Chapter 460: God of Law: Zhao Duan, we meet again
Chapter 460: God of Law: Zhao Duan, we meet again (6k)
wow——
The huge dragon ship cut through the waves. The elite sailors standing guard on all four sides of the deck looked straight ahead and did not dare to look at the figure of the Queen of Yu State at the bow.
Xu Zhenguan's beautiful eyes swept across the secret report. There were not many words in the letter, and the key points were only a few sentences.
They are "Zhao Duan is on the verge of death", "Governor Ning's response", and "Martial Arts Hall is secretly dispatched".
"Your Majesty? Is there any movement ahead?" Behind him, Mo Chou, who was wearing a female official's robe, came over. She glanced at the empress's expression and asked tentatively:
"Is it related to Lord Zhao?"
Xu Zhenguan gently crushed the paper with her slender hands, raised her red lips slowly, and said, "He's starting to scheme against me again."
What even Zhao Duan didn't know was that since he left the capital, the shadow guards along the way had been constantly reporting his latest "progress" to the empress.
Although the gold medal shadow guard Wen Liang did not know Zhao Duan’s specific plan, as an experienced advisor and an insider, it was easy for him to detect the strangeness of "near death" and write it implicitly in the letter.
Xu Zhenguan looked towards the south and said softly:
"When a dog is desperate, someone finally couldn't help but use insidious means to curse him to death. However, with the protection bestowed by the Buddha and the medicine master method of the shameless old woman Prajna, how could he be trapped by a mere curse?"
Mo Chou was stunned when she heard this:
"Curse to kill? Your Majesty, you are about to be enthroned, and Prince Jing and his gang have the guts to do this? Aren't they afraid of retaliation?"
Xu Zhenguan pursed his lips and did not answer. After a moment's thought, he said:
"I will leave the fleet and secretly go to Jianning Prefecture in advance. You and Sun Lianying will hide the news of my departure and continue to move forward as planned."
Mo Chou was startled, but she could hear the unquestionable tone in the empress's voice, so she had no choice but to nod:
"The slaves obey the order."
Xu Zhen nodded, yawned, and said:
"I am tired. I will go back to the cabin to rest. No one is allowed to disturb me."
After saying that, she returned to the cabin in full view of everyone and took a step forward.
Immediately, she appeared out of nowhere thousands of feet in the sky, hiding in the dark clouds. The empress lowered her eyes and looked down, and saw a fleet of ships with full sails on the canal.
She raised her hand and threw the Taia Sword forward, stepped on the sword with both feet, and used the "flying sword" method to transform into a stream of light, rushing towards the direction of Jianning Prefecture:
"Hope nothing happens."
……
……
The Shen family mansion.
Because "Master Shen" had been buried, the mourning hall was closed and the white cloth and white lanterns were removed.
The old lady sat in her room, half leaning in Red Girl's arms, rubbing her temples.
There was a maid squatting below, massaging the old woman's legs.
"Is Zhao Duan really terminally ill?" The old lady asked without much emotion after listening to the report from the head of the family.
The middle-aged family head was extremely excited and smiled:
"It has been confirmed. Our people went to the Canal Transport Office to check with their own eyes. Combined with the information we got, there is absolutely no mistake."
"Keep watching closely. This Zhao was reported dead last time, but he is alive and well." The old lady opened her eyes and asked:
"How does Ning Zechen react?"
The middle-aged patriarch said:
"He's almost going crazy, as if he wants to fight us to the death, with a desperate attitude. If the life of Zhao wasn't really in danger, Ning Zechen would know that he would have a hard time surviving, and he wouldn't be so desperate."
"Hmm..." The old lady nodded. Although she was still unsure in her heart, she was already 70% to 80% convinced.
It was not because of the news, but because of the trust in Prince Jing's background.
However, the old woman was not too happy about her revenge. Instead, she was filled with worries. Now she was leading the entire clan and betting on Prince Jing. If he failed, there would be no recovery.
On the contrary, if the bet is won, the Shen family's glory can be extended for at least another hundred years.
This was a gamble, the biggest gamble the old lady had ever taken in her life.
"Fengshan... Fengshan..." The old lady muttered these two words. Because of her understanding of the Fengshan ceremony, she was not worried that the empress would destroy the Shen family first after her arrival.
But what happens after Fengshan...
The old lady took a deep breath and said, "Gather the clansmen to come here to discuss this matter."
