All flying coaches had the same design, eighty feet wide and fifty feet long. The decoration on the outside was luxurious yet low-profile. A Three Clovers Hibiscus badge was found on the side of the coach, serving as the indication to the first family of Lu Kingdom. Energy stones emitting a faint green glow were socketed underneath the coaches, and some invisible airflows pushed up the coach, allowing it to fly three feet above the road. Occasionally, there would be some leaves falling off from the tree branches along the road side, but when they were only a few feet away from the coach, they were immediately blown away by an invisible breeze.

Eight thousand Cuira.s.ses Cavalries, five hundred elite riders from the Third Heaven Battalion of Little Meng City City Guard, six hundred villagers of Meng Village, and together with over two thousand hanger-ons who Lu Chengfeng had recruited during the past few days… The parade that traveled silently and swiftly in the dark consisted of more than thirteen thousand men.

The waning moon was hanging high up in the night sky. There was a strong wind in the high alt.i.tude, blowing dark clouds over the face of the moon, covering its gleam and making the woods stalked along the road to switch between dark and bright. A bizarre atmosphere filled the air. Thick, dark mist kept rolling out from the woods on either side of the road, but was torn into pieces by countless torches brought by the long parade.

Inside the third flying coach, Wu Qi was sitting with his leg folded on a corner. The pearl of Innate Water Serpent was hovering three inches in front of his Dantian. A tiny thread of silvery green airflow that glittered with a faint watery blur glow was seen leaking out continuously from the serpent pearl, surging and rus.h.i.+ng into Wu Qi"s Dantian together with some water beating noises. Wu Qi was now enshrouded in a thin layer of water vapor. A powerful wave of innate energy was rocking restlessly within the coach.

Since he obtained the pearl of Innate Water Serpent, Wu Qi had spent twelve hours every day to absorb the enormous energy and essence of life force contained in it. For the past two months, his cultivation had reached the pinnacle of Respiration tier of Xiantian realm eight times, and every single time, he would forcefully disperse his cultivation, merging all the innate water energy he cultivated into the meridians all over his body.

His meridians had become tougher and firmer, and the innate water energy inside had also coagulated into a sticky substance that felt like glue. Wu Qi could even hear the gurgling noises of water when these innate water energies were flowing and circulating inside his meridians.

The Scroll of Stealing was an extensive and profound skill; its complexity and mysteriousness were beyond any imagination. Though Wu Qi was still at the Respiration tier of Xiantian realm, his innate energy could be compared to those ordinary cultivators who were in the Energy Concentrating tier.

Inhaling and exhaling, he once again devoured an enormous amount of energy essence from the serpent pearl. After improving his cultivation to the pinnacle of Respiration tier for the ninth time, Wu Qi stopped his cultivation for today. Currently, his body was still very weak, as he hadn"t reached to the degree of freely absorbing the energy of moon and sun described in the Scroll of Stealing. Thus, he couldn"t advance too quickly in his daily cultivation, or else, it could cause an unrecoverable damage to his corporeal body.

Wu Qi took a deep breath and placed the serpent pearl into his magical storage pouch. He then pushed aside the window curtain and peered through it.

Zhao Chenzui, who was riding along the flying coach, immediately came forward and asked, "Mister, is there anything you need?"

Wu Qi turned his head and looked at those Cuira.s.ses Cavalries, who was holding torches in their hand and riding fast without making any sound. He lowered his voice and said, "Pa.s.s my message to Zhang Hu, Hu Wei, Xiaobai and others: Be at your highest state of alert, follow along young master"s flying coach and don"t drop out. Prepare yourself for any sudden change."

Zhao Chenzui answered with a deep voice. He ran his ruthless eyes quickly through the surroundings, slowed down his pace and delivered Wu Qi"s message to the people around him.

Lu Chengfeng was working on a new array pillar using his Little 25th Lamp. After some time, he breathed out a long sigh, brought the completed array pillar in front of his face and gave it a satisfying glance. He had completed six array pillars, each emitting a faint yellow glow and enshrouded in a thin earthy mist. They were the array pillars of "Earth Energy Armor Array", which Lu Chengfeng only had the ability to produce after stepping into the Xiantian realm, and was the most basic defensive array of Earth element.

