This immortal was clearly ordinary, yet he was unusually confident.

“What the Sword Saint says makes sense. These bird envoys used to be arrogant and domineering, but now they’re hiding like rats.”

Wu Dang sheathed his sword, sighed, and said, "I've heard that the war is approaching, and many temples are already empty. I'm worried they might appear on the battlefield."

Scenes from the past involuntarily surfaced before his eyes. Wu Dang knew that with his current strength, killing a few divine messengers would not be difficult, but what was most terrifying about these divine messengers was their ability to turn ordinary people into monsters.

Both the Rising Sun and Azure Moon kingdoms are fighting a full-scale war. If those monsters were on the battlefield, the consequences would be unimaginable. This is why he has been searching for the divine messenger.

He even hoped to use this to attract the attention of the divine messengers, so that he could keep them there.

"Alas, we know what the Sword Saint is worried about, but unfortunately, the war between the two countries is not something we martial artists can control!" All the martial artists shook their heads and sighed.

Just then, a martial artist slowly stepped forward, hesitated for a moment, and bowed to Wu Dang, saying, "I am Liu Qi. I have a plan, but I don't know if I should speak of it?"

Wu Dang waved his hand: "Speak freely."

Liu Qi said, "Sword Saint, the reason why my Rising Sun Kingdom has become like this is all because of the Grand Preceptor Sang Qiu. If we can kill this fiend..."

Everyone's eyes lit up upon hearing this:

"This plan is excellent. In fact, these divine envoys don't like each other in private, but they are suppressed by the Grand Preceptor. If he dies, we only need to provoke them a little, and these divine envoys will surely kill each other. Then we can sit back and reap the benefits."

"However, the Imperial Preceptor's residence is heavily guarded; I'm afraid it will be difficult to make a move!"

"We can..."

Wu Dang coughed lightly, interrupting the discussion, and narrowed his eyes, asking, "Did Sang Qiu bring any guards when she entered the palace?"

"Does the Sword Saint mean to ambush him on his way to the palace?"

"In that case, we can disguise ourselves as assassins and lure away the palace guards."

Liu Qi cupped his hands again and said, "I have a younger brother who works at the 'Blazing Sun Gate,' which is the only way to enter the palace. If we work together from the inside, we can buy Sword Saint half a quarter of an hour. However, since Sang Qiu can suppress these divine envoys, he must be extremely powerful, Sword Saint..."

Wu Dang said without any hesitation, "It is the duty of us martial artists to rid the people of evil. Even if I am no match for him, I will fight with all my might! I have already continued the path of the Innate Realm, and you will all step into this realm sooner or later. What does it matter if I die?"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately bowed and said, "Sword Saint, you are truly virtuous!"

After discussing some details, everyone dispersed to make their own preparations.

Liu Qi left the group and wandered around the city, turning through several alleys. After confirming that no one was following him, he headed towards a mansion, which turned out to be Yang Minghan's residence.

“My lord, I have succeeded in my mission. The Sword Saint has agreed to assassinate Sang Qiu.” Liu Qi paused for a moment, then said, “Could this matter be discussed further? The Sword Saint is a martial arts prodigy who appears only once in a century. If we lose our lives because of this, we will become sinners for all eternity!”

Yang Minghan said with some surprise, "I remember you, Ah Qi, have some reputation in the martial arts world. You used to rarely submit to others. It seems that this Sword Saint is no ordinary person."

Liu Qi said, "The Sword Saint's martial arts are indeed extraordinary, but what I admire most is his magnanimity. No wonder he was able to achieve the Innate Realm."

Yang Minghan sighed, "If it weren't for the urgency of the situation, the Emperor and I wouldn't have resorted to such a desperate measure. That Sang Qiu actually intends to deify our soldiers in order to influence the course of the war. The Empress Dowager has already set off for Sunset Plains, which is the only way the Emperor can mobilize the palace guards. Now is a golden opportunity!"

Liu Qi's expression changed in shock: "Just as the Sword Saint predicted, Sang Qiu really intends to do such a heinous thing, turning our soldiers into something neither human nor ghost. What's the point of winning if we do that?"

“Therefore, this person must be eliminated. If the Empress Dowager asks about it later, I, Yang, will bear all the consequences!” Yang Minghan unconsciously clenched his fist.

Wu Dang stood in a corner outside the house, listened quietly to the conversation between the two, smiled faintly, and disappeared.

……

Five miles west of the city lies a dense forest, which was originally a royal hunting ground. It was later abandoned for some unknown reason, but wild beasts occasionally roam there, so few people usually go in.

But a few days ago, a thatched hut was suddenly built in the dense forest. The hut was very simple and could only keep out the rain. If the wind was strong, it might collapse, let alone defend against snakes, insects and wild beasts.

It was pitch black at this time, and only an oil lamp was lit in the thatched hut. A man sat on the ground, holding a sword in his hands, and remained motionless.

Not far away, a wolf stared silently at the figure. As if sensing that he was not easy to deal with, it was about to howl to call its companions, but it was horrified to find that its throat seemed to be squeezed by an invisible hand, and it could not make a sound.

The wolf sensed something was wrong and fled in panic.

The venomous snake on the roof of the thatched hut was puzzled by the wolf's reaction, but it had no intention of giving up its food. It slowly lowered its body, preparing to deliver a fatal blow to the human.

But just as it was about to get closer, it felt as if what was in front of it was no longer a human figure, but a human-shaped torch, or even lava. The intense heat that rushed towards it frightened it so much that it quickly shrank back and fled as if it wished it could sprout legs from its belly.

Such a dense forest naturally has no shortage of mosquitoes, yet several mosquitoes buzzed by, seemingly unaware that there was a person there.

Wu Dang sat there motionless, completely oblivious to the time. Birds and beasts would occasionally pass by. At first, the sensitive animals only vaguely sensed danger and dared not approach. Gradually, he seemed to become one with his surroundings, just like a stone or a tree...

Mosquitoes nestled on his body, venomous snakes crawled on his neck, and two groups of ants fought relentlessly on his body, but he remained unmoved, as if he were a stone or a tree.

The following evening, Liu Qi arrived at the thatched hut as agreed and respectfully bowed to Wu Dang, saying, "Sword Saint, Sang Qiu will be entering the palace at dawn tomorrow!"

Wu Dang slowly opened his eyes. He had gained a lot of insights in the past day and night. Zheng Zhuang's sword strike kept appearing in his mind, as if becoming clearer and clearer.

Before that, his attention was always on the sword, ignoring everything else. That sword strike seemed ordinary, but it was the most appropriate strike at that moment and in that position. Everything around him seemed to exist for that sword strike.

Liu Qi glanced at it and felt a stinging pain in his eyes. He dared not look into Wu Dang's eyes again, for they seemed to contain a dazzling sword light...