Chapter 324: Burning Life

Chapter 324: Burning Lifeforce

"The Jinglong Society and the Imperial Office?"

Jun Luo frowned deeply upon hearing this. "Chief Escort Su knows of the Jinglong Society, yet is unaware of its origins?"

"I seek your guidance."

Su Mo idly toyed with the Mystic Mechanism Latch, his fingertips tracing its intricate markings.

The Purple Sun Escort Agency still held two of these latches in secret, though Su Mo had once avoided them like the plague.

He had never truly examined the markings on them before.

Who would have thought they actually recorded the location of the Great Xuan Dynasty's capital city?

Yet this raised further questions.

Why would the capital city's location be inscribed on the Mystic Mechanism Latches meant to unlock the Great Xuan Treasury?

As the dynasty that unified the land, who wouldn’t know where the capital was?

Could it be that when the Great Xuan Treasury was first constructed, its creators already foresaw what was to come?

Is that why they left clues on the seven Mystic Mechanism Latches?

As this thought crossed his mind, he shook his head, feeling that this explanation still left gaps.

The true events of the Great Xuan Dynasty's past remained shrouded in mystery.

But if the Great Xuan Dynasty had indeed foreseen such events, with the might of an entire nation at its disposal, what crisis couldn’t it overcome?

Even if they had to record something on the Mystic Mechanism Latches, shouldn’t it have been the location of the Great Xuan Treasury rather than the capital city?

As his thoughts swirled, Jun Luo suddenly laughed heartily:

"Since Chief Escort Su wishes to know, how could Jun Luo dare not speak the truth?

"To be frank, the Jinglong Society has spanned the realm for centuries, but its roots trace back to before the fall of the Great Xuan.

"The Great Xuan Dynasty dominated the world, conquering all territories and establishing an unprecedented empire.

"The Xuan Emperor built the empire through military conquest, crushing the martial arts world beneath him, leaving bloodshed everywhere in his wake.

"With such grand accomplishments, how could he escape the burden of countless deaths?

"War always claims lives, and the relatives and friends of the fallen—or those who fear they may share their fate—couldn’t help but nurse hatred and fear.

"These people knew that depending on their own power to overthrow the Great Xuan was nothing but fantasy.

"Yet while one person may fail, two can succeed. By gathering those who shared their views, working together, they could eventually achieve something.

"This was the early beginnings of the Jinglong Society."

"...They were rebels?"

Su Mo narrowed his eyes.

The Su family’s ancestor, Su Chengyu, had once snatched the Mystic Heaven Seal from the Jinglong Society by force.

Upon seeing this 'Heirloom Seal,' Su Mo initially thought the Jinglong Society might be a legacy of the Great Xuan Dynasty.

But now, from Jun Luo's words, this Jinglong Society Jun Luo described was entirely different from what Su Mo had imagined.

As his mind raced, he raised his eyes to look at Jun Luo:

"Was the fall of the Great Xuan Dynasty back then connected to this Jinglong Society?"

"If the Jinglong Society truly had the power to overthrow the Great Xuan Dynasty, today's world would be completely different.

"What exactly happened to the Great Xuan Dynasty in those years?

"There are no records in books, no lineage records preserved.

"Our lineage was strictly forbidden from speaking of it orally.

"By the time the knowledge reached my generation, it had long become a lost secret.

"But I know for certain that the fall of the Great Xuan Dynasty had nothing to do with the Jinglong Society.

"However, after the Great Xuan Dynasty collapsed, the formerly obscure Jinglong Society became one of the most terrifying forces in the world.

"According to our clan's records, in the chaos following the fall of Da Xuan, the Da Xuan Treasury became everyone's target.

"But the only group we truly needed to guard against was the Jinglong Society.

"For years, who we’ve been evading were them.

"It is said that when the imperial capital fell into chaos, Jinglong Society members charged in, killing indiscriminately.

"They even plundered items of utmost importance.

"I believe what they stole were likely some of the remaining Mystic Tokens.

"Of the seven tokens, our clan guarded three, each concealed in different places.

"Each place requires gathering three particular artifacts to unlock.

"The remaining four were scattered across the martial world.

"Even if the Jinglong Society didn’t obtain all of them, they must have obtained at least one or two..."

