Chapter 678
Future and Loyalty
The lake water closed behind Wu Kezhi, and the splashing water was more than ten feet high.
That sword, which cuts through mountains and waves, swims faster than a fish in the water, reaching the golden light in the center of the lake in less than half an incense stick's time.
Luo Yunlin asked worriedly, "Could the person who broke through the mountain gate have already reached the Divine Realm? Can Uncle Wu go alone?"
Aunt Qiu Bai comforted him, "Don't worry, your Uncle Wu has the life-saving skills given to him by the headmaster. Even if he can't beat a Grandmaster, he can still come out to ask for help. With so many of us, we might not be able to do anything to him. However, if he hasn't reached the Divine Path Realm, then he'll be in for a world of trouble. We'll twist his head off."
Uncle Changsheng squatted on the ground, pulling at his hair: "How can there be five martial arts resonances? What kind of situation would produce five martial arts resonances? You stupid thing, think of something!"
After thinking for a long time, Chang Sheng suddenly looked up: "There is actually someone whose talent surpasses mine!?"
Aunt Qiu Bai kicked him in the shoulder, causing him to fall to the ground.
Just then, Uncle Changsheng suddenly asked, "Wait, have you seen Biaozi?"
Aunt Qiubai pondered for a moment: "I haven't seen him. He should be at the bottom of the lake right now, pondering the master's sword intent... He's at the bottom of the lake too!"
bottom of the lake.
Wu Kezhi held the Silent Mountain and drew ever closer.
Chen Ji remained seated cross-legged. The five longswords in front of him turned into sword ash and scattered in the dark lake. Although the swords dispersed, a wisp of pure and intense sword intent remained and flowed into Chen Ji's heart.
New sword types are emerging from the eight markings on his chest and abdomen, while the original three brass sword types, as the sword intent enters his body, all turn into crystal clear silver, as if mercury is flowing in the markings.
Eight types of swords.
Chen Ji did not hear the martial arts sounds from the sky; he was completely focused on feeling the sword intent surging and swirling within his chest.
He didn't notice that the 720 fires on his body were gradually dimming, showing signs of exhaustion, and were going out one by one. He also didn't notice that a figure was swimming rapidly towards him, already within ten steps.
The golden blade, over ten feet long, in the lake turned and pointed at the approaching person.
But when it saw the person coming, it actually stepped back, revealing the shape of the old traces.
When the man approached, he was stunned when he saw Chen Ji's face, as if he never expected to see Chen Ji at the bottom of the lake.
He hesitated for a moment, then inserted the short knife in his hand into his belt at the back of his waist, his killing intent gone.
The person who came was not Wu Kezhi, but Wu Hongbiao.
Wu Hongbiao swam to Chen Ji's side and looked at the flames on Chen Ji's body that were going out one by one. He shook Chen Ji and pointed behind him, indicating that danger was imminent.
But Chen Ji kept his eyes tightly shut and ignored him.
Wu Hongbiao wondered why Chen Ji hadn't woken up yet. The next moment, he saw that the flames emanating from Chen Ji's body had all gone out, and the bottom of the lake was plunged into darkness again.
He touched Chen Ji and felt a chill spread from Chen Ji's dantian to his whole body, as if it would freeze the lake water.
Wu Hongbiao withdrew his hand, hesitated for two breaths, gritted his teeth, endured the chill, picked up Chen Ji, and swam towards the edge of Tianchi in the dark.
……
……
Not long after the two left, Wu Kezhi arrived with the Silent Mountain in his hand. In the darkness, he could barely make out his surroundings, listening to the sound of flowing water to discern the direction Chen Ji had gone.
Tianchi Lake is never fed by fresh water; it is silent, and the faint sound of flowing water is especially clear at the bottom of the lake.
Before he could hear clearly, a wisp of golden sword intent burst forth from the bottom of the lake. Wu Kezhi swung Jishan sword to meet the attack head-on, but was knocked back several feet by the sword intent of the master of soldiers.
By the time Wu Kezhi had prepared his sword, the wisp of sword intent had already disappeared back into the dark lake, its whereabouts unknown. He was filled with doubt and uncertainty, wondering why the Lord of War's sword intent had ambushed him. Although the Lord of War's sword intent was protecting this Heavenly Pool and killing everyone, why did it choose to attack now instead of killing the person who stole the sword?
At this point, when he tried to discern the direction Chen Ji had gone, he could no longer hear anything.
Wu Kezhi swam upstream and surfaced. He looked around, but the surface of Tianchi Lake was once again shrouded in thick fog, making it impossible to see anything beyond ten feet.
At the edge of Tianchi Lake, Wu Hongbiao carried Chen Ji out of the thick fog, stepping on the gravel to walk to the shore, his teeth chattering from the cold.
He muttered to himself, "How could it be you? I was thinking that once I got the Sword Master's Intent, I would go to Ning Dynasty to show off to you. I would then reveal my sword intent to you and say, 'Look, this is the Sword Master's Intent. You would be so envious...' But now that you have released these five martial arts sounds, what am I supposed to do? Where am I supposed to get martial arts sounds?"
Chen Ji couldn't answer.
Wu Hongbiao continued his rambling, trembling incessantly: "You brat, you actually cultivate the Sword Seed Path! I knew something was off when you were hiding it from me, but who would have thought you were hiding something this big. A Sword Seed... you actually have a Sword Seed! Where did you learn it? Did Lord Lu secretly give it to you? Should we go see Lord Lu? No, no, with such a commotion, I'm afraid the entire Martial Temple will hunt you down. No, the entire Imperial Court will hunt you down too."
