Chapter 419: The Bone Flute is Sounded

’Since Lu Chao said Red Sword City and Yan Soul City are mortal enemies, reporting this to Mo Jing will be a great meritorious deed.’

Of course, Zeng Quan didn’t want anyone to know he had met Lu Chao here...

If he revealed the truth—that Lu Chao had killed Zheng Liling—his merit would plummet. Mo Jing would likely suspect that he’d been won over by Lu Chao and would no longer trust him.

He, Zeng Quan, was not that foolish.

Being used as Lu Chao’s pawn was a completely different story from desperately escaping Red Sword City’s forces to deliver a report on his own accord.

But then...

Lu Chao lowered his head in thought for a moment before asking, "Do you have a carrier pigeon?"

’Having Zeng Quan carry the message in person is too slow. It’s better to see if he can send a message. That would be more reliable.’

Zeng Quan first nodded, then shook his head. "I have a carrier pigeon, but it can only send messages to Nan Zhuiming. Whether he can contact Mo Jing, I don’t know... Zheng Liling and I couldn’t reach him directly."

Upon hearing this, a glint flashed in Lu Chao’s eyes once more...

"Send a message right now. Tell Nan Zhuiming the situation has changed and that the assassination should be postponed."

"Tell him that you encountered men from Red Sword City inside the Azure Flame Sect."

Nan Zhuiming was going to assassinate Dragon Flame Master Wang, and Lu Chao had to do everything he could to stop it.

However, Zeng Quan’s brow furrowed, and he seemed reluctant...

"Just write that you encountered Red Sword City in the Azure Flame Sect. Nan Zhuiming won’t be able to steal your credit," Lu Chao added in a low voice. He knew Zeng Quan was already worried about his merit disappearing.

In the end, Zeng Quan nodded in agreement. He wrote the letter and sent it off under Lu Chao’s watchful eye.

Afterward, Zeng Quan stared at Lu Chao, afraid he would go back on his word and kill him now that the message had been sent.

"I keep my word," Lu Chao said calmly.

Finally, after letting out a long sigh of relief, Zeng Quan leaped onto the Flying Bird Demon Beast that had been suppressed by Lu Chao’s Destiny Bone and departed from the Azure Flame Sect.

Staring as Zeng Quan gradually became a black dot in the distance...

Lu Chao thought to himself, ’After being betrayed by a good friend, Zeng Quan might prove very useful in the future.’

This was precisely why Lu Chao had not killed Zeng Quan.

After a cool glance at Zheng Liling’s lifeless body, Lu Chao paid it no more mind and zipped back to Sword Thinking Peak.

He had just landed when, to his surprise, Zeng Quan returned. "Lu Chao, there’s one more thing I forgot to tell you. Mo Jing is also going to kill Fan Changcun. He’s worried that Fan Changcun will lead his troops to attack Yan Mu, which would be a huge problem."

Lu Chao’s entire body shuddered upon hearing this!

"Also, the reason Mo Jing sought out Nan Zhuiming and Lu Dingtian was all to orchestrate a spectacular victory for his Young Master Yan Mu... Consider this information my repayment for you sparing my life."

With that said, Zeng Quan again spurred the Flying Bird Demon Beast, turned, and departed.

Lu Chao watched Zeng Quan become a small black dot once more, a faint smile touching his lips. Sparing his life had been the right decision.

He thought no more of it...

After a quick word with Chang Yuan and his family, Lu Chao immediately returned to the secret passage inside the tower.

He found the skeleton again. After retrieving a Storage Ring from the bones, he found nothing else.

"Senior of the Azure Flame Sect, the situation is urgent. I’ll come back and give you a proper burial next time."

After saying this, Lu Chao took the Storage Ring and quickly left the secret passage, sealing the entrance behind him. The passage had remained undiscovered for two hundred years, so it was naturally well-hidden.

Furthermore, entering it required a key. The stone slab at the entrance was made of the same material as the stone door of the Azure Flame Secret Chamber.

In other words, it was something not even Commander Ke could blast open.

’As for the key, it must be inside the Storage Ring...’

Once again picking up Cheng Yunsu, who was in a state between unconsciousness and Cultivation, Lu Chao summoned their Flying Bird Demon Beast. Finally, he left the ruins of the Azure Flame Sect with Chang Yuan and his family.

