Wuxia: Start with max-level Nine Yang Divine Skill

Chapter 219 The Origin of the Secret Passage and the Emperor's Attempt to Break Through the Barrier to Immortality? (Two Chapters Combined)

The Dragon Shock Society is cooperating with the Canal Gang. How could the Canal Gang not have a backup plan for something so important?

Most likely, two copies were made at the same time, one for the Jinglong Society and one for the Caobang to keep for themselves.

Just before Guo Zhugui rushed into the cabin, besides those scribes and painters, there was probably a master of the Canal Gang lurking inside.

Hearing the commotion outside and sensing the danger, the man had already grabbed another copy of the map and slipped out the window, but dared not make any rash moves.

Only when Guo Zhugui revealed a shocking secret, drawing all of his and the constable's attention, did he seize the opportunity to quietly leap into the river from the back window of the cabin and escape by water.

Li Fu narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze lingering in that direction for a moment before he casually looked away, as if he hadn't noticed anything.

In fact, with his current skill level, although activating the Six Meridians Divine Sword and defeating two peerless masters had consumed some of his internal energy.

However, chasing down someone who has taken the map and fled underwater is not difficult.

It's late at night, the moon is cold, and the water is too chilly, so I'd better not.

But Li Fu reconsidered and gave up.

The world belonged to the Song dynasty, not to Li Fu.

His involvement in the case and his pursuit of the truth stemmed primarily from the mission issued by the Heavenly Book: to uncover the layers of mystery surrounding the tax silver case and the Zuo family.

Now the truth is largely clear; the Heavenly Book did not require him to retrieve the secret passage map concerning the safety of the imperial palace for the Zhao Song emperor.

Why should he bother with that high-ranking official who, in his pursuit of immortality, ruthlessly exploits the entire world and creates the Flower and Stone Tribute to harm the people?

"If the ambitious canal gangs get their hands on the map, they might be able to cause some trouble for that official, which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing."

Let them fight like dogs, what harm is there?

Zuo Yuncheng wanted to call for help but dared not make a sound, fearing that someone would discover the matter. This contradictory behavior was probably because if the map of the Forbidden City's underground passages was not handled properly, the current emperor would surely be furious.

The head constable and the Six Doors are both to blame, not to mention the Zuo family. Do you think the Six Doors can show leniency and leave a bloodline for the Zuo family?

In that case, it would be better to let the Six Doors not find out about this.

On the deck, Jiang Yunbo lay collapsed in a pool of blood, his arms hanging limply at his sides, his face ashen, barely breathing.

This once powerful and feared figure in the Canal Gang, known as the "Dragon of the Rivers," has now met such a tragic end.

The surrounding members of the Canal Gang, witnessing this scene, were enraged and roared in a mixture of shock and fury.

"Master Jiang!"

"That corrupt official has crippled the hall master!"

"Fight them! Take back the sect leader!"

These men from the canal gang were mostly outlaws of the underworld, or bloodthirsty and fierce young men who had made their living in the canal transport for generations. They valued loyalty above all else in the underworld, and always held their leader Jiang Yunbo in awe. Many of them were his trusted henchmen.

Seeing their leader severely injured and captured, a surge of bloodlust rushed to their heads.

"Kill them!"

"Save the sect leader!"

Dozens of bloodthirsty elite members of the canal gang brandished their weapons and roared as they leaped from the surrounding boats or climbed along the ropes, charging towards the main deck of the ship like a swarm of ants!

Several people were excellent swimmers and dived directly into the water, attempting to sabotage or climb onto the boat from the bottom.

The remaining Dragon Shock Society experts on the deck also seized the opportunity to clamor and pounce on the attack.

In an instant, shouts of killing filled the air, figures were in disarray, and the glint of swords reflected the fire and water, creating a menacing atmosphere.

The first few bandits to rush onto the deck brandished their swords and slashed at Li Fu with ruthless moves, completely disregarding their own defense.

Li Fu remained expressionless as he brandished an invisible sword.

"laugh--!

"

An invisible sword aura slashed out horizontally, so fast that only the air could be seen slightly distorted.

The three men at the forefront had their steel-forged ghost-head sabers and water-splitting spikes, along with their arms, all cleanly severed!

Before the broken blades and severed arms even hit the ground, the remaining force of the sword energy had already grazed their necks.

The ferocity on the three men's faces froze instantly, their heads tilted to the side, blood gushing from their necks like a fountain, and their bodies crashed to the ground.

Those who followed couldn't stop in time and continued charging over the blood and corpses of their companions.

However, Li Fu's Six Meridian Divine Sword, though formless and intangible, was incomparably sharp, killing people from several feet away.

In such a chaotic battle, its terrifying power is even more evident.

He stood motionless at the bow of the ship, his sword flashing as he felled the enemies who rushed onto the deck like mowing grass.

Wherever the sword energy passed, weapons snapped, limbs flew, and blood splattered everywhere. Not a single person could get within three feet of him!

