Chapter 32: Lure the Enemy Deep into the Lake and Flood the Lake
The next day.
The news that Crown Prince Zhu Biao was leading the chief eunuch Yun Qi and two thousand soldiers to Fengyang to worship their ancestors spread throughout the court and the country.
Fengyang is the place where the dragon rises.
Zhu Yuanzhang once issued an edict to build the Zhongdu City in his hometown, but it was later abandoned. However, the imperial mausoleum, where Zhu Yuanzhang's parents and brothers and sisters-in-law are buried, has always been highly valued. Although it is not an emperor's mausoleum, it is a palace, magnificent and solemn.
The Zhu royal family would make a special trip to pay homage every year.
It's a little early this year, but it's normal as it's shortly after the Lantern Festival.
After the selection of the two thousand cavalrymen was completed, Zhao Wumian, wearing his personal armor and disguising himself, followed Zhu Biao, slowly walked out of Tongji Gate, went up the official road, and headed for Fengyang County, Chuzhou.
If you set out at Mao time, you can reach Chuzhou in the evening.
The crowd marched on horseback.
Yunqi and Zhu Biao were well-informed and had obviously heard the news that a certain centurion had sent the director of the Imperial College to the imperial prison last night.
Zhao Wumian's behavior seemed to be a personal revenge, but after a closer look, it was not difficult to find that Gu Changge also deserved it.
Not only did this person obtain his official position through illegal means, he also relied on flattery and giving gold and silver to Hu Weiyong to get promoted. He also often bullied others by abusing his power in Feng Manlou, wantonly stalking and harassing women from the folk, and his various means of stalking were extremely despicable. Such a person should have been punished according to the law long ago!
Now that he had provoked Zhao Wumian, he was sent to the imperial prison. He deserved it.
This was the first time that Zhao Wumian used the Hu Weiyong case to arrest people.
The people arrested were not innocent, so neither of them took it seriously.
Yun Qi rode in front, not looking away, and secretly sent a message to Zhao Wumian: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is kind and benevolent. Normally, it's okay, but this time he is traveling with you, so he must pay more attention to you. You should be patient, so as not to leave a bad impression."
Zhao Wumian rode forward with an ordinary face, speaking in a thread-like voice, "It's not that I don't want to tolerate him, it's just that he's too disgusting! He committed crimes, but he shouted slogans of arresting people according to the law, and he still spoke righteously. I only stabbed him 36 times, and I have tolerated him again and again."
"..."
Yun Qi smiled helplessly. This kid really couldn't stand any loss.
suddenly.
Yun Qi felt something in his heart and glanced behind him: "Someone is following, and the aura is strong. It seems that they have discovered that you are in the army and have begun to take action. [Bu Ran Chen] is really the nemesis of "Actor's Treasure Mirror". You must be careful in the future."
Zhao Wumian nodded gently: "Fortunately, this thing also has limitations. I have learned how to get rid of it. Now I look inside my body before practicing every day. As long as I pay attention, there won't be any big problems."
"Well, it's better to be safe than sorry."
Yun Qi nodded, gave a warning, and whipped the horses. Two thousand horses galloped past, the sound of hooves was like thunder, and dust billowed on the official road.
The people behind were following from a distance of several miles away.
In the blink of an eye, it was evening. The two thousand riders arrived at the gate of Chuzhou. The prefect of Chuzhou had already brought officials to greet them outside the city. They said that the garrison in the city had already cleaned the barracks and were waiting to enter the city with the army. The Crown Prince came in a hurry. The prefect, the co-prefect, the assistant prefect, and the judge were on their way to Chuzhou.
Zhu Biao bluntly said that there was no need to mobilize a large army so as not to disturb the people, so he led everyone into the state capital and set up camp.
Time passed by minute by minute.
Soon it was approaching midnight, the moon was at its zenith, and it was time to take action as planned.
Yunqi and Zhu Biao made preparations secretly.
In the military camp, Zhao Wumian also opened his eyes, changed his face, put on night clothes, walked out of the tent, and ran straight to the Shenxiu Lake in Langya Mountain.
When he moves, everything in all directions moves!
In the darkness of the night, one could see dark shadows swarming towards him.