"Hey, what are you doing at the Martial Temple? Did you come alone? Do you have any help? If so, call them out quickly, I can't save you by myself!" Wu Hongbiao finally reached the shore and let out a long sigh of relief. He unloaded Chen Ji on the bank and checked Chen Ji's breathing. Fortunately, he was still breathing.
He dared not linger, and could only quickly determine the direction before fleeing south to Goryeo with Chen Ji on his back.
But after taking two steps, he stopped, stood on the pile of rocks, and looked back in the direction of the thatched hut. If he left like this, what would happen to his cultivation? This was an opportunity that Lord Lu had worked so hard to get for him. When he went up the mountain, he swore that he would cultivate to the Dao Seeking Realm and then go down the mountain to make a name for himself.
With this departure, Wu Miao will surely guess what's going on. He'll never be able to return to Wu Miao, nor will he be able to return to Lord Lu's side, and perhaps he'll never be able to return home either...
Everything is over.
Wu Hongbiao stood with his head down in the cold wind, his expression hidden in the thick fog. Just like that day when Chen Ji stood in the pouring rain in the old shop in Luocheng, holding the tip of a knife to his neck, his expression hidden in the shadow of his straw hat.
After a long while, Wu Hongbiao chuckled and said, "You haven't let me down, and I won't let you down. You saved my life in Luocheng, and today I've repaid that debt. From now on, I don't owe you anything. Next time we drink, you'll have to give me three cups... no, three bowls! Three pots!"
His expression turned serious. He looked up at the sky; it was almost dawn, and the thick fog would likely dissipate in a few hours.
Wu Hongbiao took a deep breath and continued running down the mountain with Chen Ji on his back. But he had only taken a few steps when he suddenly heard the sound of water breaking behind him. He turned around and saw the sword intent of the master, which was more than ten feet long, coming down from the sky and slashing down on him.
His expression changed; there was no way he could dodge this blow.
In an instant, Wu Hongbiao shielded Chen Ji behind him, gritting his teeth and closing his eyes. But when the Blade Master's intent struck his forehead, it transformed into a ray of golden light that pierced his brow, leaving a bloody mark resembling a vertical pupil.
Wu Hongbiao belatedly opened his eyes, then cried out in pain and knelt on the ground. The intent of the master sword was now rampaging through his meridians, cleansing his marrow and transforming his body.
It felt as if his body was being cut open and reshaped again and again, until it gradually stopped after an incense stick had burned.
Wu Hongbiao wiped his face, only to find that he was covered in blood. He wiped his face again, and a fine layer of blood came off: "This..."
Without a second thought, he carried Chen Ji down the mountain, as light as a swallow.
As Wu Hongbiao descended the mountain, he deliberately chose to walk on the piles of rocks without snow. As he was running, he heard footsteps coming towards him from the thick fog ahead.
He slowly stopped and stared intently at the thick fog in front of him.
Who is coming? As long as it's not Wu Kezhi, Uncle Changsheng, or Aunt Qiubai, he still has a chance.
Just then, a black figure emerged from the thick fog. Upon seeing Chen Ji on Wu Hongbiao's back, the figure was taken aback: "Who are you? What happened to him?"
Wu Hongbiao looked the other person up and down, but the other person's face was hidden behind the black veil of a veiled hat.
He stepped back, wary, and asked, "And who are you?"
Seeing Wu Hongbiao's protective intentions, Lu immediately said in a gentle tone, "Was he the one who created the martial arts resonance just now? Hand him over to me, and I'll take him away from the Korean border crossing right now, or it will be too late."
Wu Hongbiao asked in a deep voice, "How can I trust you? You think you can just hand him over to me with a few words? It's not that easy."
After a long silence as she watched Wu Hongbiao retreating, Madam Lu removed her veil, revealing her face. The world fell silent: "I am his mother."
Lu's exquisite features exude a natural air of heroism, but the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes seem somewhat out of place on her face, and her almond-shaped eyes show a touch of vicissitude.
Strangely, a shallow scar ran across the bridge of her nose, the cause of which was unknown.
Wu Hongbiao stood there, stunned: "So you're still alive. You're really still alive."
Madam Lu frowned: "You've heard of me..."
She immediately realized: "You're also from the Jingchao Military Intelligence Bureau?"
Wu Hongbiao didn't have time to explain. He put Chen Ji on the ground and ran away: "Take him away quickly. The Martial Temple has the ability to find traces in Changbai Mountain. Let's get him out of Changbai Mountain first."
He ran a few steps, then stopped and turned back to look at Madam Lu, retreating step by step towards Tianchi: "Auntie, my name is Wu Hongbiao, and I'm Chen Ji's brother. Tell him that once I reach the Dao Seeking Realm, I'll go to Ningchao to have a drink with him. He absolutely mustn't die before then!"
After saying that, Wu Hongbiao turned around and ran away again.
Lu came to Chen Ji's side, helped him onto her back and walked down the mountain. When she looked back, she saw Wu Hongbiao had already run back to the edge of Tianchi Lake, jumped into the water and disappeared into the lake.
……
There will be another update tonight, read it tomorrow morning. (End of this chapter)