She couldn't intervene in those that were too far away. All she could do now was to withstand the last round of attacks from the mad Ning Zechen.
……
……
Zhao Duan’s serious illness was like a signal, making the entire Jianning Prefecture precarious.
Even the sky was gloomy for several days and there was no light.
Just when all attention was focused on the Grain Transport Office.
In a private room of an inn in the city, Zhao Duan, with his hands behind his back, looking out the window at the scenery, finally heard the information he needed.
"The location of the sorcerer gang secretly assembled by Prince Jing's Mansion has been obtained. It is undoubtedly the Magic God Sect. But the sorcerer who cast the curse on you is hiding in Prince Jing's Mansion." Eunuch Hai walked into the room and said to him from behind.
"We didn't alert the enemy, did we?" Zhao Duan asked.
The old eunuch in the dragon robe glanced at him:
"Although our family is old and not as good as it used to be, there is still no one in this city who wants to spy on our whereabouts."
Zhao Duan turned around and smiled: "Eunuch, you are still as brave as ever."
The position of the warlock was provided by the spy princess, Lu Yaner.
"What are you going to do next?" Eunuch Hai asked curiously.
Zhao Duan said: "Let's set off immediately to hunt down the Fashen Sect."
Eunuch Hai frowned and said, "So urgent? If we rashly mobilize people without any preparation, it will definitely arouse those people's suspicion."
Zhao Duan sighed:
"My illness can only mislead the enemy for a few days at most. Especially after I faked my death last time... If Prince Jing hadn't spent a lot of money, he might not believe that I was really seriously ill... There's no need to hide it. Speed is of the essence in war. Kill as many as you can."
"Okay." Eunuch Hai responded and turned to leave.
Zhao Duan turned around and tapped the railing gently.
With the number of experts around him, even if he lacks knowledge of the Law God Sect, it shouldn't be a big problem.
The tight time also prevented him from going on the scene to verify the details of the intelligence provided by Princess Lu.
……
……
Ten miles west of Prince Jing’s mansion.
In a valley, there is a private garden house.
Usually, few people come here, but about half a month ago, a group of sorcerers were brought here by spies from Prince Jing's Mansion.
Sufficient food and daily necessities were prepared in the mansion, and the magicians of the God of Law Sect were ordered to stay here and not go out.
The "Fa Shen Sect", as the earliest organization established by the defected priests of the Tianshi Mansion, has been around for nearly a hundred years.
The current leader, a warlock nicknamed "God of Law", is extremely mysterious and powerful. He is not the first "God of Law" to establish the organization, but his successor.
The Fashen Sect recruits sorcerers who worship various gods in the world, and the threshold for joining is extremely high.
Only those who have reached the Divine Chapter Realm can join, and because the lifespan of a sorcerer is longer than that of a warrior, there are quite a few of them accumulated over the years.
But they are all people of the world after all, with different situations and it is inevitable that there will be grudges. In the past, the sorcerers of the God of Law were scattered everywhere, but they lived in peace.
Now that they are forced to gather together, conflicts with each other are inevitable over time.
One day, after dinner, the sorcerers heard a quarrel in the courtyard and knew that something exciting was going to happen.
There were two people arguing in the field. One was a fat boy who looked young with delicate limbs, but the wrinkles between his brows clearly showed that his real age was much greater than his appearance.
He carried a strange "ghost flag" on his shoulder, and there were gusts of cold wind when he walked. When he cursed, the illusory faces on the ghost flag also screamed along with him.
Creepy.
The other one was a tall and muscular "warlock" with a big beard.
The man wore a loose sorcerer's robe, but it couldn't hide his muscular body and fierce eyes. If it weren't for his hair in a Taoist bun and the Taoist robe he wore, no one would have associated him with a "sorcerer".
Only those who are in the know understand that this is a rare "body refining sorcerer" in the sorcerer system.
"Xiongba, how many times have I told you that I wasn't the one who dug your mistress's grave? Why do you keep finding fault with me? Are you trying to make an enemy of me on purpose?" the little fat man yelled.
The body refiner Xiong Ba grinned and said:
"If you say it's not, then it's not? If you release all the evil spirits in that broken banner, line them up and show them to me, I will believe you!"
The little fat man was furious: "Are you looking for death?!"
With a "ding" sound, he hammered the end of the ghost flag's flagpole to the ground. Evil ghosts circled and flew, choosing people to devour.
