Fluid, and it was rus.h.i.+ng at him.
Lu Changkong entered the Internal Organs Realm. With the help of this Spirit Fluid, the amount of time spent refining the five organs would probably be significantly reduced.
Ning Zhao, Nie Changqing, and the rest looked on rather enviously.
Meanwhile, Lu Fan’s gaze drifted toward them.
“There’s not a lot of Spirit Fluid. Out of all of you, the one who will disperse elemental Spirit Qi first will be the one I’ll give a drop of Spirit Fluid to, so work hard,” Lu Fan said.
Ning Zhao ad Nie Changqing’s faces turned serious. They knew that Lu Fan was directing this at them.
Spirit Fluid… There was no doubt about it—it was definitely a good thing.
The product of compressing Spirit Qi would make cultivation much easier compared with just regular Spirit Qi.
Ni Yu had the black pot on her back. She looked at Lu Changkong, who had a peach blossom petal in his hand, and then at the drop of azure blue, crystal-clear Spirit Fluid that sat atop the peach blossom. She could not help but gulp.
It looked… quite all right.
Ni Yu recalled that she had a wager going on with Lu Fan.
She thought it over. The Young Master had promised to reward her with a special elixir recipe if she could make it to the third level, so why not exchange it for this Spirit Fluid instead?
It looked very much like top-quality wine. It looked absolutely delectable.
At the thought of this, Ni Yu was suddenly filled with motivation.
Lu Fan waved his hands, and everyone bowed and took their leave, and they returned to lake island once again, heading west toward Beiluo.
On the island…
Lu Fan waited for the people to leave before he spread his palms. There were ten Spirit Weed seeds in his palm.
Lu Fan was no stranger to Spirit Weed seeds. It had been chrysanthemum seeds the first time and then peach blossoms the second time…
This was the third time, so what would it be this time?
His consciousness stirred and started searching.
The seeds in his hands were called Thirty-Two Bamboo Nodes, which made Lu Fan raise an eyebrow. Compared to the Heaven Facing Spiritual Chrysanthemums and the Biluo Peach, the Spirit Weeds seeds this time seemed a little more interesting.
There was a total of ten needle-shaped seeds that gave off a mild fragrance.
“Are they bamboo seeds?”
Bamboos had seeds too, and their seeds were the very essence of bamboo groves. After bamboo flowers bloomed to form these seeds, the bamboo forest would die.
Clutching onto the ten bamboo seeds, Lu Fan did not plant them in the same direction as the Heaven Facing Spiritual Chrysanthemums and Biluo Peaches. Instead, in his wheelchair, he moved along the lake island to reach the very back of it, where he scattered them.
The ten bamboo seeds surrounded the Master’s grave.
The unkempt scholar Kong Nanfei stared somewhat in shock at Lu Fan.
Meng Haoran, on the other hand, was a little curious.
Mo Tianyu kept silent, three copper coins in his grip.
After he finished sowing the seeds, Lu Fan leaned back in his wheelchair. His Soul Strength was at 608, so he could condense Liudao Spiritual Sense even if he had not yet reached the transformation at the 1000-point mark. 100 Soul Strength points could condense into 1 Dao of Spiritual Sense.
And 100 Physique Strength could condense into one drop of Magic Demon Blood.
Lu Fan had not yet researched the functions of this Magic Demon Blood.
His Spiritual Sense s.h.i.+fted, and the Spirit Qi seemed to form a swirl as it gathered by Lu Fan’s side.
He clutched at the air with his bare hands.
The lake water on the lake island transformed into water dragons and converged toward him.
A drop of Spirit Fluid dripped into the water dragons, which then soaked into them immediately.
And they sprayed all over where Lu Fan had sown his seeds. Very quickly…
In the cold winter…
Green shoot sprouted from under the ma.s.s of snow, growing bigger and bigger, larger and larger, yet…
They transformed into ten light-green-colored bamboos. The bamboos grew without end, and the node count soon reached 32, living up to the name Thirty-Two Bamboo Nodes.
