Ying Zhao passed through the clouds and disappeared in an instant.
This was the second time Lu Zhou witnessed Ying Zhao’s flying speed. However, in comparison to the first time, he could sense it seemed to be using less Primal Qi. Ying Zhao was unlike Di Jiang that could fly very fast without relying on Primal Qi since speed was Di Jiang’s life heart’s ability.
Lu Zhou thought it was not too bad bringing Ying Zhao along with him. He had sensed Ying Zhao’s abnormality earlier so he asked, “Why are we going to Jiangbei Circuit?”
“Are you saying you’ve sensed the beast emperor’s location?” Lu Zhou made a guess.
As expected, Ying Zhao nodded again.
Lu Zhou raised his hand to stroke his beard before he realized the effect from the Disguise Card had worn off. He clasped his hands on his back, looking youthful and filled with vigor, as he said, “You’ve made great contributions; I’ll definitely reward you handsomely…”
Ying Zhao shook its head as it shrank its head back.
This time, Lu Zhou did not need Conch to tell him what Ying Zhao meant; Ying Zhao did not want any reward.
He said disapprovingly, “Even you are afraid of the beast emperor? With me here, no one can do anything to you…”
Ying Zhao raised its head and let out a strange cry as though it was expressing its loyalty.
“Very good.”
Based on their current interaction, Lu Zhou felt there was no need for Conch to translate at all.
Taking advantage of the time he had now, Lu Zhou used the Heavenly Writing’s power of sight to check on Duanmu Sheng.
Lu Zhou saw the mountain of Li Lis’ corpses. Then, he saw Ning Wanqing facing the black-clad cultivator from afar. Both of them were painting.
Ning Wanqing’s white robe was already stained with blood. He pressed one hand against his left shoulder as he said with a smile, “I told you; you can’t kill him…”
The black-clad cultivator’s condition was not much better. His hair was disheveled, and his face was ashen. “Why are you going against the Black Emperor?”
“Why not?”
“Very well. You said you wanted to protect him? Look at him; do you really think he can still live after this?” The black-clad cultivator pointed at Duanmu Sheng.
Duanmu Sheng stood on the mountain of corpses, facing north. The army of Li Lis seemed endless, and the speed at which he wielded the Overlord Spear had obviously slowed down as well. The continuous battles for several days had left him riddled in wounds; both his arms were injured, and his shoulders, back, and legs were bleeding. The only thing that kept him going now was his will that was as strong as steel.
Although Ning Wanqing could not see, he could hear Duanmu Sheng’s breathing. The fluctuation of Duanmu Sheng’s vitality energy was extremely weak. He looked sideways and said to Duanmu Sheng, “It’s still not too late to leave now.”
Duanmu Sheng ignored Ning Wanqing and continued to attack with his Overlord Spear.
The black-clad cultivator sneered and said, “Even if he leaves, he won’t survive. Do you know what kind of beast he’s facing?”
Ning Wanqing could tell that these fierce beasts were not big in size and did not have much strength, but there were many of them, and they came in an endless stream.
The black-clad cultivator said, “Li Lis…”
“Li Lis?”
“These beasts come from the Unknown Land. They’re not strong, but their reproductive rate is astonishing. There are many of them. Most importantly, they have a terrifying ability. Their bodies contain a decaying energy that can corrode the Eight Extraordinary Meridians; all plants that come into contact with the energy will wither,” the black-clad cultivator said.
Ning Wanqing frowned slightly when he heard this. “They’re so vicious and merciless. Aren’t they afraid of being punished by the heavens for using these beasts to deal with the red lotus domain?”
The black-clad cultivator laughed. “Punished by the heavens? You’re a judge of the White Tower Council. How can you say such idiotic words?”
Ning Wanqing ignored the black-clad cultivator. Instead, he inhaled deeply before he said to the exhausted Duanmu Sheng, “Duanmu Sheng, you’ve already done your best. Leave the rest to me…”
Following that, Ning Wanqing joined his palms together, and white seals filled the sky.
The black-clad was astonished that Ning Wanqing could still unleash such a powerful move even in this state.
Primal Qi began to surge as the energy seal flew out in all directions.
The black-clad cultivator struck and launched hundreds of palms seals.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Alas, the palm seals were all swept away by the energy seals.
Boom!
The energy seals landed on the black-clad cultivator, severely injuring his chest and causing him to fall.
“You’re mad!” The black-clad cultivator rushed forward, avoiding Ning Wanqing’s ultimate move.
Energy seals surged forward like waves, sending the Li Lis flying.
Clank!
Duanmu Shen, who finally got a breather, stabbed the Overlord Spear into the ground and stopped moving. His body stiffened and continued to look forward.
After Lu Zhou cut off his Heavenly Writing Power, he shook his head. “Stubborn.”
He did not lose his temper. After thinking carefully, which of his disciples were not stubborn?
Ying Zhao gurgled before it suddenly flapped its wings and dove.
Lu Zhou regained his senses. When he looked down, he discovered he had arrived at Jiangbei Circuit.
Cities were razed to the ground. Forests, mountains, and rivers were in ruins.
Lu Zhou frowned.
“What happened?”
Ying Zhao’s body was visibly trembling.
“Beast emperor?”
Lu Zhou saw incredibly huge footprints on the ground. Based on the footprints, he could already imagine how big it was. As expected of the beast emperor.
There were a few intact corpses among the severed limbs that were strewn on the ground.
“Were they eaten or taken away?” Lu Zhou was perplexed.
