Chapter 21: Snatching Food From The Tiger’s Mouth
Lu Yun hadn’t expected that the Zhou Family secret passage was actually over ten li long. How great a fear must they have harbored to drive them to dig such a secret passage at any cost.
Unfortunately, even with the secret passage, they couldn’t withstand the traitor within…
Suppressing the trace of emotion rising in his heart, Lu Yun carefully peered out from the secret passage entrance.
At this moment, outside it was already bright daylight, the boundless lake water reflecting dazzling light that made Lu Yun’s eyes blur.
The secret passage exit was actually at Taihu Lake shore! Lu Yun focused his gaze and saw that this was an extremely hidden reed cluster at the lakeshore, with clear sounds of fighting and angry shouts coming from outside the reed cluster!
The two hurriedly crouched down in the reed cluster, peering forward through the dense reed stalks, only to see a group of warriors dressed in Bai Liu Village attire fiercely battling those Xiahou Clan experts! Further ahead, a fast boat had its sails unfurled, preparing to depart from the lakeshore!
Those warriors were clearly the guards of that Qian Dynasty prince Xiao Cheng. Though their martial arts were inferior to their opponents, they fought to the death to hold back Xiahou Bupo and the others, buying time for that boat to depart!
Xiahou Bubai was entangled by three Earth Rank Grandmasters. Seeing that the boat had already left the shore, he was instantly furious beyond measure. His hands flashed with hand seals, as if a divine dragon soared into the sky and a sacred elephant roared; his palms struck out with the Dragon Elephant Great Hand Seal’s eighth form—the Sun Seal!
The great sun blazed, and the three Earth Rank Grandmasters were immediately sent flying horizontally, crashing onto the soft lakeshore and splattering countless mud spots!
Xiahou Bubai ignored whether the three lived or died, directly flying horizontally over. Seeing that the boat had already sailed over twenty zhang from the lakeshore, he scanned around, his gaze landing on a stone post at the shore used for mooring boats.
Xiahou Bubai sank his waist, hugged the stone post with both hands, circulated the Dragon Elephant Subduing Demon Divine Skill, and with a low roar, actually uprooted the stone post that was buried four or five chi deep in the soil!
Then he let out an explosive shout, using all his strength to hurl the stone post toward the lake surface!
The stone post, weighing four or five hundred jin, flew out over twenty zhang like a cannonball in the blink of an eye! Whistling fiercely, it smashed into that fast boat!
With a boom, splintered wood flew, the boat’s hull directly smashed open with a large hole. The stone post’s momentum unabated, it pierced through the boat bottom; lake water surged in, and sinking was only a matter of moments!
At the same time, Xiahou Bubai leaped into the air, leaving the shore by seven or eight zhang. Just as he was about to land in the lake, his left foot’s toe touched the water surface, splashing fierce water flowers, and his body leaped up again, advancing another seven or eight zhang! When his body was about to descend again, Xiahou Bubai’s right foot touched the water surface once more, accompanied by fierce water flowers, his body leaping out another seven or eight zhang, about to land on that fast-sinking boat!
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“Lingbo Weibu!” In the reed cluster, Lu Yun couldn’t help but exclaim lowly.
“What kind of Lingbo Weibu is that? It’s so ugly…” The veiled woman, however, looked down on Xiahou Bubai somewhat.
Lu Yun ignored her, feeling his entire body’s blood boiling!
Xiahou Bubai truly lived up to his reputation! Good! Very good! Excellent! Only then was it not in vain for him to cultivate bitterly day and night, enduring the pain of ten thousand ants gnawing bones! One day, he would far exceed him, turning him into Xiahou Failure!
At this moment, a sudden change occurred on the lake surface. Just as Xiahou Bubai was about to land on the boat, a man in ordinary warrior attire on the boat actually tried to mantis trying to stop a chariot, lifting his leg to kick at him!
“Hmph!” Xiahou Bubai snorted contemptuously, about to flick his finger to kill this overreaching ant, but suddenly a warning sign arose in his heart, his expression drastically changing!
He actually hugged his arms, hands forming a hand seal, immediately using his most powerful Sun Seal to meet that seemingly ordinary kick…
To those on the shore, not only would that ant be blasted to powder, but even the damaged boat behind him would shatter under the Sun Seal’s impact!
However, a jaw-dropping scene appeared: at the point of fist and foot colliding, accompanied by a thunderous rumbling sound like a storm, over ten zhang of water splashed up! Xiahou Bubai was actually sent flying back several zhang, splashing into the water with a plop, creating a small water flower about a zhang high!
