Chapter 214: Four Seasons
The next moment, Duanmu Rui pulled off the small bag hanging on his waist and threw it casually. The jade abacus flew towards Song Yu like flowers scattered by a fairy.

Song Yu saw Duanmu Rui wave his hand lightly, and the jade abacus flew out like an arrow, cutting through the night sky and heading straight towards him.

Song Yu looked at the flying jade abacus chips, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he did not take them seriously.

"Young people don't know how high the sky is and how deep the earth is. There is a huge difference between the late Grandmaster and the early Grandmaster. Why don't you know it?"

Song Yu's voice was calm and indifferent, as if he was talking about something insignificant.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, he lightly clapped his hands.

This palm strike seemed to be understated, but it contained extremely powerful true energy.

The true energy surged out like a tide, instantly covering the flying jade abacus.

Under the impact of the true energy, the jade abacus suddenly stopped in mid-air, as if time was stopped.

They were motionless in the air, emitting a faint light. This was the true energy and grandmaster's intention that Duanmu Rui had poured into the jade abacus sticks, which were resisting in vain.

Duanmu Rui was shocked when he saw this.

He didn't expect Song Yu's strength to be so strong that he could dissolve his attack into nothingness with just one palm.

In an era when Grand Masters were rare, few people knew that there was a world of difference between the late Grand Master stage and the previous stage.

Therefore, Duanmu Rui still had mysterious confidence at this moment. He took a deep breath, trying to mobilize the true energy in his body and wanted to launch an attack again.

However, he found that his true energy seemed to be blocked by an invisible force and could not be mobilized no matter what.

At this time, Song Yu moved again.

He waved his hand lightly, and the jade abacus sticks that were still in the air seemed to come alive and flew out at an astonishing speed.

The jade abacus broke through the night sky, and with a sharp sound, it headed straight for Duanmu Rui.

Duanmu Rui was horrified when he saw this. He tried to dodge quickly, but found that his body seemed to be bound by a mysterious force and he could not move.

The jade abacus pierced through Duanmu Rui's clothes before he could react, pinning him to the ground.

Duanmu Rui felt a sinking sensation at the back of his head; he was nailed to the ground. He looked down and saw that the jade abacus had turned into nails that bound him.

Seeing this, Song Yu shook his head slightly and sighed: "Although your strength is good, it is still far behind mine. The gap between the late Grandmaster and the early Grandmaster is not what you can imagine."

Duanmu Rui raised his head and looked at Song Yu, his words full of disdain.

"Do you think that no one else is here except me? Will I really come into conflict with you without the king's consent?

I am just an outpost. The subsequent killing method has already arrived. I don't think Gongsun Tongming can resist the final killing move of my Chu State."

Song Yu's expression froze. He now realized what Duanmu Rui's words meant.

Song Yu could not help but curse angrily: "You are not worthy of being a partner! You actually resorted to such means! Have you ever thought about how Gongsun Ce would fight back if you fail!"

Duanmu Rui laughed and said disdainfully: "Our Chu State is vast. Even if Gongsun Ce wants to vent his anger on Chu State, he can only slaughter the royal family, and further slaughter the powerful.

Doesn't Gongsun Ce want to win the hearts of the people? Instead, he wants to massacre the people of Chu?"

Song Yu took a deep breath and moved away from blocking Duanmu Rui's light.

As a powerful late grandmaster, Song Yu was well aware of Gongsun Ce's current strength, which was why he stood in front of Duanmu Rui. He hoped that Gongsun Ce would spare Duanmu Rui's life for the sake of his friendship with Zeng Jian.

However, Song Yu's behavior also made him sweat profusely, but he didn't show it on his face.

Song Yu could feel the fluctuations of the power of heaven and earth coming from behind him.

Song Yu knew that this was a warning from Gongsun Ce before he made his move. Even if he stood in front of Duanmu Rui, he could not prevent Gongsun Ce's move from bypassing him and hitting Duanmu Rui.

Song Yu pulled away, leaving Duanmu Rui struggling on the ground with a confused look on his face.

Gongsun Ce had finished lunch at this moment, and Nian Duan took Duanmurong back to the medical village for a nap.

