Chapter 223: Moon Shadow Escape Talisman, Shadow Barbarian King Tribe

Just as he reached the door of the secret room, a hand stretched out like a vine, grabbed the storage bag rolled up by the divine light, and tried to take it back.

How can you give back something you have already obtained?

Chen An showed contempt on his face, and the Qingming Sword flew out. The captivating sword light shot out, and cut off the black-robed man's outstretched hand at the wrist.

There was no time to sort things out carefully, so he took the storage bag and his severed hand and fled in a hurry.

"boom!"

As I came out of the secret room and stepped out of the room, there was a sudden loud noise behind me, like a thunderous explosion, which shook my heart.

Before his eyes, a raging explosion of spiritual energy suddenly broke out, with the quiet room as the center, spreading out to the entire courtyard like a surging wave, baptizing every inch of land indiscriminately.

In an instant, the walls and roof of the exquisite villa were shattered like pieces of paper under the impact of the raging spiritual power, and they were blown up, collapsed, and turned into dust on the ground.

The once quiet villa now looks like a battlefield that has experienced many vicissitudes of life. It is hard to find its previous tranquility. It is now devastated and in ruins.

When the storm calmed down, Chen An gathered his true energy body protection skills, but there was no living person to be found in the surrounding ruins. Obviously, the low-level cultivators who were wandering in the courtyard just now had all turned into a passing cloud in this sudden disaster, and no one was spared.

Fortunately, the secret room was made of special materials, so although the noise was loud, the destructive power only affected this large villa.

However, such a deafening sound resounded throughout Feiyun City and naturally could not escape the eyes and ears of the Heavenly Guards. In fact, it was estimated that at this moment, there was no one in the city who could not hear such a noise.

Chen An was not in a hurry. He simply found a relatively clean place, sat down, and waited quietly for the arrival of the Heavenly Guards.

He opened the storage bag easily.

There were only a few treasures placed before him, but they were all extraordinary items, including two mysterious artifacts emitting a deep luster, a jade slip, an exquisitely carved jade talisman, and a pile of materials for setting up a teleportation array.

The jade slip contained the secrets of setting up the Nine Nether Sword-Throwing Formation. Between the lines, not only was the method of setting up the formation recorded, but every subtle arrangement of the formation was also described in detail.

Chen An only took a quick glance at it and was attracted by the formation methods contained therein. Immediately, he took out a blank jade slip and, guided by his spiritual power, copied the contents of the original slip onto it without leaving out a single detail for his own use.

And that jade talisman is even more eye-catching.

It is small and exquisite, and feels like nothing when held in the palm of your hand. Its surface is engraved with delicate and complex moon phase patterns, as if it condensed the essence of the moon, gently emitting a soft yet deep spiritual light, revealing an extraordinary breath.

Every stroke on the jade talisman contained strange power fluctuations. Even though Chen An had seen countless talismans, he still felt unprecedented strangeness and surprise when facing this one.

Jade talismans are rare in the world, let alone such an exquisite and exquisite one.

"Where's the man in black robe?"

Just as Chen An was immersed in contemplation of the jade talisman, Li Zhen stepped into the ruins, stepping on the broken walls, but his voice was somewhat anxious as he asked about the whereabouts of the man in black.

"already dead."

Chen An spoke frankly, with a hint of indifference in his words.

He recounted the brief confrontation with the man in black robe, and how he intervened in time to stop him when he attempted to escape with the help of the teleportation array. However, he did not expect that he would choose to perish along with him, and explode his dantian to destroy his body.

"Luckily, I took off his storage bag while escaping from danger."

After saying that, he handed the small storage bag to Li Zhen. For Chen An, who had already achieved his goal, such spoils were no longer important.

Li Zhen took the storage bag and his eyes lingered on the jade talisman inside for a moment. Then he said with certainty, "This man in black robe should be from the Shadow Barbarian King Tribe, which is known for its secrecy among the barbarians."

