The hemp-robed elderly man's face was grave. He immediately concealed himself and Lin Xunner without making the slightest sound or leaking a trace of his aura.
In the darkness, the sound of hoofbeats and rolling wheels came from the far end of the road.
The carriage did not look particularly grand, yet it seemed to contain within it a formless, invisible pressure.
When it had come to within several dozen yards of Hundred Refinements City, the guards throughout the city seemed to sense something at once, and every one of them looked toward the road outside, their hearts trembling inexplicably.
Fortunately, they recognized that the carriage outside the gates was from Hundred Refinements Peak, and so they did not fall into panic.
"Open the gate!"
The coachman drove the carriage to just short of the city gate and called out urgently to the guards on the wall above.
Hearing this, the guard commander on the wall above was about to call down a few questions, but in the next instant the entire man was engulfed by a formless force and burst into a mist of blood.
At the sight of this, the guards and martial artists on the wall immediately went pale with shock. But before they could even react, the carriage curtain below moved without wind.
"It is... the Peak Master!"
Someone called out in terror, and immediately the guards of Hundred Refinements City dropped as one to their knees before the carriage, crying out Zheng Yunfeng's title in reverent salutation.
But the carriage clearly had no intention of acknowledging them, and under the coachman's hand it drove straight through the destroyed gate and raced into the city.
Seeing this, the guards and martial artists on the wall raised their heads and were just about to breathe a sigh of relief, but in the next instant everyone in the surrounding area felt an overwhelming killing intent sweep past their bodies in a flash.
In an instant, atop the towering city wall of Hundred Refinements City, lit by burning torches, the several dozen guards and martial artists stationed there suddenly burst apart in unison, leaving nothing but scarlet mists of blood and scattered fragments that drifted slowly downward.
The coachman turned to look back, his face going completely white with terror, his hand gripping the whip trembling without stop.
From the moment the carriage entered Hundred Refinements City, the sky-filling killing intent was no longer concealed in the slightest.
Wherever the wheels rolled, the stone paving split open, and wind erupted from nowhere. The lanterns hanging outside shops along the road and the wind chimes at the eaves exploded one after another, and the roof tiles were caught up in the gale and swept into the sky.
Beneath this terrifying aura, the residents and ordinary people nearby were all shaking with fear, cowering in their rooms and not daring to make a sound.
At the same time, Li Musheng, seated on the roof of the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion, glanced in the direction of the city gate, then raised an eyebrow, "Making quite an entrance. The person arriving this time actually looks like the Hundred Refinements Peak Master."
As though sensing Li Musheng's gaze, the carriage that had been moving through the dark streets suddenly exploded into pieces, taking the coachman and horses with it in the shockwave.
Then a figure wrapped in golden True Qi took a single step through the air and shot upward, rising in an instant above Hundred Refinements City with boundless killing intent.
Zheng Yunfeng's true face was impossible to make out. The golden True Qi surrounding his entire body was like coiling golden dragons, setting him ablaze in brilliant golden light against the darkness of the night.
In that moment, a terrifying martial aura radiated from his body, warping and shaking the surrounding night air, pressing the martial artists throughout the city to the point of struggling to breathe, and ordinary people went without saying, all collapsing to the ground, some losing control of their bodies entirely.
"Was it you?"
Zheng Yunfeng's eyes pierced through the golden True Qi surrounding him and looked from above Hundred Refinements City down at Li Musheng on the roof of the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion, his voice ice-cold and overflowing with killing intent.
Li Musheng sat on the ridgeline of the roof and did not reply. He simply beckoned toward Zheng Yunfeng.
"Ignorance and arrogance!"
The killing intent and fury in Zheng Yunfeng's eyes could no longer be contained.
In the next instant his entire figure vanished from the sky above Hundred Refinements City, becoming a blurred blazing streak of golden light that swept through the night.
A golden-traced afterimage lingered above several streets throughout the city, and in the blink of an eye he had arrived above the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion.
Wrapped in his True Qi, Zheng Yunfeng looked down, and with a single glance took in the bodies of his sons, his wife, and the Hundred Refinements Peak martial artists including the Chief Elder, scattered together in the street furrow below.
"You are dead!"
The True Qi around Zheng Yunfeng erupted in an instant, and the heaven and earth True Qi all around went into chaotic upheaval, as though the cloud layer covering Hundred Refinements City was about to collapse and come crashing down.
"Show yourself, whoever is behind this!"
Zheng Yunfeng looked down and demanded in a voice like rolling thunder.
For all his grief and fury, he had not immediately struck at Li Musheng below.
Though the messenger had stated with certainty that it was Li Musheng who had killed his wife and two sons, Zheng Yunfeng still did not truly believe everything had been done by the young man before him.
He was far too young, young enough to be beneath consideration.
What restrained Zheng Yunfeng from simply erasing him on the spot was that he could not detect any other formidable presence anywhere in the vicinity.