They had just flown out of the Azure Flame Sect when Lu Chao said quickly, "Brother Chang, I have a favor to ask of you and your wife."

"People from my Dragon Flame Academy should be arriving at the Azure Flame Sect within the next two days. I’d like to ask you and Sister-in-law Chang to inform them to take a detour immediately. They must not come anywhere near the Azure Flame Sect."

Hearing this, Chang Yuan readily agreed with a cupped-fist salute.

The Azure Flame Sect was far too dangerous now. With people from Red Sword City still inside, the students from Dragon Flame Academy certainly couldn’t be allowed to get close.

Recall that Lu Chao’s previous arrangement was as follows...

He and Cheng Yunsu would ride a Flying Bird Demon Beast to the Azure Flame Sect’s Forbidden Land and attempt to solve its secrets.

The students of Dragon Flame Academy were to return to the Dragon Flame Kingdom to deal with the war against the Nanye Dynasty.

Marquis Jilong, Yin Ye, and Dongfang Ren were to lead troops and coordinate with the Second Prince of Great Wu, Wu Zhiqiu, to assassinate Lu Dingtian.

Since Lu Chao had been tied up fighting the people from Red Sword City in the Azure Flame Sect’s Forbidden Land for several days, the students from Dragon Flame Academy were naturally about to arrive nearby. But Lu Chao was in a hurry to return to the Dragon Flame Kingdom, so he could only ask Chang Yuan and his family to deliver the message.

And so, Lu Chao bid farewell to Chang Yuan’s family, and they went their separate ways.

He and Cheng Yunsu then shared a mount, heading straight for the Dragon Flame Royal Capital. Along the way, he took out the Biyin Bone Flute from the Azure Flame Sect’s Forbidden Land and murmured, "I hope this works."

With that, Lu Chao brought the Bone Flute to his lips and began to play softly.

A melodious tune drifted out, the sound quite beautiful.

But whether the Green Bone Palace would sense it, Lu Chao had no idea. He played for a good ten minutes before finally stopping.

He put away the Bone Flute and took out the Storage Ring belonging to the Cang Xu Disciple he’d found in the secret passage.

Inside...

Lu Chao found the key that opened the secret passage from Sword Thinking Peak. He also found a letter, written by the Cang Xu Disciple before his death and left for the future descendants of the Azure Flame Sect.

It was a long and detailed letter, filled with writing...

’So the upheaval in the Azure Flame Sect two hundred years ago was this brutal.’

Lu Chao murmured in a low voice. In the letter, the Cang Xu Disciple had written clearly about the sect’s great chaos. After the old Sect Leader, Cang Xu, and the others died, he was supposed to inherit the position of Sect Leader.

But he was too young, and many refused to accept him. Thus, all manner of chaos began.

The Elders of the Azure Flame Sect’s various branches began a terrifying struggle for the position of Sect Leader, as well as for control of the Forbidden Land. During the conflict, this Cang Xu Disciple was gravely wounded, and the seven-page Nine Palace Array Map and the second Azure Flame Order were stolen from him.

In the end, he hid alone in the secret passage, intending to open it from his side and make his way to the Azure Flame Sect’s Forbidden Land.

But his injuries were too severe, and he died at the mouth of the passage...

"Greed is a poison..."

"If the Azure Flame Sect hadn’t descended into chaos, with the Azure Flame Treasure Manual from the secret chamber in the Forbidden Land, the tragedy forty years ago—its utter destruction by the Seven Great Flame Countries—would never have happened. And now, the Azure Flame Domain wouldn’t need to fear the Cyan Sword Great Empire."

The old Sect Leader Cang Xu had left behind the Azure Flame Treasure Manual, which contained the sect’s entire legacy. Two hundred years would have been more than enough for it to regain its former glory.

Unfortunately, their fight for power and personal gain was simply digging their own graves.

Shaking his head, Lu Chao put everything away. He then took out the Azure Flame Treasure Manual and opened it. Just like the Nine Palace Array Atlas, its first page was blank.

But by sending his consciousness into it, he could see the contents of each page, as if an illusory image were forming in his mind.

Each page contained the Azure Flame Sect’s Martial Dao, Martial Techniques, Soldier Dao, and more.