Xiong Ba was fearless. He twisted his wrists and head, making a "crackling" sound as his joints moved. His muscles swelled, and coarse black hairs sprouted from his exposed body.
The fight is about to break out!
At this time, a wretched old Taoist priest with white hair ran out from the crowd and said with a smile: "Please give me some face, the leader will be here in a few days, don't cause any unpleasantness at this juncture."
The two ignored him.
The old Taoist's smile slowly froze, his eyes became a little crazy, he suddenly reached out and unbuttoned his Taoist robe: "You two don't give me face, I'm not happy."
What can you do if you're unhappy... The little fat man and Xiongba turned their heads to look at him disdainfully at the same time, only to see the old Taoist priest unbuttoning his Taoist robe, and holding the two pieces of clothes with both hands and spreading them out like a peddler selling plates.
I saw that the inside of the Taoist robe was covered with densely packed colorful talismans, at least hundreds of them.
"hiss……"
The crowd of onlookers gasped and dispersed from their hearts.
Xiongba and the little fat man also froze in place. No one wanted to fight with the talisman sorcerer with abundant firepower.
When the atmosphere became tense, a face suddenly protruded from a stone in the courtyard, and then a sorcerer emerged from the stone.
The Man in the Stone said, "The leader has arrived."
All the warlocks in the courtyard were startled and lined up in a circle in the courtyard to wait. The three warlocks in the confrontation also stopped.
After a moment, a strange circular magic circle slowly lit up on the ground in the courtyard, and then the light faded away.
A middle-aged man with long hair and a mysterious temperament appeared out of nowhere.
His appearance was not unusual. The most notable feature was that he had no beard and wore a gray, ordinary robe, which gave people a very "pure" feeling.
It is very different from the strange-looking sorcerers with different skills in the courtyard.
"See the leader!"
The Man in the Stone took the lead and everyone saluted.
The "God of Law" nodded gently: "Get up."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and the little fat man smiled and said, "Chief, I thought you would arrive a few days later."
Xiong Ba crossed his arms and said, "When will the leader arrive? Do I need to explain to you?"
The "God of Law" ignored their bickering and asked calmly, "What's the situation now?"
The old Taoist priest who hid the talisman inside his clothes like a CD said:
"The empress won't arrive for a few days. Prince Jing got a sorcerer from the White Clothes Sect from somewhere, and he seems to be dealing with Zhao Duan. As for the rest, I don't know anything about it as I have not left my house."
The "God of Law" nodded and was about to give him a warning, but suddenly frowned and looked towards the eastern forest with a sense of something. His face, which was always as cold as a stone in the snowfield, showed a bit of surprise and strangeness: "Someone is coming."
……
……
"Sir, it's the manor house in front."
In a forest, the Northern Swordsman Lang Shiba pointed at the mansion in the distance that could be seen through the gap in the woods:
"The location of the warlocks sent by the God of Law mentioned in the intelligence is right here."
Zhao Duan stared ahead, as if observing.
Behind him were eunuch Hai, Tang Jinzhong, Ji Yue, Song Jinxi and other masters of the palace.
Prajna Bodhisattva stayed in the grain transport office on the grounds that he only treated illnesses and would not participate in fighting, and Zhao Duan did not force him.
After all, the Fashen Sect is not an organization of evil sorcerers, and the identity of the Bodhisattva of Shenlong Temple is sensitive, so it is indeed not easy to take action against him.
He simply left her behind to protect Ning Zechen. As for Qian Kerou and other members of the Lihuatang Jinyi Guards, they were also left behind by Zhao Duan because of their weaker strength.
Only the most elite masters in the Martial Arts Hall were selected for this trip.
"Sir, do you want me to go in and take a look at the situation first?" Song Jinxi volunteered. As a master of assassination, he was also the best scout.
Zhao Duan thought about it and shook his head:
"No need for that. Warlocks have many methods. Our warriors' detection methods are not likely to work and are likely to alert the enemy. Let's just rush in together and kill as many as we can."
This decision may seem reckless, but it is actually a confidence in absolute strength.
With the team around him, they are not afraid of any enemy as long as they don't encounter a strong person in the "Heavenly Realm".
Even if there is an accident, at least you can protect yourself without any problem.
In that case, why should we alert the enemy?
"Get started!" Zhao Duan pulled up the scarf on his face, covering half of his face. He waved his hand, and the masters behind him also covered their faces. Silently and with a murderous aura, they quickly approached the mansion in front.
