Lu Zhou had been waiting for this.
Mingshi Yin, Leng Luo, Pan Litian, and Yu Zhenghai stood behind Lu Zhou; they were staying alert of their surroundings.
Angui said hoarsely, “Royal Tutor, is… is it really you?”
The appearance of this mysterious figure shook Angui. He could hardly believe this. The Royal Tutor’s contribution could not be denied in regard to Lou Lan’s survival to this very day.
The specter nodded slightly. He said, “I was the one who ordered the Bonar Family to defend the crystal with their lives. Your Majesty, surely you won’t blame me for this?”
Angui smiled awkwardly. “I’m sure you have your own reasons for doing things, Royal Tutor. How could I possibly blame you!”
Mingshi Yin was speechless. ‘How did he change his words so smoothly?’ After a moment, he said, “Your Majesty, your promise to my master…”
“Naturally, I’ll honor the promise. However, the Royal Tutor has always been the decision-maker in regard to many of Lou Lan’s affairs.”
‘What a two-faced man.’
Angui changed his stance so quickly.
Leng Luo, Pan Litian, and Lu Zhou were used to this. Since time immemorial, men’s principles would change depending on who was in power. It was meaningless to argue.
The change in Angui’s attitude was within Lu Zhou’s expectations as well. He was already prepared for this.
Lu Zhou looked at the specter in the air and said, “Jiang Wenxu… I’ve been waiting for you.”
“I’ve been waiting for you as well.”
“The lotus-severing era has dawned. Can you stop the tides of the Nine-leaf stage on your own?” Lu Zhou asked.
Jiang Wenxu’s voice was hoarse when he spoke. “I’ve spent centuries stopping the 12 nations and Great Yan from producing Nine-leaf cultivators… This was how it has been, and how it will always be.”
“All this is for your own selfish reasons?”
“My selfish reasons?” Jiang Wenxu raised his voice and said, “If a Nine-leaf cultivator appears, there will certainly be disasters. When that time comes, humans will be wiped out. However, you forced your way into the Nine-leaf stage for your own goals. Who’s the selfish one?”
“Disaster?” Lu Zhou looked at Jiang Wenxu who was hovering in the sky. “Ever since the birth of men, there have always been disasters. Humans adapt and grow from disasters. The greatest proof for this is the existence of the Nine-leaf and Ten-leaf stage in the red lotus world!”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Wenxu’s eyes flashed as he said, “You know about the red lotus? However, you only know a part of it. Do you know how great of a price had been paid because of the Nine-leaf and Ten-leaf stages? Countless individuals lose their lives every year because of them. Are you going to turn a blind eye to that?”
“It’s precisely because of people like you that humans aren’t powerful enough,” Lu Zhou gruffly said. In other words, if they were strong enough, why would they have to fear the beasts?
“Hm?” Jiang Wenxu was taken aback and puzzled. He had met Ji Tiandao three times before this. When did Ji Tiandao become this eloquent? Moreover, the things Ji Tiandow knew had exceeded his expectations. “Fine… When our views are irreconcilable, it’s a waste to continue the discussion.”
At this moment, more and more cultivators were gathering around them. Among them, many powerful cultivators were flying toward Jiang Wenxu.
“Shenmu Nation, here.”
“Wuchang Nation, here.”
“Nieer Nation, here.”
“Changgi Nation, here.”
“Kindly give your orders, Royal Tutor.”
The moment the four cultivators bowed, the head of the Bonar Family, Lanhai, was shaken. He immediately fell to his knees and said, “Lord Royal Tutor, please help the Bonar Family!”
Lanhai’s four subordinates fell to their knees as well. “Lord Royal Tutor, please help the Bonar Family!”
Jiang Wenxu looked at Lanhai indifferently as he said, “Alright.”
Lanhai was overjoyed. “Thank you, Lord Royal Tutor. The Bonar Family will follow your instructions for generations to come. We’ll defend the secret of the crystal to our deaths!”