Gongsun Ce looked in the direction where Song Yu and Duanmu Rui were fighting. He gathered his true energy and began to forcibly plunder the power of heaven and earth.

The next moment, a strong wind blew up in front of Gongsun Ce again. It was the first move of the three unique skills of wind, cloud, rain and uncertainty. The wind swept the mountains and swamps in all directions.

After Song Yu left the place, he stood alone on an ancient tree in the distance, looking at Duanmu Rui on the ground in the distance with a slightly reluctant look.

His eyes were filled with complex emotions, which showed helplessness towards the tragedy that was about to happen.

Ten miles away, Gongsun Ce's long hair fluttered in the wind, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. Even though the three unique powers of wind, cloud, rain and unfixed were created by him, he had never tested their power on humans.

Although he didn't know who the grandmaster was who had fought with Song Yu before, he must be a good target.

An indescribable feeling of oppression permeated Gongsun Ce's entire body, and the air around him seemed to freeze.

Song Yu knew that Gongsun Ce was gathering strength to kill Duanmu Rui with one move.

Gongsun Ce slowly raised his hands, and above his palms, a violent wind howled as if it was going to swallow up the entire world.

The next moment, Gongsun Ce waved his hands violently, and the endless gale instantly turned into a tornado, whistling towards Duanmu Rui ten miles away.

Wherever the tornado passed, the lake water was stirred up into huge waves several feet high, trees were uprooted, and huge rocks were swept into the air, forming a horrific scene of destruction.

However, Song Yu could feel that this strong wind carried the pure Confucian spirit of righteousness. In other words, it was a move that was so righteous that it could cause evil.

Duanmu Rui was nailed to the ground. Facing the fierce tornado, there was only fear and regret on his face.

However, in the face of absolute strength, his struggle seemed so insignificant.

Duanmu Rui couldn't even break free from Song Yu's restraints at this moment, let alone resist the invasion of the strong wind. Everything was in vain.

The tornado swallowed him up in an instant, and his figure disappeared without a trace in the strong wind.

Then, the tornado began to collapse, and lake water, trees, and boulders poured down like a rainstorm, submerging Duanmu Rui's figure.

With Song Yu's eyesight, he could see Duanmu Rui's figure being gradually consumed by the lake water, trees and boulders.

The boulder is the millstone, the trees are the base, the disordered wind formed after the collapse of the tornado is the power that drives the millstone, and water is added to grind out soy milk.

This scene was like a stone mill grinding soy milk, and it made Song Yu, who was observing from a distance, feel a chill in his heart.

He didn't expect Gongsun Ce's moves to be so cruel that they could grind a person alive between boulders and trees.

He felt a deep sense of powerlessness, but the State of Chu had completely disappointed him.

The final resort of the Chu State was not to be used at the time of destroying the country, but to be used against one person, which made Song Yu feel dissatisfied.

Gongsun Ce felt Duanmu Rui's breath dissipate, and the next moment he took a step forward. The breeze carried Gongsun Ce away from the island in the middle of the lake and to the shore of Mirror Lake.

Not long after Gongsun Ce walked forward, he saw a group of Chu shamans and witches dancing with a simple altar under their feet.

Their dance is graceful and mysterious, and every step seems to follow some ancient rhythm.

The air around the altar began to tremble slightly, as if an invisible force was gradually gathering.

Gongsun Ce stood not far from the altar, his eyes fixed on the wizards on the altar.

He felt a sense of oppression that he had never felt before. This force was somewhat similar to the power that the incarnation of Lady of the Nine Heavens exerted when she forcibly broke through the realm of unity between man and nature.

He understood that this group of wizards were performing an ancient ritual, summoning the power left behind by someone who had achieved the state of unity between man and nature.

At this moment, a dazzling light suddenly appeared above the altar.

In the light, an illusory figure gradually emerged.

Gongsun Ce frowned slightly. When this figure appeared, the temperature around him began to rise slightly. He guessed that this figure was the phantom of Zhurong, the ancient god of fire.

Zhurong's shadow was tall and majestic, his face was blurry, but his eyes were sparkling with a fiery light.

