Chapter 134: Great Upheaval
Zhang Shaochu continued, "The internal situation in Yunwu Commandery is also in chaos. The Queen and the National Advisor advocate handing you over to appease the anger of the surrounding commanderies. However, the various commanders and generals in the military insist on fighting to the death with the surrounding commanderies and refuse to compromise."
"The various aristocratic families and sects in Yunwu Commandery are also panicking. Everyone thinks that you caused this great disaster, bringing imminent destruction to Yunwu Commandery. They are all too foolish. The surrounding commanderies have long wanted to annex Yunwu Commandery. Prince Huo Xing's death is merely an excuse. Sigh!"
"Elder Brother Nine, the situation is very unfavorable for you now. It's best if you stay in the West Courtyard and absolutely do not return."
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "That won't do. I was planning to return to the Royal Capital."
"No, you absolutely cannot return," Zhang Shaochu said. "If you go back to the Royal Capital now, you will become the target of everyone's attacks. All of them will point their fingers at you. They might even cut off your head and send it to the surrounding commanderies to quell the war."
Zhang Ruochen stood up, a resolute look in his eyes, and said, "I must return. Otherwise, how much pressure will Mother have to bear alone in the Royal Palace?"
Zhang Shaochu fell silent, clenching his fists tightly as if making a major decision. He said, "Elder Brother Nine, Fourth Brother will go back with you. Even if we have to fight the armies of the surrounding commanderies to the death on the battlefield, we brothers will stand side by side."
"Good! Let's go back together!" Zhang Ruochen said.
When Zhang Ruochen and Zhang Shaochu walked out of the dormitory, Xiao Hei was already waiting outside.
Xiao Hei sat on the back of the Two-Headed Blood Lion, glanced at Zhang Shaochu, and said, "Fatty, you're going back too?"
Seeing a cat even fatter than him calling him fatty, Zhang Shaochu was naturally displeased. He tried his best to widen his eyes and said, "Who are you calling fatty?"
"I, the Emperor, am calling you. What are you going to do about it?" On the back of the Two-Headed Blood Lion, Xiao Hei stood upright, rubbed his two paws together, and looked very fierce.
"Elder Brother Nine, how is your cat so rude?" Zhang Shaochu didn't back down either. He also put on a fierce look, took out his Life-Severing Scythe, held it in his hand, and prepared for a big fight with Xiao Hei.
Zhang Ruochen didn't want to waste time and said, "Both of you, stop messing around. Let's head back to the Royal Capital first."
Xiao Hei and Zhang Shaochu immediately separated, glared at each other, but didn't start fighting.
Zhang Ruochen swung himself onto the back of the Two-Headed Blood Lion and said, "It will take at least two days and two nights to travel from the West Courtyard to the Royal Capital of Yunwu Commandery. I'm going into the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal to cultivate. Xiao Hei, call me if something happens."
Zhang Shaochu led out a Second-Rank Lower Grade Beast Mount from the Beast Palace. As he walked out, he heard Zhang Ruochen's words and asked in surprise, "What Time-Space Crystal?"
Just then, Zhang Ruochen, who had been sitting on the back of the Two-Headed Blood Lion, vanished with a whoosh.
On the back of the Two-Headed Blood Lion, only a crystal with a chain remained.
"What's going on?"
Zhang Shaochu was startled and let out a loud cry.
"Making a fuss over nothing."
Xiao Hei gave Zhang Shaochu a contemptuous look, picked up the Time-Space Crystal, and hung it around his neck.
Zhang Shaochu, still shaken, looked around for Zhang Ruochen and asked, "Where did Elder Brother Nine go?"
Xiao Hei seemed impatient. He drove the Two-Headed Blood Lion and swaggered toward the academy gate, saying, "Why do you care so much? Just follow me, the Emperor, and nothing will go wrong."
Somewhat skeptical, Zhang Shaochu mounted his Second-Rank Lower Grade Beast, the Saber-Toothed Thunder Tiger, and chased after Xiao Hei.
Zhang Ruochen cultivated every moment he could. In the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal, he spent six days refining two drops of Half-Saint True Liquid, which slightly improved his cultivation.
Achieving the Great Extreme Position of the Mysterious Extreme Realm was no easy task. Even if he refined all twenty-seven drops of Half-Saint True Liquid, he probably wouldn't reach the Great Extreme Position of the Mysterious Extreme Realm.
Of course, if he refined all twenty-seven drops of Half-Saint True Liquid, his physique would definitely improve significantly, which would greatly help him in his attempt to reach the Supreme Extreme Realm of the Mysterious Extreme Realm.
"Boom! Boom!"
Zhang Ruochen began practicing his palm techniques, performing the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm over and over again. Through practicing the palm techniques, he allowed the medicinal power of the Half-Saint True Liquid to fully integrate into his body.
After an entire day and night of practicing palm techniques, Zhang Ruochen was covered in hot sweat. He had almost completely absorbed the medicinal power of the two drops of Half-Saint True Liquid.
"It should be about time to return to the Royal Capital." Feeling that enough time had passed, Zhang Ruochen stopped cultivating and walked out of the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal.
With a whoosh, a flash of white light, and Zhang Ruochen reappeared on the back of the Two-Headed Blood Lion.
Zhang Shaochu was riding the Saber-Toothed Thunder Tiger beside him. Seeing Zhang Ruochen suddenly appear, he was startled again. His body recoiled, and he almost rolled off the Saber-Toothed Thunder Tiger. He exclaimed in shock, "Elder Brother Nine, where have you been for the past two days?"
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "In seclusion, cultivating."
"Where did you go into seclusion?" Zhang Shaochu looked around, trying to find Zhang Ruochen's secluded cultivation spot, but in the end, he found nothing.
