Lu Zhan looked at the invitation in his hand and asked Lu Bufan: "Is this Sima Xingge who sent the invitation to the Secret Realm Heroes Meeting the Grand Governor appointed by the imperial court to be in charge of the entire territory of Hongzhou?"
"Yes." Lu Bufan nodded: "The Sima family is also the most powerful family in the entire Hongzhou. As far as I know, Sima Xingge is also the contemporary head of the Sima family, and his martial arts attainments have reached the middle stage of Huajin realm.
stage."
"So, in Hongzhou City, Sima Xingge is the most powerful in martial arts?"
"That's not necessarily true." Lu Bufan said: "In Hongzhou City, there is also a commander-in-chief appointed by the imperial court. His name is Wu Ju. This man is in charge of the Hongzhou garrison of 900,000 people and another 100,000 people.
Xuanjia elite soldiers, this million-strong army is the main field force defending the southeastern border of the Chu Empire. It is said that Wu
Ju Ju's martial arts attainments have also entered the realm of Huajin. As for who is more powerful between him and Sima Xingge, there is no consensus. Even if Sima Xingge is better in martial arts attainments, Wu Ju has the mastery in his hands.
With the military power of a million-strong army, his overall strength is probably even better than that of Sima Xingge."
Lu Zhan said "Oh", tilted his head and said with a mischievous smile: "This is quite interesting. I think that Hongzhou City and his party, even if they don't gain anything in the secret realm of 'Heisha Valley', at least they can see something."
The demeanor of two powerful people in the Huajing Realm makes this trip worthwhile."
"So," Lu Bufan stared at Lu Zhan: "Are you prepared to go to this 'Secret Realm Heroes Meeting' appointment?"
"Since it's the right time, of course my nephew doesn't want to miss it." Lu Zhan put away the red invitation and stood up: "Uncle, it's already the end of March now. I have to prepare my bags and hit the road as soon as possible. Hongzhou City is only a short distance away
Yunmeng City is still thousands of miles away, and the journey will take more than ten days."
Two days later, Lu Zhan, who was at the peak of the Qi Condensation Realm, left the Lu Mansion. He rode on a fast horse and rushed to Hongzhou City. This time he traveled lightly, carrying only a simple luggage on the saddle; and the accompanying attendants only
I just brought Xi Liuzi with me.
There is a distance of three to four thousand miles between Yunmeng City and Hongzhou City. If you travel quickly and under the stars at night, it will only take about ten days. Lu Zhan and Xi Liuzi felt that they still had plenty of time, so they walked freely and traveled all the way.
Enjoy the scenery along the way.
Lu Zhan grew up in Yunmeng City since he was a child. In the past seventeen years, the farthest place he has left Yunmeng City is to go to the adjacent Lanshui City to redeem elixir coupons and buy second-level elixirs.
Now that I have to travel thousands of miles away all of a sudden, I will have some feelings of separation and separation in my heart, bit by bit, in a clear order.
Of course, for this young man, it is like the day when a young eagle's wings grow and become solid, leaving the nest, spreading its wings and soaring, never letting its wings fall.
It's just that this time he will fly across the world and roar proudly beyond the nine heavens. He doesn't know when and where he will be able to return to the Yunmeng City where he was born and raised.
So when the horse under him galloped out of Yunmeng City, he reined in the reins and turned back to stare at the mountains and water of his hometown;
After watching for a long time, he finally believed in the horse and let it go, urging him to ride away, still chanting loudly:
"A mountain of empty dreams reminds the cold moon,
A thousand passes under the clouds.
Men have been so heroic since ancient times,
Take a look at the Dragon and Tiger chapters of Qing Dynasty!"
The Chu Empire had ten states and eighty-eight counties. Hongzhou was the state closest to the southeastern border, with eleven counties under its jurisdiction and a population of about 70 million.
The seat of the prefecture is Hongzhou City, which is the largest city in the southeast of Dachu. It has a permanent population of more than 12 million and the city area is five or six times that of Yunmeng City. It is the northern and southern Tongyi that dominates the border.
, it is also much more prosperous and lively.
After Lu Zhan and Xi Liuzi left Yunmeng City, they relaxed and walked, admiring the scenery along the way. Unfortunately, what they saw along the way was a dilapidated scene of broken buildings, scattered bones, and no roosters crowing for thousands of miles.
When Lu Zhan was in Lu Mansion, he listened to Lu Bufan and other
Many people who are familiar with the world have said that today's Chu Empire is in a state of internal and external troubles and is in danger. Bandits are rampant, rebels are everywhere, officials are corrupt, and the people are in dire straits; barbarians are invading the border, border trade is blocked, and pirates are rampant.
, the beacon covers the sky.
At that time, he was obsessed with martial arts training. The young man like Lu Zhan only had a general concept of the term "internal and external difficulties" in his mind, and did not form a very intuitive understanding.
Now walking on the official road with wild smoke and overgrown grass, I really understand how terrible this so-called "internal and external troubles" is. I saw that everywhere along the road were poor people fleeing for food, bandits were rampant, smoke was everywhere, and many villages had been reduced to ashes.
It has become scorched earth, and unburied bones and corpses can be seen at any time on the roadside.
It turns out that the current Chu Empire has fallen into such decline that it even gives people a premonition that the end of the world is coming.