Besides, after the bamboos matured, they changed from a light green to a deeper shade and then to a shade of green so dark it was almost inky… At the end of it, there were even some specks of purple.
In the bamboo forest of ten trees, bamboo leaves rustled as they fell off. The bamboos tinted with a mild purple were gus.h.i.+ng with dense Spirit Qi.
Meng Haoran was frozen in shock.
There were only words of surprise left in his heart.
Look at this bamboo! It stands so st.u.r.dy and straight!
******
w.a.n.gtian City.
Thick snow fell as if the sky had been weighed down by lead. A Great Zhou soldier was leaning against the city walls as he gripped tightly onto the weapon in his head.
The snow that was drifting down was obscuring everyone’s sight, making it difficult for them to see what the Western Liang Army outside w.a.n.gtian City was doing.
But compared to Tong’an City, the w.a.n.gtian City garrison was under much more pressure because they had to face the Lord of Western Liang, the Overlord Xiang Shaoyun.
He was one of the best cultivators of the era, someone who had once stirred up chaos in Tantai Xuan’s North County Army all by himself.
Although it was not the era of the cultivators then, the cultivators who could achieve something like this were few and far between.
The Overlord was undoubtedly able to become the strongest person in the world.
Because of this, the pressure placed upon w.a.n.gtian City was unimaginable.
Compared to the other major strongholds, w.a.n.gtian City was actually not very strong, but they had still managed to withstand the pressure back then.
But now, in the face of the Western Liang Army as well as the rising insurgence against the Great Zhou, w.a.n.gtian City was facing much more pressure than they had before.
In the gate tower.
The w.a.n.gtian City Master had aged quite a bit.
He looked at the five Black Dragon bodyguards in the distance who were dressed entirely in black, but he did not dare say anything.
The Thirteen Black Dragon Armored Men were infamous in the capital city these days.
And this time, they had actually sent five of these men in one go. This was a testament as to how highly Great Zhou thought of the Overlord.
The air was saturated with the cold as well as a destructive force.
The w.a.n.gtian City Master was wearing his armor, but even that could not stop him from s.h.i.+vering in the frigid cold.
A thrill surged through his body. All of a sudden, he entirely missed the days he had spent in the teahouse, sipping some good tea and listening to the sound of the pipa.
It was a shame he could no longer go back to those days. Hongchen Teahouse had long been dissolved. When Lv Dongxuan had left, he had taken the signboard along with him with no intention of leaving it to other people.
He huffed out a hot breath. The w.a.n.gtian City Master did not choose to retreat.
The Great Zhou had fallen into a tyranny; the young emperor was even feeding people to the Black Dragon. The w.a.n.gtian City Master had wanted to walk away from all of it.
He thought about it, but he gave up on it ultimately.
After all, he had been City Master for a few decades. w.a.n.gtian City was a Great Zhou frontier city, so he still had to do his duty.
As such, he did not choose to remove his armor, nor did he choose to retreat.
The battle had to be fought.
His gaze pierced through the curtain of falling snow to land on the Western Liang Army in the distance.
The w.a.n.gtian City Master suddenly laughed.
It was not much of a loss for him to be able to go into battle against a brave warrior like the Overlord. At the very least, there was still something interesting worth talking about at the very last moments of his life.
If he were lucky enough not to die, he could still brag about it over a cup of tea with those old pals of his.
He raised a hand, and a single snowflake fell onto his palm, melting into water.
The city walls started quaking.
The ground trembled violently. The air was saturated with cold and murderous intent.
The Western Liang cavalry had started their attack on the city.
They did not make any noise in the dark of the night, nor was there a shrill war cry that tore up the silence. It was like a soundless pressure that stepped into the thick blanket of snow, trudging forward glacially.
It was almost as if the air had been compressed into cubes that weighed over the hearts of every w.a.n.gtian City garrison soldier.
