Although Mingshi Yin was cunning, it was difficult for him to last long when faced with Lu Zhou. As he was sent flying by Lu Zhou's palm strike, he flipped in the air before he landed on the ground. At the same time, blue wood began to grow rapidly on the ground.
Lu Zhou was not in a rush. He had the advantage in terms of cultivation base. Apart from that, the simple environment in the royal palace was not advantageous to Mingshi Yin. It would be better if he gave Mingshi Yin a chance and let the blue wood grow. Moreover, a battle between a pair of masters and disciples was more of an educational battle than a life-or-death battle.
Lu Zhou was looking forward to seeing how long the Nine-leaf Mingshi Yin would be able to last against him.
Under the Bluewood Heart Technique, it did not take long before the entire place was densely packed with vines and branches like a newly built bird's nest.
Lu Zhou slowly raised his hand and launched a human-sized palm seal..
The palm seal shot through the vines and branches, leaving a palm-shaped path in its wake.
Lu Zhou stepped forward and sensed the wind and plants in his surroundings.
…
Meanwhile, Si Wuya had flown up to the top of the Preservation Hall to watch the battle. In his opinion, his master had many ways to deal with this, but his master did not use them. For example, his master could have used the karmic fire. The karmic fire would easily reduce the bluewood into ashes, leaving his Fourth Senior Brother with no place to hide. He shook his head and sighed. 'Master's a little biased. He can easily deal with this with just a strike; what's the point of playing cat-and-mouse?'
…
Lu Zhou walked into the passage the palm seal created. When he was about to reach the end, he changed direction and launched another palm strike, effectively creating another passage. When he reached the middle of the second passage, he came to a halt and sensed the subtle changes in the bluewood. If he did not use the supreme mystic power, he would need some time to catch his fourth disciple.
'Although I promised to suppress my Ten-leaf cultivation base, it'd be too embarrassing if I take too long to capture him. I have to hurry!'
Lu Zhou suddenly turned around and raised his right hand. An energy sword appeared in his hand.
"One gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, three gives birth to all things."
The energy swords split into hundreds of thousands of energy swords in just an instant before shooting out in all directions.
In just a blink of an eye, the bluewood in Lu Zhou's surroundings was destroyed.
Following that, Lu Zhou looked at the ground before he slammed his palm against the ground.
Boom!
"Master! Spare my life!" Mingshi Yin appeared before he disappeared again.
Lu Zhou shook his head and said, "You've only been running away; have you thought about attacking?"
Mingshi Yin did not reply to his master. In his opinion, attacking his master was no different from courting death. It was still best to run for his life.
After Lu Zhou obtained Di Jiang's power from its life heart, his speed had increased even more. In just an instant, he appeared in front of Mingshi Yin. Subsequently, he waved his hand and formed an energy barrier that covered the sky above. He had expected Mingshi Yin to crash into the barrier but…
Bang!
Dirt flew in the air as Mingshi Yin suddenly disappeared into the ground again.
"Underground tunneling technique?" Lu Zhou furrowed his brows slightly. Previously, he had told Mingshi Yin to concentrate on his Bluewood Heart Technique instead of focusing on other trivial techniques. Lu Zhou sensed the movement underground; there was nothing.
The surroundings were silent.
'Old Fourth is quite interesting…' Lu Zhou decided to get slightly serious. Otherwise, what would happen to his dignity? With that, he no longer attacked with one hand. Instead, he joined his palms together.
"The sword of creation…"
The vines, the branches, and the bluewood from Mingshi Yin's Bluewood Heart Technique suddenly turned into sharp swords that danced in the air.
At this moment, Mingshi Yin suddenly emerged from the ground and flew toward the top of the Preservation Hall.
Lu Zhou looked up and struck with his palm.
The Dhyana Mudra flew out.
Just as the palm seal was about to land, Mingshi Yin spun and blocked it with his Separation Hook.
At the moment of collision, the Separation Hook erupted with a dazzling light.
Mingshi Yin used the force of the collision to help him fly further.
Upon seeing this, Si Wuya who was standing quite close could not help but applaud Mingshi Yin. "Fourth Senior Brother, your escape technique is really good!"
"I don't have the time to talk to you…" Mingshi Yin said as he brushed past Si Wuya.
Lu Zhou's voice rang from the back at this moment. "You dare to show off with your petty tricks?"
Lu Zhou rushed over at a speed that was obviously faster than before.
Si Wuya cried out in surprise. It seemed like his master was finally getting serious.
A palm seal flew toward Ming Shiyin.
Ming Shiyin wanted to use the same trick again. Just as he turned around, the palm seal suddenly moved to his back and fell on her. 'It's over!'
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Mingshi Yin's face was swollen and bruises could already be seen on his face as he dropped from the sky.
As Mingshi Yin lay on the ground, Lu Zhou appeared next to him, stroking his beard as he looked at him. He said, "Your cultivation base is close to the Ten-leaf stage…"
Ming Shiyin crawled up and endured the pain as he said with a mischievous smile, "Master, you can tell?"