Jiang Wenxu looked down at the others and said, “Ji Tiandao… You promised that you won’t attempt the Nine-leaf stage back then. Since you’ve repeatedly broken your promise, I’ll kill you! The other seven nations are already on their way to Great Yan. The remaining four nations have surrounded Lou Lan’s ancient city. After your death, I’ll seal everything here… Your name won’t appear in the records.” After he finished speaking, he waved his hand.
Angui hastily bowed toward Lu Zhou and said, “I have no choice. Please forgive me.”
When the other officials saw this, they said, “Your Majesty, I think the Royal Tutor has a point…”
“Lord Royal Tutor, please help Lou Lan!”
With these, their stance was clear.
The cultivators near the curtain-like barrier in the sky continued to grow in number.
The other four nations of the alliance were in the ancient city now.
Lu Zhou looked up at the specter. He raised a palm and said, “I’d like to see how capable you are.” His fingers glowed blue, and several characters appeared between his fingers.
Whoosh!
Soon after, Abandon Wisdom shot toward Jiang Wenxu. The palm seal passed through Jiang Wenxu and collided with the sky curtain.
Boom!
A ripple spread on the sky curtain.
As Lu Zhou expected, this was just a projection of Jiang Wenxu. There were both advantages and disadvantages to this. The disadvantage was that he could not kill Jiang Wenxu. The advantage was that the others were not even worth worrying about.
Jiang Wenxu allowed the palm seal to pass through him. He waved his sleeve and said, “Get them.”
Around the sky curtain, the shamans raised their hands. Purple light spheres appeared in their palms immediately.
Various avatars appeared in the surroundings as well. There were wolf king avatars, leopard king avatars, and tiger king avatars. All of them lunged at the same time.
The purple light spheres gathered in the center of the Grand Witchcraft Formation. With this, the reduction effect from the witchcraft was activated.
Lu Zhou had experience dealing with Grand Witchcraft Formations so he knew how to break the Grand Formation. He pushed away from the ground and shot into the air.
The light spheres shot toward Lu Zhou immediately.
Lu Zhou recited the chant of the Heavenly Writing in his mind.
To gain the power to silence everything, to maintain and manifest samadhi. Like light and shadow, permeating everywhere while staying still in samadhi.
A blue lotus bloomed under Lu Zhou’s feet!
The mighty extraordinary power spilled into the surroundings, shattering the light rings in the sky.
The purple energy was immediately overwhelmed.
The wolf king avatars that were lunging toward Lu Zhou were sent flying back!
The witchcraft cultivators who were hovering near the sky curtain spat out blood due to the impact from the tidal wave of Lu Zhou’s power.
The Grand Witchcraft Formation that had just recently been activated shattered instantly!
The surface of the tiles and bricks of the buildings seemed to have been removed!
Lu Zhou’s power was proof of the Nine-leaf stage.
The power of silence easily crushed Lu Zhou’s enemies. He killed more than half of the cultivators around him, and the remaining were heavily wounded.
“Ding! Killed 150 targets. For Nascent Divinity realm targets, reward: 15,000 merit points. For Divine Court realm targets, reward: 1,200 merit points. The others are not counted.”
The entire place fell silent after Lu Zhou’s attack.
The sky was clear as though the rain had just passed.
King Angui of Lou Lan stumbled backward. He could not believe this. He trembled as he looked at Lu Zhou hovering in the air. His most elite royal guards had been crushed with just one move!
The Grand Witchcraft Formation had disappeared!
The head of the Bonar Family, Lanhai, stared blankly at the sky.
Meanwhile, Lu Zhou stroked his beard as though nothing had happened. He looked at Jiang Wenxu in front of him.
Jiang Wenxu was shocked as well. He regarded Lu Zhou with a complicated gaze and said, “Unbelievable.”
“This is only the beginning,” Lu Zhou replied.
“Indeed, it’s only the beginning.”
