Starting from Tianlong, Wudu Tianxia

Early the next morning.

It was bright.

Everyone started packing their bags.

Including the four guards and the lucky maid who survived, there were still seven people left in their group. Fortunately, the four carriages were intact, so their journey would not be slowed down.

After finishing the hot porridge that Miss Lan brought him, Gao Yuan prepared to take his leave.

He had already decided where to go. Having offended the Zoroastrianism and the Penglai Sect, he could no longer stay in Shandong. He decided to head west to Fengxiang Prefecture.

Firstly, it can avoid Zoroastrianism and Penglai.

Secondly, it just so happens that the Beggars' Sect has gathered a group of martial arts practitioners in Fengxiang Prefecture to hold an anti-Xia alliance meeting, and Mr. Fan is also among them. It wouldn't be bad to go and see what's going on.

Furthermore, Fengxiang Prefecture and Western Xia are not far apart. If he remembered correctly, Lingjiu Palace was located within the territory of Western Xia.

If he could bring the jade to the palace, given Grandma's temperament, she would probably acknowledge him as her junior brother.

After all, the teacher's orders are the most important!

There's still a chance to complete the other five mental techniques of Tianshan Zhemei by then.

Unable to persuade him to stay, Madam He ordered someone to bring him an exquisitely carved silver box and presented him with her bundled luggage.

Gao Yuan accepted them all without hesitation.

The carved silver box must have contained a lot of silver; if you wanted to show off your wealth and refuse, you'd have to have a very full purse!

At 3:45 AM, on the main road.

Under the bright sunshine, Gao Yuan mounted his horse, turned around, clasped his hands in a fist salute to the crowd, smiled, said "Until we meet again," and rode away.

The horse's hooves kicked up specks of dust, which were then swept up by the wind, leaving behind a long tail.

As everyone watched him walk away, each had their own thoughts.

After Gao Yuan left, Madam He turned her head and saw Lan Ling'er standing there in a daze.

She couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Silly girl."

Madam He was once a woman herself, so how could she not know the saying, "Since ancient times, beautiful women have often admired heroes, and the most admirable are those with chivalrous spirits"?

However, life is full of disappointments... What a pity!

On the coast of Dengzhou, on Mount Mishen.

Inside the Huiqing Academy, seven or eight disciples of Penglai, travel-worn and weary, some with sweat clinging to their temples and cheeks, their breathing rising and falling, seemed to have traveled day and night to return from outside.

Without exception, they all wore expressions of fear, not daring to look up at the middle-aged man fishing in the lakeside pavilion.

Outside the pavilion, Juechenzi had just finished reporting the news his disciples had brought back.

Faced with his disciples' pleading eyes, he dared not make a move. The calmer the sect leader appeared, the angrier he was.

In front of the pavilion, the small pond was as smooth as a mirror, and the mountain breeze rustled through the clothes, making a clear, rustling sound.

suddenly.

A deep, yet not coarse, voice came from inside the pavilion: "You mean Yan Bo, Song Kuan, and Feng Chi were all killed, and their bodies were never found?"

Jue Chenzi bowed slightly and said respectfully:

"Yes, senior brother."

Upon confirming Yan Bo's death again, the middle-aged man trembled slightly in extreme anger.

"You bastard!"

A powerful burst of internal energy exploded from his mouth, the last syllable of which swept across the outside of the pavilion like a gust of air.

The disciples awaiting punishment felt a buzzing in their ears, a tightness in their chests, and a feeling of suffocation. They hurriedly knelt down in fear and cried out in unison, "Sect Leader, please calm your anger! We are incompetent and failed to protect our senior brothers. We are willing to accept punishment."

"Bo'er has always been composed. What happened? What's the matter?"

Seeing his senior brother, the sect leader, angry, Jue Chenzi looked up and gestured, "Lingyang, you report back to the sect leader."

Upon hearing this, a burly man stepped forward from the crowd.

"The disciples received orders from their master to track down the ladies of various families. At first, outside Jeju Island, the eldest disciple, fearing exposure of his identity, only sent his senior brother Fengchi to lead the Yinghu Society to ambush them."

The Yinghu Society is a gang affiliated with Penglai. They are involved in all sorts of violence and robbery. Penglai dislikes their bad reputation but is also reluctant to give them money, so they tacitly allow their existence.

