Volume 1, Chapter 515 – Supreme Treasure

“My lord is going overseas at a time like this?”

At the side, Zhuge Liang frowned slightly.

“Even if Lu Bu possesses peerless valor, faced with so many powerful enemies, I fear he will not be able to hold out for long…”

The present chance in battle would vanish in an instant. Yuan Shao’s power in Jizhou was deeply rooted and far from easy to deal with. If this opportunity were missed, Youzhou would become a besieged city, very likely turning into a dead game.

By then, Youzhou would be surrounded by enemies on all sides and could very well be swallowed up.

In Zhuge Liang’s view, when one man’s life was weighed against the greater situation, which mattered more hardly needed saying.

“There is something you do not know, Master. Zilong alone is worth a million armored riders.”

Liu Bei shook his head slightly. His mind was already made up. Though Jiuzhou was now full of feudal lords, most of them were unworthy of mention.

The ones who could truly determine the course of the situation were always peak powers like the foremost great heroes of the age.

Zhao Yun was a dragon among men, with hope of reaching the absolute peak. He was extraordinarily gifted, and his future achievements would be no less than Lu Bu’s. He could easily sway the outcome of an entire battle.

…

…

The divine capital, Luoyang.

The setting sun was like blood. Along the banks of the Luo River, corpses lay everywhere, and the bloody water had nearly dyed the entire raging river red.

The spiritual fish and strange beasts darting through the water had been nourished by the blood and qi of countless martial experts. All of them had seen their cultivation rise greatly, and the most exceptional among them were already close to turning into demons.

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Countless military banners bearing the character Han atop the city walls had been snapped in two and fallen beneath the walls, where they were trampled into layers of bloody mud by the iron hooves of the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry.

The Sword Saint’s death had already shattered many people’s will to fight. Then, with Lu Bu’s return to the battlefield, the remaining Han troops had almost completely lost their fighting strength.

Even with Huangfu Song and the other commanders struggling to hold the line, defeat was inevitable.

The whole of Luoyang had been stained with a layer of blood. Most of the great clans and aristocratic houses within the city had shut their doors, activated their grand formations, and curled up inside their mansions, not daring to make the slightest move.

Lu Bu sat astride Red Hare, holding his Fangtian halberd in hand. His entire body was bathed in blood. Though the fiend aura around him was heavy, his eyes were terrifyingly calm. He summoned several of his generals and ordered,

“Split up. Surround the imperial palace. Within two hours, open the treasury and find the Chixiao Sword, the Dragon Seal of State, and the Heavensilk Jade Register. Two hours from now, whether you find them or not, withdraw from Luoyang at once and retreat beyond Hangu Pass!”

“Yes, sir!”

The generals answered and departed. The armored riders under their command scattered and moved to encircle the imperial palace.

Lu Bu knew the current state of the world perfectly well. He did not have much time.

Once he was trapped in a tight encirclement, even if he could fight his way out alone, the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry would be all but wiped out.

…

Before the magnificent palace gates, there was no sign of any guards. Only two figures stood side by side, male in body but female in appearance, with cold auras and soft, feminine features.

At the end of the bloodstained long street, Lu Bu’s figure appeared. In the next instant, Red Hare’s iron hooves had already smashed through the palace gates.

The gap in strength between the two standing before the gate and Lu Bu was simply too vast. One of them was like roadside weeds and was beheaded by Lu Bu in an instant.

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The other had no power to resist either. His chest was pierced through by the Fangtian halberd and he was hoisted high into the air, bright red blood sliding down the shaft of the weapon.

“Where is Emperor Ling?” Lu Bu asked in a low voice.

The man being questioned kept his lips tightly shut. A moment later, he forced out a sentence through clenched teeth:

“Traitorous rebel…”

Bang!

Before he could finish speaking, his body exploded into a cloud of blood mist.

“A mere eunuch cur dares sit in judgment.”

Lu Bu withdrew the Fangtian halberd and swept his gaze over the splendid halls and jade towers stretching before him. His brows drew together, and he raised a hand to give the order:

“Search!”

