Chapter 22: Secrets of the Martial World

elled intimidatingly towards Lu Xiaotian."Enough talk, let's go!" As soon as the Kua Yuan finished speaking, the leader of the group, a humanoid serpent creature, scowled. He barked out a command, cu..."Have you heard This martial arts tournament is being held in our Pingwu County. Hundreds of masters and outstanding disciples from all the major sects in Liangzhou will be sending representatives to participate," a thin-faced middle-aged man whispered.

"I've heard about it already. What news is this to you Right now all the sects are heading towards Pingwu County. Even the leader of our Red Shark Gang has arrived, renting out an entire inn. Those who come later probably won't even have a place to sleep on the street," said a man with a bushy beard, laughing heartily.

At this time, in the Qian Family Restaurant in the county town, there were many weary and dusty heroes from the rivers and lakes, each holding swords and sabers. They discussed with each other in hushed tones, making quite a lively scene.

Pingwu County is about to hold a martial arts conference And it's going to include all the gangs in the entire Liangzhou region Lu Xia Tian was currently sitting in an inconspicuous corner of a tavern, sipping tea and munching on a plate of beef, silently listening to the chatter around him.

“Of course I’m not talking about that. A martial arts gathering of this magnitude hasn't happened in decades, and even the current number one master from Liangzhou, Tie Zhangmen, doesn't have this kind of influence. Do you know why” After being refuted, the lean middle-aged man decided to drop a bombshell.

"What's the reason"

"Iron Decree!"

"What, the Black Iron Order, how is that possible Didn't it disappear nearly a hundred years ago" The entire tavern was shocked and pale with astonishment.

A gaunt middle-aged man hummed, "Yesterday, Yu Tianshan, the leader of the Sihai Gang, was ambushed and killed by enemies. Martial artists who happened to be passing by saw a black iron token fall from Yu Tianshan's body. Besides the black iron token, who has the ability to gather all the gangs in Liangzhou within such a short time"

“That’s quite possible,” A buzz of discussion arose in the tavern, and for a moment, fear painted their faces.

It turned out to be some trivial matters of the Jianghu. Lu Xia Tian smiled and shook his head, preparing to pay the bill and leave. Aside from cultivation matters, he wasn't interested in these Jianghu disputes. However, the words of a white-bearded old man soon caused him to pause his hand.

It is rumored that the wielder of the Black Iron Decree was once guided by a celestial being. At first, various factions in Liangzhou refused to obey the decree, but they were met with a bloody baptism. Within days, the residences of the leaders and heads of each faction were either attacked by fireballs that melted gold into iron and could not be extinguished by water, or pierced by ice arrows that froze them solid. These ice arrows remained unmelted by fire and possessed an unparalleled chill.

Lu Xia Tian's pupils shrank. A fireball capable of melting gold and iron, wasn't that the Fireball Technique As for the Ice Arrow Technique, the black-robed elder had also used it once when trapped by the barrier. This person who held the Black Iron Order was most likely a cultivator. However, this was also plausible. Liangzhou had dozens of counties with hundreds of large and small sects, and there were tens of thousands of martial artists. There were many top masters among them, and there were several peerless warriors. It was impossible for one person to command so many unruly martial artists. Only the powerful strength of cultivators could make these martial artists submit.

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What puzzled him was why cultivators would go to such lengths to find these ordinary martial artists.

As Lu Xia Tian was astonished, a luxurious carriage escorted by twenty top-tier martial artists entered the northern gate of Pingwu County City. Not to mention that all four horses pulling the carriage were pure white and exceptionally divine. Just the sight of these twenty top-tier martial artists galloping on horseback would be a formidable force anywhere they appeared.

A carriage drove straight into a large courtyard, and no one dared to stop it. An old man with white hair was standing there respectfully with a plump shopkeeper-dressed person. If Lu Xia Tian were here, he would definitely recognize this plump shopkeeper as the shopkeeper of Miaozhi Hall.

Hmm...

The carriage came to a halt, and from it emerged a young man clad in gold robes, radiating an air of arrogance. Though he appeared to be only in his twenties, his contemptuous gaze seemed to disregard the numerous warriors present.

"I am Hu Yiping, the Master of Miaochizhuang. This is Ma Hongtao, the manager of our hall. We pay our respects to Your Excellency." The white-haired elder Hu Yiping and Manager Ma bowed simultaneously to the young man in golden robes.

“Well, it’s just that you have news about the Purple Spirit Grass” The young man in gold robes stood with his hands behind his back on the carriage, looking down at the two.

"That's right, but the Purple Spirit Grass that the Holy Envoy spoke of was bought by another young man." Ma shopkeeper said truthfully.

"What" The young man in gold robes was furious. Liangzhou was a remote place, with few spiritual creatures to begin with. He had finally gotten news of the Ziling Grass, only to be beaten to it by someone else.

“This humble one was unaware that Purple Spirit Grass was a medicinal herb required by the Holy Envoy. I deeply apologize for any offense caused to your esteemed presence. Please forgive me, Holy Envoy!”

Feeling the pressure emanating from the young man in gold, Ma Hongtao's legs trembled, and he almost couldn't help but kneel down. Hu Yiping, the headmaster beside him, had a higher cultivation level than him, but his face was also pale.