He had witnessed Chen An and Chu Fenglei in front of the Wanjian Tower, and knew that he and Chu Fenglei had discovered the man in black together. He did not ask the other party why he was there.

He was just slightly surprised by Chen An's ability, as he was able to find the trace of the man in black before him.

"Shadow Barbarian King Tribe"

Chen An whispered, the doubts in his heart gradually dissipated like fog.

It turns out that the man in black robe deliberately set up the Nine Nether Sword Formation, and the intention behind it was to completely wipe out the heritage of the human race's swordsmanship!
Once successful, Feiyun City, as the first line of defense against the barbarians, will be shaken in its sword foundation, which will make the entire human defense line unprecedentedly vulnerable and pave the way for the barbarian invasion.

Recalling the barbarian's desperate struggle when he was trying to snatch the storage bag, Chen An suddenly realized that all this might be for this jade talisman.

If the man in black successfully took back the storage bag and self-destructed his dantian, not only would all traces of him be erased, but all the clues in the storage bag would also be burned, and he would truly disappear without a trace.

"The Liman King Tribe is the most valiant and warlike tribe among the barbarians. They have been present in almost all of the confrontations with Feiyun City over the years. They are also old enemies of our Tianwei."

As Li Zhen spoke, he gently stroked the jade talisman in his hand, his eyes deep, as if he was recalling the many fierce battles in the past: "I never expected that the Shadow Barbarian King Tribe, which has always been solitary, would secretly communicate with the Power Barbarian King Tribe and join hands."

"This explains why, despite the layers of defense set up by our Heavenly Guards, a barbarian was able to sneak into the city. The members of the Shadow Barbarian King Tribe are all proficient in the art of concealment and assassination. Ordinary warnings are not very effective for them."

"This jade talisman is called the 'Moon Shadow Escape Talisman'. It is the secret treasure of the Shadow Barbarian King Tribe. With this talisman, even if you don't use the Barbarian Origin Power, you can use the tribe's concealment technique to make it hard to defend against."

After listening to this, Chen An's understanding of the barbarians deepened. The fog in his heart gradually dissipated, but one thing still lingered in his mind.

"So, is Chu Fenglei really related to all this?"

Previous speculations have made it seem that there is a complicated relationship between the black-robed man from the Shadow Barbarian King's tribe and Chu Fenglei, the fifth adopted son of Emperor Jiang.

"Well, this one."

"Li Zhen!"

Just as Li Zhen was about to speak, a clear call came from not far away, accompanied by a figure in white clothes approaching: "Brother Li, why is it so messy here? Is there something important happening?"

The visitor was none other than Zhao Lingyun, an old acquaintance of Li Zhen. Seeing this, he put on a slightly awkward smile and said with a forced smile, "It turns out that it is General Zhao who has come to visit. I haven't seen you for many years. The general's cultivation has become more profound. This is indeed a cause for celebration."

Zhao Lingyun turned his eyes and saw Chen An was also present, so he asked directly: "Brother Chen, can you tell me what happened here?"

Obviously, he was somewhat dissatisfied with Li Zhen's evasive attitude.

Chen An and Zhao Lingyun were already familiar with each other, so there was no need to hide anything. He simply succinctly recounted the story of the man in black robe from beginning to end.

As Li Zhen listened, his brows furrowed more and more. When Chen An finished speaking, his face was almost twisted into a big "川" character, full of distress.

After hearing this, Zhao Lingyun flew into a rage: "This villa was originally given to Chu Fenglei by City Lord Ling Xuanxiao. It seems that he must have colluded with the barbarians in private. Why don't you arrest and interrogate him immediately?"

Li Zhen quickly explained: "I have been chasing the man in black robes, and I just learned the truth. I haven't had a chance to go back and deal with it yet."

"Where is Chu Fenglei now?"

"This is still unclear."

