If Lu Zhou did not have a Peak Trial Card, he might have chosen to retreat. In the past, his disciples and elders would usually fight before him. However, there was no need for that today.
Lu Zhou looked up slowly as the locust-like cultivators swarmed toward him.
“Since time immemorial, there has never been peace that was won without the spilling of blood. If you dig, you’ll certainly find human bones under the soil of peaceful lands. Men have gone on battlefields, chased away wild animals, protected their homes, defended their lands, and held the borders! Kill them!”
Justice lay with those who had numbers.
Once an individual became a part of a mob, their will would become collective, and they would blindly and stubbornly charge forward. They would easily lose their ability to think for themselves and would be blind to concrete evidence. They were radical and fanatic.
This group of cultivators was taken aback when they saw Lu Zhou advancing instead of retreating. He unleashed a blast of energy as he charged into the swarm of locusts.
Energy sabers and energy swords gathered at this moment and shot out.
Meanwhile, Lu Zhou’s energy glowed blue and stopped all the attacks from reaching him. He stopped moving when he was at the heart of the swarm of locusts. A blue lotus was blooming under his feet, and his body shone with a faint blue light.
To gain the power to silence everything, to maintain and manifest samadhi. Like light and shadow, permeating everywhere while staying still in samadhi.
The power to silence everything.
When the blue lotus fully blossomed, Kubo of Nieer Nation shot toward Lu Zhou with a red dagger in hand. He shouted, “You’ve fallen into our trap! This is the super heaven-grade, Spotless Dagger! This is a blade given by the Royal Tutor!”
“Hm?” Lu Zhou only looked at Kubo from the corners of his eyes as the leaves from the blue lotus shot toward Kubo who was wielding Spotless Dagger.
Bam!
The power of silence attacked indiscriminately. It did not differentiate between friends and foes.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
“Ding! Killed five Nascent Divinity realm targets. Reward: 5,000 merit points. Killed 210 Divine Court targets. Reward: 2,100 merit points. The remaining kills have no rewards.”
The corpses rained down on the land.
Kubo of Nieer Nation who took the brunt of the attack watched as his arms fell off.
The Spotless Dagger fell in the air as well.
Lu Zhou caught the dagger in his hand.
“Ding! Obtained the super heaven-grade weapon, Spotless Dagger. Owner: Jiang Wenxu. Refining needed before use.”
“No!” Kubo looked up as he plummeted. The loss of the Spotless Dagger made him forget about his own pain. His eyes were filled with fear as well when he looked at the blue lotus in full bloom.
Creak! Creak! Creak!
The four huge flying chariots were also affected to varying degrees by the power of muting. Their frames were damaged and their decks cracked.
Having lost many of their comrades, the remaining cultivators could only do all they could to keep the flying chariots afloat. Even moving through the air became laborious.
With the locusts gone, the sky was clear for 10,000 miles.
Lu Zhou toyed with Spotless Dagger nonchalantly.
Of the four elites, only the Roulian, Xiaoji, was left.
Xiaji retreated 100 meters through the air. Although they had the support from the Royal Tutor, the difference between their strength and Lu Zhou was very clear. After witnessing Lu Zhou’s strength, he did not think this was a battle they could win through numbers alone. He was slightly flustered as he said, “Royal Tutor, it’s time for you to make an appearance!”
Alas, silence was the only reply Xiaji received.
Lu Zhou stepped forward. He studied the four flying chariots. After three attacks, half of the four allied nations’ forces had been taken out. This was especially true of their main force; three of them had been lost. No matter how many Brahman Sea realm cultivators they threw at him, it would not make any difference. Finally, he shifted his eye to Xiaji. “Xiaji of Rouli?”
Pan Litian chimed in, “Xiaji of Rouli. He’s ranked eighth in the Xia family.”
Lu Zhou continued to advance.
Xiaji behaved as though he was facing his worst nightmare. He furrowed his brows as he looked at the advancing Lu Zhou in fear.
A voice from the deck rang in Xiaji’s ears. “Xiaji, fight!”
The four flying chariots rose. Hooded cultivators emerged from the decks of all four flying chariots. There were all shrouded by purple energies as they joined their palms together.
Brahmic Lullaby!
The chanting that sounded like the buzzing of flies resounded across the sky.
On the ground, the corpses were jerking and twitching to life.
“A combination of the Buddhist’s Brahmic Lullaby and witchcraft’s puppet technique?” Lu Zhou only had a quarter of his extraordinary power left. He could not even force Jiang Wenxu to show himself after killing three elites. Would he be forced to use a Deadly Strike Card in the end?
‘What a pain.’
While Lu Zhou was deep in his thoughts, Xiaji sped toward him like a phantom. His hand was extended before himself as he moved at top speed.
Soon after, Xiaji’s avatar appeared. There were eight and a half leaves on the wolf king avatar.
Eight-and-a-half leaves!
Lu Zhou said disdainfully, “You have a death wish.”
Lu Zhou’s fingers shone with blue light again as the scripts of Abandon Wisdom appeared between his fingers.
Then, the opponents’ palms collided!
Boom!
A vertical plane of energy burst forth.
Everyone thought Lu Zhou’s shocking palm strike would certainly take Xiaji down.
However, when the dust settled, Lu Zhou saw Xia Ji standing in front of him. Xiaji’s expression was blank, and his eyes seemed unfocused.
The incantations from the four flying chariots did not stop and grew louder.