Yipintang and Vajra Sect have already joined together. Marpa and his four disciples, the five evil spirits of Yipintang including Huashe, and seventy death warriors, all followed Tiangou and rushed towards Langya Mountain.
On the Fei family's side, Luo Qingquan and the fifty palace soldiers behind him were also dressed in black and masked, wearing waist badges indicating their identity as Yipintang. They followed behind Fei Ming, climbing over eaves and walls, and catching up with him at an extremely fast speed.
This is no small force.
Marpa is the master of the Vajra Sect and the junior brother of Master Jin Guang. He has reached the fourth realm and has become a golden body with extremely high martial arts skills! The four true disciples are also outstanding in the Vajra Sect, with late third realm cultivation. With the help of the "Five Evils" of Yipin Hall, one fourth realm and nine third realms are enough to attract the attention of the Zhenfu Division.
The power of the Fei family is slightly weaker, with only Luo Qingquan as the backbone. However, the Fei family is a royal family of the Ming Dynasty. Fei Ju has made outstanding military achievements and received countless rewards, so he has a strong foundation. Luo Qingquan is also very powerful because he has the blessing of a magic weapon.
With these two forces combined, the two thousand cavalrymen are basically just a decoration.
However, they did not have the courage to assassinate Zhu Biao.
Because there are shadow guards in the dark.
The strength of the shadow guards is relatively balanced. There is no fourth realm, but all of them are third realms that were induced by using Taotie blood as a medicine. Once these hundreds of people form a formation, they can kill even the fourth realm even if they are killed or injured! What's more, there is Yun Qi who is capable of being the head of one of the eight major sects to help. His martial arts are unfathomable!
No one wants to mess with the royal family unless it is necessary.
The opportunity was rare now, and the Ming royal family did not want any accidental casualties, so they did not openly dig the underground palace. Instead, they covered for Zhao Wumian and allowed him to secretly take the treasure. Yipintang and King Kong Sect were also happy with this, as they did not want a head-on conflict. Doing so gave them a chance to intercept.
Fei Ming sniffed lightly, determined the direction and distance, and sneered: "Sure enough, he is using the prince as a cover. He has already left the camp. This time, he will never come back!"
Fei Ming still remembered that Zhao Wumian killed the dog and threatened him that day, and he was determined to make him die miserably!
Mount Langya is only ten miles away from Chuzhou City.
Zhao Wumian knew the "Jinghong Treading Snow Steps" and his lightness skills were extremely fast. In less than a cup of tea, he arrived at Shenxiu Lake again.
Others had to be careful of Yunqi and Shadow Guard and dared not get too close to the military camp, so they would inevitably be half a beat slower when chasing.
By the time they reached Shenxiu Lake, Zhao Wumian had already opened the entrance to the underground palace and rushed in.
The two groups of people faced each other across the Shenxiu Lake on the east and west banks, and they knew each other's origins very well.
The best way right now is to wait for Zhao Wumian to take the treasure out, and then ambush and kill him, killing him and seizing the treasure at the same time.
But first of all, we don’t know the situation of the underground palace. Hu Weiyong has three burrows. Who knows how many doors there are in this treasure hiding place? What if Zhao Wumian escapes from another exit? What if there is a shadow guard waiting on the other side? The most important thing is that not everyone wants to take the treasure. The Vajra Sect comes for the method of "Sacrificing the Bodyguard". They must enter the underground palace! And Daming will not let the method of refining the Sacrificing Bodyguard spread out, and will definitely destroy the map. So not only must we enter immediately, but we must not let Zhao Wumian destroy the map!
Once someone wants to come in, others must not sit idly by.
The Vajra Sect spoke nicely, just looking at the diagram of the Self-Sacrifice Guard. What if he had other ideas and made a move on Zhao Wumian and seized the treasure of the Tianji Palace... Marpa was at the fourth realm of cultivation. Before he got the method of refining the Self-Sacrifice Guard, he dared not make any rash moves. Once he got the method of refining the Self-Sacrifice Guard and had no worries, no matter what he wanted to do, others would surely find it difficult to resist!
Once a chain of suspicion is formed, the situation is often out of control.
In order to sacrifice his life to protect the Dharma, Marpa saw the entrance and immediately took action, chasing after it with his four disciples.
When the others saw them move, they had to move as well for the sake of the treasure.
