Blades flashed and swords glinted, blood stained the sky.
This was... the Imperial Palace of Great Qi!
Yagyu Killing God, weaved through the crowd. Wherever he passed, screams echoed, and thick, nauseating blood mist permeated the air.
Rows of Imperial Guards fell, only for more to rush forward. Yagyu Killing God, like a tireless killing machine, advanced relentlessly deeper into the palace, leaving a trail of bloody footprints.
He saw him, the Emperor of Great Qi, stumbling and fleeing, constantly shouting for guards to protect him. His face was contorted with terror, a complete disgrace, without a shred of kingly demeanor.
Why? Why could such a waste become the Emperor of Great Qi, possessing the beautiful mountains and rivers of the Central Plains, such a vast territory?
Yagyu Killing God's already dead heart suddenly stirred with an uncontrollable ripple. Was it hatred? Jealousy? Or simply pure rage?
"Bold Japanese pirates, how dare you trespass into the Imperial Palace!"
A shrill voice suddenly rang out, piercing the eardrums. At the same time, a ghostly, shadowy figure appeared in a flash, striking Yagyu Killing God's back with a palm.
"Profound Nether Sunflower God Palm!"
A powerful palm strike, imbued with incredibly sinister and chilling energy, slammed into Yagyu Killing God's body, destroying his Meridians and internal organs, and obliterating his life force.
"Wah!" Yagyu Killing God, spewed a large mouthful of black blood. The blood froze rapidly upon hitting the ground, covering a large area nearby with frost.
"Man and Blade as One!"
Yagyu Killing God, roared, and he merged with his adamantium alloy blade. With one strike, he cut the old eunuch in two, blood spraying wildly into the air.
"Ah! Qibao is dead!"
"Sande! Wuyin! Attack together!"
Three more ghostly figures rushed out from the shadows, unleashing their sinister and chilling martial arts, and battled Yagyu Killing God, who was in his Man and Blade as One state... "What a move, an eye for an eye." Zhou Ming withdrew his hand from Yagyu Killing God's head, shaking his head with pity.
"I destroyed your Kyoto, so you went to destroy the Great Qi Imperial Family. Did you think Great Qi was the same as your Dongying?"
In Yagyu Killing God's memory, Zhou Ming saw the outcome of this battle.
Relying on the indestructible nature of the adamantium alloy blade, Yagyu Killing God, in his Man and Blade as One state, completely abandoned defense and engaged in rampant slaughter.
After he slew a group of highly skilled eunuchs, an incredibly old eunuch finally emerged. With a single palm strike, he knocked Yagyu Killing God, out of his Man and Blade as One state and directly snatched the adamantium alloy blade.
Afterward, the old eunuch delivered another palm strike, shattering Yagyu Killing God's internal organs. He desperately used Man and Blade as One again, barely managing to escape.
The old eunuch seemed to be too old; although his strength was boundless, he couldn't sustain it. After just two palm strikes, he didn't attack again, watching as Yagyu Killing God, escaped.
His assassination attempt on the Emperor of Great Qi failed, he lost the adamantium alloy blade that allowed him to be invincible, and crucially, he encountered a hidden expert who could knock him out of his Man and Blade as One state.
Yagyu Killing God, was disheartened, realizing his revenge was utterly hopeless. Furthermore, the old eunuch's last palm strike had severed his life force, meaning death was near. He returned to Dongying, unwilling to die on the Central Plains' soil.
And his dying body, coincidentally, perfectly aligned with the true meaning of his Absolute Blade, which severs all life force. This allowed his Blade Dao Realm to advance further just before his death, granting him a final surge of power, a last flicker of life.
Thus, Yagyu Killing God, found this place. He knew he couldn't kill Zhou Ming, who was protected by the Nine Yin Profound Heaven Sword, so he targeted Kaka, who was beside Zhou Ming. He then used the power of his final blade strike to kill Yagyu Ichinyo and others, preventing them from further humiliation.
Having accomplished all this, Yagyu Killing God, had no strength left to do anything else and had lost the desire to live, facing death calmly.
"The Imperial Palace of Great Qi truly harbors hidden talents! I'm afraid it's not just the palace; there are also some highly skilled individuals with profound martial arts Realms hidden within the Jianghu Martial Forest."
"It seems Shangguan Wuji was truly set up twenty years ago. So many Martial Forest experts didn't act against Yagyu Killing God, leaving a young junior like Shangguan Wuji to deal with him."
"Heh heh, perhaps they saw Shangguan Wuji's rising prominence, achieving so much at a young age, and wanted to suppress him!"
"From the results, those old foxes were quite successful."
Zhou Ming sighed about the dangers of the Jianghu, then said, "We've strayed too far. Back to reality, Yagyu Killing God, doesn't have long to live. You'll need to give him a few recovery injections to prevent him from dying so quickly."
"So, even if we did nothing, Yagyu Killing God, was doomed to die?" Kaka's eyes widened.
"But now we have to keep him alive and prevent him from dying so quickly!"
"Yes, such is the unpredictability of life." Zhou Ming chuckled. Yagyu Killing God, couldn't die now. If he died, Zhou Ming and Qin Wumeng's main quest would be completed, and they would immediately return to the Main God Space.
"Have you ever encountered such a quest before, where if a certain quest target dies, the quest is immediately completed, but as long as that person doesn't die, the quest isn't completed and you don't return?"