The dead elites were controlled by the spell. They were now puppets that were swarming toward Lu Zhou.
Lu Zhou gauged his own extraordinary power. It was empty.
All of a sudden, Xiaji stepped aside, and Jiang Wenxu appeared in front of him. Jiang Wenxu was hiding behind Xiaji! At this moment, his expression was calm, and his smile was confident. Blood stained his right hand. It was Xiaji’s blood.
Xiaji had been dead since earlier!
Whizz!
A 150-foot avatar materialized behind Jiang Wenxu. A red lotus blossomed under the avatar. Nine crimson leaves spun around the lotus; they were bright and dazzling.
The Nine-leaf Royal Tutor finally showed himself.
Mingshi Yin, Leng Luo, Pan Litian, and Yu Zhenghai were shocked!
Jiang Wenxu smiled faintly as he said, “I wonder if you’re satisfied with this?”
Xiaji was already at the Eight-leaf and a half stage. He was the closest to the Nine-leaf stage. Knowing Jiang Wenxu, he would never allow Xiaji to improve any further.
Lu Zhou looked down. The resurrected puppets were charging toward him in a frenzy without a care for their wellbeing. There were a lot of them, and they were more powerful now, fearless of death. Devoid of pain and emotions, the puppets formed the second swarm of locusts.
Nevertheless, Lu Zhou only stroked his beard and said with a smile, “I’m… pleased!”
Jiang Wenxu said, “You’re capable of blocking Spotless Dagger. There’s no doubt your blue power is of unknown origin. To be safe, I had them whittle away at your Primal Qi and energy. You’ve lost, you’ve utterly lost.”
Lu Zhou looked at the locusts that were slowly closing in on him. Initially, he intended to kill Jiang Wenxu with a Deadly Strike Card. However, he realized now that just relying on the Deadly Strike Card alone would not solve the problem he was currently facing. In the end, he only said, “Is that so?”
At the same time, a Peak Form Trial Card appeared in Lu Zhou’s palm.
Jiang Wenxu retracted his avatar. He coordinated his movements at lightning speed with the locusts as he charged forward and launched a red palm strike.
“Master!”
“Pavilion Master!”
If it were anyone else attacking, they would not have worried. However, this was the Royal Tutor who had attained the Nine-leaf stage centuries ago. How could they remain calm?
At the same time, Lu Zhou shattered the Peak Form Trial Card.
His dantian’s sea of Qi was instantly filled to the brim. The rich and plentiful power returned to him.
Hundred Tribulations Insight!
A 150-foot avatar towered in the air. The golden lotus under its feet had nine life-like leaves that shone with golden brilliance.
The locusts close to him were instantly repelled and fell to the ground again.
Lu Zhou’s eyes were trained on Jiang Wenxu as he said. “Let’s see where you can run now!”
Jiang Wenxu said expressionlessly, “So, you really are at the Nine-leaf stage. You’re an arrow at the final stage of its flight! You’ll certainly lose!”
“I’ll let you have a taste of an arrow at the end of its flight, then!” Lu Zhou moved swiftly.
Grand technique!
Naturally, the grand technique of a Nine-leaf cultivator was far more powerful than an Eight-leaf cultivator.
In just a blink of an eye, Lu Zhou had appeared in front of Jiang Wenxu. He extended his hand. “Abandon Wisdom!”
Boom!
A palm seal that was almost the size of a Nine-leaf avatar descended on Jiang Wenxu.
Jiang Wenxu’s palms glowed red. His red avatar collided with Abandon Wisdom.
Boom!
The air turned turbulent as energies ricocheted everywhere.
“Retreat!”
“Fall back!”
The passengers of the four flying chariots finally realized their own insignificance. They were like flies who could not even withstand the aftereffects of the battle between two Nine-leaf cultivators. They had to retreat.
At the same time, Pan Litian shouted, “Fall back!”
Mingshi Yin did not have time to consider their ranks. He grabbed his Eldest Senior Brother and sped backward. “Forgive me, Eldest Senior Brother!”
Nobody had to worry about Leng Luo. He cultivated the Dao Invisibility. He was more adept at fleeing compared to the others.
Abandon Wisdom practically lit up Lou Lan’s skies. It was as though the sun was shining in the sky at this moment.
The people, officials, and cultivators of Lou Lan… anyone who looked up would be able to see this strange but eye-catching phenomenon.
The lights flashed alternately between red and white.
Lu Zhou looked down and struck with his palm again.
The Daoist Nine Cuts Hand Seal!
The scripts of Power, Energy, Harmony, Healing, Intuition, Awareness, and Dimension swirled before they dropped down in a straight line.
Boom!
Jiang Wenxu unleashed his red avatar again. He held his hands up toward the heavens as he descended 100 meters! He moved swiftly and returned to his original altitude.
Lu Zhou followed suit. He appeared above Jiang Wenxu, determined to always be above Jiang Wenxu. Then, he pushed his hand down again.
It was five consecutive strikes of Abandon Wisdom!
‘Have you ever seen palm strikes that descended from the heavens? If a single strike isn’t enough, I’ll give you five.’
Golden palm strikes filled the sky.
‘Will you remain arrogant after receiving five palm strikes?’
Boom! Boom! Boom
Five golden palm seals descended from the sky and struck the red avatar’s crown, causing the avatar to plummet!
Jiang Wenxu grunted and spat out a mouthful of blood. As soon as he retracted his avatar, one thought appeared in his mind: Run!