"Do you remember the person who bought the Zi Ling Cao Was it a man or a woman" The young man in gold robes asked in a low voice.

Ma Hongtao nodded repeatedly, "I remember."

"Have the master painter immediately sketch a portrait of this person and secretly investigate their whereabouts. If anything is discovered, do not act rashly and immediately notify this holy envoy. Get out!" The young man in gold pondered for a moment before saying.

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"Yes, yes!" Hu Yiping and Ma Hongtao were overjoyed as if they had been granted amnesty. They rushed out of the door.

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"Back to Qinglian Mountain Villa!" the young man in gold robes said after that, then burrowed back into the carriage.

At this moment, inside the carriage, lay a voluptuous woman in a red dress with a beautiful face. She twirled a strand of blue silk by her ear and said, "Didn't you say that Liangzhou has always been your family's territory How could there be other cultivators"

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The young man in the golden robe said gloomily, "I also heard about what happened before from the elders of my clan. Our family has left Liangzhou for a hundred years. Over such a long time, it is normal for some scattered cultivators to appear in Liangzhou. It's fine not to know about this, but since I know about it, I must get rid of this person."

"We don't know the depth of our opponent right now, are you so sure Should we notify the experts in our family to come" The woman said as she threw herself into the arms of the young man in golden robes.

The young man in the golden robe let out a sneer and said, "A remote place like Liangzhou, cultivators with high cultivation levels wouldn't come at all. If it weren't for the fierce competition in Wangyue Immortal City and my ancestor had offended a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the city, I wouldn't have fallen back to Liangzhou. Besides, the other party only wanted Purple Spirit Grass, such a low-level spiritual herb. Even a Qi Refining third-layer cultivator might not be my opponent, let alone we are two people, what is there to fear My father is preparing to break through to the fourth layer of Qi Refinement, he doesn't have time now. Besides, if I can't even handle this small matter, how can I inherit the family business in the future"

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"Well, let's first investigate that person, but we have to find them first."

The young man in gold nodded, "As long as he's still in Liangzhou City, he won't escape our eyes and ears. There are hundreds of factions big and small in Liangzhou, and countless martial artists. I believe we'll soon get news of him. We'll act accordingly then."

It's possible that there could be other cultivators in Pingwu County. Having once been at odds with the robed elder, Lu Xia Tian instinctively held a certain amount of caution towards others. But the robed elder remained silent about him, and he knew nothing about the state of the cultivation world. After much deliberation, Lu Xia Tian believed that even if there was some risk involved, it was worth trying to connect and learn more about the cultivation world. Otherwise, relying solely on his own cultivation, he might never reach beyond the fourth or fifth level of Qi Refining in his entire life. At this point, cultivation had opened a door for him, and he was unwilling to easily stop at this threshold.

It seems like I have to attend this martial arts conference.

Lu Xia Tian muttered to himself, took out some silver and placed it on the table, then left. Soon after he left, two middle-aged men wearing wide-brimmed hats exchanged a look of surprise. One hurried away, while the other lingered far behind in the bustling crowd of the county town.

As martial artists from all over the region gathered in Pingwu County, the number of prominent figures in the Jianghu increased. The streets were bustling with activity, throngs of people flowing back and forth. Lu Xiaoteng didn't notice it yet, as there were simply too many people on the street.

But after he left the city gate, the man in the hat also came out, quickly arousing his suspicion.

“Could it be someone from Miaozhi Hall again” Lu Xia Tian frowned and quickened his pace toward a deserted area.

Driving...

Tens of top-notch martial artists galloped down the street, followed closely by a carriage pulled by four white horses. The martial artists on the street originally wanted to shout a few words, but seeing such a uniformly powerful group of first-rate warriors, they immediately shut their mouths. It's dangerous to speak recklessly; they couldn't afford to provoke such a formidable force.

Out of the city gate, the young man in gold and the girl in red left the carriage and chased after the mark the middle-aged man in the hat had left into the wilderness. But after a while, when they entered the forest, they saw the middle-aged man in the hat staring blankly at the distance.

The young man in the golden robe asked coldly, "Where is the person"

"You think you are...ouch!" The middle-aged man in the straw hat just wanted to retort to the young man before him, after all, he didn't know the other party. But before he could finish his sentence, a sharp pain came from his abdomen, and his whole body curled up like a shrimp, being kicked five or six feet away and landing on the ground with a wail.

"Before my patience wears thin, you better tell me what I want to hear." The young man in the golden robes said with a cold face.

“I, I followed that young man all the way out of the city gate and into the forest. Then he just vanished without a trace. Where did he go I don't know!” Looking at the cold eyes of the young man in golden robes, the hooded man shivered, his face turning dark blue as he stammered.

"Useless!" The young man in gold robes waved his right hand, a crystalline ice spike piercing the hooded man's chest, instantly freezing him into an ice sculpture. The hooded man's face, contorted in terror and pain, was also frozen within the sculpture.Any discerning person could see that Lu Xia Tian's controlled Black Panther puppet, even if it fell here, would only be a loss of a puppet and a part of its previous divine consciousness. The several...