The deck was quickly covered with a layer of corpses and limbs, blood gushed out and pooled, and the strong smell of blood was nauseating.

The sounds of wails, screams, the thud of weapons falling to the ground, and the thud of corpses mingled together, echoing through the night sky and drowning out the sound of the river's roar, creating a scene of carnage.

The subsequent members of the Cao Gang, initially driven by anger and bloodlust, rushed forward one after another, only to find that their brothers were like crashing into an invisible wall of death, instantly dying in various tragic ways.

Corpses piled up, the deck stained red, and that frenzied courage cooled and dissipated as if doused with ice water, turning into boundless fear.

"The devil—he is the devil!"

With a wave of the hand, one can take a life!

"How do I fight this?

"We can't get close at all!"

Finally, after another group of more than ten people who rushed forward were easily killed by the sword energy, the remaining people completely collapsed.

"Run! Run!"

They stared in horror at the young constable at the bow of the ship, his purple robes flowing, his face calm, and his whole body radiating a terrifying sharpness, as well as the piles of corpses and the winding river of blood on the deck. Their hearts pounded with fear, and they dared not take another step forward.

Some people shouted and jumped into the icy river, swimming desperately into the distance; others scrambled back to their small boats, frantically rowing, wanting only to escape this terrifying ship as quickly as possible.

The Cao Gang members, leaderless, were routed and scattered, some shouting in despair.

"Corrupt official, Li Fu!"

You slaughtered so many of my brothers in the Canal Gang today; this is an irreconcilable hatred!

Our Cao Gang has hundreds of thousands of disciples, spread throughout the waterways of the world!

Even if you are a master of martial arts, you can forget about having a peaceful life!

"We, the entire Canal Gang, will seek revenge for this blood debt, no matter where you are, we will never rest until we reach the ends of the earth!"

"I await your gang's revenge."

The river breeze rustled through her purple robes.

Li Fu stood alone at the blood-stained bow of the ship, with corpses strewn across the deck behind him and fleeing enemy remnants and the dark, rushing river before him.

Moonlight occasionally pierced through the clouds, illuminating his angular profile. His eyes were indifferent, showing neither anger at being threatened nor the ferocity of someone who had killed someone; clearly, he didn't take it seriously at all.

Seeing this, the other embroidered-clothes constables were greatly encouraged. Under the command of their leader, they quickly boarded and took control of the main ship, cleared out the remaining enemy, treated the wounded, and bound the prisoners.

"For the remnants of the traitorous party, it is better to kill the innocent than to let the guilty go free!"

Search thoroughly; do not let a single person escape!

After retrieving the map from Guo Zhugui, the constable sternly ordered his men to clean up the mess, but a hint of apprehension remained in his expression, and his eyes kept glancing around.

He was clearly still worried that the taboo secret Guo Zhugui had just revealed might have been overheard by others—a secret that even he shouldn't have heard.

"Brother Li, we owe you a great debt of gratitude this time!"

"You turned the tide and prevented the bandit leader from taking the secret passage map. This is a great achievement, and I will definitely report it truthfully and recommend you for commendation!"

"By the way, we—we didn't hear a word of the mad ramblings that the bandit leader Guo Zhugui uttered while choking on blood, right?"

"It's just the ramblings of a traitor on his deathbed; why take it to heart?"

Li Fu responded to his words, then changed the subject.

"However, after this incident, the constable no longer needs to hide it from me."

The embroidered blue map behind Zuo Yuncheng is probably not just a map of the imperial palace, right?

I heard there might be a secret passage beneath the palace?

"Brother Li, keep your voice down."

The constable's expression shifted. He glanced around and saw that his men were busy cleaning up the battlefield and no one was paying attention to this place. He sighed and waved for the other constables to leave, leaving only himself and Li Fu at the bow of the boat.

A river breeze carrying moisture and a faint smell of blood swept by, while the flickering lights of the wrecked boats of the canal gangs in the distance shone uncertainly in the night.

"Without Brother Li, I don't know how this battle would have ended tonight."

Now that things have come to this, there's no need to hide it from you any longer, Brother Li.

He lowered his voice.

"That's right. This time, the imperial court is not only trying to recover a map of the Forbidden City, but more importantly, the map also records an escape passage that Emperor Taizu secretly built deep underground in the palace."

"An escape tunnel built by the founding emperor?"

Li Fu raised an eyebrow.

"Actually, it was left to future generations by the founding emperor."

The constable carefully considered his words.

"This matter is a top secret of the royal family."

According to the records and scattered notes of the late emperor, the Taizu Emperor was a man of great talent and vision, and he had foreseen far-reaching consequences from the very beginning of the founding of the dynasty, especially since the chaotic world had not yet been quelled.

He once said that there has never been a dynasty that lasted for a thousand years; planning ahead is the way to survive.

Therefore, when supervising the construction of the palace, he secretly dispatched craftsmen to secretly excavate an extremely hidden passage beneath the palace, connecting the inside and outside.