And that ant on the boat actually still stood there, utterly unharmed…
“Heavenly Rank Grandmaster!” The Xiahou Clan members on the shore cried out in shock!
“How is there another one…” Lu Yun was also dumbfounded. On the Investigative Bureau Heavenly Rank List, there were only thirteen Grandmasters in total, yet another one appeared here! “The Heavenly Rank List doesn’t seem to have this one…”
“Ignorant and narrow-minded…” Though the veiled woman was also shocked, she didn’t miss the chance to mock him: “That Investigative Bureau’s so-called Heavenly Rank List doesn’t rank those over fifty, doesn’t rank from cold clans, doesn’t rank women, and certainly doesn’t rank unorthodox paths. You really think that in the vast Huaxia with billions of beings, there are only those dozen Heavenly Rank?”
Lu Yun smiled and said nothing. He had said it on purpose, just to hear what she would say. Sure enough, from her response, he could at least judge that she had no fondness for the Imperial Court, and was most likely one of the unorthodox path or cold clan women she mentioned herself.
At this time, a water column shot up from the lake surface, and Xiahou Bubai, stepping on water flowers, reappeared in everyone’s sight!
Xiahou Bubai stared deadly at that ordinary-looking middle-aged man, enunciating each word: “Huan Daoji, you actually didn’t die!”
“Huan Daoji?!” The Xiahou Clan members on the shore gasped in cold air upon hearing this. “It’s actually Southern Dynasties’ pillar Huan Daoji!”
Back then, before the Founding Emperor unified the North and marched south, the only one he worried about was Southern Dynasties’ Grand Marshal Huan Daoji. This man was a heaven-sent prodigy, ascending to Heavenly Rank before thirty. But what made him famous under heaven was not his martial arts, but his command! Huan Daoji wielded troops like a god, loved soldiers like his own children, deeply adored by the official soldiers. Commanding for ten years, he repelled countless Northern Dynasty offensives for the decayed Southern Dynasties!
Thus, Huan Daoji was revered by Southern Dynasties people as Jiangnan’s pillar, proclaimed ‘As long as Daoji lives, the realm remains intact!’ The Founding Emperor ultimately used a counter-espionage ploy, spreading rumors in the Qian Dynasty that Huan Daoji intended to declare himself emperor. The foolish Southern Dynasties emperor fell for it, growing deeply suspicious, finally issuing an edict to strip Huan Daoji of military power and summon him to the capital for trial. Only then was the greatest obstacle cleared for the southern unification.
After destroying the Southern Dynasties, the Founding Emperor sent people to search for his whereabouts, but he was never found. It was said he was secretly killed by the Qian last emperor in prison. Who would have thought he reappeared after twenty years!
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His name exposed, Huan Daoji no longer concealed his momentum. With a grave expression, he said to the people behind him: “This old man will hold him off. You all hurry and cover His Highness to escape.” The boat was about to sink; escape or not, it had to be done.
Seven subordinates protected a pale-faced middle-aged man, jumping off the boat from the other side and swimming toward the shore. The vast Taihu Lake spanned a thousand li; without a boat, even Earth Rank Grandmasters couldn’t cross, let alone that man who knew almost no martial arts…
So they could only swim back.
Seeing this, Xiahou Bubai relaxed and charged at Huan Daoji over the waves. “This seat wants to see if the world-shaking War God Jue lives up to its name!”
Huan Daoji also laughed heartily: “Xiahou brat, when this old man became famous, you were still wetting your pants.” With that, his body rose treading the waves, ascending nine steps like climbing stairs.
“Taste this old man’s Horse Trampling a Thousand Armies!” In mid-air, Huan Daoji laughed loudly, then with the momentum of a thousand armies and ten thousand horses, stomped a heavy foot toward Xiahou Bubai!
Xiahou Bubai immediately felt like Mount Tai crushing down, not doubting that if struck by this foot, even he would become a meat patty! How could he be arrogant? His figure flickered with over a dozen phantoms trying to evade. But that Horse Trampling a Thousand Armies foot seemed to truly transform into a million warhorses charging, impossible to dodge?
Helpless, Xiahou Bubai clasped his ten fingers tightly, the Dragon Elephant Great Hand Seal’s Inner Binding Seal, meeting it head-on! Amid a thunderous loud noise, another water column nearly ten zhang high splashed up!
On Taihu Lake surface, the two Heavenly Rank Grandmasters battled endlessly, several-zhang-high water flowers erupting continuously, victory or defeat undecided for the moment…
At the same time, the group that returned to shore also faced interception by Xiahou Clan experts! Both sides had eight people, seemingly equal in number, but the strength disparity was enormous!
