When Lu Qing returned to Jiuli Village, it was still dark around him, and dawn had not yet broken.
No one knew that in one night, he had traveled more than a thousand miles back and forth, completely destroying a Seven Kill Tower stronghold hundreds of miles away.
Sitting cross-legged on the wooden bed, Lu Qing regulated his breathing for a while, and after calming his breath, he began to think.
He mainly summarized the gains and losses of tonight's battle.
First, there's not much to summarize regarding the opponents.
Yuanyang Village is just an ordinary stronghold of the Seven Kill Tower. Although it has several assassins at the Inner Core Realm and is heavily guarded with numerous sentries, both overt and covert, it is still a fortified stronghold.
But for Lu Qing, who possessed divine soul power, those things were practically useless.
The assassins at the Inner Strength Realm, led by the man in brocade robes, failed to exert any pressure on him whatsoever.
There was no way around it; his current accumulation was simply too substantial, far exceeding the scope of ordinary acquired realm martial artists.
Lu Qing estimated that, with his current strength, among those in the Acquired Realm, the only ones who could put pressure on him were probably the legendary peerless geniuses or chosen ones of destiny.
Or perhaps they are the direct descendants of those top sects, carefully cultivated and possessing various powerful secret techniques.
Even martial arts masters who have honed their spiritual power would likely be no match for him in his normal state, let alone force him to reveal his various trump cards.
Even ordinary innate realm cultivators...
We'll only know after we've fought it.
The outcome of this retaliatory action did not surprise Lu Qing.
On the contrary, the process brought him quite a few surprises.
The biggest surprise was undoubtedly the effect of the Earth Element Talisman.
A single earth-element talisman allows him to travel thousands of miles without getting tired; such an auxiliary effect is truly astonishing.
This also made Lu Qing realize that although he could currently only store five magic talismans in the space between his eyebrows, and only one of each attribute could be stored.
However, if used properly, these five talismans will become one of his greatest trump cards.
"If talismans condensed from primordial energy have such miraculous effects, I wonder what kind of power those 【spiritual talismans】 condensed from spiritual energy in the inheritance must possess."
Lu Qing couldn't help but let his imagination run wild.
The Way of Runes is a very unique cultivation system.
It learns from all things in heaven and earth, and therefore is highly adaptable and not constrained by the temporary cultivation environment.
During a time when spiritual energy was abundant and the path of cultivation flourished, it used spiritual energy as its foundation to condense various divine 【spiritual talismans】 for use against enemies and to strengthen itself.
In an era of scarce spiritual energy, it condensed the primordial energy of heaven and earth into talismans of primordial energy. Although these talismans were much less powerful than spirit talismans, they still possessed a variety of strange abilities.
Lu Qing had already experienced the power of the Yuan Qi Talisman.
Naturally, they were even more eager for the 【spiritual talisman】, which possessed even greater power.
With the spiritual energy revival imminent, if the power of the 【spiritual talisman】 is strong enough...
Therefore, even if he doesn't switch to cultivating immortality in the future, he won't need to fear anyone as he cultivates the way of runes.
After pondering the Dao of Runes, Lu Qing carefully reviewed and analyzed the entire process of his trip.
After confirming that he had not overlooked anything and that his identity had not been exposed, he lay down to rest for a while.
Just as Lu Qing was drifting off to sleep.
Meanwhile, in the capital of Cangzhou, the renowned Zheng family was shrouded in an extremely oppressive atmosphere.
"You're telling me this is Yu'er?"
In the main hall of the Zheng family mansion, the dignified-looking head of the Zheng family was asking questions with an icy expression.
In front of him, several guards were kneeling on the ground, and in the center, two corpses covered with white silk were placed.
One of them had a hole pierced through its forehead, while the other had its entire head blown off, leaving it a headless corpse.
Upon hearing the patriarch's question, the kneeling guards trembled and began to shake, none of them daring to answer.
As for the other guards and servants in the hall, they were even more silent, not daring to breathe loudly, and desperately trying to minimize their presence.
Who would have thought that the second young master would die after going out for a short trip?
If our ancestors found out, who knows how many people would die.
"I'm asking you a question, are you all deaf?"
The Zheng family head's expression grew even colder.
Sensing the increasingly cold gaze of the patriarch, a guard finally spoke with a trembling °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° voice.
"Reporting to the patriarch, the Second Young Master was wearing this very outfit when he left the manor this afternoon, and the person accompanying him was none other than Commander Yang."
"In other words, Yu'er was murdered less than a day after he left, without even a complete body. Can any of you tell me what happened? Also, where did he go when he left in the afternoon?"
Just as the guard was about to reply, a suppressed aura emanated from the inner hall, and several figures emerged.
Leading the way was an elderly woman being supported by a middle-aged woman.
"Mother, why are you up!"
Upon seeing this, the head of the Zheng family quickly stepped forward to help support the old woman.
The guards and servants in the hall lowered their heads even further upon seeing this.
"Hmph! Why did I get up? I had just fallen asleep when I heard Yanran come over crying and shouting that something had happened to Yu'er. Is that true?"
The old woman snorted coldly, lightly tapped her dragon-headed cane, and with a muffled thud, the ground trembled slightly.
It turned out that the dragon-head cane was made of metal and was extremely heavy.
The head of the Zheng family felt a sudden jolt in his heart, and he glanced at his wife without leaving a trace.
He then said in grief, "Mother, I just learned of this. Yu'er has been murdered!"
"What did you say!!"
Upon hearing this, the old lady's eyes snapped open, and a terrifying aura emanated from her.
"Yu'er has been murdered! Where is he?!"
“Right before your eyes, the guards say that this headless corpse is Yu’er, but I haven’t had time to verify it yet.”
The old woman turned her head sharply and looked at the two corpses on the ground.
She did see the two corpses when she came out, but they were covered with white silk, so her clothes were not visible.
To her utter surprise, one of those bodies was that of her most beloved grandson.
The middle-aged woman was equally shocked upon hearing this.
She only heard from her maid that the second young master had an accident, but she never expected that he would die.
The old woman's hands trembled slightly as she looked at the headless corpse.
But she was no ordinary person. With a strong will, she suppressed her emotions and said in a slightly hoarse voice.
"Green Maid, go check it out."
"Yes, Miss."
As the old woman reached out, a woman dressed in green with a somewhat eerie demeanor stepped forward and gently removed the white silk covering the headless corpse.
Upon seeing the clothes on the corpse, the old woman's fingers trembled slightly.
She remembered that Yu'er was wearing this same outfit when she came to pay her respects that morning.
The old woman in green hesitated for a moment, but she still gently untied the corpse's clothes.
Then, when she saw the distinctive birthmark on the corpse's chest, she stopped, covered herself with her clothes, and retreated.
Approaching the old woman, he softly reported, "Miss, it is indeed Young Master Yu'er."
The old woman swayed, as if she was about to fall.
"Mother!"
The Zheng family head, who had been watching closely, quickly stepped forward to help him up.
"Get out of my way!"
However, the next moment, a terrifying aura erupted from the old woman, directly knocking her back.
"Who, who on earth dared to kill my Yu'er, and in such a cruel way!"
The old woman uttered chilling words that seemed to rise from the deepest hell.
The way he gritted his teeth made it seem as if he wanted to devour someone.
