Chapter 387 A Marvelous Spectacle of the Martial World

For a mystical creature like the Divine Turtle, the small piece of news it mentioned could likely be of great use to him.

Sure enough, in the next moment, the Divine Turtle really spoke a piece of news that was of great use to him—it was excellent news.

Watching the Divine Turtle's massive head slowly sink into the river, Yan Chu rose to his feet and transformed into a streak of rainbow light that broke through the clouds, heading straight into the azure sky...

...

Since that night, news of the Blade Demon Yan Chu reappearing in the Central Region spread, causing a massive stir in the Jianghu.

Upon hearing that Yan Chu's true body had not even appeared, yet he had easily suppressed the slaughter against the Li Imperial Clan using supreme methods, Jianghu people couldn't help but sigh:

"As expected of the Blade Demon Yan Chu!"

"The number one expert in the world truly deserves his reputation!!"

That night, only the Buddhist sects suffered the greatest loss. All the Buddhist members who had gone to the Central Region died at Yan Chu's hands. Even the strongest foundation of Nalanda Temple, Divine Monk Kongxiang, was reduced to dust by a single gust of Yan Chu's astral wind.

The entire Buddhist community was filled with mourning.

They were terrified that Yan Chu would raise his butcher's knife again and strike at the Buddhist disciples.

The three Buddhist Holy Lands—Ten Thousand Buddha Cave, Nalanda Temple, and Hanging Temple—immediately sent letters to the World Society, stating they had no intention of being enemies with the World Society, let alone harbor thoughts of revenge.

At the same time, the three major Buddhist temples announced the closure of their mountain gates, vowing never to participate in Jianghu disputes again.

Compared to the actions of the Buddhist sects, other Jianghu people were not only unafraid but were instead eager to try something.

Because that night in the capital sent out a clear signal.

That is, even if you are an enemy of the Blade Demon Great Hero Yan, as long as you offer a beautiful woman, you can turn hostility into friendship and even lean on this towering tree.

The Ji Clan of the Hidden Dragon Clan and the Old Man of Tianshan were clear proof.

This rumor had already existed in the Jianghu, but many were skeptical. After this incident, the rumor was completely confirmed.

For a time, countless Jianghu people flocked toward the World Society in Cangzhou Prefecture.

Without exception, these people were accompanied by one or more beautiful women—either their daughters or their wives. In short, each was full of charm and exceptionally beautiful.

This phenomenon became a wonder of the Jianghu for a time.

Because of this, many Jianghu people who originally had happy families were eventually found to have become solitary travelers.

Many originally loving couples or Mortal World hero partners suddenly had rumors of broken relationships for some reason, leaving only the man to roam the Jianghu alone...

Besides this, the various rebel king forces within the Great Jin Dynasty also quieted down at the same time.

Without the Blade Demon Yan Chu speaking up, no one dared to continue vying for the throne.

The world fell into a strange state of tranquility. It was neither plagued by war everywhere like the previous period, nor was there a unified major power to lead the overall situation.

Various forces guarded their own small territories, and it was actually more harmonious than when the Great Jin Imperial Court still existed.

...

...

At the junction of Great Jin and Southern Wei, there was the Hundred Battles Valley of Nanzhou.

Nanzhou was mountainous. Over ten thousand years ago, it was considered a desolate land, covered everywhere in thick toxic miasma and infested with venomous snakes and insects.

Later, successive imperial courts migrated residents from the northern lands here to reclaim the wasteland. It took over a thousand years to clear the miasma and drive the venomous snakes and fierce beasts into the deep mountains.

Despite this, the population density of Nanzhou remained the lowest among the nineteen provinces of Great Jin.

Not only because of the harsh environment but also because it was the border with Southern Wei. The two countries had been at war for years, and the number of people displaced by war was not small.

In recent years, as the Great Jin Imperial Court weakened, Nanzhou had actually come under the rule of Southern Wei. It had been controlled by the Holy Lotus Sect, which managed it so thoroughly that not even a drop of water could leak through.

Hundred Battles Valley was located deep between two large mountains.

It was a long and narrow valley, a necessary passage from Southern Wei to Great Jin. Over the years, the two countries had fought no fewer than a hundred battles of various sizes in this valley, and over a million soldiers' corpses were buried there.

After so many years, white bones could be seen protruding from the sand everywhere in the valley, and even the ground beneath was stained dark red with blood.

The sky above the valley was permanently covered in black mist. Some said it was the restless souls of the soldiers. Many people who entered this valley would suddenly feel a chill and fall seriously ill after returning home.

If someone knowledgeable in things like geomancy and feng shui came here, they would see that this valley was a natural gathering place for Yin-Shua energy.

Hundreds of miles north of the valley, a fortress city called Zhennan Pass was built. It served both as a defense and a suppression, and its scale was no smaller than the provincial capital of Nanzhou.

Now, the entire Zhennan Pass was heavily guarded. Powerful martial arts experts were everywhere, and in the high sky, there were Supreme Grandmasters skilled in the art of sky-soaring on patrol, guarding Zhennan Pass like an iron bucket.

In the City Lord's Manor of Zhennan Pass, a middle-aged man dressed in brocade with deep eyes sat in the seat of honor.

Below him, seated in two rows, were powerful experts with profound auras, several of whom were Celestial Beings who had opened their Divine Treasuries.

Just the people in this room, if they went out, could sweep through more than ninety percent of the world's forces.

If someone familiar with the Great Jin officialdom appeared here, they would find several familiar faces among the group.

The middle-aged man sitting in the main seat was precisely the former Prime Minister of the Great Jin Imperial Court, Xiao Hanwen.

Sitting below him on the right was Xiao Hanwen's younger brother, the former Grand Commander of Zhennan for the Great Jin Imperial Court, Xiao Youqi.

This City Lord's Manor of Zhennan Pass was the original Grand Commander of Zhennan's Manor.

Sitting below Xiao Hanwen on the left was an elderly man with white hair and a youthful complexion.

He wore white clothes that were untainted by a speck of dust, his long beard hung down to his chest, and his face was as ruddy as a baby's. His internal aura was thick and long-lasting, the highest among everyone in the hall.

Beside the old man sat a middle-aged man whom many had long forgotten. He had appeared in our story for a period of time but had never gone offline; to think he would appear here today.

If Yan Chu were here, he would be able to recognize that this middle-aged man was the former Governor of Cangzhou, the Marquis of Annan, Sima Yutang.

Now that this Marquis has reappeared in the story, his cultivation has already broken through to Great Grandmaster, becoming a Supreme Grandmaster.

But this level of cultivation was unremarkable in the eyes of the many experts in the hall.

Besides these people, there were two other elders in the hall, a man and a woman, both Celestial Being Experts who had opened their Divine Treasuries.

The elderly man was dressed in a red robe, while the elderly woman was in black.

"Patriarch Xiao, your people have returned from the north. There shouldn't be any movement from that person in Cangzhou right now, right?"

Below, the red-robed elderly man asked calmly.

A faint scent of blood lingered around him. Although he looked old, the blood-Qi in his body was still as vigorous as a bright lamp.

Xiao Hanwen was now the head of the Xiao Family. Smelling the blood scent coming from the old man, he frowned imperceptibly and said slowly:

"He recently appeared in the Central Region's imperial palace, killed the monk Kongxiang of the Buddhist sect, snatched the imperial seal of the realm from Emperor Li Heming and left. He has not been seen since."

"We have always acted secretly and never with great fanfare. He shouldn't notice this place."