Death… and me

Chu Yang suddenly jumped-up without any hesitation. He didn’t waste a single second. He took out the Nine Tribulations Sword in that curtain of rain. It transformed into a brilliant light and combined with his body. He summoned the entire extent of his strength and flew-out like a meteor.

The spot where he had been lying down was struck by an unparalleled force the very moment he jumped off. A big hole appeared in its place.

A loud shout resounded, "Where did he go?"

A power as massive as a mountain congealed out of nowhere and came flying towards him. This mass of energy seemed to have broken through the sky. It issued a sharp whistling sound, and was brimming with vigor. It opened a vacuum; it had vaporized the water in its path despite the heavy rain. The steam loudly exploded as it spread everywhere.

Chu Yang had arrived at the top of the perimeter wall. It was located about 300 feet away from the study room. However, he still felt like he had been pounded by a 500kg-heavy hammer. There was a tumbling sensation in his chest. He felt as if his five internal organs had been ruptured to pieces. His vision turned fuzzy. He could tell that he had been severely injured by this attack.

His legs turned limp. His could barely retain his position on the wall, and almost fell down. Sharp whistles sounded as a barrage of densely packed arrows shrouded the sky. They looked like black clouds flying towards Chu Yang; these arrows had been released from all directions. This rain of arrows had covered the entire sky, and had miraculously displaced the curtain of heavy rain in the process.

Chu Yang stubbornly clenched his teeth as he mustered his entire strength. He took two quick steps on the wall, and fiercely brandished the Nine Tribulations Sword. He then used the second move of Sword Spine ‘One must go through the nine hidden hells on this journey’. This move wasn’t just good at defense, but also granted indomitable power to advance courageously for a kill. The sword light enveloped his body as soon as this move was cast out. It transformed it into a fuzzy white shadow with the power of this move. Then, his body shot forward like an arrow.

He spouted blood from his mouth in midflight. The intensive use of sword light had backfired, and had stirred-up his body internally. The blood he had spouted contained pieces of his internal organs.

The sword light darted-away unhindered; just like a shooting star.

The wall had been riddled with arrows. It had transformed into the back of a huge hedgehog.

The curtain of heavy rain that had been hindered for an instant finally crashed-down to the earth with a loud and thunderous noise.

Babel of voices had resounded, and the entire Prime Ministerial Palace had turned chaotic all of a sudden.

Several martial art experts sprung-up out of nowhere, and chased after Chu Yang in the heavy rain.

Diwu Qing Rou slowly retracted his right palm. He had used it to attack the wall of his palace. There was a fierce look in his eyes. It seemed like his sharp eyes had captured Chu Yang’s image… even in this curtain of heavy rain.

"Who was it?" Jing Meng Hun’s heart palpitated with fear. He had used his agility martial skill to approach the scene. However, the intruder had then escaped after being struck by a palm attack.

"It was King of Hell Chu!" Diwu Qing Rou replied with a dignified look on his face.

He had glimpsed at Chu Yang; that too from behind. Chu Yang wasn’t wearing any clothes. However, the impression of ‘Young Master Chu’ had been deeply edged in Diwu Qing Rou’s memories. How could he not remember that one instance when he had come face to face with Chu Yang and had then been put in a miserable situation? The very instant Diwu Qing Rou saw that ‘back’… he knew that it was King of Hell Chu.

"Humph. To consider that he would come naked on such a rainy night to steal intelligence…" Diwu Qing Rou coldly snorted and said, "King of Hell Chu sure is a cautious fellow, but extremely reckless as well!"

Jing Meng Hun and Yin Wu Tian were dumbfounded.

They had been inexplicably shocked by the sudden revelation of Diwu Qing Rou martial powers. And now they had come to find that King of Hell Chu had intruded this tightly secured Prime Ministerial Palace.

Diwu Qing Rou had used a heaven startling move which had dazzled and stunned them. The saw Diwu Qing Rou’s hand raised in the air by the time they managed to step out of the study. Then, a sharp whistling sound had resounded. And soon a sword light had vanished like a shooting star.

An emotion of endless revere appeared in their hearts as they glimpsed at Diwu Qing Rou’s graceful figure. [What level of cultivation would one need in order to issue such a palm attack?]

The wall was about 300 feet away. Was Diwu Qing Rou confident-enough that his palm attack could reach so far and hit the target?

"Spare no efforts in hunting him down!" A mysterious light flashed in Diwu Qing Rou’s eyes as he said, "He has been struck by my ‘Destroying Soul and Breaking Heart Palm’. His five internal organs should’ve sustained serious damages. In fact… they must’ve been crushed. He shouldn’t be able to run far. This time — I want him dead. I want to see his corpse!"

"Yes!" Jing Meng Hun replied as he thought; [What is this Destroying Soul and Breaking Heart Palm technique? Which clan does it belong to?]

Jing Meng Hun had heard the name of this technique for the first time. The name contained just five words, but was brimming with cruelty and reeked of blood. One’s heart would start pounding from fear by merely listening to its name.

"’Destroying Soul and Breaking Heart’ Palm doesn’t inflict any external injuries. However, it ruptures the internal organs. This palm technique aims at the internal organs only." Diwu Qing Rou explained, "Moreover, the target’s internal organs begin to exude a strong fragrance if it survives for more than 2 hours; that scent is very similar to the aroma of orchids. It is very easy to track this fragrance. And this orchid fragrance can’t be dispelled until the body dies…"

"This ‘Destroying Soul and Breaking Heart’ Palm technique changes forms to become the ‘Orchid Heart Chasing Soul’ technique. It is possible to track this sweet fragrance of orchids from five thousand km away!" Diwu Qing Rou’s sharp gaze fell at Jing Meng Hun, "Did you understand?"

