I hang up and lie flat in the world of martial arts

Chapter 157 The Whereabouts of the Patriarch of the Zhao Family

"It's okay for my elder brother to continue serving as the admiral of the East China Sea Navy." Qi Xuan was silent for a while, and then said, "But if you ask Shen Ke for the lands of Huaizhou, Jiading and Ningjiang, the emperor will really agree?"

The headquarters of the Donghai Navy is located in Ningjiang, and Huaizhou and Jiading are both big cities adjacent to Ningjiang.

The condition Zhao Lingyue gave was that Qi Xuan's father, Qi Yan, should be the prefect of Ningjiang Prefecture, and the prefects of Huaizhou and Jiading should also be appointed by Zhao Lingyue.

In addition, the emperor ordered that the tax revenue of these three prefectures will be exclusively used by the East China Sea Navy in the future.

In this way, together with Qi Zong, who became the admiral of the Donghai Navy.

Aren't the finances, personnel and army of the three prefectures all under the control of the Qi family and Zhao Lingyue.

This is clearly to separate one side!
Qi Xuan never thought that Zhao Lingyue would be so bold as to put forward such a condition to Shen Ke.

In Qi Xuan's view, any emperor with a normal mind would not agree.

But Zhao Lingyue obviously didn't think so, she said with a faint smile: "I have received news that the 15 troops in the three northwestern states have all belonged to King Jin's banner, and King Jin will hold high the anti-flag and march into the capital soon."

As she spoke, she looked at Ziyun in the room.

Ziyun instantly understood Zhao Lingyue's meaning, so she hastily left the room.

After Ziyun left, Zhao Lingyue went on to say: "According to the reports from the spies in the capital, the new emperor was already on guard against Jin Wang. Cao Xiaoyu, who is known as a master, sits in charge personally."

Qi Xuan had heard the name Cao Xiaoyu from Huang Zhonghu.

Like Huang Zhonghu, this person has cultivated the Imperial Seal True Qi in a special way, and has extraordinary attainments in this martial art. He was recognized as the number one master in the inner court many years ago.

It's just that this Eunuch Cao has always lived in seclusion and doesn't like to show his face, so very few people outside the inner court know of his existence.

After Liang Wang Li Han ascended the throne, he changed the people in the inner court and replaced him with his confidants.

Now the inner court is run by two father-in-laws, Li Fei and He Daquan.

Originally, there was another father-in-law named Su Xian who was more valued by the emperor than the two above-mentioned ones. He had already secured his position as the head of the inner court, but he died unexpectedly not long ago.

The inside story of this incident is naturally clear to Qi Xuan, it is the work of the Yin Division Ghost Prison.

That is to say, there is still a Lord Yan hiding in Da Nei.

The emperor probably was also on guard against this, so he simply let Eunuch Li and Eunuch He jointly take charge of the inner court to check and balance each other.

As for Cao Xiaoyu, the number one expert in the inner court who was almost forgotten, Li Han somehow invited him out.

Qi Xuan couldn't help but said in a deep voice: "Huang Zhonghu once said that Cao Xiaoyu's attainment of Zhenqi in the Imperial Seal has approached that of Prince Jingyi back then. If this is true, his martial arts shouldn't just sit back and watch the Prince Jin's family leave Beijing so smoothly. .”

Zhao Lingyue said with a smile: "King Jin is not unprepared, a group of mysterious masters appeared beside him, helping him block the emperor's pursuit."

"One of this group of mysterious masters dragged several inner court masters including Cao Xiaoyu alone. In the end, he not only retreated completely, but also injured several extraordinary father-in-laws in the inner court."

"Yin Division Ghost Prison?" Qi Xuan frowned.

Zhao Lingyue smiled and nodded: "Who else could it be if they weren't, Cao Xiaoyu himself is a superb expert, and those people in the inner court are not vegetarians, if he can calmly retreat from the hands of these people, I'm afraid this person's martial arts will not be weak Among those famous masters in Jianghu."

Another top performer.

Qi Xuan couldn't help thinking to himself: When did the top master become so bad.

"They have Wang Dan in their hands. It's not surprising that they can train so many masters." Zhao Lingyue looked indifferent. As a member of the Zhao family, she naturally knew how powerful Wang Dan was.

Mentioning the human Wang Dan, Qi Xuan asked immediately: "So it seems that the human Wang Dan in the hands of Yinsi Ghost Prison was refined from your ancestor...?"

Zhao Lingyue's complexion sank, and she nodded immediately: "This patriarch is the one who owns the 'Dragon Heart' of the Zhao family but whose whereabouts are unknown in the end."

"However..." Zhao Lingyue suddenly raised her eyes and looked at Qi Xuan, "You sent someone to tell me that the final reward of this martial arts conference was related to the Great Yong Taizu Li Zhao, which confirmed my speculation that the ancestor's disappearance must be It is inseparable from Li Zhao."