The Xiahou Clan side had five Earth Rank Grandmasters and three Black Rank experts. The Southern Dynasties remnants side had only two Earth Rank, five Black Rank, and the Third Prince Xiao Cheng who didn’t even count as Yellow Rank. This Highness not only couldn’t help but needed protection himself; the two Earth Rank Grandmasters dared not leave his side, only able to watch as the five Black Rank experts were slain one by one by the opponents!
That Third Prince Xiao Cheng, in his thirties with a pale face, knowing survival was hopeless today, stuffed a bundle from his bosom into the hand of the man on his left, tremblingly saying to the two Earth Rank Grandmasters: “You two hurry and go. This thing absolutely cannot fall into Northern Dynasty hands!”
How could the two Earth Rank Grandmasters abandon him to escape? But they saw their Highness draw a short sword across his neck and slit his own throat by Taihu Lake…
“Your Highness!” The two’s eyes nearly split, amid mournful cries like losing their own parents, they tried to break through!
“Where do you think you’re going?!” Five Xiahou Clan Grandmasters pounced from all sides!
“You go, I’ll cover the rear!” Of the two, a white-haired burly man shouted to his bundle-holding companion, then horizontally thrust his iron spear, blocking the path of the five Grandmasters!
“Overreaching!” Several Xiahou Clan Grandmasters sneered coldly, not taking the blocker seriously at all!
As long as one opened the Ren and Du Meridians, they could be considered an Earth Rank Grandmaster. But among Earth Rank, the gaps were vast; Xiahou Clan Earth Rank Grandmasters far exceeded these rat-like remnants who had hidden for twenty years, now aged and declining!
One Xiahou Clan Grandmaster brandished a pair of bronze hammers, clashing against the burly man’s iron spear! He didn’t use any techniques, just relying on youthful vigor to pummel the old master to death with random fists! Each hammer swing carried a thousand-jin force, leaving the burly man with exquisite moves he couldn’t deploy, only circulating all his true qi to block with his spear, his tiger mouth splitting, feet sinking nearly a chi into the mud!
The other four Xiahou Clan Grandmasters bypassed the two, pouncing toward the one fleeing at full speed!
That Grandmaster, taking advantage of his companion’s block, had already leaped over ten zhang away. He poured all his cultivation into fleeing, his speed so fast his figure blurred…
The four Xiahou Clan Grandmasters also exerted all their strength in pursuit, soon disappearing from the sight of several Xiahou Clan Black Rank experts.
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In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the five Grandmasters chased and fled over a dozen li, the terrain ahead becoming rugged, about to enter the mountain forest!
The Xiahou Clan Grandmasters grew anxious; if the opponent escaped into the mountain forest, pursuit would be trouble! And Earth Rank Grandmasters with opened Ren and Du Meridians had endless true qi; couldn’t count on them suddenly slowing!
“Dragon Elephant Unity!” The leading Xiahou Clan Grandmaster roared, the other three understanding, immediately lining up single file, palms pressing the back of the one ahead, pouring out their true qi desperately!
This was one of the Xiahou Clan’s most exquisite cultivation methods, concentrating four Earth Rank Grandmasters’ cultivation into one body, instantly erupting several times the power!
The leading Xiahou Clan Grandmaster immediately flushed red, veins bulging all over, growling from his mouth—this was his body meridians unable to withstand the true qi infusion!
He endured until he truly couldn’t, then let out a beast-like roar, hurling the long sword in his hand toward the enemy!
That long sword gathering the power of four Grandmasters emitted a shrill rumbling sound, flashing like lightning toward the enemy’s back! That Grandmaster had no time to dodge before being pierced through!
The sword’s power was so immense that after piercing that Grandmaster, it carried his body forward over two zhang! Only then did he crash to the ground, the bundle in his hand falling ahead—certainly dead!
The four Grandmasters rejoiced, circulated qi to adjust breath briefly, then flew toward the bundle on the ground! With their Earth Rank Grandmaster status in the Xiahou Clan, they were extremely esteemed, usually acting alone and disdaining joint attacks. The last time they went all out like this was the Baoen Temple battle ten years ago!
But for this item before them, they willingly set aside their expert pride temporarily, pouncing like rabid dogs. For the Clan Leader had declared: whoever obtained this thing could be taught the Dragon Elephant Subduing Demon Divine Skill, cultivable only by direct lineage disciples!
That was the divine skill to help them ascend to Heavenly Rank!
The four Grandmasters were immersed in fantasies of meritorious reward, ascending to Heavenly Rank, reaching life’s peak, when two figures flashed out from the side, snatching the bundle from the ground before them and running…
