Chapter 161: Lu Canyang

The moment Iron Head saw Gu Mo and Gu Chudong, he rushed over, knelt directly on the ground, and pleaded, "Hero Gu, Heroine Gu, please help save my Martial Uncle Qi Miaoxuan!"

Gu Mo raised her hand to pull Iron Head up, slightly frowned, and asked, "What happened to Qi Miaoxuan? I just met him this morning."

The instant Gu Mo's hand touched Iron Head's arm, she sensed he had sustained severe internal injuries.

Iron Head quickly replied, "My Martial Uncle might be safe for now, but he's definitely in danger." Iron Head took a deep breath and continued, "The Nine Righteous Ones of Qingzhou—their leader, Lu Canyang, didn't die. He's back for revenge, and he won't spare any of them. Now that Martial Uncle Qi is the only one left among the Nine Righteous Ones of Qingzhou, he's certainly going to target him."

Gu Mo sat on a stool and slowly said, "Iron Head... I don't even know if your name is real. How can I trust what you say?"

Iron Head took a deep breath and declared, "Hero Gu, I swear to heaven, I'm absolutely not lying to you. Let me tell you everything I know from beginning to end."

Gu Mo nodded slightly.

Iron Head slowly began, "After yesterday's decisive battle at Duanhun Cliff, the story of the Nine Righteous Ones of Qingzhou from back then has resurfaced in Qingzhou City. Hero Gu, Heroine Gu, you must have heard about it, so I won't repeat it. I'll start from the point when the Nine Righteous Ones of Qingzhou had their falling out..."

Soon, Gu Mo and Gu Chudong heard a story that was quite similar to the one Master Dingchan had told previously.

It also spoke of a Qilin beast appearing at Duanhun Cliff. After the Nine Righteous Ones of Qingzhou went to subdue the demon, they obtained two Qilin secret treasures. From then on, the Nine Righteous Ones of Qingzhou began to be cursed.

Afterward, Lu Canyang succumbed to demonic influence, and the other eight of the Nine Righteous Ones of Qingzhou went to stop him. That night, Righteousness Manor was annihilated, and three members of the Nine Righteous Ones of Qingzhou were killed by Lu Canyang on the spot.

From this point on, Iron Head's account began to differ slightly from Master Dingchan's.

In Master Dingchan's story, Qi Miaoxuan used the Ice Soul to suppress the demonic power and awaken Lu Canyang. The awakened Lu Canyang, unable to bear the blow, jumped into the molten lava weapon-forging furnace.

However, in Iron Head's story, after Lu Canyang regained consciousness and knew the tide had turned against him, he desperately begged his sworn brothers to spare him. But Master Dingchan and the others felt Lu Canyang's sins were too grave to forgive and intended to expose his crimes to the world.

Consequently, another battle ensued. It was during this conflict that Duan Changmei, Wang Dingtao, and Chen Tong were killed, and Lu Canyang, along with his saber, was struck down into the underground molten lava.

Iron Head explained, "No one could survive in underground molten lava, including my master. No one ever doubted that, and no one thought Lu Canyang could still be alive. Even that Gouchen Saber, they believed, would eventually be dissolved by the lava over time.

Only my master refused to give up. He was a Grandmaster of weapon forging, with an almost demonic obsession with divine weapons, especially that Gouchen Demonic Saber. He knew it was a divine weapon he could never forge a second time in his life. He didn't believe the lava could melt the Gouchen Saber.

So, he hid in Mount Mang and tried every possible way to retrieve it. To work undisturbed, he bought Righteousness Manor through official channels, then pretended to be a ghost to scare away anyone who wanted to live there. After that, the manor gradually fell into disuse.

And perseverance paid off. After several years, the molten lava actually began to solidify and cool down. My master finally found an opportunity and retrieved the Gouchen Saber from it. Just as he had anticipated, the Gouchen Saber was not damaged. Afterward, my master went into seclusion with the Gouchen Saber.

For over thirty years, no one knew his whereabouts except for Martial Uncle Qi. Martial Uncle Qi knew because when I was a child, I fell gravely ill, and when all medical treatments failed, my master personally sought out Martial Uncle Qi.

For over three decades, my master had been cultivating the saber's spirit, firmly believing that weapons could develop souls, but he had never succeeded in nurturing one. Then, some time ago, my master suddenly gave his final instructions. He gave me three weapons, the same ones I delivered to the Longbrow Sword Sect, the Golden Saber Gate, and the Chen family.

He told me that the Gouchen Demonic Saber's origins were tied to him, leading to the deaths of those three sworn brothers. Feeling guilty, he painstakingly forged three weapons as compensation and asked me to deliver them to those three families.

He also said that the Gouchen Demonic Saber was about to develop a spirit. He instructed me to take it to Righteousness Manor and bury it at the designated spot, the location of the molten lava weapon-forging furnace from back then, to commemorate Lu Canyang and the Nine Righteous Ones of Qingzhou.

"Finally... my master, he..."

At this point, Iron Head took a deep breath and said, "After he finished telling me everything, he jumped into the weapon-forging furnace, sacrificing himself for the saber."

Gu Chudong's eyes widened in surprise. "Sacrifice for the saber? I've heard that some divine weapons require the weapon master to sacrifice themselves to succeed in the end. I always thought it was just a legend!"

Iron Head shook his head slightly and said, "It's not a legend. Among weapon masters, there's always been a saying: true divine weapons possess spirits. However, this is an act against the heavens, which will not tolerate it and will send down a lightning tribulation to destroy the weapon's spirit. Only if the weapon master sacrifices themselves to shield the divine weapon from the tribulation can it truly be perfected."

Gu Chudong asked, "Then, after all these years, why did your master choose this year to sacrifice himself for the saber? Did the Gouchen Saber only develop its spirit this year?"

