A two-hour period later, by the Jade Belt River.

Li Chengqian was covered in blood, his long hair disheveled, his figure staggering, his eyes full of despair.

After coming ashore, he was repeatedly ambushed, his horse had already been sabotaged, even the saddle was coated with deadly poison.

Afterwards, a series of ambushes followed continuously. Even though he broke through the layers of encirclement, he sustained serious injuries.

But at this moment, the Handsome Yama had caught up with him.

"If I were not seriously injured, I would've killed you under my palm today." Li Chengqian's arms were covered in bloodstains, uncertain if they were his or his enemy's, and his robes were in tatters, his hair disheveled, looking extremely wretched.

Buzz!

Sword light clashed and slashed fiercely toward Li Chengqian.

Lu Chengfeng had no interest in wasting words with him, delivering one sword strike after another, the sword light surged like tides, his figure like a specter, the sword light interweaving into a heaven and earth net, colliding frenziedly with the enemy.

Despite Li Chengqian being gravely injured, his palms maintained a balance of offense and defense, gang qi surged, striving to fend off the enemy's onslaught.

Splurt!

A wound appeared, blood trickled out.

Splurt!

Another wound.

Lu Chengfeng, like a ferocious and cunning beast, was constantly observing for opportunities, adding wound upon wound to the enemy.

"Ah..." Li Chengqian knew that continuing this way would only lead to being dragged to death. His clothes bulged, his hair flew upwards, in his pupils, electrical light burst open.

This was the forbidden technique of the Li Family's Wind and Thunder Thunderbolt Palm, using true qi to stimulate all major acupoints, generating electrical light within, thereby unleashing faster speed and stronger power.

Once this technique is used, at best, power is lost, and at worst, the user dies on the spot; it is a desperate dharma method.

But this method requires an extremely high level of control over true qi, even Li Xiaoyun has never mastered it.

Li Chengqian went all out at this moment, moving with lightning speed, his palms striking with a muffled thunderous sound.

He matched speed with speed, clashing head-on, fierce and violent, forcing Lu Chengfeng into retreat time and again.

Lu Chengfeng's sword light flowed like water, dispelling the layered onslaught from the enemy; this was no longer a move from the "Life-taking Impermanence Sword." With the opponent's strength skyrocketing, he had no choice but to use the Profound Crane Thousand Shadows Ghostly Sword Technique, employing the Tongyou Sword Intent at full strength.

Initially, Li Chengqian didn't realize it. After using the forbidden technique, his whole body felt like a pin cushion, as if being sliced by a thousand blades, his hairs stood on end, frenziedly releasing the power within.

But as the power conjured by the life-energy-exhausting forbidden technique began to wane, like a reprieve before death, his consciousness regained clarity.

"How can this be? The Life-taking Impermanence Sword is all offense and no defense, it's the pinnacle of assassination skills, you..."

"No, what you used is not..."

Splurt!

A sword light brutally thrust through his throat, piercing his tongue and throat, protruding from the back of his head.

Li Chengqian's every word was cut off by this sword; his pupils widened, glaring at Lu Chengfeng with disbelief.

In his last moments of life, he realized some things he hadn't noticed before.

Unfortunately, he never had the chance to say them aloud.

Bang!

Lu Chengfeng forcefully twisted the sword hilt, making the opponent's head explode, leaving only a headless corpse, spraying scarlet blood, collapsing to the ground.

"The prodigy of the Li Family, truly not an undeserved reputation!"

He sighed slightly. Even while gravely injured, the opponent could still corner him completely, forcing him to bring the Tongyou Sword Intent to its limit.

"The Profound Crane Thousand Shadows Ghostly Sword Technique at the Twenty-First Layer is already inadequate. If not for refining the gift from a Half-Step Celestial Human, I would have died twice already."

"I must swiftly switch to training in the Eight Desolates Divine Fire Dragon divine skill!"

The profound meaning of the Eight Desolates Divine Fire Dragon martial arts provided immeasurable help in today's battles, Lu Chengfeng was impatient to master this divine skill, eager to experience the might and terror of the Unparalleled Divine Skill.

He glanced at Li Chengqian's corpse, gathered his true qi, pulverizing the remains so thoroughly, making it hard for the enemy to detect any slight traces he left behind, then turned to leave.

At this stage, the enemy would only want to tear him apart, not call upon forensic experts to examine the cause of death — it wasn't a crime investigation, after all. Li Chengqian dying at the Handsome Yama's hands would be widely known after tonight.

"Victory and defeat, the law of the jungle, this is the Martial World!"

The top ten prodigy on the Wind and Cloud List died at his hands, right in this desolate wild, dead without a complete corpse — such an end was truly tragic.

Lu Chengfeng felt neither joy nor satisfaction; unknowingly, he grew stronger but increasingly lacked a sense of security. Only more formidable power could provide any assurance.

It seemed as though if he stopped for even a moment, he would perish under someone else's sword.

He sighed deeply, suddenly longing for Luo Suyi far away in Yun Cang.

It had been a long time since he had a peaceful meal; no one attended to his dressing and bathing, no one indulged in intimate whispers with him, and no one allowed him to sleep peacefully through the night.

"The night rain in the Martial World, sharing a bed with a beauty, but unfortunately, I am all alone."

Lu Chengfeng departed, quickly boarding a small boat that disappeared into the vast night.

...

The battle by the Jade Belt River was closely watched by major factions in the Central State, and Li Chungen rushed over as soon as he received the news.

But by the time he arrived, it was already too late, all he saw was Li Chengqian's battered corpse.

He stood dazedly at the spot for a long time, his gray-white hair disheveled in the night.