In Zheng Yunfeng's view, the hidden expert had to be the true culprit.
At that point Li Musheng looked up toward Zheng Yunfeng above the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion, and said suddenly, "Show me one move. Let me see your level."
At those words, the golden True Qi around Zheng Yunfeng stilled for just a moment, and then there came the sound of furious laughter.
In the next instant Zheng Yunfeng said nothing further, only slowly raising his hand and closing it into a fist. The fist had not yet been thrown, yet the space within ten yards around him had already collapsed into a vortex, crack-like patterns of golden True Qi gathering and moving along the edge of the swirling void.
In an instant, thunder cracked through the sky, and the fist intent seemed to stir heaven and earth, threatening to drag the night sky down and invert it, engulfing everything within several dozen yards below, including the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion itself.
Where the edge of the fist force passed, it was as though a golden dragon had descended into the world. Space crumpled as though gnawed by some great beast, the area within a hundred yards became a surging violent vortex, and from the center of the fist, shimmering beams of glass-like heavenly light hung down, each ending in a faint and blurred mountain shadow, as heavy as mountain ranges, weaving together into a vast net across the air.
If this fist landed, clearly everything within the surrounding area, including the entirety of the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion, would be obliterated without question.
Yet in the next instant, Zheng Yunfeng froze.
A flash of shock crossed his eyes.
The mountain-range net formed from his own fist intent had abruptly stalled above the roof of the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion, and no matter what, the swirling vortex of golden True Qi throughout the night sky above could not press it a single inch further downward, as though blocked by some utterly unbreakable force.
"So you finally show yourself!"
Zheng Yunfeng suddenly threw out a second fist.
In an instant, a wave of terrifying fist intent that seemed to suppress heaven and earth and could break through anything shot skyward, the domineering True Qi golden light blazing like a sun itself, punching straight through the darkness of the night sky above Hundred Refinements City and casting down an immense golden column of light that seemed to hold up the heavens.
At the same moment, it was as though every last trace of True Qi from all of heaven and earth in the entire space of Hundred Refinements City was drained away in a single instant, drawn and absorbed between Zheng Yunfeng's two fists.
In that moment, the supreme fist path true intent in the entire Great Li martial world, and the vast and boundless True Qi of heaven and earth, were both pressing down on Li Musheng, sitting on the roof of the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion, from directly above.
If these two fists came down, without any doubt, the entire neighborhood around the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion would be blasted into rubble and the ground sunk three yards deep.
...
In the mountain woodland outside Hundred Refinements City, the hemp-robed elderly man and Lin Xunner were crouched silently behind a large rock.
Both of them, old and young, had their eyes wide open, gazes fixed without moving on the sky-reaching golden column blazing from within Hundred Refinements City.
The golden column of light was even more conspicuous than the silver flame from before. But more important than its appearance was the martial pressure and the terrifying fist path true intent emanating from within it.
Though the two of them were far removed from the center of that golden column, they could still faintly feel the reverberating fist intent and aura washing over them.
"The gap between Heaven-Human martial artists can be this vast. Even among Heaven-Human practitioners, I have never once seen Grandfather display anything like this kind of power."
Lin Xunner's dark eyes reflected the sky-reaching golden column in the distance, and she spoke in genuine astonishment on her small, shocked face.
The hemp-robed elderly man caught a sidelong glance at his little granddaughter, let out a sigh, and said, "I have told you long ago that even a single minor realm within the Heaven-Human level is like a chasm. If I had martial cultivation as formidable as Zheng Yunfeng's, I would have charged up Hundred Refinements Peak long ago and not be hiding out here like this."
As he spoke, his eyes suddenly narrowed slightly, and he said, "Zheng Yunfeng is clearly holding absolutely nothing back. Faced with a killing strike this terrifying, I can only wonder how young Master Li will respond. Whether he can withstand these two fists is another question entirely."
Hearing this, Lin Xunner furrowed her delicate brows, thinking aloud, "If he can deal with the Hundred Refinements Peak Chief Elder, then even if his martial cultivation falls short of Zheng Yunfeng, at the very least slipping away should not be a problem, should it?"
The hemp-robed elderly man slowly shook his head, his gaze locked rigidly on Hundred Refinements City, saying, "Hard to say. But young Master Li should surely have revealed himself and made his move by now."
...
The group of vehicles and horses from Falling God Peak's main peak traveling toward Hundred Refinements Peak were moving at speed along the mountain road.
Seated in the carriage was the head disciple personally trained by Falling God Peak's grandmaster, the chosen successor to the position of Falling God Peak's sect master. Traveling with him were three elder-level martial artists.
When the sky-reaching golden column blazed into view from the direction of Hundred Refinements City, every horse and carriage on the mountain road was stopped in the same instant by a formless force of True Qi.
The three Falling God Peak elders all immediately looked toward the sky, and the curtain of the carriage was also raised, revealing a young man in a pale moon-white robe.
