Breaking through the illusion of the mortal world

Chapter 141 The Feast in Fulong City

The spiritual energy within Tingtao Garden was tranquil. Lu Ming had finished adjusting his breathing, and the flow of the five elements around his body became increasingly harmonious. The Daoist charm of Dongxuan Huayun flickered slightly in his internal organs.

Meanwhile, deep within the main hall of the Fuyou Holy Land, Li Jingyun was being invited inside by the Holy Land elders to discuss important matters concerning the recent unusual activities of sects in the Central Continent.

All restrictions inside the hall were lifted, and the discussions were confidential.

......

Before long, a figure in a white jade robe appeared calmly outside Tingtao Garden; it was Li Jingyun.

"Junior Brother Lu, are you there?" Li Jingyun raised his hand and gently knocked on the courtyard gate, his tone gentle.

Lu Ming opened the door upon hearing the sound and saw Li Jingyun. He felt a warmth in his heart and cupped his hands in greeting, "Senior Brother Li."

"Recently, many things have been complicated, and my fellow disciples have been traveling and working hard," Li Jingyun said with a hearty laugh.

"The dragon saliva wine in Fulong City is famous throughout the Central Plains and must be tried."

Today I'll take you all to the nearby Fulong City, along with Junior Brother Chenghao from the Zhenwu Sect. The ten of us will have a good get-together.

"I'll leave everything to Senior Brother Li." Lu Ming was overjoyed; he also wanted to try the dragon's saliva wine.

Before long, the remaining eight people from the Taoist academy, along with Chenghao, a disciple of the Zhenwu Sect, all gathered together.

The group of ten flew directly out and headed towards Fulong City.

Fulong City is the most powerful city at the foot of the Fuyao Holy Land, and is controlled by the Fuyao Holy Land.

Fulong City is a magnificent city, bustling with traffic and cultivators coming and going. The streets are lined with pavilions, creating a prosperous and thriving scene.

Li Jingyun knew the way well and led everyone straight to Lingyun Tower, the most prestigious building in the city.

Inside the building, the carved beams and painted rafters gleamed with jewels. In the center of the main hall, several dancers in colorful skirts danced gracefully, their long sleeves fluttering like flowing clouds, accompanied by melodious music, creating a lively and extraordinary atmosphere.

Lu Ming had never seen such a bustling scene before, especially the dancers, who were dressed provocatively. Lu Ming blushed as he looked at them.

Seeing Lu Ming's embarrassment and restraint, Chu Tian couldn't help but tease him, "Junior Brother still needs more 'experience,' hahaha."

The group sat around a table. Li Jingyun, extremely generous, immediately ordered a table full of top-grade spiritual wines and dishes, frequently raising his glass and laughing, "This trip to Zhongzhou has been fraught with danger. Today, let's put everything aside and drink to our hearts' content!"

Everyone in the Taoist temple admired Li Jingyun. Seeing him in high spirits and in the bustling city, they all raised their cups to drink together.

Chenghao also raised his glass and chatted and laughed with everyone, creating a lively atmosphere.

A clear, melodious voice drifted over, and the dancers on stage sang and danced simultaneously:

"Mountains upon mountains, waters upon waters, young men of the Five Mausoleums clinking wine cups. And then, the forest flowers have faded, their spring red gone. East of Jin City, east of Ba Bridge, carriages flow like water, horses like dragons. All in haste, life's regrets flowing eastward like endless waters."

The singing was melodious and the dancing was captivating. Lu Ming had never seen such a scene before. Although he felt uncomfortable, he couldn't help but take a few more glances.

Lin Yan, who was drinking happily, couldn't help but clap and cheer.

Chu Tian patted Lu Ming and said, "You need to know that cultivation is not just about sitting in meditation. You also need to cultivate your mind in the mortal world. Your senior brother Zhao Ling is better at this. If only he were here."

Mentioning Zhao Ling reminded Lu Ming of the time he spent at Xuan Yun Peak. Back then, Zhao Ling took great care of him, and the two were very close. More than thirty years had passed since they last met.

Seeing that Lu Ming was still a bit reserved, Chu Tianyi started to keep clinking glasses with him.

After days of hard work and travel, everyone really deserves a good rest.

The wine was flowing freely, the songs were sung joyfully, and the dancers moved with the grace of dragons in flight.

Everyone was enjoying this rare moment of joy.

Su Qingluan's eyes were blurry with drunkenness, but her gaze towards Li Jingyun was sparkling.

Lu Ming was not good at drinking, and coupled with the exhaustion from days of cultivation, after a few cups of Dragon Saliva Wine, he felt dizzy and weak all over.