At that time, the patriarch of the Zhao family and Li Zhao, the patriarch of the Great Yong Dynasty, agreed that after the world was settled, Li Zhao would find a way to find a way for the Zhao and Li families to lift the blood curse.

Later, Li Zhao faked his death in order to fulfill the agreement.

It's just that Li Zhao lost the news not long after. The ancestors of the Zhao family thought that Li Zhao couldn't suppress the dragon's blood attack and died somewhere, but after many years, he received a letter signed by Li Zhao.

Immediately afterwards, the ancestor of the Zhao family also disappeared.

……

Qi Xuan got up and came to the bedside, took out a letter from under the pillow and handed it to Zhao Lingyue.

Xu Chong's tongue was cut off, and many things can only be communicated through text.

"Your guess is correct, Li Zhao seems to have found a way to lift the blood curse... at least he has found a way to suppress the backlash of dragon blood, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to write to your ancestor after years of suspended animation .”

"So... the letter the ancestor received was really from Li Zhao?" Zhao Lingyue's beautiful eyes sparkled when she heard this.

The members of the Zhao clan also suspected that someone deliberately wrote a letter to the ancestor in the name of Li Zhao, so as to lure the ancestor into a trap and capture him.

But Zhao Lingyue has always sneered at this speculation.

Not to mention how could the ancestor's intelligence fail to recognize Li Zhao's handwriting.

How could the ancestor's martial arts alone, tricks and traps alone be able to hold him.

"So the ancestor returned to Ning'an Mansion three years after his disappearance, but he didn't go back to Qianhu Villa. Instead, he found the owner of Zhujian Villa and left behind a strange stone." Zhao Ling Yuexiu frowned and muttered to herself.

According to what Xu Chong wrote.

Back then, the ancestor of the Zhao family found the owner of Zhujian Villa, handed him a strange stone, and told him that if the time came, he would forge this stone into a peerless magic weapon, and then give it to someone who was destined.

Strange stones... how strange can it be.

At that time, the owner of Zhujian Mountain Villa used various methods, but he was unable to dig out even a trace of debris from this stone.

And the divine satin technique handed down by the Xu family's ancestors can't do anything about this strangely hard stone.

Whether it is scorched by fire or tempered, in short, this stone just keeps its original shape.

At that time, the owner of Zhujian Mountain Villa once said that judging from the hardness of this stone, it is definitely not something in the world.

So the Xu family sealed it up according to the requirements of the ancestors of the Zhao family, leaving it for the so-called "opportunity".

This is more than 100 years.

Eighteen years ago, the strange stones stored in the warehouse suddenly began to change, which alarmed the owner of Zhujian Villa at that time.

According to Xu Chong, the stone started to become hot, and even if he wore the best heat-insulating clothing in the village, he would be burned within ten steps of the stone.

And as the stone became hotter and hotter, it actually began to melt visibly with the naked eye...

What's even more coincidental is that this strange stone happened to be placed on an abandoned sword mold. As the stone gradually melted, it finally melted into the groove of the sword mold by itself. Made a sword.

Of course, it took a long time for this strange stone to melt...a full 18 years.

18 years ago!
Qi Xuan slandered again: Isn't the day when the strange stone changed was the day I was born!
……

Zhao Lingyue decided to go to Zhujian Villa in person.

Under her repeated request, Qi Xuan could only go together.

Although half of the villa had already been buried in magma, it was unexpected that Zangfenggu actually helped to rebuild Zhujian Villa on the original site.

Xu Chong learned of their visit and came out to greet them in person, accompanied by Gu Lan, a great swordsmith.

"I have met Master Xu, Master Gu." Zhao Lingyue clasped her fists and saluted after seeing the two of them.

"Woooooo..." Xu Chong also cupped his fists in return.

"You finally dare to come to Zhujian Villa!" Gu Lan stared straight at Zhao Lingyue with widened eyes.

Seeing this, Zhao Lingyue smiled slightly: "Master Gu is still thinking about your sword!"

As she spoke, she shook slightly, a blue light suddenly flashed from her sleeve, and immediately there was a green sword in her hand.

It is the peerless famous sword "Jumang".

Since the last time I saw Zhao Lingyue using it at the bottom of Yizhuang, Qi Xuan hadn't seen it again, never thought that she would carry it with her all the time.

When Gu Lan saw "Ju Mang", his eyes lit up instantly, and the two pairs of thugs who were originally behind his back couldn't help but rubbed them in front of him, looking eager to try.

For a swordsmith, the famous sword he forges with his own hands is undoubtedly like his own son.

What's more, "Jumang" is the only peerless famous sword created by Gu Lan.

At this time, Gu Lan's eyes were moistened, and his eyes were tightly locked on Zhao Lingyue's hands.

Seeing this, Zhao Lingyue just smiled, then lightly raised her plain hand, and "Jumang" flew towards Gu Lan.

