Lu Xiuwu’s Killing Intent
Returning to the cottage, Chen An’nian laid out all the treasures from the bag, one by one, before his eyes.
His eyes narrowed into a smile.
“What a truly benevolent person.”
Rubbing his hands together, Chen An’nian examined and touched the items.
Four pieces of low-grade spirit stones quickly transformed into divine power.
Now, within the pages of the Golden Book, there were a total of nine drops of divine power.
Such a “prosperous” life, he had never experienced before.
Previously, when practicing the fist technique, he would use it bit by bit.
But today, he wanted to use a drop all at once!
So audacious. Chen An’nian wrapped the token of the Martial Arts Pavilion in cloth and placed it close to his heart.
As for the remaining silver notes, broken silver, and various medicinal herbs and pills, once he entered the Outer Sect, he would exchange them all for spirit stones.
“Let’s continue deducing the fist technique.”
Chen An’nian took out the page of the Golden Book and activated the divine power within.
One drop, two drops...
He completely depleted four drops of divine power.
Lu Zhongmu’s formidable technique, which could be fatal, had reached its full potential.
If he wanted to continue improving, he would have to find other fist techniques.
Four drops of divine power.
Chen An’nian felt a pang of pain.
But upon seeing the fist technique, he immediately burst into laughter, his teeth gleaming.
“It’s perfect! The moves have changed, but they are based on the previous ones. This is what true fist technique is, fierce and invincible!”
“The flow of qi has expanded, with more intricate pathways.”
“External strength combined with internal softness.”
“After surpassing the Foundation Building Stage, it’s the Three Qi and Blood Realm!”
As he looked at the fist technique, Chen An’nian’s heart itched with excitement.
He quickly compared it to the new manual and refined his own moves.
Meanwhile, in the dirty and messy room, Lu Zhongmu was lying on the bed. His eye sockets were pitch black, and his appearance was withered, almost unrecognizable.
“Cousin...”
“Who is it?”
A burly figure sat on a chair, looking at Lu Zhongmu’s ghostly appearance, his eyes almost spewing fire.
“I, Lu Xiuwu, will never let him go.”
“Chen... An... Nian!”
Lu Zhongmu enunciated each word as if he wanted to devour Chen An’nian piece by piece.
Lu Xiuwu quickly fed him a few detoxification pills, but Lu Zhongmu didn’t get any better.
Lu Zhongmu waved his hand, weak and on the verge of dissipating like smoke.
“I’ve already tried, it’s useless...”
“Cousin, as I told you before, someone was being hunted at Factotum Peak, and they barely escaped by seeking refuge in Green Mountain Sect.”
“That person is Chen An’nian.”
“I managed to establish contact with those assassins who were chasing him. The secret within Chen An’nian is a big one, and those people outside are just pawns.”
Lu Zhongmu took out a hand-drawn map on the coarse cloth from his pocket.
“This is the usual meeting point.”
“I also managed to gather some information from those assassins. The reason they are hunting Chen An’nian is because of a... formula.”
“Unfortunately, I was deceived by Chen An’nian!”
Lu Zhongmu’s eyes were filled with resentment.
He couldn’t accept it!
From childhood to adulthood, Lu Zhongmu had always been outstanding among his peers, easily manipulating others.
But this time, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t figure out where the problem lay.
He resented it!
Indeed, if Chen An’nian hadn’t claimed ownership of the page of the Golden Book, Lu Zhongmu would still be in the dark.
But it was precisely because of the fragment of the Golden Book that Lu Zhongmu suffered a bitter defeat.
Lu Zhongmu knew he was very close to the truth.
Unfortunately, the secret lay within the paper itself, not its contents.
“Don’t worry, I will personally send him to hell and apologize to you.”
Lu Xiuwu looked into Lu Zhongmu’s eyes and assured him.
“With Chen An’nian’s character, he won’t leave the sect unless absolutely necessary.”
“But within the sect, cousin, you must endure. Otherwise, you will ruin your own future.”
Lu Zhongmu furrowed slightly, the vitality within him being eroded, diminishing rapidly.
“You must... you must rely on the help of outsiders... cousin...”
Lu Xiuwu’s tiger-like eyes shimmered with tears as he nodded forcefully.
“In the future, I can no longer offer you any advice...”
Lu Zhongmu strained to open his eyes wider, hoping to catch one last glimpse of this world, but the light in his eyes quietly extinguished.
“Ah...”
Lu Xiuwu clenched his fist tightly, suppressing the urge to scream, his fingernails digging deep into his flesh, blood dripping.
“Cousin, I will avenge you!”
“I will personally sever Chen An’nian’s head as a tribute to you!”
With a wave of his hand, Lu Xiuwu unleashed an invisible force that knocked over the oil lamp in the room.
Amidst the raging flames, Lu Xiuwu’s face appeared fierce and cruel.
“Every other year, outer disciples must embark on a mission.”
“Since Chen An’nian has just become an outer disciple, he must undertake a mission, at most delaying it for another year!”
Lu Xiuwu strode away.
“But I... cannot wait that long.”
“Chen An’nian must die!”
Lu Xiuwu opened the coarse cloth map left by Lu Zhongmu, slowly formulating a plan in his mind...
The next day, Chen An’nian, feeling refreshed, carried a package and headed towards the sixth peak of Factotum Peak.
Last night, he had trained until the moon was high in the sky. After finishing training, he depleted two drops of his divine power and fully integrated the new fist technique.
Not only were the transitions between moves more natural, but their power had also increased significantly.
Moreover, he faintly felt that his qi was on the verge of completely merging with his blood.
According to the fist technique manual, the fusion of qi and blood would allow him to directly manipulate his life force, officially entering the Qi and Blood Realm.
Such speed was unheard of.
Strictly speaking, Chen An’nian had only cultivated in less than ten days.
Yet, he had accomplished what others couldn’t achieve in a year.
“With the assistance of divine power, progress is truly rapid!”
“Now, I have three drops of divine power left and must find a way to earn more spirit stones.”
“With spirit stones, I can continuously refine divine power, and then my cultivation speed can skyrocket in one day.”
Chen An’nian’s footsteps were swift, and even the air seemed sweet.
At the Outer Sect, the ninth peak of Heavenly Martial Peak, Lu Xiuwu had spent the entire night and finally devised a detailed plan.
“According to Zhongmu’s analysis, Chen An’nian is cautious and will not easily leave the sect within a year.”
“So, I must make preparations on two fronts.”
"First, contact an external assassin and ambush him halfway when he leaves the sect to carry out a mission!”
“Second, entrust others to issue tasks. The tasks must be simple, with short travel time, so that Chen An’nian may take the bait.”
“Once he accepts the task, there will be someone waiting to kill him outside, and the person who assigned the task will also attempt to kill him. With both sides converging, it will be difficult for him to survive!”
“Today, Chen An’nian will choose the main peak of the Outer Sect. If he chooses Heavenly Martial Peak, he will fall right into my trap. If he chooses another main peak, I will start with his fellow disciples.”
“The sooner I force him out, the more secure it will be.”
Lu Xiuwu took a deep breath, his eyes gleaming with a chilling light.
“Zhongmu, my dear cousin, your death will not be in vain...”