Seeing that Zhang Shaochu hadn't discovered the secret of the Time-Space Crystal, Zhang Ruochen decided not to tell him. For Zhang Shaochu, knowing too much might not be a good thing.
Pointing at the bulging belly of the Two-Headed Blood Lion, Zhang Ruochen said vaguely with a smile, "I was cultivating inside the Two-Headed Blood Lion's stomach, so of course you couldn't see me."
"Really?"
Zhang Shaochu's round face showed an excited expression. He said passionately, "I heard when I was a child that some extraordinary people would enter the belly of a beast to cultivate, absorbing the beast's blood essence for nourishment, thereby making rapid progress in their cultivation. Could it be that Elder Brother Nine, you also know this secret technique?"
He actually believed it!
Zhang Ruochen nodded and said, "I happened to find an ancient book in a cave dwelling and learned this secret technique from it."
"Can you teach me?" Zhang Shaochu looked at Zhang Ruochen with eager eyes, speaking with great desire.
"This... we'll talk about it later..." Zhang Ruochen immediately changed the subject, looking ahead, and asked, "What area are we in now? How far is it to the Royal Capital?"
Zhang Shaochu said, "We're now at Tianyue Mountain. Once we cross Tianyue Mountain, the Royal Capital is only two hundred li away."
Zhang Ruochen had heard of Tianyue Mountain. It was an important defensive barrier to the west of the Royal Capital. The entire mountain covered an area of three hundred li in radius. It was a harsh and treacherous terrain with rampant beasts, steep cliffs, and was easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Three hundred years ago, Yunwu Commandery built a city pass in Tianyue Mountain, called Tianyue Pass.
After three hundred years of management, the city walls of Tianyue Pass were built even stronger than those of the Royal Capital. Numerous formations were arranged, and one hundred and twenty thousand troops were stationed there. It served to repel beasts externally and protect the Royal Capital internally, holding significant strategic importance.
Although they were walking on steep mountain paths, both Zhang Ruochen's and Zhang Shaochu's mounts were Second-Rank Beasts, so their travel speed was still very fast.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen's ears twitched slightly. He looked toward a thicket not far away and said in a deep voice, "Who's there?"
"Swish!"
Zhang Ruochen drew his Flash Soul Sword and assumed a defensive posture.
From the thicket, a person covered in blood crawled out, staggered, and fell in front of the Two-Headed Blood Lion. "Save... save me..."
After saying these two words, the person fainted.
Zhang Shaochu was wary of the bloodied person and said cautiously, "Elder Brother Nine, be careful. It might be a trap."
Zhang Ruochen jumped off the Two-Headed Blood Lion, walked up to the bloodied person, and examined his injuries. A chill ran down his spine.
This person had at least thirty wounds on his body, and even one of his arms had been severed. The most serious injury was on his head. His skull had been shattered by a sharp weapon, and the broken bones of his skull were clearly visible. His entire head had almost been split in two.
Fortunately, his cultivation was strong, and his martial body surpassed that of ordinary people, allowing him to survive.
If it had been any other martial artist with such severe injuries, they would have certainly died long ago.
Zhang Ruochen brushed aside the messy hair on the person's face, revealing a somewhat familiar face.
Seeing this face, Zhang Ruochen's expression changed drastically. "How could it be him?"
Zhang Shaochu also leaned in, looking at the middle-aged man lying on the ground, and said, "I feel like he looks a bit like Liu Chengfeng?"
"That's because he is Liu Chengfeng's father, the head of the Martial Market Bank in Yunwu Commandery, Liu Chuanshen." Zhang Ruochen said solemnly.
"What?"
Zhang Shaochu was so frightened that he fell to the ground, exclaiming in shock, "Legend has it that Liu Chuanshen is a martial arts myth of the Heavenly Extreme Realm, a Grandmaster-level existence with the power to split mountains and cut rivers. He is considered one of the top martial arts powerhouses in Yunwu Commandery. Who could have injured him so severely?"
Zhang Ruochen also looked serious, feeling that this matter was no small thing. He carefully observed the wounds on Liu Chuanshen's body and analyzed, "If I'm not mistaken, Liu Chuanshen was ambushed by a group of Earth Extreme Realm powerhouses. Moreover, among that group of enemies, there must have been another powerful martial arts myth of the Heavenly Extreme Realm. His arm was severed by that Heavenly Extreme Realm martial arts myth."
Zhang Ruochen immediately took out a bottle of healing pills, poured out a handful, and fed ten pills to Liu Chuanshen in succession. However, after taking the healing pills, the effect seemed minimal.
Zhang Ruochen's healing pills were all Second-Rank Pills, which had a noticeable effect on Mysterious Extreme Realm martial artists, but for a martial arts myth of the Heavenly Extreme Realm, the effect was negligible.
The physique of a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist was too strong. Ordinary injuries could be healed by their own bloodline and true qi. However, once a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist suffered a severe injury, ordinary pills would be useless for them.
Zhang Shaochu said, "Liu Chuanshen is the head of the Martial Market Bank. Who would dare to ambush him? Aren't they afraid of offending the Martial Market Bank?"
"I'm afraid a great upheaval has already occurred in the Royal Capital." Zhang Ruochen had a premonition of doom.
"Rumble!"
Just then, from the mountain path ahead came the loud sound of iron hooves.
From a distance, one could feel a strong aura of slaughter. Flocks of birds in the forest flew away in groups, disappearing into the mountain hollows.
Zhang Ruochen immediately sent Liu Chuanshen into the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal. Then, he jumped back onto the back of the Two-Headed Blood Lion and gave Zhang Shaochu a look, telling him to stay calm.
Who would dare to kill even the head of the Martial Market Bank?