He was surrounded by blazing flames, as if he was reclaiming his authority as the God of Fire and Summer.

However, it was winter now, and the authority of the God of Summer was difficult to return, and the power of the God of Fire was also suppressed at this time.

What's more, the Zhurong in front of him was not the real one. He could only display some of his former power, but could not replace the real one and take back the original authority.

A subtle emotion surged in Gongsun Ce's heart. It seemed that he had underestimated the heritage of these ancient countries.

The Three Kingdoms of Han, Zhao and Wei originated from the division of Jin by three families, so naturally they would not be as old as the State of Chu.

But the State of Yan may not necessarily be without such power.

As for the State of Qi, after the Tian family replaced Qi, this country can also be removed from the category of ancient countries.

When Gongsun Ce thought about this, he withdrew his mind and focused on dealing with Zhu Rong.

He knew that Zhu Rong's power was no weaker than that of Lady of the West, and after Zhu Rong's shadow condensed, the first thing he had to do was to absorb the power of heaven and earth.

Therefore, Gongsun Ce used the last move among the three ultimate skills of wind, cloud, rain and uncertainty without any hesitation - rain fell and all things were destroyed.

Gongsun Ce's figure instantly floated in the air, and he looked down at Zhu Rong's phantom and performed this move.

His push of his palm seemed to press down the entire sky.

Endless true energy, carrying the power of heaven and earth and Gongsun Ce's grandmaster spirit, transformed into dazzling rain of light, whistling towards Zhu Rong's shadow.

Zhu Rong's shadow seemed to feel Gongsun Ce's attack. He raised his hand and waved it, and endless flames instantly condensed into a giant palm.

This palm exudes a scorching breath, as if it is going to burn the entire space to ashes.

The rain of light and the flaming palm collided in the air, bursting out a dazzling light.

In the light, most of the rain of light was blocked, but the remaining part poured down like a rainstorm, hitting the wizards on the altar.

The wizards were caught off guard by this sudden attack and they screamed in fear.

However, they were unable to resist the attack of the light rain.

In the blink of an eye, these wizards were killed by the rain of light, leaving only a mess on the entire altar.

After Zhu Rong's shadow resisted Gongsun Ce's attack, it seemed to lose its strength. His figure gradually became blurred, and the flames gradually dissipated.

Finally, his figure completely disappeared into the air, leaving only silence.

Gongsun Ce was suspended in the air, his eyes fixed on the place where Zhu Rong disappeared.

Gongsun Ce's intuition told him that things were not over yet. Sure enough, after a bird's cry, a huge fire suddenly broke out at the place where Zhu Rong's shadow disappeared.

After the flames engulfed all the wizards on the altar, a shadow of Zhurong, only as tall as a human, emerged.

At this moment, Zhu Rong's aura was restrained, without any trace of fiery aura.

Gongsun Ce was concentrating on dealing with Zhu Rong's sudden attack, while Zhu Rong was looking at Gongsun Ce with a hint of admiration in his eyes.

He sighed and said, "Alas! Young man, don't be nervous. I won't fight you. Besides, I don't have much strength left now."

Gongsun Ce was even more curious when he heard this. He asked, "Why are you conscious?"

The incarnation of Lady of the West has a carrier, so it is not surprising that she has self-awareness, but the Zhu Rong in front of Gongsun Ce is just a phantom summoned by a group of wizards.

His essence is similar to the divine mask in Under One Person. He has power similar to Zhurong, but does not have Zhurong's consciousness.

Zhu Rong was silent for a moment, as if lost in memories. He slowly opened his mouth and told his past.

"Young man, I am already dead. What is before you now is only the residual image of me that I left in this world.

Many years ago, as the number of powerful people who reached the state of unity between man and nature increased, we, the first powerful people who achieved the state of unity between man and nature, felt that the world was weakening and could not allow us to make any further progress.

So we decided to leave this world and go to the other side to seek a higher realm.

Young man, you have the remnant of the aura of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady in your body. You should have seen the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady. Didn't the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady tell you about it?"