“Guard the city, all of you! Anyone caught lazing off will not be forgiven!” a Black Dragon bodyguard clad in light, black armor commanded icily.
Under his instruction…
The soldiers picked up their longbows, one by one.
Thump! Thump!
The sound of war drums beating loudly suddenly rang out, and it was as if they had blown the snow on the ground into white rice grains.
The sound of the drums had shattered the snow falling from the sky.
The war cry was loud like a clap of thunder; it rang out explosively!
When the light of the dawn had torn through the thick, heavy snow clouds, it cast a glow over the curtain of snow and spilled over the w.a.n.gtian City walls.
The garrison soldiers slowly released their grip on the arrows.
Millions of arrows shot down from the sky.
Pure white snow gathered beneath w.a.n.gtian City. The Western Liang Army raised their s.h.i.+elds and balanced it on their heads, moving forward slowly.
The innumerable arrows fell upon those s.h.i.+elds, causing sparks to fly everywhere.
However, the arrows had all been blocked.
The army of cultivators, the Xiang Family’s Army, was at the very forefront of it all. There was a wisp of Spirit Qi in their Qi Core. They faced the arrows falling from the sky head-on, brandis.h.i.+ng their long axes to block the attack of the arrows.
Their goal was the city gate—they wanted to smash through the gates.
On the gate tower…
The Black Dragon Guard switched to their tactical defense.
The Black Dragon Guard had prepared an intricate and specially crafted longbow, one that could penetrate almost anything.
Arrows enshrouded in Spirit Qi rained down.
They pierced the Western Liang Army’s s.h.i.+elds and through a soldier’s body, nailing him to the snowy ground.
He spat fresh blood on another soldier’s face, only to spark the Western Liang soldiers’ bloodl.u.s.t. They roared furiously and continued charged forward.
The Overlord had his giant ax and s.h.i.+eld strapped to his back. He stood in the chariot—his chariot—that was pulled along by three large horses with black manes.
In the brilliant light of the dawn, he looked up at the Black Dragon Guard on the roof of the w.a.n.gtian City gate tower.
The Overlord pursed his lips a little.
He tugged viciously at the reins in his hands.
The three black-maned horses whinnied and then charged forth at full speed.
The sound of their hooves. .h.i.tting the ground was jarring, and they stirred up the snow and earth as they galloped.
The Overlord stood in his chariot, charging forth towards the towering, lofty walls of w.a.n.gtian City like a bolt of black lightning.
The Western Liang Army cleared a path for him to let him move forth.
On the gate tower…
The eyes of one of the Black Dragon bodyguards were gleaming.
“Move!”
He pushed aside one of the garrison soldiers. A few of the regular garrison soldiers brought in an enormous bow. This bow was about as tall as two people, and the bowstring was drawn taut.
The Black Dragon bodyguard grinned.
He set the large bow on the parapet of the gate tower and lifted a leg up to step on the longbow.
He loaded an arrow, leaning back to draw the bow as far back as possible instantly. Spirit Qi was swirling in his Qi Core, not unlike the way a ferocious beast roared and stirred.
He aimed the arrow at the Overlord in the chariot.
This Black Dragon bodyguard’s blood was boiling.
His entire body was tense, and he let out a furious bellow, the arrow shooting forward instantly.
A loud boom resounded, and this one arrow shattered the snow that had covered the entire sky.
With a terrifying speed, it had overtaken all the other arrows. It could pierce more than bolts, and it was enveloped in Spirit Qi as it headed straight for the Overlord in his chariot.
In his chariot, the Overlord lifted his head.
His face beneath his helmet was arrogant and maniacal.
He looked at this arrow with little to no regard.
He did not use his ax to deflect it, and he did not even use his s.h.i.+eld to block it. All he did was stretch out a hand to grab the arrow.
Boom!
All of the snow on the ground was blown away.
The Overlord had single-handedly grabbed the arrow that charged toward him at high speed.
The Spirit Qi that had enveloped the arrow had formed an enormous power that shook up the snow.