Hearing this, Su Mo silently disagreed.

What the Jinglong Society plundered back then might not have been the Mystic Tokens.

It was probably the Mystic Heaven Seal.

Its historical significance was entirely different from that of the tokens.

After a moment's thought, he asked again:

"What about the Imperial Office?"

"The Imperial Office..."

Jun Luo squinted slightly and met Su Mo's gaze:

"Having said all this, Chief Escort Su still hasn’t given a straight answer.

"So, are you really in?"

"Of course I am."

Su Mo nodded immediately. "Who wouldn’t want to call the shots and own the world?"

"..."

Jun Luo was caught off guard by how fast he agreed.

He gave a slight shake of his head. "Chief Escort Su, you must think I was born yesterday. Empty promises don’t cut it—I need something solid from you."

"Hmm?"

Su Mo smiled.

"What do you have in mind?"

Just as he spoke, footsteps approached from behind.

He didn’t need to look to know it was Wan Zangxin.

He was carrying the broken sword, having left Wan Yutang with Xu Lu.

Li Xuechun and Wan Yilan, however, hadn’t shown up.

The *Enlightened LampLighting Sutra* kept them in check, and showing up now would just hand Jun Luo more hostages.

Jun Luo glanced at Wan Zangxin and said with a smile,

"Chief Escort Su, if you kill Wan Zangxin and swear our deal in blood,

"I, Jun Luo, will lay all my cards on the table!"

"..."

Wan Zangxin was completely lost.

He had just arrived, and now he was to be used for a blood oath?

What kind of game was this?

Su Mo also turned to look at Wan Zangxin and chuckled,

"Brother Wan, mind taking one for the team?"

Wan Zangxin thought for a moment, then nodded. "Sure."

"Just like that?"

Su Mo was surprised.

"Chief Escort Su’s saved my skin more times than I can count. I’d be dead ten times over without you.

"If my life’s any use to you, it’s yours. No hard feelings."

Even baffled, Wan Zangxin didn’t skip a beat.

Su Mo sighed, "You're too damn honest, that's why people take advantage of you.

"Look at you—you're no ordinary man, mastering both orthodox and unorthodox martial arts.

"You should damn well be fiercer, more cunning.

"Only when you're cold-blooded and cunning will those scheming villains respect, fear, and dare not provoke you."

"Well... yes, Wan Zangxin has learned his lesson."

Wan Zangxin quickly gave a quick martial salute.

"Alright."

Su Mo patted Wan Zangxin on the shoulder and glanced at Jun Luo in the distance:

"Originally, I thought to butter you up so I could go easier on you later during interrogation.

"All this scheming is exhausting.

"But now it seems your inner power from the *Enlightened Lamp-Lighting Sutra* must have reached perfect harmony, hasn’t it?

"To be honest, I'm quite curious about this so-called world’s most peerless martial art.

"Now that you've wasted enough time, show me what you've got, Jun Luo, and let me see what this technique is truly capable of."

"...Su Mo, you don't know your place!"

Jun Luo’s face turned livid with rage at Su Mo’s words. Suddenly, he raised a hand, and the broken sword in Wan Zangxin’s grip trembled.

Wan Zangxin was stunned—someone actually dared to try snatching his sword?

Ever since his *Heavenly Spring Heart-Cleansing Sword* reached perfection, he had always been the one taking others’ swords. No one had ever managed to take his.

Immediately, his wrist tensed, clamping down on the broken sword.

Though his swordsmanship was no match for Jun Luo, that was mainly due to the gap in inner power.

But when it came to swordsmanship, he would never admit defeat.

Nor would he let anyone take his sword from him.

Jun Luo’s attempt came to nothing, leaving him somewhat embarrassed. Glancing at Su Mo, who was barely containing his laughter, his fury erupted:

"Bastards! You all deserve to die!!!"

With a furious roar, a fiery orange-red aura enveloped his body. He formed hand seals—one representing the sun, the other the moon.

United, they became *Sun and Moon Sharing the Sky*!

When he had used this move earlier, his inner energy had not yet fully harmonized, and before he could complete the seals, Su Mo had knocked him flying with a strike from the *One-Legged Bronze Man*.

But now, his execution was at a completely different realm.