"I understand!" Jing Meng Hun’s spirit were greatly roused. [I might as well consider hanging myself to death if I fail to capture King of Hell Chu despite such a clear means of tracking him…]

"Seal the Continent Center and nearby cities! Expand the prohibition to 50km if you can’t find him in one day; expand the prohibition to 250km if you can’t find him in three days. And seal the entire border area between Great Zhao and Iron Cloud!"

Diwu Qing Rou resolutely and decisively ordered.

"Yes!"

"You may kill the innocent, but you must not let-off the guilty. If you find a corpse but cannot determine its identity — send it to me. You may lift the seal and stop the manhunt after I’ve personally verified the corpse’s identity! "

"Yes!"

"Kill Chu Yang today — and we can start conquering the land tomorrow!" Diwu Qing Rou’s eyes issued a burning hot radiance as he commanded, "Go all-out!" He paused, and then said, "Do your best!"

He again paused for a second, and then said, "Execute the nine generations of anyone who lets him slip-by! If someone isn’t giving their best in the manhunt — execute their nine generations! If someone tries to cover up the truth — execute their nine generations! If someone is helping him out — execute their nine generations! I hereby command — King of Hell must die. Keep searching until you find him!"

"Yes!"

"Go! Take your Command Horse Riders as well. Use the entire forces of the Golden Horse Riders Department in this operation! I’ll soon release the prohibition order. Then, the government officials of all ranks shall cooperate with you as well!"

"Yes!"

"Pay attention to orchid’s fragrance if you can’t find him within two hours. Now go."

"Yes! Please excuse us!"

The Prime Minister’s Palace silenced down once all personnel were gone. However, the entire Continent Center was wrapped in chaos soon after.

"King of Hell Chu, it would take a miracle for you to escape after getting hit by my ‘Destroying Soul and Breaking Heart’ Palm attack at such a close range. I’m not willing to believe that your luck is so great that the providence itself favors you!"

Diwu Qing Rou thought, [if Chu Yang can live through this… there can be no other explanation besides taking into consideration that he has the blessing of gods.]

Diwu Qing Rou went back to his study. He thought for a while, and then looked at the hole in the roof. The rain was still pouring-in. His eyes suddenly flashed. He didn’t seem to be at ease. In fact, he appeared restless.

[This is of great significance. King of Hell Chu was on my study-room’s rooftop when the secret war-planning was taking place. It can be assume that he has a clear insight into our overall plan. It would be terrible if he was allowed to escape.]

[The safest way is to turn King of Hell Chu into a dead man!]

[This is indeed a great opportunity; it comes once in ten thousand years! ‘Destroying Soul and Breaking Heart’ Palm can exude orchid fragrance up to 5000km! This is the first-time-ever that King of Hell Chu’s life and death are in my hands!]

[I can easily trample Tie Long Cheng and Tie Bu Tian as long as King of Hell Chu is dead.]

Diwu Qing Rou’s body turned around and disappeared in a flash. ‘Shua’ His robe fell on the chair…

A shadow suddenly lased-out from the study room, and leapt to the rooftop. It landed on the exact spot where Chu Yang had been eavesdropping from. Then, it seemed as this figure had started to imitate Chu Yang’s actions. It suddenly jumped and the sword in his hand transformed into a ball of sword light. It soared high into the sky on such a rainy night, and flew towards the wall. The two legs gently landed on the wall-top. Then, the sword issued a cold light and that person’s figure disappeared.

These actions were the exact imitation of Chu Yang’s. There was no difference whatsoever!

It was a dark night. That fuzzy figure left behind a few vague words, "Considering that he had to stop midway, and land on the wall-top to borrow support …his cultivation hasn’t reached the King Level… ah, he hasn’t even arrived at King Level… but even a Ninth Grade King Level Expert should’ve been killed by that palm attack… let alone a petty Revered Martial Artist…"

Diwu Qing Rou had always maintained the appearance of a scholar. However, he had finally moved into action himself to kill King of Hell Chu.

Chu Yang was desperately bolting away. He could feel that his five internal organs had been ruptured. This was not a trivial matter. The Sword Spirit was doing everything he could to use the medicinal efficacies to heal his injuries… but to no avail…

"You must stop and find a place to heal… I’m afraid you’ll end-up becoming the first Master of Nine Tribulations Sword to die so young if you keep on using your agility skill to move at maximum speed!" Sword Spirit telepathically said.

"You still have the face to say that…" Chu Yang angrily said. His voice was full of grief and indignation.

Chu Yang’s cultivation hadn’t reached the stage where he could conceal his entire bodily vital functions. He certainly couldn’t stop his own heartbeats. This was being handled entirely by the Sword Spirit.

The Sword Spirit had temporarily stopped Chu Yang’s vital body functions when he had successfully taken positions upon Diwu Qing Rou’s study. Even an Emperor level expert would’ve found it difficult to detect Chu Yang’s existence.

However, he had been fiercely impacted by a piece of intelligence. This had jolted his heart and had restored his heartbeats in the process.

The restoration of heartbeats should’ve been unimportant under normal circumstances. However, it had thrown him into a bottomless abyss in that moment.

"I had no choice…" The Sword Spirit felt guilty and said, "Your cultivation is at Revered Sword artist. Your heartbeats can be stopped for half an hour at the most. This wouldn’t have happened if it hadn’t exceeded that time limit… I had another means to stop it at that time. There would need to be a sword intention wrapped around your vital organs… It would’ve been possible to allow your heart to beat inside the sword intention… and nothing would have happened. However, I didn’t know that your heart would suddenly thump as soon as I withdrew my power to prepare for the transfer of the sword intention…"

Even the Sword Spirit was quite depressed about this matter…