Nine Tianren Offerings, with their genuine qi surging, blood qi overflowing, and white mist steaming, quickly revealed nine towering figures within the mausoleum.
Wang Zhi was already confident.
He cast his gaze outside the door, about to speak with an air of composure.
"You—"
As soon as his lips parted and words left his mouth, he was interrupted by a thunderous sound from afar.
Boom!!!
At first, Wang Zhi didn't pay it any mind, only feeling that it was the Ming Cult's tactic to create a diversion and scatter the defending troops.
However, a moment later, his face suddenly turned pale, and he abruptly turned his head to look in the direction of the loud noise.
He had already heard that the direction of the loud noise was where the founding emperor's mausoleum was located.
"Creak—"
This was the sound of him gritting his teeth.
"They're crazy, crazy!"
Wang Zhi suddenly spoke, "Li Offering, Huang Offering, Cao Offering, Yao Offering, and Su Offering, you all go to Xiaoling Mausoleum! You must not allow any mishaps there!"
The several Tianren who were called out exchanged glances, and without hesitation, their figures flashed and flew over the wall, rushing towards that direction.
Wang Zhi's expression was extremely grim.
It wasn't that he wasn't cautious, but he had never imagined that the Ming Cult members would actually cause trouble at Xiaoling Mausoleum! This made no sense at all!
The Yang Family couldn't possibly not know that Yin Ruihua was there; that was the sharpest sword of Great Shuo, passed down from the founding emperor! Causing trouble there would yield no results at all, only result in a futile loss of life!
Normally, Wang Zhi would only sneer and ignore it, just waiting for the Ming Cult members to seek their own demise.
But why today of all days?!
Wang Zhi's gaze turned beyond the mausoleum, his hands tightly clenched into fists.
"Quick battle, quick decision!"
They absolutely could not allow the Ming Cult members to enter this place, nor could they allow them to enter the tomb within Xiaoling Mausoleum!
First, capture Ji Tianrui, and then quickly reinforce Xiaoling Mausoleum—absolutely not, let "that person" wake up.
Wang Zhi was about to speak to command the Tianren to go out and encircle and kill "Ji Tianrui."
Suddenly, a one-armed figure in tattered clothes flew in from outside the courtyard, rolled after landing, and left a large trail of blood on the ground.
He raised his hand and tapped his shoulder several times, stopping the bleeding, and then slowly raised his head, revealing his furious eyes in the moonlight.
Wang Zhi cried out in surprise.
"Zhou Offering!"
This person was a master of body tempering, first cultivating "Vajra" and then "Sumeru"; his body tempering martial arts had long reached perfection, and he had an endless supply of vigorous genuine qi protecting his entire body, so ordinary Tianren couldn't harm him.
It was precisely for this reason that Wang Zhi arranged for him to be the first to break free from the Celestial Human Five Declines, because he was the least likely to be quickly defeated, and most suitable to lead the charge and buy time for other Tianren to escape the Celestial Human Five Declines.
But how long had he been out the door? Had it been twenty breaths? How could he have had an arm torn off and been beaten back!
"How many Tianren has the Ming Cult sent!? Zhou Offering, were you ambushed!?"
Wang Zhi asked anxiously.
He could only think of one possibility—that "Ji Tianrui" outside the door was merely a bait, and there were other Tianren hidden in the shadows, taking advantage of the two's fight to secretly attack and injure Zhou Offering.
However, Zhou Offering did not reply, nor did he turn his head, merely staring intently outside the door.
From outside the door, a mocking voice came.
"Don't ask, he can't hear, nor can he speak. Wang Eunuch, aren't you just rubbing salt in his wound?"
"They all say eunuchs are hermaphrodites; your mastery of the Yin-Yang Dao is indeed quite profound."
Only then did Wang Zhi notice that two streams of blood were slowly flowing from Zhou Offering's ear canals, clearly indicating that his eardrums had been shattered.
Clouds shifted, and the moonlight illuminated the lower half of Zhou Offering's face; below his nose was a bloody mess, his jaw had been broken into two pieces, dangling precariously below his head, and his tongue, having nowhere to rest, also hung down, drawing out a glistening trail of saliva.
Li Miao stepped into the courtyard, and as he passed through the main gate, he casually wiped the minced flesh from his palm onto the doorframe.
He stopped in the center of the plaza in front of the main hall, first glancing left and right at the several Tianren, and then at Wang Zhi, who was questioning his life.
Finally, he cast his gaze towards a spot on the ground.
A faint scent of blood emanated from there, which was likely the cave where Wang Hai had seen Wang Zhi imprison the Tianren last night. It was now covered with bluestone slabs, making it appear no different from elsewhere.
However, it could not deceive Li Miao.
It had been twenty-seven years since he arrived in Great Shuo.
If it were according to the protagonists of some novels Li Miao read in his previous life, he should have already become a king and ancestor, unifying the world. Yet, Li Miao was still unmotivated, merely serving as a humble Jinyiwei Commander of the fifth rank.
The reason was that he clearly knew that this world did not care about respecting the old and loving the young, and would not arrange opponents for you based on your strength.
That year, the moment he touched the Tianren Realm, he realized the problem existing in this Great Shuo and this martial world.
Am I truly the only one who has stepped above the pinnacle?
The martial artists of Great Shuo had been studying martial arts for thousands of years, with geniuses emerging in an endless stream like carps crossing a river. Could he, an "outsider," with a "nine-to-five work schedule" golden finger, truly look down upon everyone in the world?
If not, where did all the other Tianren go?
Practicing martial arts was not a pleasant thing. Training in winter's coldest days and summer's hottest, strengthening bones and refining muscles. Cultivating internal energy in a quiet room, entering a meditative state where one could even hear the Creep of their own internal organs. How many people couldn't endure it, preferring their martial arts progress to stagnate rather than continue the arduous training?
If those who had stepped above the pinnacle earlier than him existed, having paid such a great price, would they not want to display their power in front of others? Would they not want to exchange their martial arts for wealth and glory?
Surely not every single one of them was a martial arts fanatic holed up in a deep mountain forest!
Was it unwillingness... or inability?
Why were they unwilling, and who made them unable?
The question that had kept Li Miao silently cultivating for twenty-seven years until he achieved the unity of three paths before he began to step into the martial world—perhaps, it would be answered today.
Seeing Li Miao's gaze fall upon the hidden cave, Wang Zhi's eyes suddenly flared with intense killing intent.
"Indeed—you came for this place."
Wang Zhi waved his hand, and the Tianren immediately understood, shifting their feet to surround Li Miao.
"No matter who you are, why you impersonated Ji Tianrui, and why you colluded with the Ming Cult to uncover the secrets of this place. After your death, all your schemes will be for naught."
"One-on-one, you could injure Zhou Offering; your martial prowess is astonishing."
"But I knew you could defeat Shaolin, so I specially kept five Offerings here for you. Even if you are Sanfeng Zhenren reincarnated, you will leave your life here!"
Wang Zhi said coldly.
Beneath the bronze mask, Li Miao chuckled softly.
"Many people bullying a few, and you say it with such an imposing air."
As he spoke, Li Miao's black hair suddenly turned snow-white. He stretched his wrists, slowly clenching his fists.
"However, Wang Eunuch, don't misunderstand. It's not five of you Tianren ganging up on me right now."
"Instead, it's me, alone, here to educate five little children."