Gu Lan took it over, and then held it tightly with both hands. His big bear-like hands kept rubbing the sword, and tears could still be seen faintly in his eyes.

"Master Xu, let's go in and talk." After dismissing Gu Lan so easily, Zhao Lingyue turned her head and said to Xu Chong.

……

The three of them crossed the cave where the magma flowed and came to Xu Chong's temporary residence at Houshankou.

Zhao Lingyue, who had seen the tragedy of Zhujian Villa, couldn't help but said: "I'm afraid it won't happen overnight if you want to rebuild Zhujian Villa. If Master Xu doesn't mind, you can bring the whole village to my Qianhu Villa for a temporary stay."

Xu Chong showed gratitude to Zhao Lingyue when he heard the words, but he shook his head and rejected Zhao Lingyue's kindness.

Seeing this, Zhao Lingyue stopped talking.

Before Qi Xuan entered this temporary wooden house, he had already seen two new graves at the door. Judging from the tombstone, one should belong to Mrs. Xu Chong, while the other was a bare mound.

Qi Xuan guessed in his heart that it should be Xu Yin's.

Affected by Xu Yin's betrayal, Zhujian Villa suffered heavy losses this time.

Xu Chong's wife died of humiliation, and the sword slave controlled by Emperor Song also died at the hands of Qi Xuan.

As for the swordsmiths in Zhuangzhong, fortunately, when the explosion happened, most of the swordsmiths, like Gu Lan, studied forging techniques in the sword pool, thus escaped disaster.

It also allowed Jianjian Villa to retain the hope of reconstruction.

Xu Chong seemed to have guessed the purpose of Zhao Lingyue and Qi Xuan's visit, and before they mentioned it, he took them to Jianchi on his own initiative.

The place where Jianchi is located is a natural cave.

Numerous small caves were dug out of the cave, and a pier of iron felt was placed in each small cave. Obviously, this is the place where the swordsmiths of Zhujian Villa usually forge famous swords.

The fire used for forging naturally comes from the magma in the ground.

"The construction of Zhujian Villa was said to have been designed by an expert from the Tang Sect's Shenji lineage." Zhao Lingyue whispered to Qi Xuan who was beside her.

Burying gunpowder under the living place is indeed something that people in Tangmen can do.

Through the narrow passage, the three came to a dusty cave.

The moment he stepped into the cave, Qi Xuan suddenly felt the blood in his body start to boil...

Meanwhile, Zhao Lingyue's complexion suddenly sank, and then "bang bang bang" came from the heart of the earth.

The two couldn't help but look at each other, and both saw the seriousness in each other's eyes.

But Xu Chong, who had already walked into the cave alone, realized that the two people behind him had actually stopped at the entrance of the cave.

"Woooooo..." He turned his head and gestured at Qi Xuan and Zhao Lingyue, his eyes full of doubts.

"Qi Xuan, I can't do it anymore!" Zhao Lingyue's face was rarely solemn, and she had already raised one hand to press her heart, "If I go any further, I'm afraid that my heart will go against my will." It will be closed immediately!"

After all, Zhao Lingyue stepped back and stepped back.

Qi Xuan took a deep breath immediately, and the Taiyin Qi in his body began to move.

"Master Xu, Lingyue is not feeling well, I'll just accompany you to see it."

Watching Zhao Lingyue leave suddenly, Xu Chong's eyes were full of doubts. At the same time, the white frosty air constantly overflowing from Qi Xuan's body also made Xu Chong feel a chill through his body.

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded and continued walking forward.

This cave is actually a place where debris is piled up, and discarded iron felts and molds can be seen everywhere.

I am afraid that Emperor Song who kidnapped Xu Chong did not expect that there would be a peerless magic weapon hidden here.

Deng!
Xu Chong, who was walking in front of him, stopped suddenly.

It appears to have arrived.

Qi Xuan looked in the direction of Xu Chong's finger.

In the deepest part of the cave, on the ground full of discarded molds, Qi Xuan found the thing that affected him and Zhao Lingyue at a glance.

Qi Xuan took a step forward.

"Zi-"

There was an ear-piercing sound the moment the scorching air touched the solar energy.

"Master Xu, please step back a little bit." Qi Xuan suddenly said in a deep voice.

Xu Chong had already seen the white mist gradually rising from Qi Xuan's body, so he naturally knew what happened, and immediately stepped back without hesitation.

Seeing that Xu Chong had retreated to a safe place, Qi Xuan's eyes sank, and immediately the white frost around his body disappeared instantly, and traces of darkness overflowed from his body.

Xu Chong, who was still in the cave, couldn't help but blinked hard.

The place where Qi Xuan was originally standing had turned into a black curtain that swallowed all the light.

"I want to see what the hell it is!" The moment the darkness shrouded, Qi Xuan completely cut off the scorching breath, and then moved towards his goal step by step.

……

……

(End of this chapter)