Anyway, Zhao Wumian, who is only at the second level of cultivation, can’t cause any trouble!
A large number of people and horses entered one after another.
The underground palace suddenly became lively.
……
They will definitely come in.
Zhao Wumian had anticipated this and moved through the underground palace with ease.
Last time they came to avoid the mechanism, this time they came to destroy it - it is also convenient for those behind to catch up, so as to lure the enemy into going deeper. The deeper they go, the harder it will be to escape when the lake water backflows!
The Sakya sect's Unfixed Flying Wheel Array...
Tang Sect's Rain of Pear Blossom Needle Array...
Thunderbolt Hall Firearms...
The poison of the Ten Thousand Poison Sect...
The mechanical puppet of the Divine Axe Sect...
Zhao Wumian rushed all the way, using stones to trigger the mechanism and destroy key nodes. The whole process was extremely precise and neat, getting closer and closer to the depths of the underground palace. He was one step ahead, and when the people behind caught up, they saw that the ground was already in a mess, with various mechanisms, hidden arrows, poisons and firearms randomly hitting the ground, densely packed.
Just looking at the scene you can tell how dangerous it is!
Everyone thought to themselves that Hu Weiyong’s underground palace was truly amazing, and every mechanism and trap was extremely powerful. If one was not careful, there would be no recovery!
Zhao Wumian was not bad either. With his cultivation at the second level, he was able to break all the traps in the underground palace with just a map. No matter how much he hated him, he had to admit that he was indeed gifted. He was indeed someone who could learn the "Jinghong Treading Snow Step" with just a few glances...
When they catch up.
Zhao Wumian was already standing in front of the Twenty-Eight Constellations Stone Array, working on breaking it.
But within the formation, one could see the stone mountains moving, strong winds blowing, sand and rocks flying, and the formations between the stone pillars constantly changing, sometimes changing into the Yin-Yang formation, sometimes changing into the Sancai formation, and sometimes changing into the Sixiang formation... The old formation had not been broken, but the new formation had been formed. In addition, the sand was everywhere, and the clouds were rising, blocking the view. Just one glance at it made one feel dizzy and the world was spinning.
Everyone present was an expert, having practiced pupil techniques and infusing their eyes with innate energy. Looking carefully through the stone mountain, they could vaguely see the secret room behind the formation, as well as the diagram of the Self-Sacrificing Guard engraved on the stone wall of the secret room!
"master!"
Sangzhu, the chief disciple of the Vajra Sect, had his eyes light up and he quickly sent a message to remind him.
Marpa was cheered up. It turned out to be true. As long as he copied the secret technique back and let the Sheshenwei reappear in the world, Tubo might be able to fight against the Ming Dynasty!
The people of Yipintang noticed the golden light faintly shining through the secret room, and guessed that it was gold, silver, treasures, or martial arts secrets.
no doubt.
What you want is right across the street!
Everyone stared at Zhao Wumian, waiting for him to show them how to break the formation.
The stone formation in front of us doesn’t look simple at first glance.
But Zhao Wumian slowed down, frowned, stared at the map, seemed a little hesitant, not knowing where to start.
"Why hasn't he broken the formation yet?"
Fei Ming couldn't wait any longer and impatiently sent a message to Luo Qingquan: "Don't you have a map? You still can't crack it? You're so slow! You're such a loser!"
"..."
Luo Qingquan glanced at him, hesitant to speak, and replied: "This formation is extraordinary. If I am not mistaken, it should be a variation of the twenty-eight constellations formation. The entire formation has been integrated with the aura of Mount Langya. The twenty-eight small stone mountains are the twenty-eight constellations, arranged according to the Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams. They are real and fake, true and false, and change in countless ways. Add to that the flying sand and rocks, and the rising mist. Even if you know the solution, it is not easy to find a starting point. There are too many things to calculate, so it is understandable that he would hesitate."
Fei Ming suppressed his anger and said, "Then why don't we just kill him and take the map away!"
"..."
Luo Qingquan sighed inwardly and continued to explain patiently: "There are so many people and eyes now, and each party is keeping its troops in place. If you and I move, the other two parties will suspect that we are trying to steal the treasure, and they will surely attack us in unison! Third Young Master, please be patient. Since Zhao Wumian is here, he will not return empty-handed. Once he breaks the formation and gets the treasure, he will no longer be of any use to us, and you can kill him however you want!"
