Chapter 172:

"Is it true? I don’t believe it."

After listening to Dao Zhen’s constant chatter, Qiao Mu really didn’t believe it.

If you were to talk about the Inhuman War forty years ago, he had actually heard about it so many times that his ears were almost calloused.

"Given the difference in strength between the Immortal Gate and the Great Yan army, how can the army defend a solitary city for forty years?"

"Moreover, I heard that after that battle, the original elite army of one hundred thousand was completely wiped out, and within a hundred miles of Fang Yuan became a desert with no vegetation. You couldn’t even find a trace of that city, it no longer exists."

One hundred thousand soldiers, that’s equivalent to one hundred thousand families.

And the battlefield location, right in Zhong Province, not some remote wilderness.

So, logically, in the past forty years, there should have been many people from the court and the people who visited that battlefield, but they didn’t find any survivors, so the result is predictable.

But Dao Zhen remained calm and didn’t show any emotional fluctuations in response to Qiao Mu’s questioning.

"How can mortal eyes see through the illusion technique of the Immortal Path?" he smiled and said.

"That isolated city, Fang Yuan, is within the range of the Immortal Gate’s illusion formation for dozens of miles. Mortals won’t be able to reach that city no matter which way they go."

"And as for why the Immortal Gate kept those remnant soldiers for forty years, there must be a hidden purpose."

Dao Zhen didn’t state it explicitly.

For cultivators, mortals are a type of resource.

They not only provide incense offerings, but the souls of mortals are also materials for refining magical treasures.

The magic cultivators used a city in a blood sacrifice to refine the Thousand Soul Banner, while the Immortal Gate, who follow the right path, would never do something so obvious.

The great formation that covered the desert not only had the power of illusion, but also the ability to capture souls, with the souls of the dead in the city being drawn into it.

After several failed attempts at capturing the souls of Qiao’s family, Dao Zhen had a different idea and wanted Qiao’s family to try the soul-capturing formation of the Immortal Gate.

As for him convincing Qiao Mu as bait…

"The remnants of the Great Yan army have guarded the lonely city for forty years, unaware of the changes that have taken place in the outside world. Even the Imperial Capital has changed, and the Nine Immortal Gates have spread to the major cities in Jiu Province. The Imperial Capital of Yonghe almost paid homage to the immortals of Xuantian Sect."

"Their desperate battle is only foolish loyalty and holds little meaning. If you are a true hero who fears no death, you might consider entering that lonely city and let them know of the great changes in the outside world, giving them a chance to rest." Dao Zhen said.

"Of course, once you enter the formation, there’s no way out. You’ll be trapped inside until death."

After listening to Dao Zhen, Qiao Mu carefully considered it and thought it made sense.

He was not from this world, so he had no reverence for the Great Yan Imperial Court or the Imperial Capital.

According to the characters of Qiao’s family, if Dao Zhen’s words are true, then he should definitely agree.

Trapped in a siege, defending the isolated city for forty years, this really sounds like an unbelievable thing.

As for being trapped in a big formation, only able to enter but not able to exit, they would remain there until death.

Qiao Mu completely didn’t care anymore.

Every time he came back to life, it was actually a choice. He could determine a resurrection point in advance, or resurrect in an empty area around the corpse…

This was something he already knew while he was still in Yan City.

Initially, both he and Guo Yan’ subordinates died on the mountain cliffs outside the city, but then they stormed into the city lord’s mansion using this method.

However, Dao Zhen mistook Qiao Mu’s contemplation for hesitation.

He extended his hand, and a yellow talisman appeared in his palm.

"This is a special symbol that breaks boundaries. Its only purpose is to allow you to enter the lonely city in the desert formation."

After thinking for a moment, he threw out a powerful bomb:

"Actually, in these years, there have been more than just a few people from the outside entering that lonely city."

"Among them, there was one person who was called the Earth Sword Immortal, known as the number one in the martial arts world forty years ago."

"Although he was just an ordinary martial artist, during the time when the Immortal Gate didn’t appear in the mortal world, he was seen by mortals as a remarkable figure, surpassing all others in the martial arts world before the Martial Saint."

"He should still be alive now, but trapped within that lonely city, unable to leave the outside world."

The Nine Immortal Gates didn’t just appear out of nowhere. Their history is even older than the Great Yan Imperial Court, but in the past, the realms of immortals and mortals were separate, and they didn’t interfere too much with worldly affairs. Searᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

It was not until a certain cultivator refined the first Incense Symbol of Divine Fire.

Qiao Mu listened to Dao Zhen’s detailed account and believed it to some extent.

To know, the Martial Saint was already the strongest martial artist in the world, but he claimed to be second in the world, which was confusing for some people.

However, Dao Zhen’s statement actually has some doubts.

The Martial Saint of the past once said that after the Inhuman War, as the eleventh martial artist in the world, he made an agreement with the top ten martial arts experts in the world to teach them the "Martial Saint Spiritual Technique" and have a decisive battle after ten years. Only the Martial Saint would survive if he won.

If what the Martial Saint said is true, then this so-called "Earth Sword Immortal" should have died at the hands of the Martial Saint thirty years ago, shouldn’t he?

So, who is lying?

The Boundary Breaking Symbol in Dao Zhen’s hand floated up out of thin air and floated towards Qiao Mu.