"In such a situation, what would happen if we kept delaying like this?"
Zhou Ming asked.
"We haven't encountered such a quest, but we've heard other Reincarnator teams talk about such a situation."
Kaka thought for a moment and told the truth.
"The Main God will not allow a Reincarnator team to stay in a certain world for too long. If we continue to delay, it's very likely that a 'plot runaway' will occur!"
"Plot runaway?" Zhou Ming pondered the meaning of the term, feeling a sense of unease.
"Exactly. After a plot runaway occurs, Reincarnators are like targets of the entire world. Various factions and powerful entities in the plot world will easily become enemies with Reincarnators, and all sorts of troubles will come flooding in, giving Reincarnators little peace."
As he spoke, Kaka seemed to recall the terrifying image of being targeted by the entire world and couldn't help but shiver.
"It's best if such a terrifying thing doesn't happen."
Zhou Ming nodded in deep agreement, urging the Flying Flower Gu to fly towards the Central Plains at an even faster speed... Yunxia Mountain, Changyun Cave.
The entire Yunxia Mountain range had several large mountains destroyed in the previous great battle, causing the Changyun River's water level to rise sharply. Later, a heavy rainstorm led to severe flooding downstream, resulting in countless deaths and injuries, a truly tragic situation.
As expected, Changyun Cave was submerged by the rising waters. When Zhou Ming went to Dongying, the spectacular and beautiful scene of 'water drowning Changyun Cave, Yunxia reaching the sky' truly occurred.
It was just a pity that this was truly only a change in natural phenomena, and there was no divine wonder like the appearance of a Spirit Treasure, leaving Feng Yuanzheng, who had waited eagerly, with empty joy.
"The Shangguan father and son have left. They are going to pay respects to Shangguan Nianci's mother and rebuild Heaven Sword Manor. Ghost Doctor and Qiu Shuang also went with them."
Zhou Ming's return made Qin Wumeng exceptionally happy. As they strolled through the winding and intersecting underground tunnels of Changyun Cave, she recounted the events of the past few days.
"Before they left, they said that after Heaven Sword Manor is rebuilt, Shangguan Nianci and Qiu Shuang will get married, and they invited us in advance to attend their wedding banquet."
"Also, before Ghost Doctor left, he left things for you. I've collected them all. There are medical books he personally compiled, fruits and flowers from the bronze dream tree he collected, and a letter he left for you."
Qin Wumeng narrated each event, and Zhou Ming listened quietly.
From a distance, Kaka looked at Zhou Ming's serene and lovely expression, and a chill involuntarily ran down his spine.
This guy was not like this in Dongying!
While Qin Wumeng was telling Zhou Ming about the past few days, Kaka was also telling Feng Yuanzheng about another matter.
Although they had a remote communication channel, it wasn't face-to-face communication, so Kaka had to tell Feng Yuanzheng again.
"So, he agreed to talk to me?" Feng Yuanzheng said with a joyful expression.
"Uh... I don't think you two want to talk about the same thing. But never mind, we can talk about anything."
Kaka calmed himself down and chose to trust his captain.
And Feng Yuanzheng, upon hearing that Zhou Ming was willing to "talk" to him, excitedly ran up to Zhou Ming.
"Talk?" he said concisely.
Zhou Ming looked at Feng Yuanzheng's beaming face, feeling rather strange.
It was clearly he who sought to negotiate terms with Feng Yuanzheng, yet Feng Yuanzheng seemed even happier than he was? Could it be that he intended to treat him as a fool to be extorted!
Zhou Ming, feeling wary, carefully chose his words: "Talk, then let's talk."
The two team leaders walked into the underground cavern where the bronze dream tree grew. Currently, the bronze dream tree was still only one meter tall, and its dream-inducing range only covered ten meters around it, its power greatly diminished.
"Tell me about your world!" Feng Yuanzheng eagerly cut straight to the chase.
"What's the power ceiling of your world? What star rating do you think it can achieve? How far has the Main God explored your world?"
"The most crucial point, how do you extract profits from it!"
Zhou Ming froze on the spot.
"You..." She was momentarily stunned, her brain slow to process. It took her a while to understand.
Goodness, the amount of information in Feng Yuanzheng's few short sentences was explosive!
Her mind raced, and she tentatively asked, "How did you know?"
"What do you mean?" Feng Yuanzheng frowned. "Boss Zhou, whatever your conditions are, just state them. There's no need to beat around the bush, is there?"
"Alright." Zhou Ming smiled, feigning nonchalance. "I want the Dragon Vein. I wonder if Boss Feng is willing to part with it?"
Zhou Ming began to act, deciding to probe first to see if she could glean more information from Feng Yuanzheng.
"This..." Feng Yuanzheng's brows furrowed even tighter, and he hesitated, "You should know, the Dragon Vein is our team's main quest for this mission... I need to know the detailed information about your world before I can decide whether to agree to your request!"
Zhou Ming feigned dissatisfaction, "Boss Feng, are you playing me? Trying to get my information for free? How do I know that after I tell you everything, you won't leak this information and sell it to others!"
After another moment of internal struggle, Feng Yuanzheng gritted his teeth and said, "We can sign an agreement guaranteeing that I won't leak the information. I'll provide the collateral, and with the Main God's guarantee, you can rest assured!"