However, when everyone jumped into the mansion, the expected fight did not occur, and the entire mansion was silent.
There was no one in sight, it was completely empty.
"No one? Why no one? Is the information wrong?" Song Jinxi was surprised.
Tang Jinzhong closed his eyes, quietly feeling the fluctuations of the magic power in the air, then suddenly opened his eyes and said:
"They left not long ago. Just now, there were traces of magic being released!"
So alert? Did Prince Jing know that I was leaving the city? Did he notify these people to move first?
Zhao Duan frowned, but felt something was wrong.
At this time, the old eunuch in the python robe suddenly changed his expression: "Be careful!"
Zhao Duan was startled and heard a rustling sound. He looked up and saw a group of sorcerers walking out from the high ground in the mountains and forests centered on the mansion.
This group of warlocks all held staffs and weapons, looking prepared.
They actually "surrounded" the group of people.
"Protect the lord!" The eunuchs in the Wugong Hall formed a concentric circle formation and protected Zhao Duan firmly in the center.
However, this group of warlocks did not take action immediately, but looked towards a certain location.
Zhao Duan looked in the direction he was looking and saw a grey-robed sorcerer with long hair, a white face and no beard, standing on a hill. He had an ordinary appearance.
"Leader of the Law God Sect!" Eunuch Hai's unprecedentedly solemn voice echoed in his ears.
The Fashen Sect? The mysterious "leader"? The mysterious master whose strength was only at the "heavenly realm" according to rumors?
Zhao Duan subconsciously asked: "Duplicate?"
According to the records of the Imperial Court, the leader of the Fashen Sect often traveled outside in the form of a "clone".
Eunuch Hai didn't look at him, but stared at him intently and said, "Not like that."
It doesn't look like... Could it be that the real person has arrived? Yes, if Prince Jing wanted to sabotage the Fengshan ceremony, it is not difficult to understand why he invited this expert... But... Why didn't the princess' intelligence mention such important news?
Is it that Lu Yan'er doesn't know, or is it that... there is something wrong with Lu Yan'er?
Infernal Affairs? Was he ambushed in today's raid?
Zhao Duan's thoughts were in turmoil, but he had no time to think, and he only shouted one word:
"withdraw!"
However, the leader of the Law God Sect on the top of the mountain seemed to smile, stretched out his right hand condescendingly, and grabbed in the air.
Behind Zhao Duan, Tang Jinzhong, the worldly realm worshipper, suddenly disappeared, and the place where he originally stood was replaced by a huge tree that appeared out of thin air!
At the same time, a tree suddenly disappeared in the surrounding mountains and forests, and Tang Jinzhong, holding a long knife, stood in shock in the pit left by the tree!
"Change the constellation and move the stars?"
Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, remembering that the information he had read mentioned that the leader of the Law God Sect also worshipped "Heavenly Dao" and was suspected to have obtained certain magical abilities related to "space" from the god of Heaven.
At this moment, the "God of Law" did not attack, but just grabbed and exchanged the positions of the tree and Tang Jinzhong.
Next, the “God of Magic” did the same thing and grabbed the object several times through the air.
With pure white pupils and wearing wet red clothes, the severely socially anxious Ji Yue was replaced by a stone in a valley on one side.
Holding a scimitar, Lang Shiba, with a haggard face, was replaced by a bush.
In the blink of an eye.
Of the four “worldly” realm guards around Zhao Duan, only Eunuch Hai is left!
He saw clearly that circles of illusory golden light were emanating from the old eunuch's body, and no matter how many times the "God of Law" tried to grab him, he could not move him!
"Let's go! I will deal with him, you flee back to the city immediately! Don't stay!" Eunuch Hai used the "sound transmission" method to send his voice into Zhao Duan's sea of consciousness.
Zhao Duan's expression changed slightly and he wanted to speak.
I only heard Eunuch Hai say quickly:
"I know you have a trump card, but how long can your magic power last? I fought with this clone of the God of Magic last year. He is very strong, and his real body is probably not inferior to my peak at that time. If you stay, you will only cause trouble.
You don't have to consider us. The only one these people want to kill is you. If you stay, we will have to fight to the death to protect you. On the contrary, if you can run away, we can also evacuate in all directions.
No matter how crazy the people of the Law God Sect are, they won't risk their lives just to fight with us. As long as you leave, there will be no fighting... Don't be indecisive and insist on staying... eh?"