Iron Head shook his head and replied, "My master said the time was right. He said he felt as if he saw his elder brother... He felt that his time might be coming, and his elder brother had come to fetch him.

After my master's sacrifice, the Gouchen Saber was indeed perfected. However, my master had long anticipated that the Gouchen Saber was a demonic blade, an ominous weapon, so he had already crafted a box to seal it away.

Afterward, I carried the demonic saber down the mountain. Following my master's instructions, I first delivered the weapons to the Longbrow Sword Sect, the Golden Saber Gate, and the Chen family. Not long after, those three families were annihilated. That's when I realized something was wrong and suspected that someone was targeting me, or perhaps the Gouchen Demonic Saber itself.

I was extremely careful along the way. When I arrived at Righteousness Manor, I encountered you, Hero Gu, and the people from Xuan Nü Palace. At that time, I actually harbored suspicions about all of you. You know what happened next; I feigned ignorance and fled."

Gu Chudong asked, puzzled, "Why did you run?"

Iron Head said gravely, "My master's original plan was to secretly bury the Gouchen Demonic Saber underground, never to see the light of day. But it was clearly no longer an option. I knew deep down that the Gouchen Demonic Saber was a rare top-tier divine weapon in the world, and its emergence would undoubtedly lead to bloodshed.

I'm decent at blacksmithing, but my martial arts are mediocre. How could I dare to get involved? Naturally, I fled at the first opportunity, hoping to hide as far away as possible. However, I didn't expect the mastermind's objective wasn't the Gouchen Saber, but revenge.

When I reached the foot of Mount Mang, I was attacked by a mysterious person. That person was incredibly powerful; I couldn't resist at all."

As he spoke, Iron Head raised the hand that no longer had a palm and said, "My fist was crushed by him. My Golden Bell Shield cultivation had surpassed my master's, reaching the tenth stage, yet it was still effortlessly shattered by that person's single punch.

If it hadn't been for the cliff nearby, and my good fortune to hit many branches on the way down, I wouldn't have survived. But in the end, as I was knocked off the cliff, I recognized the assailant's identity."

Gu Mo frowned. "Was it Lu Canyang?"

"Yes," Iron Head confirmed. "When my master was alive, he told me that before Lu Canyang was struck into the underground lava, the eight of them were at a disadvantage when besieging him. This was because Lu Canyang's martial arts were exceedingly high; he was already a renowned Grandmaster in Qingzhou back then, and wielding the Gouchen Demonic Saber made him even more formidable.

Ultimately, Lu Canyang was defeated because he had left a hidden trick when forging the Gouchen Demonic Saber. He activated it at a crucial moment, causing the demonic power to backlash, piercing Lu Canyang's Shaoshang acupoint and then directly through his heart meridians. Only then was Lu Canyang defeated.

My master said that the Gouchen Demonic Saber's demonic power was unique and bizarre. If anyone's meridians were permeated by that demonic energy, the effect would be irreversible; the scars would remain forever, and the demonic energy would persist.

The person who attacked me had a wound on their Shaoshang acupoint precisely from the Gouchen Demonic Saber. The Gouchen Demonic Saber only appeared forty years ago, and there's only one person in this world whose Shaoshang acupoint was pierced by its demonic energy: Lu Canyang."

Gu Chudong exclaimed in surprise, "But didn't you say Lu Canyang was struck into the underground lava? How could he still be alive?"

Iron Head said gravely, "During these past few days recovering at the bottom of the cliff, I've also been pondering this question. After much thought, there's only one plausible explanation."

"What reason?"

"The Qilin Sacred Blood," Iron Head stated. "The Nine Righteous Ones of Qingzhou obtained two Qilin secret treasures back then: one was the Qilin Armor, used to forge the Gouchen Demonic Saber, and the second was the Qilin Sacred Blood. The Qilin Sacred Blood had always been in Lu Canyang's possession and never reappeared after his presumed death. I suspect the Qilin Sacred Blood might possess unknown properties that saved Lu Canyang.

The moment I realized Lu Canyang's identity, I also understood that perhaps it wasn't Bai Ying who annihilated the Longbrow Sword Sect, the Golden Saber Gate, and the Chen family, but Lu Canyang. It made sense for Bai Ying to steal those three families' weapons, but there was no logical reason for him to wipe out entire clans.

However, if it was Lu Canyang, it would be entirely logical; he was seeking revenge. Therefore, he wanted to kill me because I am my master's successor.

I originally came to Qingzhou City because I heard that Grandmaster Yuxu of Xuan Nü Palace was here, and I wanted to meet her to inform her that Lu Canyang was still alive. However, when I arrived yesterday, I heard about the events at Duanhun Cliff and learned that both Master Dingchan and Grandmaster Yuxu had died.

Although they died in a duel, I can't shake the feeling that Lu Canyang's shadow is definitely behind this matter. This includes my master; before his sacrifice, he told me he felt as if he saw his elder brother, believing his time had come and his old friend had come to fetch him. Thinking about it now, he was probably misled, some trick was played on him, especially since Lu Canyang never actually died.

Of the five surviving members of the Nine Righteous Ones of Qingzhou—my master, Bai Ying, Master Dingchan, and Grandmaster Yuxu—they all died one after another for various reasons. This absolutely cannot be a coincidence; Martial Uncle Qi is certainly in danger.

I racked my brain, truly at a loss for what to do. With Lu Canyang's martial arts, if he intends to kill Martial Uncle Qi, I can't think of anyone in Qingzhou City who could protect him apart from you, Hero Gu. That's why I had no choice but to come and beg you."

Gu Mo thought for a moment, then stood up and said, "Chudong, prepare the horses. We'll go catch up with Senior Qi."