The young man's appearance was not striking, but he was extremely young, perhaps just past twenty, and he held a black-wood silver-edged folding fan in his hand. He too looked in the direction the elders were gazing.
"Reporting to the young sect master, it appears Peak Master Zheng has made his move."
A slightly heavyset elder turned and bowed respectfully. The young man's expression was entirely calm as he said quietly, "To make him use his full strength, the other party's martial cultivation is not to be underestimated."
"But a martial artist of that caliber appearing in Hundred Refinements City, there is something off about this. In all likelihood the other party comes from the Great Li court."
Hearing this, all three elders around him went grim-faced. Based on the intelligence they had, the plan had been for Commander Fu Qiwen to attack Falling God Peak from four directions.
None of them had expected a powerful martial artist to have been dispatched in secret against Hundred Refinements Peak as well. These court dogs truly were cunning and devious in their thinking.
"It does not matter. Peak Master Zheng will certainly be able to take this person. Nothing more than a top court martial artist throwing their life away for nothing."
One of the Falling God Peak elders looked toward the golden column in the sky with cold light in his eyes.
The Falling God Peak grandmaster's head disciple said nothing, only quietly watching the dark edge of the sky ahead, as though observing how things would develop.
...
At the same time, the sky-reaching golden column blazing from Hundred Refinements City was naturally visible to all parties throughout the Falling God Peak region.
The Tianjin Guards moving covertly toward Star Control Peak all clearly saw it in the darkness, and every one of them stopped in surprise and looked up.
Though the distance was too great for them to feel Zheng Yunfeng's fist intent, the blazing golden light formed from terrifying True Qi of heaven and earth, capable of producing such an awe-inspiring spectacle, already left them inwardly shaken.
"Do not stop. Keep moving!"
An order came from behind them, and the Tianjin Guards members did not dare linger any longer, looking up at the sky as they pressed on.
"Zheng Yunfeng has made his move."
Among the Tianjin Guards, Fu Qiwen on horseback had a grave expression. If what Hu Rui'an had told him was accurate, then the Eighth Prince had likely already come face to face with the man at this very moment.
Hu Rui'an beside him had naturally seen this as well, and hurried to say, "Commander, watch what comes next. I think His Highness's command of the fist path is probably no less than Zheng Yunfeng's."
Hearing this, Fu Qiwen glanced at him and furrowed his brow slightly, then turned his gaze and fixed it firmly on the sky ahead.
He wanted to see for himself exactly how formidable this Eighth Prince was.
At the same time, the large black cat that had been driving Lin Tang and the other three forward at pace suddenly stopped upon seeing the golden column rise in the direction of Hundred Refinements City.
At the sight of this, the four who had been focused entirely on keeping up with the cat also immediately halted.
Then all of them followed the large black cat's line of sight, and in the next instant every one of their expressions changed.
"True Qi of heaven and earth this terrifying, could a Falling God Peak Peak Master actually be making his move?"
The elderly man Wu Yong's brow furrowed tightly, his gaze shifting with unreadable thoughts. At that moment the large black cat ahead let out several meows, then simply crouched on the spot and went no further.
Seeing this, the scholar Sui Zhen's face showed bewilderment, and he turned to look at Lin Tang and Lin Yuer, asking, "What is going on with it?"
Hearing this, Lin Tang's eyes flickered, and she looked at the cat and shook her head, saying, "Little Sister says it is already too late. We are going to miss the main event."
...
The Hundred Fragrance Pavilion.
Li Musheng sat on the ridgeline of the roof, watching the fist intent and True Qi of heaven and earth that came pouring down toward him like a collapsed wall of heaven.
He only slowly shook his head, saying, "Not good enough. Far too weak."
And the moment those words fell, all of heaven and earth around the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion went suddenly still.
The blazing golden True Qi froze in place. The vast and boundless True Qi of heaven and earth that had been endlessly pouring in became a dead calm in an instant.
Zheng Yunfeng's two fists hung in the air. The terrifying fist intent within them was as heavy as towering mountains.
Yet no matter what he tried, he found he could not bring those two fists, carrying within them his condensed fist path true intent, down toward the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion below by even a fraction of an inch.
Zheng Yunfeng's pupils slowly widened, and through his gaze he saw the young man who had been sitting on the ridgeline of the roof now gently raising a finger and pointing it toward his forehead.
In that instant, his mind filled with the image of his wife's and his two sons' skulls pierced through with exactly this same mark.
He strained to open his mouth, but before his lips could move, the life within him scattered in an instant.
The fist intent and True Qi all around collapsed with a tremendous rush, and the sky-reaching golden column shattered and fell, scattering into a sweep of golden wind that blew outward in every direction from above Hundred Refinements City.
In that instant, the entire sky above Hundred Refinements City blazed brilliant for a moment, and then returned to darkness and silence.