The two walked non-stop for two days, passing through Lanshui City, another big city in Hongzhou. At dusk the next day, they walked into a valley. They looked at the rugged rocks and dense trees standing on both sides.
Thorns and bushes. Xi Liuzi whispered worriedly
Gu said: "Boss, this place always gives me a weird feeling. It seems that there is some kind of ferocious beast hidden in the darkness, like a monster. It's getting late now. If we can't find a village or a small town, say
We might have to sleep in the wilderness in the wilderness."
Lu Zhan was not as nervous as him. He looked forward calmly: "What difference does it make whether or not we sleep in the open? Since we have come out, we can use the sky as a bedding and the ground as a bed. We are not afraid of the night dew and wind and frost."
."
"You can't say that." Xi Liuzi retorted: "After all, people still like to join in the fun. Whenever I am in a place with many people, I always feel a sense of security in my heart. In this kind of wilderness, there might be some ferocious beasts.
A ferocious beast. In fact, this ferocious beast is
It’s not the most terrifying thing. The most terrifying thing is definitely human beings, such as people who block roads, murderous bandits, and rebels like Gui Mian Ya. Anyway, the world is really not peaceful. See
Everyone has to be careful."
Lu Zhan was so coaxed by his words that he threw his head back and laughed: "I said, what you said sounds quite reasonable, but you just said clearly that it is better for more people to join in the fun, and you also said that there are differences between people.
Be wary of each other. We have to work together but also be wary of each other. Isn’t this tiring?”
"It's not tiring." Xi Liuzi pointed to the surrounding peaks and the shadows of the trees and said, "But now I can't even see a shadow of a ghost. That's the most tiring thing. I'd rather join in the fun and walk with others.
At the same time, I am wary of the other person. But I am not willing to face this feeling of loneliness and coldness."
Lu Zhan sat on the horse, turned his ears to listen to the movement on the road ahead, and said to Xi Liuzi: "Don't worry, Liuzi. If we go a little further ahead, we will meet people, and there are really not many people."
Not much."
"Really?" Xi Liuzi also followed Lu Zhan's example and listened attentively for a while, "Why can't I hear anything? Huh?"
He let out a long sigh and said: "Boss, when you first came to our nursing hall a year and a half ago, our martial arts attainments were still at about the same level. But in just over a year,
In time, you have advanced by leaps and bounds to the peak of Qi Condensation Realm.
stage, and I am still wandering in the late stage of the bone forging realm, and the realm is not even stable. You are also a handsome young man, how come your cultivation speed has increased so quickly! It seems that the old saying goes that good people are better than others.
It’s really annoying.”
Lu Zhan smiled and did not answer his question.
The two of them walked forward for about 300 steps when they suddenly heard someone on the roadside yelling: "Stop!"
Xi Liuzi glanced at Lu Zhan and said in sincere admiration: "Boss, there are indeed living people in front of us. Your old man's prediction is really accurate."
I saw two strong men jumping out from behind the trees on the roadside. Both of them were holding level five ghost-headed swords. Xi Liuzi muttered in a low voice: "Maybe we were robbed."
However, he acted very determined, because at a glance, the two people who jumped out knew that their martial arts attainments were still at the level of body refining. Not to mention that it was Lu Zhan who took action, even Xi Liuzi could easily deal with ten
Twenty of these body-refining-level losers.
The two strong men holding broadswords saw that there were only two of them, Lu Zhan and Xi Liuzi, and except for the two mounts under their crotches, which looked like horses, they were also dressed in ordinary clothes.
Besides, except for the six-grade steel knife Xi Liuzi carried on his waist, he didn't see any other eye-catching weapons, so his tense expression relaxed.
They greeted Lu Zhan and Lu Zhan politely and said, "May I ask you two friends, where are you from? Where are you going?"
Lu Zhan felt that these two people had no ill intentions, and said calmly: "We came from Yunmeng City and are going to Hongzhou City."
"It turns out that you two are from Yunmeng City," one of the strong men said with a smile: "We are the 'Dafeng Escort Agency' from Hongzhou City. We have just returned from Lanshui City and are now resting in the open space in the valley ahead.
, I wonder if you two are planning to go from here and travel all night?"
Xi Liuzi asked: "I've invited this eldest brother, but I don't know how far it will take to get to the nearest town from here?"
The strong man replied: "I'm afraid we have to walk more than a hundred miles to reach a town where we can rest. But I see that you two are traveling lightly. If you drive faster, you should be able to arrive in two hours."
"
"I guess forget it," Lu Zhan waved his hand and said, "It's not a good idea to drive in the dark in these deep mountains at night. Since your escort agency is staying here, we also want to be your companions for one night.
"
The two strong men looked at each other, and one of them said: "I don't think you two are bad people. However, the world is really bad recently, and the owner of our escort agency has asked us to be more defensive. So be it, you can just go with it.
I'm coming, I'll take you to see the escort, and it's up to him to decide whether or not you can sleep together for a while."
Xi Liuzi was a little unhappy and made nonsense: "Seeing as you are just a prostitute, why don't you let us sleep with you? Is it because you are afraid that we have a habit of splitting peaches after cutting off our sleeves and insulting you by getting up in the middle of the night?"
Please! After all, our Lu family is also from the most powerful family in Yunmeng City. I have never seen anything like this in the world."
(In the recently updated second chapter, Xiaozhu overcame all difficulties and persevered. There will be a third update later.)
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