Dao Zhen continued. The Martial Saint dominated the world for forty years after the Inhuman War, but before those forty years, he was only eleventh in the world. Above him, there were eleven martial artists who were even more dazzling.

"And the most dazzling among them was none other than the number one in the world, the Earth Sword Immortal," Dao Zhen said.



"Even the title of the Martial Saint itself represents a rivalry with the Earth Sword Immortal, who once ruled the martial arts world."

"People call you the Immortal of the Sword, so I want to become the Saint of Martial Arts…"

"And Earth Sword Immortal, as his name suggests, was not among the hundred thousand soldiers of the past, he joined the Lonely City later."

"Forty years have passed, as the previous generation’s leader in martial arts, has he discovered a different path from the Martial Saint?" Dao Zhen smiled slightly.

"I have finished speaking," Dao Zhen looked at Qiao Mu with keen interest.

"Whether to go or not is all up to you."

Dao Zhen threw out two baits, one being the remnants of the once elite army, and the other being the former martial arts leader Earth Sword Immortal.

One was the remnants of the once elite army of a hundred thousand, and the other was the former martial arts leader Earth Sword Immortal.

It was indeed difficult to refuse someone like Qiao, who had a strong moral compass and valued honor over life.

In reality, Qiao Mu also found it difficult to refuse.

Wan Ronghua and Sword Ghost died, and they had already helped Fang Yuan achieve his revenge wish. The matter was now resolved.

So temporarily leaving the Imperial Capital to explore that lonely city is also acceptable.

Qiao Mu reached out his hand and grabbed the hovering yellow charm in his palm.

If it were an ordinary person, suddenly having an enemy appear in front of them at midnight, blabbering on and on like this, nine times out of ten it’s a trap.

An ordinary person naturally wouldn’t agree and comply with the enemy’s intentions.

But Qiao Mu is different, he is not normal.

Being born undying, Qiao Mu has always acted without any restrictions. Why should he be bound by the principles of ordinary people?

Is there a trap ahead? Are there thunderstorms ahead? Touch it and you’ll die?

What, there are still good things like this?

Qiao Mu didn’t care if the enemy wanted him to step on a landmine or not.

He would even get excited if there were landmines ahead, eager to give it a try.

The only thing he cared about was the way he would die after stepping on a landmine, whether it was cool enough or impressive enough.

"Hehe, it’s just death. I have lived for so many years, what’s there to fear about death?"

Qiao Mu laughed loudly, holding the yellow talisman in his hand, and walked away.

In the first half of the night, he thought about speaking up for Fang Yuan’s justice, so he used thunder twice and silently fled after killing Wan Ronghua and Qin Shiqing consecutively.

In the second half of the night, upon hearing news about the remnants of the Great Yan army, he willingly set off, determined to leave this Imperial Capital.

Where the heart goes, the body follows. With no inhibitions, he eventually returned to where he belonged.

Ordinary rules and restrictions couldn’t hold back his thoughts. As long as he had something in mind and wanted to do it, he could set off before dawn without any other concerns.

And Dao Zhen watched the old man’s back with amazement in his eyes.

One of his intentions was to test this old man from the Qiao family, to see if he was as sincere as other Qiao family members he had met before.

And Qiao Mu in front of him didn’t disappoint him as expected.

Knowing it was a dead-end road, he still willingly went forward.

Such a heroic attitude truly impressed Dao Zhen, who enjoyed observing ordinary people as a cultivator.

…………

In the late night, Qiao Mu had the idea of leaving.

Before leaving, he visited the old residence of the Fang family.

He had planned to see Fang Yuan once again before leaving, but to his surprise, Fang Yuan was not in the Fang family’s old residence in the middle of the night, and he had no idea where he had gone.

"Didn’t return all night, did he go to listen to music in the garden?"

Without much thought, Qiao Mu was about to leave, but he heard a meow. The cat suddenly darted out from the corner of the wall, whimpering towards him, and couldn’t resist getting closer, taking a deep sniff with its nose.

"Is this the aura of death from before I died at Wan Ronghua’s house, or is it a sign that my journey away from the Imperial Capital will be a dead end? How auspicious."

Qiao Mu couldn’t help but feel delighted and gave the cat a pat, but out of the blue, the cat wriggled free and jumped right into his shadow.

"Hmm? Although this cat looks a bit silly and dumb, it seems to have some intelligence."

Qiao Mu shook his head.

When he sneaked into the Wan family mansion at night, the cat didn’t follow along.

On the contrary, when preparing to leave the Imperial Capital this time, the cat seemed to sense something and took refuge in Qiao Mu’s shadow ahead of time.

Perhaps this extraordinary creature, sensitive to the aura of death, can truly sense good or bad fortune.



He knew that going to the Wan family was just a small matter, so he didn’t go with him. Now he wants to leave the Imperial Capital and explore the whereabouts of the remaining ten thousand soldiers, so he suddenly hid in the shadows.

Just follow along, since Qiao Mu couldn’t get it out of the shadow anyway.

So, taking advantage of the night, Qiao Mu left the old house alone.

He killed Wan Ronghua, and maybe after daybreak, he would be wanted, so he left the Imperial Capital in the deep of the night to avoid trouble.

As for the guards on the outer city walls of the Imperial Capital, they naturally couldn’t stop him now that he had successfully mastered Shadow Step, allowing him to easily cross over.