Chapter 40: Concern for the People, Worry for the Country

Before they knew it, three hours passed and it was noon.

The six major sects were also getting closer to Bright Summit, and the Five Elements Flag was retreating step by step under their attack. They could even see the palace buildings on the top of Bright Summit.

At this moment, in the forbidden area of the Ming Cult.

"Ah!"

Li Xiu exhaled deeply, and the swirling energy around him slowly dissipated as he slowly stopped practicing.

Opening his eyes, Li Xiu's eyes sparkled with joy - he had succeeded in the Heaven and Earth Great Shift!

With the success of this great martial art, he felt that the true energy in his body was completely under his control. He could release it at will and recall it at will, everything was controlled by his intention and the circulation of his energy. His entire body seemed to be hiding a huge force.

Li Xiu moved with his thoughts, and although his steps seemed light and airy, the next moment all the stone slabs within a meter of him were cracked and turned into small stone chips, and within two feet of his feet, there was a pile of stone powder!

The Heaven and Earth Great Shift is a martial art that uses luck and skill in a very clever way. After he achieved the Great Success of the Nine Yang's, his internal energy was already unmatched in the world. With the success of this martial art, his true energy was even more refined!

Before, Li Xiu had said that his control and manipulation of true energy was unparalleled in the world except for Zhang Sanfeng, but that was just a boast to deceive Xiao Zhao. However, now that he had succeeded in the Heaven and Earth Great Shift, that lie had become a reality.

Thinking of Xiao Zhao, Li Xiu's eyes flashed with a mysterious meaning. He grabbed the Yitian Sword and walked towards Xiao Zhao.

Xiao Zhao saw him walking towards her with a sword and couldn't help but tense up, unconsciously taking a small step back and stuttering as she spoke.

"Wh-what are you going to do?"

"Didn't I promise you that once you helped me with everything, I would use this Yitian Sword to break the cold iron chains on your wrists?"

Li Xiu held the handle of the Yitian Sword, looking as if he was about to draw it, and looked at Xiao Zhao with an unpredictable expression.

"Okay... that's great. It couldn't be better."

Although Xiao Zhao said it was fine, her lips had lost their color, her forehead was covered in sweat, and her body was trembling imperceptibly.

"Then, extend the cold iron chain around your wrist so that I can draw my sword."

With trembling hands, Xiao Zhao extended both of her arms and forced a rigid smile as she looked at Li Xiu.

"Buzz!"

The Yitian sword was unsheathed, and Li Xiu looked at Xiao Zhao with an inexplicable expression as he pulled out his sword and swung it at her!

The shallow red sword energy rushed towards Xiao Zhao, bringing with it a gust of powerful wind!

As Li Xiu raised his sword, Xiao Zhao quickly dodged and retreated, looking embarrassed and frightened as she waved her hand.

"I...I suddenly feel that if I unlock this chain, the White Brows Eagle King will blame me, so I'll just keep it. It's actually quite good to keep it."

Taking a deep breath, Li Xiu's eyes flashed with a hint of hidden intention as he plunged the Yitian sword into the ground and attacked Xiao Zhao.

Xiao Zhao had already prepared herself to fight to the death and a hint of cruelty flashed in her charming eyes as she also attacked, trying to use the cold iron chain to strangle Li Xiu's neck.

If she could just strangle him, even if Li Xiu had abandoned the Yitian sword, she might still be able to survive!

She was prepared and had a plan, but alas, the gap in their martial arts skills was just too large.

Li Xiu reached out with one hand to grab the chain around Xiao Zhao's wrist, turned it back and dragged Xiao Zhao behind him, kicked her to make her kneel, and easily captured her.

Looking at the back of Xiao Zhao's head, Li Xiu didn't say a word or wait for Xiao Zhao to say anything. He used his other hand to expel his true qi and pressed it against Xiao Zhao's head.