Lu Ming felt the dancing figures and human figures gradually overlapping in front of him.

A faint sense of unease had just arisen in his heart when all his strength rapidly dissipated, his eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and everything went black before his eyes. He lost consciousness completely and collapsed onto the table, unconscious.

A hint of smugness flashed in Li Jingyun's eyes as he urged everyone to drink their wine.

In a short while, all eight people from the Taoist temple, along with Cheng Hao, slumped to the side, passed out drunk at the table, and were unconscious.

Li Jingyun had already mixed the wine with a Soul-Forgetting Powder that could even incapacitate a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Li Jingyun slowly rose to his feet, and the aura beneath his white jade robe suddenly changed. He sneered repeatedly, revealing that he was not Li Jingyun at all!

"The Taoist temple is nothing special; I can easily manipulate it with a little trick," the man said disdainfully.

Then, the fake Li Jingyun threw down a symbol representing the identity of Anxianglou on the table, his taunts palpable.

The fake Li Jingyun swayed, picked up the unconscious Lu Ming, and transformed into a streak of light, silently escaping through the back door of Lingyun Tower, disappearing into the shadows of Fulong City's streets and alleys in an instant.

He sped all the way to a secluded underground prison on the outskirts of the city, where he had originally intended to end Lu Ming's life and complete his mission.

But upon closer inspection, he discovered that Lu Ming had already reached the Great Perfection of Body Tempering at a young age and had even opened the Xuanhuang Divine Treasury.

This is practically a walking, breathing elixir!

So he cleverly disguised himself and lured Lu Ming out, intending to capture Lu Ming alive and refine him into a pill!

The man repeatedly probed with his divine sense and felt that Lu Ming's body was like divine gold, with his internal organs, muscles, bones, and blood containing a vast source of life.

This is clearly a humanoid treasure transformed by the blood of supreme gods, and is the most top-tier body-tempering divine pill in the world!

"Ha ha ha ha..."

The assassin was overjoyed and burst into laughter:

"If I were to refine this body, now at the peak of Body Tempering, into a medicinal pill, its effects would be enough to allow my physical body to break through its limitations and my cultivation to skyrocket!"

"Truly, heaven is helping me! I never imagined that Lu Ming would be a walking, breathing elixir!"

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Ming slowly awoke amidst a bone-chilling cold.

He suddenly opened his eyes, feeling excruciating pain all over his body. His limbs were tightly bound to the stone pillar by black iron chains engraved with runes, and the runes on the chains suppressed him, making him unable to move at all.

The surroundings were dark and gloomy, and the stone walls were damp and cold, making it a hidden prison where the sun never shines!

Lu Ming was shocked and looked up at the person in front of him.

At this moment, "Li Jingyun" had already shed all his disguises, dressed in black as ink, exuding a terrifying aura!

"Who are you? Are you impersonating Senior Brother Li Jingyun?" Lu Ming thought for a moment and then realized what was going on, feeling both surprised and suspicious.

The assassin in black let out a cold sneer: "Looks like you're not completely stupid. You don't need to know who I am."

"All you need to know is that your body, now at the peak of Body Tempering, is perfect for me to use as a catalyst in alchemy!"

Lu Ming's pupils contracted sharply, and a chill ran from his head to his feet. How could such a vicious thing really exist!

Meanwhile, inside Lingyun Tower.

The first to wake up was Chenghao. He had a solid foundation in martial arts and was relatively strong in his resistance. He shook his dizzy head and felt a splitting headache.

He looked at the table full of unconscious people from the Taoist academy, and at the sign of the Dark Fragrance Pavilion, and his heart skipped a beat. He knew something was wrong.

"Oh no! We've fallen for their trap!"

Chenghao suddenly stood up and quickly woke everyone up.

A moment later, the eight people from the Taoist temple woke up one after another, all of them pale, dizzy, and with stagnant spiritual energy.

"Where is Senior Brother Li? Where is Junior Brother Lu?" Su Qingyuan looked around in panic. Li Jingyun, who was in the main seat, had already disappeared, and Lu Ming's seat was also empty!

The token on the table was placed in the most conspicuous spot.

The words "Sparse shadows slant across the clear, shallow water; a faint fragrance drifts in the twilight" on the token seemed to be mocking them.

Everyone's faces turned deathly pale instantly, filled with shock and anger.

They've been tricked! Their drinks were drugged, and Lu Ming has been kidnapped!

Previously, because he trusted Senior Brother Li too much, he did not notice anything wrong with the fake Li Jingyun. Now, after thinking about it carefully, he realized it.

It's ridiculous that this group of people, who were hailed as the elite of the Taoist academy, were all fooled!