Gongsun Ce frowned slightly and asked, "I have seen the Queen Mother of the Nine Heavens, but I fought with her. Moreover, you are a strong man who has reached the state of unity between heaven and man. Why did you die?"

Zhu Rong took a deep breath, as if he wanted to pour out all his pain and helplessness.

He glanced at Gongsun Ce, a hint of hesitation flashed in his eyes, but he finally decided to tell Gongsun Ce about his experience.

“In the process of leaving this world, we encountered an unprecedented space storm.

Those storms are powerful and terrifying, and even those of us who have reached the state of unity between man and nature find it difficult to resist them.

Under the ravages of the storm, our strength was quickly depleted, and only a few strong men were able to survive. "

Zhu Rong's voice was filled with helplessness and grief. "However, it is precisely because of the death of so many people at the level of unity of heaven and man that the strong people who survived successfully established a starry sky road outside the world that has never reached the end."

Gongsun Ce was somewhat surprised when he heard this. He had never thought that these legendary powerful men would have such tragic fates.

Moreover, the more it sounded like the Starry Sky Road, the more it sounded like an ancient Starry Sky Road. Gongsun Ce felt that after this group of people who had achieved unity with nature walked the road to the end, they might not be able to see the other side.

Maybe there are stronger beings waiting for them at the end of the starry road, and then devour them to achieve a higher realm.

Judging from Gongsun Ce's experience of reading novels for many years, the idea in it is actually very likely.

He was silent for a moment, then asked: "Then why don't you return to this world?"

Zhu Rong shook his head and sighed, "The road to the starry sky is too long and full of unknown dangers.

Although we have built this road, it is difficult to return.

What's more, we dare not approach this world."

After Zhu Rong finished speaking, he pointed to the Seven Stars of the Azure Dragon in the starry sky above his head and sighed.

“The seven stars of the Azure Dragon correspond to Yin, Yang, Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, among which the power of Fire is the origin that I left behind before I left.

In the eyes of this world, we who are one with nature are no different from thieves, so we must leave a part of our origin behind when we leave.

Once an existence that has stepped out of the world and entered the starry sky wants to return, it must continue to surrender its origin.

Continuing to hand over the origin means that the road ahead is cut off and it is impossible to continue to break through to a higher level, so those who have left dare not return, let alone want to return. "

"Then how should the realm of unity between heaven and man be divided?"

Gongsun Ce remained silent. He felt the helplessness and sadness in Zhu Rong's words, but he still had to ask his questions.

Hearing Gongsun Ce's question, Zhu Rong shook his head and said, "Actually, I don't know. The state of unity between man and nature does not have a specific name, it is just based on strength to distinguish between the strong and the weak.

When you first enter the realm of harmony between man and nature, you can change the color of the sky and the earth, which means you can affect the weather.

To reach the state of unity between man and nature, one step further is to change the seasons. In my prime, when no one can stop me, I can make the world always in summer.

As far as I know, the next level is Zhu Jiuyin, who can tamper with time, so that the change of day and night is just a blink of an eye. That is the real power.

As for whether there are stronger people above this, I don’t know. Perhaps only the one who created the world can reach the ultimate state of unity between man and nature.”

Gongsun Ce nodded, feeling more and more that this world was not simple.

At this moment, Zhu Rong suddenly waved his hand, and a powerful fire force surged out from his hand and rushed straight towards Gongsun Ce.

Gongsun Ce was startled, but then he felt that the power was gentle and pure, as if it was nourishing his body.

He closed his eyes and let the power surge into his body.

After a moment, he felt his affinity with the fire element suddenly increase, as if he had become part of the flame.

"Young man, since you have obtained part of the power of the Seven Azure Dragons, you can be considered my successor. In this case, I will give this remaining power to you. Receive my fire power!"

Zhu Rong's figure became increasingly fainter. Before he completely disappeared, he left his last words: "Young man, if possible, please walk the entire Starry Sky Road and reach the other side."

"Please rest assured, I will definitely reach the other side and become the strongest."

"Great...goodness..."

Zhurong's shadow had completely dissipated at this time, and only the ashes of the altar could prove that Zhurong had once descended here.

Gongsun Ce looked up at the dome, and the seven stars of the Azure Dragon were faintly flickering under the sunlight.