"Unfortunately, the Yinghu Society members were all show and no substance. They were overwhelmed by the Heyi forces and fled in panic. Senior Brother Feng was alone and had no choice but to lead his men to retreat to the mountain valley and wait for Senior Brother and the others to come to their aid."

"The second time we caught up with them was not far from Heyuan Mountain. We had three senior brothers leading the team, and we crushed them into a desperate situation with overwhelming force."

"At this moment, a young man appeared out of nowhere, disguised as a servant of one of the various sects, and launched a sneak attack on the eldest brother. Senior brothers Song and Feng went to his aid, but they were also defeated by him."

Lingyang shuddered as he recounted this: "Seeing their three senior brothers in danger, the disciples also rushed forward with their weapons, but... but seven or eight weapons slashed at them..."

He swallowed hard. "I felt a surge of energy hit me, and the disciples felt as if they had been struck in the chest. Their weapons were instantly lifted into the air, and the three senior brothers also fell to the ground."

"With this person helping them, the disciples had no chance at all. They were also afraid that if they stayed behind, they would all be captured and killed without any news, thus ruining the sect leader's and Uncle Master Du's important plans."

After Lingyang finished speaking, the pavilion fell silent for a while.

Apart from panting, no one dared to speak.

The deep voice came again, but this time it no longer carried the residual force of the energy:

"You outnumber us and have Bo'er leading the way. Song Kuan and Feng Chi are both top members of the sect. Bo'er was ambushed, but he was still alone. Are you all just sitting around doing nothing?"

"The path to martial arts success isn't simply a matter of accumulating years of experience. Even if a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy has been practicing martial arts since birth, how much skill can he truly possess?"

Juechenzi spoke up:

"Senior brother, what Lingyang said makes sense. Based on our speculation, this young man is probably practicing authentic internal martial arts."

"No one can develop such martial arts skills without a proper teacher. A master and talent are both indispensable. I just don't know who he is from, that he's ruining our plans."

"How's the investigation going?"

Seeing his senior brother's inquiry, Jue Chenzi added, "Junior brother has already sent people to investigate. So far, the only information that came back is that the person involved had been performing arts to make a living among the outlaws of Dangshan."

"The investigating disciples went north to inquire, and in the end they only found out that he was a person who came south from Xuzhou. As for other information, there is no way to verify it for the time being, as if he appeared out of thin air."

"No trace of him was found among the various groups, so he must have separated from them. As for where he went..."

"If he's not stupid, he won't head towards the territory we control. Since he came down from Xuzhou without joining the other families, he certainly wouldn't go to Guanxian. Based on the above, we can only deduce that he went northwest or southeast."

"Of course, it's also possible that they'll turn a blind eye to our situation back in Xuzhou."

The middle-aged man sneered:

"Have Lingyang and the others record the faces, issue the sect leader's order, and offer a reward of one hundred taels of gold to anyone who confesses. Anyone who kills a body in the martial world and offers it as a disciple can enter the inner sect to become a disciple. Disciples of this sect can choose to learn any martial art except for the Heavenly King Heart-Replenishing Needle."

"We've notified all the martial arts sects and factions we know well. If they ask..."

His sneer deepened:

"Say that a demon has been lurking in Penglai, attempting to steal our sect's secret techniques and even murdering our eldest disciple. For such a blood feud, we ask all fellow martial artists to assist in capturing him. Penglai will forever remember this. We are willing to go through fire and water for any request."

Juechenzi continued, "What if the various families come forward to testify?"

"They wouldn't do that. How could a family that has accumulated good deeds collude with a demon?"

He slowly stood up and pushed a stone pillar in the pavilion with his palm.

"Bang!"

The stone pillar was pressed in several inches, and stone dust fell down with a gurgling sound.

Jue Chenzi was startled; his senior brother's internal strength had improved considerably!

The middle-aged man scoffed:

"To testify for him is to collude with a demon, and everyone has the right to kill him."

The disciples below lowered their heads and dared not utter a sound, fearing that the sect leader might use them as stone pillars in a fit of anger.

Juechenzi glanced at the disciples outside the pavilion again: "Go down the mountain and find a few painters to draw his appearance."

Upon hearing this, Lingyang and the others looked excitedly at their master, Juechenzi, though they naturally wanted to leave.

But since they hadn't heard the sect leader speak, no one dared to move an inch.