Fei Ming had no choice but to continue to endure.
Vajra Marpa was concentrating.
Yipintang Tengu and others were also watching intently.
suddenly.
Tengu sniffed gently and frowned slightly: "What's the smell?"
The underground palace was very humid and musty, but there seemed to be another smell in the musty smell... a little fishy, a little pungent, and a little bit of rotting charcoal... This smell was covered by the heavy musty smell. It was not very strong, but it always made me feel creepy when I smelled it...
Tengu followed the smell and looked upwards. There seemed to be a ventilation hole there, which should be connected to the pavilion in the middle of the lake...
In the vent, the smell was even stronger, like an egg that had been left out for too long, fishy and smelly...
Tengu couldn't remember what it was for a moment, but he just felt that it was somewhat familiar.
The others gradually lost their patience. At Yipintang, Li Li was preparing to burrow underground to kill people and steal the map. Marpa from the Vajra Sect was staring at Zhao Wumian, and Fei Ming was becoming more and more impatient...
at this time.
Suddenly a firework exploded from the ground.
Everyone was puzzled. The Lantern Festival had already passed, so where did the fireworks come from? Then they realized something was wrong.
"not good!"
The Tengu was alerted by the fireworks and suddenly woke up. He shouted out in shock, "It's dynamite!!!"
The smell of sulfur, the smell of saltpeter, the smell of rotting charcoal...
This is dynamite!
His shout echoed in the empty underground palace like a bolt from the blue!
Everyone was shocked at first, then they understood and their faces changed drastically!
Zhao Wumian smiled slightly, and the encirclement was completed.
"Five Elements, start the formation!"
Zhao Wumian immediately used the Yin-Yang magic to mobilize the earth energy within a radius of several feet, turning it into fire energy, and then raised his sword finger and pointed it at the vent in the sky:
"Sunfire Arrow!"
A flash of fire, like a sharp arrow, pierced through the rubble covering the surface and hit the fire bomb in the ventilation vent!
There was a loud bang!
Flames accompanied by thunder and lightning exploded in all directions, making the entire underground palace as bright as day!
Behind the boundless flames, rubble rolled and a huge black hole was blown out in the underground palace!
The entire deep and beautiful lake water poured in, surging like a tiger descending from the mountain, unstoppable! The loud rumbling sound was like thousands of beasts roaring in unison, the sound was awe-inspiring, and it flooded the people behind!
Everyone was shocked.
It was not until then that they realized that this was a vicious plot to use themselves as bait to lure the enemy deeper!
"Goodbye."
Zhao Wumian turned around, smiled, and leaped into the rock formation.
"Zhao! Wu! Mian!"
The torrent fluttered like a silk ribbon, pouring down from above, and the sound shook the whole area!
Fei Ming's face turned red with anger and he trembled all over: "You are looking for death——"
"Get out!"
Luo Qingquan roared, grabbed Fei Ming, and used his lightness skills to rush to the back.
The surging lake water was like a herd of wild horses that had broken free from their reins, rushing over one after another. No one cared about anyone else and in panic, they hurriedly returned along the same route they had come.
The lake water rushed with a roar like thunder.
Be it Yipintang, Vajra Sect or Fei family soldiers, no matter they are in the third realm or the fourth realm, they are not mermen and cannot fight underwater.
This is obviously a trap, and it must be full of ambushes. But now there is no choice at all, either drown or break out!
"You retreat first!"
Marpa roared, and all the internal energy burst out. A huge white elephant rose up and stood upright to meet the torrent.
Thousands of waves crashed down, Marpa groaned, and the majestic lake water hit the rocks, splashing waves several feet high!
"master!"
Wangdui shouted anxiously.
Sangzhu grabbed him and rushed to the entrance with the remaining two fellow apprentices.
"As expected of an elder of the Vajra Sect, you are truly aware that if I don't go to hell, then who will?"
A shrill voice sounded, echoing in the sky and on the ground.
Yun Qi said calmly: "Marpa, are you ready to go to hell?"
The dragon beast Chiwen entered the water.
Yun Qi went downstream and struck the white elephant with one palm. Suddenly, the mountains and rivers were shaken and huge waves surged!
(End of this chapter)