In case of unforeseen circumstances, this would allow future emperors, trapped deep within the palace walls and cut off from external support, to quietly escape, conceal their identities, and preserve a lineage for the Song dynasty.

This largely coincides with what Guo Zhugui had previously revealed and what Li Fuxin had speculated.

The constable's expression grew even more serious.

The exact location of this secret passage, including its entrance mechanism and exit, was only known orally to the reigning emperor and his designated heir. No blueprints were ever kept to prevent unforeseen circumstances.

However, Emperor Taizu passed away suddenly in his later years, and before he could properly explain the matter, it became an unsolved mystery as the late emperor passed away.

The secret of this secret passage should have remained forever hidden.

"So how did the current emperor find out?" Li Fu asked.

"The Emperor learned about it by chance. When the palace eunuchs were sorting through the old archives of the Imperial Palace, they accidentally discovered a tattered record of the Construction Department. Some of the records in the record were vague and aroused the Emperor's suspicion."

Later, they found copies of secret notes recording the daily life of Emperor Taizu. Piecing them together, they were shocked to discover that a secret passage might exist beneath the palace, a passage even he himself was unaware of!

Li Fu narrowed his eyes slightly.

One can imagine the official's feelings upon learning of this.

As the supreme ruler of the world, he would surely be both shocked and furious to suddenly learn of a secret underground passage that he himself was unaware of, leading undetected to the area beneath his dragon bed.

"In short, the imperial decree strictly ordered the Six Doors to secretly investigate everything related to this secret passage in the Forbidden City. The Six Doors followed up and found the Jinglong Society and the Zuo family—"

Li Fu has now confirmed some of his suspicions, and everything is clear now.

"That's why the Six Doors went to such lengths, using the tax silver case as a pretext, but actually setting up a scheme to have Zuo Yuncheng imprisoned."

That's why the commander personally took charge, keeping a close watch on Zuo Yuncheng and not allowing any loss of his position.

Therefore, the Dragon Shock Society and the Canal Gang spared no expense to rob them.

The Six Doors must block the news and, more importantly, retrieve the map of the secret passage.

"Yes—yes."

"Now that the map has been retrieved," Li Fu glanced in the direction of the cabin, "our mission to capture the commander is complete."

"Yes, thanks to Brother Li's divine power."

The constable nodded, his brows slightly relaxing.

"We finally got the map of the secret passage back. Now the Six Doors and I can give the officials an explanation."

With Guo Zhugui dead, Jiang Yunbo seriously injured and captured, and the Jinglong Society's plot to rob the enemy exposed, they will certainly not let this go easily, and there will probably be more trouble coming.

The constable was unaware that someone from the canal gang might have already escaped with another copy of the map. He turned around and continued to direct his men to clean up the mess.

"The reason why the Jinglong Society and the Caobang are so eager to obtain the map of the Forbidden Palace's secret passage is probably not just because this map is important."

, 7

Li went to the bow of the independent ship and recalled the shocking secret that Guo Zhugui had revealed before his death.

Legend has it that Emperor Taizu of Zhao, Song Yuanlang, was a peerless martial artist who used the Emperor's Dragon Fist and the Kuangtian Staff to defeat all opponents in the world, sweeping across the land and laying the foundation for the Zhao Song dynasty.

The current emperor, Song Yuanyi, is the younger brother of Emperor Taizu of Zhao, Song Yuanlang. There have been rumors about him since the previous dynasty. His martial arts skills are also amazing, and he seems to be an unparalleled master. Although he is not as good as his brother, he is not far off.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be nearly seventy years old yet still so energetic and healthy, seemingly outliving even the current crown prince.

This emperor, whose martial arts skills had already reached their peak, seemed to be secretly seeking to further improve his skills, attempting to break through the barriers between heaven and man in order to achieve immortality.

"This should explain why the Dragon Shock Society wasn't in a hurry for the secret passage map before, but is now suddenly acting urgently."

"Even if you obtained the map of the secret passage and sneaked into the palace unnoticed, the chances of successfully assassinating the emperor, who was one of the most outstanding masters in the world, were extremely slim, and there was even a chance that you would not return."

The Jinglong Society had been plotting to restore its kingdom for decades, and could have continued to lie low, waiting for the Song and Yuan dynasties to end.

After all, while those with profound internal strength can prolong their lives and some even live past a hundred, there is always an end to their lifespan.

If the emperor outlives the current emperor, the succeeding emperor may not possess his martial arts prowess. At that point, the chances of successfully assassinating him using a secret passage would be much greater.

Even if we had obtained a map of the Forbidden City's secret passages before that, it wouldn't have been of much use.

"But now they suddenly can't wait any longer—probably because they have received top-secret information that the current emperor is trying to break through the barrier and seek immortality!"

If the current emperor succeeds, breaking the legendary barrier between heaven and man, reaching an unbelievable level of martial arts, and greatly extending his lifespan, the Dragon Shock Society's plan to restore the kingdom will become an indefinitely distant prospect!