Eunuch Hai had just finished speaking when he saw Zhao Duan, like an arrow shot from a bow, running with all his strength, leaving a trail behind, and running in the direction where the encirclement was most relaxed.
Before the others could react, they had already escaped into the woods in the blink of an eye.
"..." Eunuch Hai was silent for a moment, then a smile of appreciation and satisfaction appeared on his face, and he shouted:
"Protect Zhao Shaobao!"
"Yes!"
A group of martial arts hall priests responded.
Tang Jinzhong jumped out of the tree pit and was about to rush down when he saw the burly and muscular body refiner Xiongba standing in front of him.
"The inheritance of the God of War, I really want to see it."
Black hairs sprouted from Xiongba's body, and he was showing a tendency to degenerate into a humanoid black bear.
Tang Jinzhong sneered and slashed with his sword: "Die!"
……
Ji Yue glanced around and was about to control the water flow and sneak away quietly when suddenly there was a "ding" sound in front of him, and a ghost flag surrounded by a eerie ghost aura pierced into the mountain.
A little fat boy came out with a smile, rubbing his fat hands, staring at Ji Yue with excited and greedy eyes:
"Okay, this is good. Girl, you are born to be a water ghost. I have been looking for a good water ghost for many years, and finally I have waited for you. Come into my banner quickly!"
Ji Yue's face turned cold.
……
"Hey, wait a minute, brave man. Give me some face and don't do anything, how about that?"
Lang Shiba held the scimitar in his hand, staring at the old Taoist priest who suddenly appeared in front of him. He had a wretched face and was unbuttoning his collar while talking.
I just felt a chill and chopped with a knife.
"Don't talk about martial ethics!"
The wretched old Taoist priest let out a strange cry, raised his hand and pointed. A yellow paper talisman flew out along his finger, burning in mid-air and condensing into a huge illusory dagger, which collided with the scimitar.
……
at the same time.
Sorcerers from the Fashen Sect all around the forest came out to try to stop Zhao Duan, but they were blocked time and time again by a group of palace masters led by Song Jinxi, creating an unobstructed escape route for Zhao Duan.
In the chaos of the fight, only Eunuch Hai remained motionless, his eyes fixed on the "God of Law".
The "God of Law" looked down at the old eunuch with cold eyes and said:
"You are old, and you are no match for me."
Hai Chunlin laughed loudly, leaped up, and held out a scarlet long sword from his sleeve:
"Whether you are old or not, your words do not count. Humph, a mere underhanded person in the underworld dares to call himself the 'God of Law'? Ridiculous, ridiculous."
……
……
run!
Run!
Run with all your strength!
In the mountains and forests.
Zhao Duan's Qi sea roared, and the Qi in his body surged like the tide, flowing through his limbs and bones.
The whole body was like an overclocked machine, squeezing the top-grade divine power to the extreme, and rushed towards the direction of Jianning Prefecture.
Because of the cover of a large group of guards, no sorcerer could catch up with him, and Zhao Duan quickly left the battlefield far behind.
However, he did not relax at all. Instead, his nerves became increasingly tense. While running, he hid all kinds of tricks in his sleeves.
Including the teleportation orb that Zhenbao had given him a long time ago, he also quietly held it in his hand but did not choose to crush it.
He clearly remembered that the teleportation orb teleported randomly. At the same time, he also remembered that the sorcerer who worshipped the god of death could curse and make the target's luck worse.
He was a little suspicious that the reason why he encountered the leader of the God of Law today was because of the "God of Death" curse, which made him unlucky.
"The Blue Lotus of the World Honored One can help me heal my body, but it should not be able to help me change the bad luck that has been 'blessed' by the God of Death... Why didn't I realize this before? Is it also the effect of bad luck? Well, it is also because I have too little experience in dealing with this group of evil sorcerers..."
"If my guess is correct, then if I crush the teleportation orb, the biggest possibility is that I will be teleported directly back to the encirclement of the God of Law Sect..."
Zhao Duan didn't know how long he had been running while his thoughts flashed.
Just as he rushed out of the forest and saw the gate of Jianning Prefecture.
Suddenly, he braked suddenly and stopped.
Staring fixedly at the front, a figure appeared silently.
The middle-aged sorcerer who called himself "the God of Magic" stood with his hands behind his back, looking at him quietly, with an indescribable meaning in his eyes.
The "God of Law" smiled slightly and said meaningfully:
"Zhao Duan, we meet again."
……
Help catch typos
(End of this chapter)