He now had the Grand White Gold Dagger Array as his offensive measure, and this Earth Energy Armor Array as his defensive measure, both working together flawlessly. Though Lu Chengfeng only had the cultivation base of Respiration tier, with this, he could at least deal with a siege from two or three Mind Focusing tier warriors who didn"t have any knowledge in the field of arrays. Or putting it this way, he was currently able to handle a charge coming from an elite army of three hundred heavy cavalries or below with him alone. The Dao of array was truly miraculous.

He rubbed his palms against each other and placed all array pillars into his magical storage bag. While handling the Little 25th Lamp, he asked as if his mind was pondering something, "Wu Qi, if I can smoothly inherit the t.i.tle and fief left behind by that man, what do you want?"

Wu Qi put down the window curtain, leaned himself lazily on a pile of comfortable furs, then said with a smile, "Young master, you"re being generous. You can just refer me to a Sect in Great Yan Dynasty which cultivates immortals. For those who have their cultivation stepped into Xiantian realm, is there anyone who doesn"t want to progress further?"

Lu Chengfeng nodded his head. He put down the lamp, stared into Wu Qi"s eyes and said, "Alright. For all the great n.o.ble clans in Great Yan Dynasty, there will always have some cultivators they support in exchange for their service. You"re the only person around me who I can trust, and have a talent in cultivation. With the t.i.tle of West Supervisor of Great Yan Dynasty, there shouldn"t be any problem in asking a Sect of Immortal cultivation to foster a few trusted cultivators for me."

Wu Qi nodded his head satisfyingly after hearing Lu Chengfeng"s answer. He sunk into deep thought for some time, then said, "So, the main concern for us now is to make sure you, my young master, can inherit everything left behind by West Supervisor. Does young master"s mother have any arrangements?"

Lu Chengfeng laughed mockingly. Without caring for his image, he threw himself back into the soft silk blanket with both hands and legs spread widely. With an indifferent voice, he said, "My dear "father" had personally given out an order, deploying all a.s.sa.s.sins of Lu family to nine kingdoms and killing all my nominal "brothers", so I can be the first one who arrives at Ji City. As for my maternal grandfather, he even sent all scouts from his army to a.s.sist those a.s.sa.s.sins of Lu family!"

He pointed at his own nose and said with a rather casual manner, "Wu Qi, now, your young master, me, has become a very popular man… So hot that it burns one"s hand on the merest of touch!"

Wu Qi nodded his head slowly. "If that is the case, we need to speed up and press on the journey. Besides your mother, maternal grandfather and the Clan Leader of Lu family, is there anybody else who knows your true ident.i.ty?"

Lu Chengfeng answered coldly, "Besides you, the three of them and me, no one else knows that I am actually the real son of Yan Buji."

Wu Qi breathed a sigh of relief. He counted with his fingers and said, "In that way, we won"t be facing any danger before we enter Ji City at least."

The long parade traveled along the only main road that connected Little Meng City to the world outside the mountain. After rus.h.i.+ng through some four hundred miles during the night, the front of the parade had left the mountain area and came to an open field. When the sky was getting brighter, with the deep and m.u.f.fled clatters breaking through the silent morning, the entire army left the mountains.

All of a sudden, an exhausted and hoa.r.s.e cry was heard coming from a desolated field on the side of the road. The cry sounded like coming from a pack of few hundred wild wolves who had been pushed into a desperate situation, sharp and jarring, fully filled with a miserable air that simply sent chills down one"s back. Wu Qi had a keen hearing, and from this cry that came from many men, he identified the voice of Luo Kedi and Ma Liang.

Mixed in these cries were noises of weapons. .h.i.tting each other, and sound of flesh ripping apart. Wu Qi sprung up instantly and lifted the window curtain. Through the window, he saw an army of more than thirty thousand soldiers besieging the Crocottas Cavalry of Yulin Army in a small marshland some one mile away from the road, who appeared to be left with less than three hundred soldiers.

Corpses were found everywhere in the wilderness along the road. Among them, a few thousand were the dead bodies of Yulin Army and Crocottas, but more of them were the bodies of the barbarians clad in finely made armor. He also saw a few bodies clad in light green armor who had a spear in their hand.