"You want to brush it off without saying a word? Previously, Chu Fenglei was jealous in Wanchun Tower and killed someone. Later, he secretly planted sword-loving grass in Wanjian Tower for personal gain. You could have tolerated him, but now he is secretly communicating with the barbarians for the sword-loving grass. This is a capital crime of betraying the human race. How can you let him off lightly!"

Zhao Lingyun was very dissatisfied with Li Zhen's hesitant attitude and spoke harshly.

Seeing this, Li Zhen quickly comforted him, "General Zhao, calm down. This matter is very serious. I promise that there will be a satisfactory explanation." "Humph, that's better. I will not leave Feiyun City easily until this matter is completely resolved."

The purpose of Zhao Lingyun's trip from Jianghuang City to Feiyun City was that he heard that there was a swordsman named "Wu Guang" in the city. He wanted to meet the other party and exchange sword skills, but he didn't expect to encounter such a thing.

"sure!"

After some kind words and all Li Zhen tried his best, he finally persuaded Zhao Lingyun to leave the scene, leaving behind a difficult problem that needed to be solved urgently.

"Chen An!"

Li Zhen's sudden call interrupted Chen An's idea of ​​quietly leaving. He stopped and turned around to ask, "Li Tianwei, what else?"

"Today, Feiyun City is calm and peaceful. You and I have never met. Do you understand what I mean?" Li Zhen's eyes were as sharp as an eagle, as if a storm would come if there was a disagreement.

"I understand."

Chen An agreed verbally, but his heart was like a raging storm, and he secretly tried to figure out Li Zhen's intentions.

Li Zhen's evasive words to Zhao Lingyun clearly showed that he wanted to keep the matter secret and not let any information leak out.

Could it be that the chess player behind this is Li Zhen?
Just as Chen An's thoughts were in a mess, Li Zhen seemed to be able to see through his mind and said with a smile: "Don't get me wrong, I am not the leader of this matter. Everything was instructed by the city lord. I am just following orders."

"City Lord?" Chen An was surprised, and even more doubts appeared in his mind.

Seeing this, Li Zhen seemed satisfied with Chen An's understanding of the situation and said, "Since the city lord has given the order, you must not forget what I just said."

He smiled and said, "The Chen family is lucky to have talents like you and Chen Sheng. After returning to the city, I will definitely recommend you to the city lord. Maybe in the future, you will have the opportunity to join the ranks of the Heavenly Guards."

After saying that, Li Zhen turned and left, his figure gradually blending into the night, leaving Chen An alone there, with a lot of thoughts in his mind.

As he set out on the road back to Chen's home, Chen An repeatedly thought about what had happened today, feeling uneasy.

Chu Fenglei's connection with the barbarians is already obvious, but Li Zhen is not in a hurry to arrest him. Instead, he asks him to keep silent. The root of all this is the order of the city lord Ling Xuanxiao.

Ling Xuanxiao, the lord of Feiyun City, came to the position of city lord because of his iron-blooded tactics and outstanding military exploits in countless battles with the barbarians.

Rumor has it that he has killed no less than a dozen powerful Void Refinement masters, not to mention those below the Void Refinement level. Among the barbarians, he is hated to the core, second only to Emperor Jiang Renhuang, on the must-kill list!
It is possible that others are secretly communicating with the barbarians, but if I tell Ling Yunxiao, I'm afraid no one will believe it.

Perhaps the city lord has other plans?
The secrets of Feiyun City cannot be known by anyone other than the core figures. Chen An’s doubts may not be resolved in a short period of time.

Although the situation is unclear, the actions of the barbarians have shown that they are ready to make a move. The most important thing at the moment is to improve their own strength. No matter what kind of storm is coming, strength is the most solid shield.

After returning to the Hui tribe, the clone Chen Sheng had already been quietly waiting for his return in the back mountain, which is at the foot of the hill transformed by the Qiankun Pot.