"Why didn't you use all your strength earlier?" Lu Zhou could tell that Mingshi Yin still had tricks up his sleeve.
"It's useless anyway… Master, please spare me. This kind of one-sided beating isn't fair…" Ming Shiyin said.
In fact, Ming Shiyin was not entirely wrong. After all, Lu Zhou not only suppressed his cultivation base, but he did not use his weapons or karmic fire at all.
"A real fight is never fair," Lu Zhou said as he suddenly struck with his palm.
The palm seal was blue and contained the supreme mystic power.
This sudden palm strike was meant to test a person's reaction speed.
Meanwhile, Si Wuya was shocked and worried when he saw this. "Fourth Senior Brother!"
Mingshi Yin who had let his guard down was naturally caught off guard. He did not expect his master to suddenly attack. Ordinary people would have been hit, but he instinctively moved forward, advancing instead of retreating. He unleashed his grand technique, trying to dodge the palm seal.
Alas, the palm seal contained the supreme mystic power. It enlarged suddenly before it hit Mingshi Yin's chest.
Boom!
Mingshi Yin grunted as he bore the full brunt of the attack instead of turning to the side. When he landed in front of Lu Zhou, he did not move. He could continue with this attack, but he did not as a show of respect to his master.
Si Wuya gave Ming Shiyin a thumbs up and jumped down.
Lu Zhou who had seen Mingshi Yin's reaction during the critical moment nodded in satisfaction. He said, "Don't force yourself into a desperate situation unless you have no other choice. Old Fourth, Old Seventh, I'm very pleased with both of your performances…"
"Thank you for your guidance, master!" Si Wuya and Mingshi Yin said in unison.
Lu Zhou continued to say, "I'll leave for the Evil Sky Pavilion tomorrow morning. I'll leave this place to you."
The two disciples bowed and watched their master walk into the Preservation Hall with his hands on his back.
After Lu Zhou entered the hall, Mingshi Yin fell to the ground and cried out in pain.
Si Wuya furrowed his brows. "Is it so painful?"
"Seventh Junior Brother, how quickly you've forgotten about the beatings you'd received! It really hurts! Hurry up, give me a massage!" Mingshi Yin looked as though he was on the brink of tears.
"…" Si Wuya ignored Mingshi Yin and turned to leave.
At this moment, Jiang Aijian appeared and said with a smile, "Mister Fourth, why don't you find two beauties to give you a massage?"
"Get lost," Mingshi Yin said as he patted the dust off his body.
Jiang Aijian said, "Oh, my apologies. Mister Fourth isn't that kind of person."
Ming Shiyin said with a straight face, "There should be at least four beauties."
Jiang Aijian. "…"
…
Early the next morning.
Lu Zhou summoned Di Jiang and left the capital, flying toward the Endless Ocean.
Si Wuya and Mingshi Yin had also informed the others from the Evil Sky Pavilion of Lu Zhou's departure.
…
After Di Jiang regained its life heart, its strength had mostly recovered. It had recovered very well.
As Di Jiang streaked across the sky at lightning speed, the cultivators on the ground could only catch a glimpse of its shadow.
Fortunately, Lu Zhou had entered the Thousand Realms Whirling and activated four Birth Charts. If it was anyone with a cultivation base lower than the Ten-leaf stage, they would not have been able to stand the wind and would quickly deplete their energy to maintain their balance and a barrier to keep the stinging wind at bay. However, with his cultivation base and the Purple Glazed Ceramic, the ride was not difficult at all even if it was a little bumpy.
Lu Zhou looked at the system interface.
Mounts: Whitzard, Bi An, Ji Liang, Qiong Qi, Dang Kang, Di Jiang.
Only Bi An was still in the golden lotus domain.
Among his mounts, Whitzard was the most useful. It was unfortunate that he could not bring Whitzard with him back to the golden lotus domain. Traveling with Whitzard would have to wait until they successfully replicated the runic passage.
…
After an hour, Lu Zhou finally arrived at the shore of the Endless Ocean. He did not stop and decided to cross the Endless Ocean immediately.
When the cultivators guarding the shore raised their heads, they only saw a flash of shadow. They rubbed their eyes in confusion.
"Am I seeing things?"
"Am I hallucinating?"
…
Two days later.
Lu Zhou had already passed through the area with harsh weather where it stormed nonstop and entered the dense fog above the Endless Ocean.
At this moment, an idea appeared in his mind. With Di Jiang's speed, it should be easy for him to avoid the sea beasts' attacks. Therefore, it would be fine for him to fly lower so his vision would be better.
"Lower the altitude."
Squawk!
Di Jiang obeyed Lu Zhou's order and began to dive.
Finally, the fog was above Lu Zhou and the sea was below him. When he looked down, he saw dark shadows darting back and forth underneath the surging waves. It was a small glimpse of the danger that lay under the Endless Ocean.