Then he released his hand, and with a thud, Xiao Zhao's body collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

Li Xiu didn't even look at her as he punched out, causing a vague square-shaped hole to appear on the ground. He waved his sleeve and sent her body into it.

He covered it with dirt and sprinkled some old dust over it, and it was impossible to tell anything had happened.

Then Li Xiu used the Yitian sword to smooth out the several stone tablets that recorded Yang Dingtian's last will and the Heaven and Earth Great Shift.

With a rustling sound, several smooth, wordless stone tablets appeared.

After that, Li Xiu put away the Yitian sword and walked to not far in front of Yang Dingtian's withered bones. He remembered the location and slapped the Yitian sword, sending it underground and hiding it again.

Li Xiu looked around and, finding no flaws, picked up the unconscious Cheng Kun with one hand and smashed a stone door with the other, walking out of the forbidden area.

He didn't choose to break the stone tablets and directly go to the Bright Summit because the secret tunnel was too hidden.

He didn't want the people of the Ming sect to suspect that he had gotten something from the Ming sect's forbidden area.

It is the practice of those who enter the forbidden area unknowingly to leave the same way they came in.

Carrying Cheng Kun, Li Xiu walked out of the forbidden area through the underground tunnel, but as he walked, his face seemed to be kneaded by someone's hands, and his muscles moved on their own, looking extremely strange.

After a few breaths, Li Xiu was still wearing the same blue clothes, but his face and figure seemed to have changed to that of a nearly 30-year-old man with a domineering appearance, and he was much more muscular.

He had thick eyebrows, big eyes, a broad mouth and a lion-like nose, and at first glance, he exuded power!

This was one of the strange effects brought about by the Azure Jade Sutra, which allowed people to gradually and effortlessly control every part of their body.

When the skill is deep, every muscle and bone can be controlled!

This is also why the moves of the Damo Sword Art in the Hidden Scriptures/Classics Pavilion were so bizarre and defied human force that no one else could practice them.

Because it was created by Damo himself after practicing the Azure Jade Sutra, and others could not practice it naturally.

Of course, Li Xiu was only at the first level of the Azure Jade Sutra and could only roughly control some muscles. He couldn't do anything else yet.

But with just a change of facial features and body posture, there are countless possibilities, and it becomes a completely different appearance.

Even people who are familiar with him would have trouble recognizing him, let alone Wudang and Shaolin disciples who have only seen him once.

After everything was finished, Li Xiu used his fingers to exhale and blurted out Cheng Kun's eyes, blinding him.

In agony, Cheng Kun woke up again, but before he could struggle and scream, Li Xiu used a knife to knock him unconscious again.

Cheng Kun was indeed useful to him, but he only needed him to speak, and keeping his eyes would only cause him to speak randomly when he saw his appearance change.

At this point, the thief who caused a stir at Wudang, stole the Yitian Sword, and slaughtered Shaolin and emptied the Hidden Classics Pavilion was nowhere to be found. As long as Li Xiu does not admit it, who would know?

He can change into other people at will and continue his subsequent plans.

At this time, the six major sects have already attacked the main altar of the Ming Cult at Bright Summit.

Amid the sound of clashing swords and the cries and shouts of slaughter, the sound of fighting was endless!

However, everyone was deaf to it, their eyes red with killing!

The strong smell of blood permeated the entire top of Bright Summit, and if nothing unexpected happened today, it seemed that the Ming Sect was doomed!

The Five banners division had suffered heavy casualties, and there were few remaining protectors. The bodies of sect followers were scattered everywhere.

Although the White Brows Eagle King and the Green Winged Bat King were far superior in martial arts to all of the Six Major Sects, in the end, they were outnumbered and injured all over, barely holding on. It seemed that defeat and death were just a matter of time.

Just at this critical moment, a blue-clothed man carrying a wounded monk stepped up the mountain at the foot of Bright Summit, with a look of "concern for the people and worry for the country" on his face.