"I have fulfilled my appointment today. Following your instructions, I only used my strength slightly better than Pei Zitian's and successfully retrieved the Golden Jade Dew Vine."

"Oh, I've been busy for so many days that I almost forgot about this matter."

Chen An looked at the two spirit seeds lying quietly in his palm, with gold and silver colors intertwined to form unique patterns, and said with joy.

He had already shared his insights into swordsmanship with his clone, so it was not difficult for him to defeat Pei Zitian.

"How has the outside world responded to the people who have been newly promoted to the Ten Thousand Swords Ranking these days?"

"It has a greater and deeper impact than my last move. It seems to have alarmed the City Lord's Mansion. However, no one knows who 'Wu Guang' is. We are just making wild guesses."

"That's good. I'm going to practice in seclusion during this period. Please don't disturb me unless it's important."

"I see."

Enter the Qiankun Pot and come to the spiritual field of Kuxiu Mountain.

Chen An first found a place in the sixth-level spiritual field for the two Golden Jade Dew Vine seeds and planted them next to the Youshui Ice Heart Lotus and the Xuangen Linglan.

He then used the soul-irrigating technique to water and nourish it.

The several sixth-level spiritual plants that were found in Lingxiyuan were drained of all their essence after arriving in Feiyun City, causing them to degenerate into spiritual seeds and then planted in the North Mountain.

The Canglan golden spiritual silk that had been cultivated before had also been planted in the pond a long time ago. Its growth was pretty good, except that it absorbed too much spiritual energy, which even hindered the growth of the Haipo sacred tree in the pond.

Before the seventh-level immortal tree grows out and provides a steady supply of spiritual energy, this situation is bound to have an impact on his cultivation progress.

However, it is still possible to deal with one or two in a short period of time.

The breakthrough to the realm of emptiness was achieved by utilizing the spiritual milk in the spiritual abyss, without using any fruit from the immortal tree.

If you spend a few years refining it, your strength will surely improve again.

After taking care of the spiritual plants in the fields, Chen An returned to the cave and continued his hard practice.

In the North City District, after Li Zhen left the ruins, he rushed to the City Lord's Mansion to meet the City Lord Ling Xuanxiao.

"City Lord, this matter is different from usual. Chu Fenglei actually colluded with the barbarians and attempted to destroy the Ten Thousand Swords Tower. This is a serious crime. This time... This time I really can't suppress it."

As soon as he saw the city lord, Li Zhen began to complain.

"Don't worry. Although Chu Fenglei behaves in a unique way, he doesn't seem to be associated with the barbarians. Besides, his parents were killed by the barbarians. It is a lifelong pain for him. He can't do such a thing."

Ling Xuanxiao shook his head, seeming to trust Chu Fenglei very much.

"You mean there's another way?"

"Go and find out the details first. By the way, if you do find out something bad, don't punish him lightly. Send him to Emperor Jiang City and let Emperor Jiang make the decision."

"Why do you do this?"

Li Zhen was puzzled, thinking back to when Emperor Jiang's second adopted son disobeyed military orders and acted recklessly during the fight against the barbarians, which led to successive defeats for the army and later, heavy losses for Feiyun City.

Later, the monks in the city worked together and fought hard to drive away the barbarians, but the city lord did not ask for instructions from Emperor Jiang at all, and directly beheaded the people with a sword, saying that he wanted to enforce military law.

When it came to Chu Fenglei, the city lord, who always kept his word, became cautious, which was a bit unusual.

"Don't ask about things you shouldn't ask about!"

Ling Xuanxiao snorted coldly, his eyes flashed, his power was like a mountain torrent, and Li Zhen was frightened to sweat profusely.

"Yes, I'll do it right now!"

Li Zhen was terrified. After accepting the offer, he stumbled out of the City Lord's Mansion. He glanced back and muttered, "Oh, I always have to clean up this kid's mess. If you don't know him, you might think he's the City Lord's illegitimate son."

(End of this chapter)