Gongsun Ce could feel that his connection with the Seven Stars of the Blue Dragon was becoming closer and closer.

Therefore, Gongsun Ce became more and more puzzled. Are these bronze boxes and tokens related to the Seven Stars of the Blue Dragon really useful?
Gongsun Ce shook his head and returned to Jinghu Medical Village. It didn’t matter.

At this time in Yanmen Pass, Li Mu was carrying out pre-war mobilization.

This year's snow is slightly larger than last year's, and the grassland will be colder this year.

Therefore, if the Huns wanted to reduce population losses in winter, they would risk their lives to carry out a final raid southwards before the heavy snow blocked the grasslands in order to collect resources for the winter.

Including but not limited to food and firewood, so this is also a good opportunity for Li Mu to show his skills and capture the Huns.

Most of Li Mu's subordinates were Li Mu's old subordinates, and a small number were armored troops brought by Huan Xi to guard Yanmen Pass.

Huan Xi was nominally Li Mu's deputy, but in fact he was on the same level as Li Mu. When Li Mu went out to capture the Huns, Huan Xi guarded Yanmen Pass.

As for why Li Mu's old subordinates were returned to Li Mu, it was partly due to Gongsun Ce's calculations.

Li Mu's old subordinates were more loyal to him, which was the origin of the conflict between King Zhao and Li Mu.

In the early days, King Zhao sent Li Mu to Yanmen Pass, and the military expenses of Yanmen Pass were borne by Zhao State at that time.

Then, King Zhao discovered that Li Mu's personal charm was a little exaggerated, which made King Zhao feel vaguely that it was difficult to control Li Mu.

So the King of Zhao cut military expenditures year by year, trying to hint to Li Mu to be more restrained. At the same time, the King of Zhao also wanted Li Mu to return to Handan to receive PUA.

The King of Zhao is the monarch, so there are some things that cannot be said openly and can only be hinted to Li Mu.

However, there is a skill to hinting, and Li Mu is not the kind of person who is particularly good at guessing the emperor's mind.

Li Mu's mind was entirely focused on fighting the Huns, so when King Zhao cut military spending, he wrote a letter to ask for advice.

The King of Zhao's reply was also very simple: raise military funds on your own, as Zhao no longer has that much surplus grain.

This is a further hint from the King of Zhao: Li Mu came back to ask me for military funds! Accept my PUA!

But Li Mu still didn't understand. Instead, he began to raise military funds seriously, which led to Yanmen Pass being very close to self-sufficiency.

This further led to the King of Zhao being unable to control Li Mu's military spending, and also caused the soldiers at Yanmen Pass to lose much of their prestige in the King of Zhao.

From this perspective, the blame still lies with King Zhao. In Li Mu's situation, he can't keep hinting but must make it clear.

After a simple mobilization, Li Mu had boosted the morale of his old subordinates.

However, this is not the end. Gongsun Ce knew Li Mu's character well, so he made other arrangements for Huan Xi.

At midnight, Li Mu and Huan Xi arrived at the place where the Hun captives were held.

Li Mu saw Huan Xi take out a small medicine bottle and pour it into the drinking water of the Xiongnu captives.

"May I ask General Huan Xi what this thing is?"

Huan Qi asked Li Mu, "General Li Mu, do you remember the Xiongnu warriors who were fearless and brave when Handan was captured?"

"Of course." Li Mu recalled what he saw and heard that day, and still can't forget it. "Did those soldiers transform with this medicine?"

"Of course." Huan Xi glanced at Li Mu, with a hint of envy in his tone, "This is a secret medicine prepared by General Gongsun, and it is an incomplete secret medicine.

When the real secret medicine is used on a person, it can make the person invulnerable to swords and guns and become the best warrior.

There are rumors in the army that General Gongsun is preparing to set up a team, and all members of the team have been baptized with secret medicine.

General Li Mu, why don't you guess who General Gongsun is going to hand over this team to? "

"Could it be the last general?"

Li Mu suddenly spoke with some lack of confidence. He felt that this was possible, but the likelihood was not high.

(End of this chapter)