With a sudden forward projection—

This attack wasn’t aimed solely at Su Mo but also engulfed Wan Zangxin.

Wan Zangxin braced to meet the attack, only to feel the ground beneath him heave violently.

Looking up again, he saw Su Mo had already reached Jun Luo, wielding the one-legged bronze statue high and bringing it down in a diagonal slash from mid-air.

BOOM!!!!

The moment they collided, the orange-red flames around Jun Luo guttered like a candle in a gale, shifting between light and darkness dozens of times in an instant before barely holding steady.

He jerked his head up, glaring at Su Mo, and roared:

"That's it?!"

No sooner had he spoken than a huge foot slammed square onto his face.

The kick came so fast and fierce that Jun Luo's entire face contorted, his skin struggling to keep up with the speed at which his head was flung backward, creating a momentary stretch between the two. Then, as his head suddenly stopped, his facial flesh lagged then snapped back, twisting his features into an unrecognizable mess.

With a single spit, a spray of bloody teeth scattered into the air.

Though his feet remained planted, his hands swiftly changed hand seals in response to the kick.

He slid backward in a straight line, scorching twin trails into the ground.

The orange-red glow around him faded to near-extinction, only to flare back to brightness in an instant.

After landing, Su Mo glanced at Jun Luo, mildly impressed:

"Not bad. The Enlightened Lamp-Lighting Sutra is indeed extraordinary.

"It even echoes Sect Leader Youquan's Youquan True Scripture."

With that single kick, the dance of light and shadow was, in truth, the flickering of life and death.

Jun Luo's hand seal was called the 'Life-Sustaining Lamp.'

Using the heart's flame to prolong life, cheating death's grasp.

As long as the Life-Sustaining Lamp remained unextinguished and his technique unbroken, he could endure.

Yet even so, Su Mo's kick had nearly killed him outright.

For a moment, his vision blurred, seeing duplicated images of Su Mo and Wan Zangxin.

Su Mo, meanwhile, handed the one-legged bronze statue to Wan Zangxin:

"Take this. Xiaoxiao's toy comes alive in her hands.

"Messing with this dear father-in-law using this was one thing when he hadn't mastered the Enlightened Lamp-Lighting Sutra.

"But now, continuing like this would be downright insulting..."

Wan Zangxin was momentarily speechless—he had forgotten this supposedly father-in-law figure.

All he saw was an utterly repulsive face.

Su Mo, however, looked at Jun Luo and smirked:

"Jun Luo, this whole time, you've had first move. Now, my turn.

"Do try to survive..."

He emphasized those last four words with weighty conviction.

The moment he finished speaking, he was already standing right in front of Jun Luo.

With one sweeping palm strike, a deafening dragon's roar instantly shook the entire secret chamber, accompanied by distant bell tolls that shook him to his core.

Within the gust of his palm strike, a faint purple glow emerged—it was none other than the Purple Sun Divine Palm!!

Jun Luo's eyes flashed as a fiery orange aura erupted around him.

He raised his hands defensively, knowing better than to meet Su Mo's Purple Sun Divine Palm directly.

Clearly, his earlier bravado stemmed from his belief that the opposing solar and lunar energies within him had fully merged.

Though he wouldn’t claim mastery of the Enlightened Lamp-Lighting Sutra, he had at least gained solid footing in its techniques.

That was why he dared to provoke Su Mo.

Yet, even with such cultivation, he was still forced back repeatedly under Su Mo’s strike with the bronze figure.

His Life-Sustaining Lamp barely kept him alive.

Now, seeing Su Mo show his true strength, how could he dare to face him head-on?

Immediately, he relied on the techniques of the Enlightened Lamp-Lighting Sutra, hoping to outmaneuver Su Mo while searching desperately for openings in his techniques.

But the moment their hands met, his expression twisted in shock.

Su Mo didn’t engage him in a battle of technique at all.

Each strike carried crushing force, backed by pure yang energy that seared through his energy channels.

Even though he avoided most of the force, the residual power still forced him into retreat.

Once at a disadvantage, he faced Su Mo’s tidal wave of attacks.

The Purple Sun Divine Palm came in relentless waves.

At first, there was some method to the strikes, but soon Su Mo simply used his raw power to overpower him.