In that small marshland, the one who was fighting a fierce and intense battle with Luo Kedi and Ma Liang was a large army of barbarians clad in the military armor of Lu Kingdom. The barbarian fighters had all sorts of tattoos on their faces and an extremely ferocious appearance. They were yelling and shouting savagely, wielding their weapons and charging towards the enemy, wave after wave. Even though Luo Kedi and Ma Liang had brought them a severe casualty, they seemed to have no fear of death and kept fighting relentlessly.

Shockingly, behind these barbarian soldiers were three thousand riders mounted on three thousand green beasts who appeared to have a slim and slender body. These riders were clad in a light green armor, carrying a light and handy long spear and a six feet longbow on their backs.

The Crocottas Cavalries were howling crazily, their bodies smeared and dripping with blood as they fought a wild battle with those barbarian fighters. Each Crocottas Cavalryman was capable of killing enemies a few times greater in number than them. However, the number of barbarian fighters here was at least one hundred times more. They were like a small boat sailing in the vast ocean, continuously being slapped and hit by the huge waves. With every wave that came, there would always be a few Crocottas Cavalry ripped into pieces by the barbarians.

The long parade suddenly halted in the middle of the main road. A flying coach stopped beside Lu Chengfeng"s coach. Its window curtain was lifted by Tie Yuewu and she beckoned at Wu Qi. Wu Qi gave Lu Chengfeng a kick, and only then did Lu Chengfeng, who was still lying inside the coach, arise from his comfortable blanket, poking his head lazily out from the window.

"In order to help you, your grandfather had deployed the best "Green Breeze Cavalry" from the Three Mountains Province, joining forces with the fighters from the Brotherhood of Mountains in annihilating those Crocottas Cavalries."

Wu Qi"s heart trembled, and he gave Lu Chengfeng a look. The person inside of the Lu Kingdom who played footsie with the Brotherhood of Mountains, the strongest clan in Meng Mountains, was actually Marquis Yuanyang? Then, in the first place when Tie Yuewu and the others made the decision of sending Lu Chengfeng over to Little Meng City, what exactly were they thinking about?

Lu Chengfeng had his face trembled as well. But soon, he put up a filial and polite smile.

Tie Yuewu yawned lazily, then she said with a rather casual manner, "This is for your own good, and you must remember all these things your maternal grandfather has done for you. If we allow Luo Kedi and his men return to the capital, with the treacherous mind of Princess Yingchuan and few others, it isn"t that tough to guess your real ident.i.ty. Therefore, it is better for all of them to die in this place."

Lu Chengfeng looked deeply into Tie Yuewu"s eyes. "We could have killed them when they are still at Little Meng City. Why we have to do it here?" He shouted with a deep voice.

Tie Yuewu twitched her lips and giggled. "My good son, your mother really enjoys looking at the face of those who think they are at their happiest moment, but suddenly realizing they are trapped in a desperate situation. Look at them, look at Luo Kedi and Ma Liang, aren"t both of them really angry now? Aren"t they looking absolutely despairing?"

Lu Chengfeng didn"t answer.

Wu Qi felt a sudden creep on his flesh. Tie Yuewu"s mentality was nearly like a psycho. This was a woman with a twisted mind, and it looked like the problems Lu Chengfeng was going to face in the future were not only those lying in front of him. She would pour in all her effort to grab Lu Chengfeng tightly in her hand, and make Lu Chengfeng serve the wild ambitions of her and her family with the future power held in his hand.

Perhaps, he should think of a way to get rid of Tie Yuewu before things come to that.

However, she was, after all, Lu Chengfeng"s mother. And no matter what, Lu Chengfeng was his friend now.

For the sake of his friend and his own interest, he had to kill his friend"s mother. Wu Qi felt heavy in his mind, and was suddenly struck by a sense of guilt out of nowhere.

Tie Yuewu chuckled and gently clapped her hands.

Under the lead of the four Xiantian Sinecures of Lu family, one thousand Cuira.s.ses Cavalry initiated an a.s.sault toward the Crocottas Cavalry led by Luo Kedi and Ma Liang.