The plants in Jiangbei Circuit had always been lush, why were all the plants withered?
Lu Zhou had sent Lu Li and Yan Zhenluo to Jiangbei Circuit; he wondered what they were doing.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sound of explosions and the ground shaking rang from up ahead. Clearly, the battle had been going on for a long time.
‘Is it the beast emperor?’
From a distance, Lu Zhou saw a strange golden bird that was shrouded in flames. Its wings were like giant banana leaves. It flew in the air, spitting flames and burning the city.
At the same time, a gigantic wild boar with red eyes was rampaging in the city. Buildings and walls were like paper in front of it, completely useless in stopping it.
Several cultivators from the black and white lotus domains seemed like they were on the verge of collapsing; their astrolabes were dim.
At the northernmost side, a red fish that was 500 feet long was thrashing about in the air.
The other flying beasts and land beasts only served as a backdrop.
At this time, a black lotus cultivator manifested his avatar and transmitted his voice.
“Retreat! Keep retreating!”
The three beast kings, the red-eyed wild boar, the strange golden bird, and the big red fish, were all gathered in Jiangbei Circuit. The strange golden bird was called Dang Hu; the red-eyed wild boar was called the Scarlet-eyed Boar Demon; the big red fish was called Henggong Yu.
“Lu Li, bring everyone and retreat! I’ll deal with this!”
Yan Zhenluo descended from the sky and pushed his astrolabe out to block the flames.
The entire city was like a living hell. Most of the building had fallen; the sounds of killing rang in the air.
The Scarlet-eyed Boar Demon grunted and pawed at the ground. Its tusks lit up…
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The few remaining buildings fell to the ground, reduced to rubble.
Human cultivators were sent flying, including Yan Zhenluo.
When Lu Li saw Yan Zhenluo spitting out blood, he forced Yan Zhenluo to retreat. “Let’s go!”
Meanwhile, the cultivators from the White Tower Council lined up in a row in an attempt to stop the three beast kings. However, they were easily repelled by Dang Hu’s flames.
This was not a war; this was a one-sided beating.
Dang Hu flew up into the clouds before it flapped its wings and dove.
“It’s over.” Yan Zhenluo’s eyes were bloodshot. He pushed Lu Li away and turned to look at the human city. “The calamity has arrived. The beast tide is here. Let fate decide everything…”
Lu Li shouted, “You’re crazy!”
Yan Zhenluo manifested his astrolabe. His huge astrolabe covered the sky.
All the cultivators looked up.
Lu Li pleaded urgently, “Put your astrolabe away. Don’t make such meaningless sacrifice!”
Yan Zhenluo said with a smile, “This is nothing. At most, I’ll lose my life…”
The astrolabe buzzed loudly.
At the moment when everyone was about to drown in despair…
Swoosh!
A huge blue arrow shot out from behind the hordes of fierce beasts at top speed before it struck Dang Hu’s head with the force of lightning.
Bang!
The sound shook the sky and echoed in the city.
Dang Hu let out a miserable cry as it thrashed in the air, spitting out flames wildly.
A white-clad cultivator shouted, “Reinforcements are here!”
Everyone turned to look in the direction where the arrow came from.
Lu Zhou who was wearing his gray robe appeared in everyone’s eyes. His entire body surged with killing intent as he rode on Ying Zhao’s back. In just a blink of an eye, he appeared above the three beast kings.
“Insight Card.”
Spots of light swirled around.
Soon after, Lu Zhou saw a red dot appear 30 meters away from Dang Hu.
“Is that its Weakness?”
Beast kings were not worth using the other cards; the Insight Card was enough. The greatest value of the Insight Card was to be able to see the target’s weakness.
If he were not pressed for time, he would need to rely on his item cards or anything else. He could kill the beast king with his seven Birth Charts.
He leaped into the sky and flew to the top of Dang Hu before he pressed his palm down.
“A Hundred Rivers Return to the Sea.”
Primal Qi surged immediately.
The awe-inspiring Expansive Heavenly Energy from the Confucian school descended from the heavens.
The Expansive Heavenly Energy was unyielding and forceful. It was formed from the purest energy from heaven and earth.
At this time, Lu Zhou’s five fingers were like the mountains and his palm was like the sky as he pressed down.
The Expansive Heavenly Energy burned with karmic fire and was boosted by Lu Zhou’s Birth Chart Power. It landed on the back of Dang Hu that had been pierced by the energy arrow.
Boom!
It fell like a huge golden mountain on Dang Hu.
Boom!
The earth shook as Dang Hu was smashed into a palm-shaped pit. Its neck was broken.
“Ding! Killed a target. Reward: 8,000 merit points.”
The purgatory-like battlefield was silent. Only the sound of the sizzling fire rang in the air.
Henggong Yu and the Scarlet-eyed Boar Demon froze, looking up at Lu Zhou who was hovering high up in the sky and looking down on all the fierce beasts.
After a long while, Yan Zhenluo, who was the first to regain his senses, hurriedly withdrew his astrolabe before he kneeled in the air. “Greetings, Pavilion Master!”
Following that, the white lotus cultivators and Great Tang’s cultivators fell to their knees in unison.
“Greetings, Pavilion Master!”
They knew a big shot had appeared. With the appearance of a big shot, the crisis would definitely be resolved.
“Forget about formalities for now,” Lu Zhou calmly said, “Listen up. I’m pressed for time so I’ll finish off the beast kings in the shortest time possible and leave the rest to you…”