However, this one arrow had been caught by the Overlord. The Overlord’s hand did not budge an inch, as if it were made of steel.
“The Thirteen Black Dragon Armored Men are nothing but trash,” the Overlord said flatly.
The arrowhead exploded in his grip.
The chariot had already reached the city.
The Overlord leaped up. A Spirit Qi swirl appeared above his body—there were a total of four such swirls.
He bellowed furiously, savage like a wild beast, and all of the snow that had collected on the city walls were shaken loose from the tremors.
Quite a number of garrison troops were frightened out of their wits. They fell back in shock on the gate tower, losing all their will to fight.
The Overlord wielded his giant ax and s.h.i.+eld, black Demonic Qi lingering around his body. His hair was blowing in the wind, and he looked every bit like a Magic Demon.
He violently swung his ax down onto the gates of w.a.n.gtian City.
The latch on the city gates snapped, and then there was a terrible whine as the latch was blown to pieces.
The Overlord stomped down heavily with one foot, and the city gates fell.
Underneath the city gates, the Overlord wielded his giant ax and turned back slowly, waving the weapon fiercely.
After a beat of silence, the Western Liang Army let out a terrifying howl.
The Western Liang Army rushed into w.a.n.gtian City.
A b.l.o.o.d.y battle soon broke out.
w.a.n.gtian City’s garrison never had much heart for this battle, to begin with, so they instantly beat a hasty retreat the moment the overwhelming Western Liang Army attacked.
On the gate tower…
The w.a.n.gtian City Master looked at the city gates that had been shattered in an instant, and he could not help but laugh bitterly.
He turned to look at the Black Dragon bodyguards, whose faces had paled as they rounded up the Black Dragon Guards to retreat without even fighting. He could not help but sneer.
He drew the sword at his waist, righted the helmet on his head, and swept off the snow that had acc.u.mulated on his armor.
He went down the gate tower, one step at a time.
The Great Zhou had fallen into tyranny.
But he was still the Master of w.a.n.gtian City.
Behind him, the garrison followed.
The w.a.n.gtian City Master looked at the burly figure standing among the people. He raised the sword in his hand and roared furiously.
“Kill them!”
“Protect w.a.n.gtian!”
The w.a.n.gtian City Master roared.
His blood and his Qi were surging. With his sword in hand, he charged toward the Overlord.
Even if a few of the Xiang’s Family Army cultivators had stabbed him on his way there…
This w.a.n.gtian City Master, drenched in blood, crawled up from the ground and locked his gaze at the Overlord.
He continued charging forward.
The Overlord waved his hand, and the Xiang Family’s Army that had been preparing to strike all dispersed.
The w.a.n.gtian City Master charged forth like this, warm blood spraying everywhere as he staggered and stumbled forth clumsily until he was right in front of the Overlord.
The w.a.n.gtian City Master whose entire body was riddled with wounds spat out blood.
He nudged the sword against the Overlord’s armor-covered chest, unable to pierce through the metal at all.
But the w.a.n.gtian City Master smiled.
Faintly, it was as if he were sitting in the teahouse with his legs crossed. He could hear the sound of the pipa lingering in his ears, and he was lightly waving his hands along to the rhythm. He was sipping some hot tea with an aroma so dense it lingered in the air, joking around with the old pals…
He had long lost his helmet. His hair was in a mess.
He was the w.a.n.gtian City Master, so before the city fell… He would not retreat.
The Overlord looked at the w.a.n.gtian City Master, somewhat conflicted.
He raised a hand and gently patted the City Master’s shoulders.
The latter kneeled on the ground, all his strength sapped from him in an instant, sending snow flying everywhere.
But the City Master’s eyes were already dull and lifeless. His life was slowly slipping away from him. His head was bowed, and blood was dribbling ceaselessly from his mouth, staining the white snow of w.a.n.gtian City.
One of the six major strongholds of Great Zhou’s capital city…
w.a.n.gtian City had fallen.
…