"Prepare the body for Chengqian, and have some Water Ghosts collect Xiaoyun's corpse from the river."

"Send someone to scout the whereabouts of Handsome Yama."

"Send a message to Xiaotian, asking him to come back once."

Li Chungen ordered, taking up the wine gourd to gulp down a mouthful, his expression weary.

...

As dawn broke, news that the seventh on the Wind and Cloud List was killed by Handsome Yama immediately shook the entire Central Capital, and then rapidly spread to other places.

"Li Chengqian had already mastered the Wind and Thunder Thunderbolt Palm to the Twenty-Fourth Layer, is Handsome Yama really that strong? Isn't it said he only has achievements at the Twentieth Layer in Martial Path?"

"It's said that Li Chengqian faced multiple attacks and was seriously injured, and Handsome Yama seized the opportunity to ambush him, only then succeeding. In terms of strength, Li Chengqian was certainly superior to the opponent."

"Bullshit, I heard even the Li Family's second master was killed by Handsome Yama."

"That's not certain, no one saw it firsthand, they say last night the Mad Ascetic and One-Eyed Mountain Eagle from Three Immortals Mountain were present, I think it was these two who killed the Li Family's second master."

"Two first-class masters died, especially Li Chengqian, who was the third generation heir meticulously nurtured by the Li family's patriarch, the Li family will certainly not let this go easily, the coming days are likely to be unsettled!"

...

All sides had endless discussions, but the upper echelons of the Celestial Patrol Department were in continual argument. Handsome Yama's actions in a sense represented Youdu's stance, such dangerous and reckless moves clearly carried malice towards the Central Capital.

"The Lord of Youdu is due to visit Yun Cang Mountain in three months, but at this critical time, he provokes the Central Capital? I believe there's something unusual here."

"True, Handsome Yama indeed killed someone, but he holds the Celestial Patrol Order, and Li Chungen personally spoke to follow the regulations of the Celestial Patrol Order, so this is clearly his and the Li family's personal grievance, it has nothing to do with our Celestial Patrol Department."

"I think you've gone crazy, an outsider causes havoc on our turf, first killing in broad daylight, and then collaborating with bandits and assassins to attack our Celestial Patrol Department people, and you're willing to turn a blind eye?"

"The Lord of Youdu will eventually aim for the Central Capital after annexing the Northern Lands, yet you hesitate and shrink back, not daring even to deal with a mere disciple of Youdu, in my view, better to surrender outright and act as slaves."

The Celestial Patrol Department was initially formed by dozens of sects, full of internal factions and complexity, each side holding its own interests and views.

At this moment, Lu Chengfeng's actions were like a stone shattering the calm water surface, causing the underlying currents to swiftly surface.

The higher-ups of the Celestial Patrol Department argued without pause for several days, some advocating sending experts to hunt Handsome Yama, others proposed dispatching an army to quell Three Immortals Mountain.

But there were also those who believed this was the Li family's matter and should not involve the whole Celestial Patrol Department.

To protect their own interests and stances, various factions formed alliances both openly and secretly, yet yielded no results.

However, Lu Chengfeng didn't let things rest; with information provided by the Celestial Dog on the whereabouts of Wind and Cloud List prodigies, in seven days, he struck continuously more than ten times.

Slaying twelve of the thirty-six prodigies on the Wind and Cloud List.

With his current swordsmanship, as long as there was no first-class supreme master or Half-Step Celestial Human guarding, prodigies ranking after tenth on the Wind and Cloud List had no chance of survival under his assassinations.

Even the ninth place on the Wind and Cloud List, Yun Jingxian, perished at his hands.

Lu Chengfeng did not make a grand show upon striking, instead conducting covert assassinations, and within a mere seven days, one-third of the Wind and Cloud List was massacred.

The Central Capital was shaken, the Central State quaked, the entire Martial World was startled!

The name of Handsome Yama resounded throughout the North and South, known far and wide in the Martial World.

The word "Yama" instilled fear and trembling.

Such rampant slaughter utterly enraged the Celestial Patrol Department, led by Li Chungen, along with Li Xiaotian and two other Marshals, they gathered ten thousand troops and deployed Half-Step Celestial Human Realm masters to besiege Three Immortals Mountain.

Meanwhile, Lu Chengfeng had already announced his intention to close in advance for a breakthrough, dispatching a team to escort Zhao Tianyou and Su Wanqing to Youdu.

After starting the closed-door training, he opted for the deep confines of Three Immortals Mountain, sealing himself within an ancient cave difficult for outsiders to find. This location was perilous and remote, known only by the Mad Ascetic and One-Eyed Mountain Eagle.

Personally witnessing Lu Chengfeng's retreat, sealing the stone door, they began organizing plans to deal with the encirclement.

This time the opponent's display was too large, they too must decentralize, scattering into the depths of Three Immortals Mountain to address the encirclement.

But once the Mad Ascetic and One-Eyed Mountain Eagle left, Lu Chengfeng quietly emerged from the stone cave, then thoroughly sealed the stone door, leaving like a ghostly shadow.

Three days later, along the ancient path to Youdu, blood flowed in rivers, with remains scattered everywhere, more than twenty bandits from Three Immortals Mountain were utterly slain.

Lu Chengfeng, holding a blood-drenched long sword, gazed at the shocked Zhao Tianyou and Su Wanqing, slowly saying, "Come with me, I'll take you to a safe place."

Zhao Tianyou, feeling as if about to lose his mind, asked in sheer bewilderment, "Weren't they our allies? Weren't we heading to You State? What is happening here? Where are we going?"

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