Jun Luo could barely withstand a fraction of the attacks at first.

But after just two palms, his Life-Sustaining Lamp flickered dangerously.

How could he afford further hesitation?

With a deep breath, he cast aside all concerns and formed a seal with his hands.

A Life-Sustaining Lamp flickered into existence amidst the void—no matter how fierce the storm raged outside, his inner flame would not extinguish!

Thunderous impacts echoed through the secret chamber.

To an outsider, it might have sounded like two martial arts masters were locked in a fierce duel.

But Wan Zangxin, witnessing the scene firsthand, saw only Su Mo driving Jun Luo into a corner with two palms before hammering him without pause.

Blow after crushing blow rained down on him.

Every palm strike made Wan Zangxin wince in vicarious pain.

Any one of those strikes landing on him would have left him in unbearable agony.

Yet, Jun Luo's *Enlightened Lamp-Lighting Sutra* had truly remarkable power.

He had endured over a dozen strikes and still clung to life.

Holding his mudra, he silently bore the assault, as though determined to outlast Su Mo until the latter's strength was depleted.

The scene left Wan Zangxin gaping in stunned disbelief—even Su Mo saw it as defying all reason.

By all logic, given the man's internal energy, he should have fallen after three strikes at best.

Surviving three would already be a testament to his martial prowess.

Yet here he was, doggedly holding on against all odds—was this a miracle of life, or was there another reason?

In a moment of astonishment, Su Mo suddenly pivoted sharply in mid-air.

After the briefest pause, he appeared to split into countless afterimages, launching furious kicks at Jun Luo from every conceivable angle.

Today, he was determined to see just how many blows this seemingly indestructible Jun Luo could withstand.

The wall behind Jun Luo trembled on the verge of collapse, his heart-lamp shimmering like dawn's first light.

But under Su Mo's relentless assault, even the heart-lamp began to show faint cracks.

Finally, after a crushing *Wind God Leg* technique from Su Mo, the wall behind could hold no longer.

Jun Luo, propelled by the force of Su Mo's Divine Wind Kick, was hurled backward violently.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

After this deafening sound came a relentless chain of explosions.

As he was flung backward, countless walls were shattered in his wake.

In the depths of the Endless Prison, where Wan Yutang had once been confined, Madam Wan lay barely alive, struggling to rise from the ground. Before she could even take in her surroundings, a thunderous crash sounded.

A figure smashed through the wall, appearing instantly.

He slammed violently into a wall right before her.

Clad in black robes, the man held a seal in his arms, his eyes tightly shut, motionless and silent.

Even after colliding with the wall, his posture remained firm, as if utterly unaffected by the external chaos.

"It's you!"

Madam Wan shouted furiously, leaping into the air. With a flick of red silk, she was already before Jun Luo.

But just as she approached, Jun Luo abruptly opened his eyes. Before she could strike, the red silk ignited from the fiery orange aura surrounding him.

A burst of internal energy followed, and though he made no move, Madam Wan was sent flying backward.

Blood gushed from her mouth as she crashed to the ground. Yet, she still struggled to rise, determined to fight Jun Luo to death.

But at this moment, she genuinely couldn't get up.

Footsteps echoed, and as she turned her head, she saw Su Mo stepping forward, clicking his tongue in admiration:

"Darn impressive."

"Have you finally realized how badass my Enlightened LampLighting Sutra is?"

Jun Luo couldn't help but burst into laughter: "As long as my heart's lamp remains unextinguished, no matter how immense your strength, it might as well be tickling me.

"Hahaha, even the seventh layer of the Yixuan Divine Art's Indestructible Heavenly Aura can't hold a candle to this!

"This is truly the most OP martial art in the world!!!!"

Yet as his words trailed off, his once jet-black hair began to turn white right before their eyes, transforming from youthful locks to snowy white in an instant.

His once taut skin sagged abruptly, his face crumpling into wrinkles.

In the span of a few breaths, the rugged dude—who, though not young, had appeared vigorous due to his profound inner strength—had turned into a withered old man.

This sight left not only Madam Wan but even Su Mo gobsmacked. Suddenly, Su Mo asked:

"Master Jun, may I ask—what's keeping that lamp burning?"