…

…

News of Luoyang’s fall quickly reached the ears of the various feudal lords.

Emperor Ling had vanished. Crown Prince Liu Bian had died in battle on the banks of the Luo River. Eight of the Ten Constant Attendants had been killed, while the remaining two had disappeared. General-in-Chief He Jin and the imperial consorts of the inner palace had likewise vanished without a trace.

Upon hearing this news, all the feudal lords were beside themselves with anxiety. It was not because they were worried for Emperor Ling’s safety, but because of the Great Han treasury and the three legendary supreme treasures.

Whoever obtained even one of them could seize the world!

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There was no need to say much about the divine sword Chixiao. It was the Founding Emperor’s divine weapon and had drunk the blood of beings at the absolute peak. It naturally possessed wondrous powers.

The Dragon Seal of State was a precious treasure for suppressing fortune. It could gather the spiritual qi of the earth veins at the fastest speed and reconsolidate the dragon of fortune.

Once the true dragon rose, one call would bring a hundred answers.

The Heavensilk Jade Register was the most mysterious of all. It was a supreme treasure passed down by Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu. Rumor had it that if the Great Han ever faced a moment of life and death, this object could turn the tide and uphold the state.

Not long after entering Jiuzhou, once Shi Lan understood the current situation, she did not hesitate in the slightest and headed straight for Luoyang.

She had no interest whatsoever in the Great Han’s so-called supreme treasures. Since all the feudal lords under heaven were heading toward Luoyang, Liu Bei was surely among them. She wanted to find some reinforcements for Zhao Yun. That was the only thing she could do at the moment.

Among all the feudal lords in Jiuzhou, the only one Shi Lan could speak to was Liu Bei.

…

…

North Sea, Penglai.

The blood rain had long since stopped, but the sea around Penglai remained scarlet.

Broken limbs and severed remains of all kinds of living beings floated in the dark red seawater. The blazing blood and qi had nearly boiled the seawater for tens of thousands of li around, making it look like a giant pot of steaming broth.

Heavy, uncontrollable gasps echoed over Penglai. Zhao Yun stood in the clouds with spear in hand, his body covered in wounds. Yulan, the mount beneath him, had also lost quite a few scales, and bloodstains marked its snow-white fur.

In just a few short hours, Zhao Yun had fought countless external enemies. No one knew how many lives had been buried here, among them even a giant whale at the level of a great hero of the age.

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When it appeared, one sweep of its tail had raised a tsunami that had nearly overturned Penglai.

As more and more living beings died here, the strength of the invaders also continued to rise.

Most of the truly powerful cultivators had previously been watching from the shadows, testing Zhao Yun’s limits.

Now Zhao Yun had already been forced to use his full strength. Before long, he would become an arrow at the end of its flight.

Just as Tong Yuan had said before, Penglai could not be defended by Zhao Yun alone.

The title Penglai Spear God was a bloody reputation Tong Yuan had carved out through endless slaughter, but now those four words no longer carried any deterrent force.

Yet Zhao Yun showed no intention of retreating. At the very least, before he died, he did not wish to see a single person step into the domain of Penglai.

A fierce roar rose from the sea below, and a massive dark shadow broke through the surface of the water and came in for the kill.

It was a flood dragon that had cultivated for countless years and stood only a line away from the level of a great hero of the age.

Zhao Yun spurred his horse and lifted his spear, but before he could advance, a clear, soaring phoenix cry swept across the sky.

A pale golden phantom of a divine phoenix spread its wings and dove down, plunging straight into the vast ocean. An instant later, it transformed into a golden spear, returned with the flood dragon’s corpse impaled upon it, and fell into the hand of a man.

The man wore black robes and appeared around thirty years of age. His gaze remained fixed on the silver spear in Zhao Yun’s hand, and he said nothing for a long time.

“Eldest Senior Brother.”

Remembering his master’s final words, Zhao Yun’s expression turned complicated. For a moment, he could not tell whether Zhang Xiu before him was friend or foe.