Although Whitzard did not possess Bi An’s strong defensive and offensive skills or Di Jiang’s exaggerated speed, Lu Zhou really liked its ability to replenish his supreme mystic power. This ability was something his other mounts could not compare to.
Whitzard flew over at lightning speed, surrounded by auspicious clouds. It seemed to understand Lu Zhou’s intention and cast its ability immediately.
Under the effect of the auspicious clouds, the supreme mystic power was swiftly restored. In just a while, it was completely recovered!
Meanwhile, the hunchbacked old man who had been knocked down by the remaining of Lu Zhou’s supreme mystic power and lost five Birth Charts was in excruciating pain. He could barely move at all.
…
In the distance…
When Yu Zhenghai and Yu Shangrong, who had stepped forward earlier, saw their master beating the hunchbacked old man, they exchanged a look.
“It seems that master doesn’t need us,” Yu Zhenghai said.
Yu Shangrong glanced at the old man lying on the ground, motionless and covered in blood, before he said, “This person is so seriously injured; even if he still has 8 Birth Charts, both of us should be able to defeat him with our strength…”
Yu Shangrong who had sprouted the eleventh leaf and fought off Su Heng, Duan Xihua’s subordinate, was very confident.
Yu Zhenghai thought about this for a moment before he said with a straight face, “I won’t refute your words…”
At this moment, vitality energy surged from the ground like a storm.
Yan Zhenluo reminded everyone, “Everyone, step back…”
Ji Fengxing, who was cowering at the back, asked, “This old thing… Don’t tell me he still has a trump card?”
Yan Zhenluo explained, “This is called a vitality storm. When an expert activates a certain number of Birth Charts, their Dantians’ seas of Qi become incredibly vast. According to the number of Birth Charts that are destroyed, the corresponding amount of vitality energy would surge out from the person’s Dantian’s sea of Qi and return to the world. The stronger a cultivator and the higher the number of Birth Charts lost, the stronger the vitality storm would be. Based on this vitality storm, that old man must have lost at least four Birth Charts. Naturally, we can only be sure once we see his avatar.”
Everyone nodded.
Shen Xi added, “Sometimes, there might not be a vitality storm. Some experts would do anything to protect their Birth Charts; after all, one Birth Chart is equivalent to one extra life. After losing their Birth Charts, some experts have a way to retain some of their vitality energy. For example, Xia Zhengrong, the Tower Master of the Black Tower Council, when he lost a Birth Chart to the Pavilion Master.”
At the same time, the vitality storm grew more and more violent. Even with the protective Dao inscriptions, the tiles and bricks were still damaged.
After Bai Ze released the auspicious rain, it flew toward the members of the Evil Sky Pavilion.
Little Yuan’er waved at it before she leaped on its back. Then, she turned and said, “Junior sister, come with me!”
“Okay!” Conch leaped on Whitzard’s back as well.
Everyone continued to look at the sky.
…
Bang!
A loud explosion sounded in the air when the vitality storm suddenly stopped.
The hunchbacked old man suddenly leaped up from the ground. His body was drenched in blood as he flew toward Lu Zhou.
Lu Zhou naturally did not let his guard down; the hunchbacked old man was still an Eight Chart cultivator after all. He pushed his hand out, launching a palm seal that contained the supreme mystic power.
Bang!
The hunchbacked old man was not afraid and met the palm seal directly.
Crack!
The sound of the hunchbacked old man’s ribs breaking rang in the air, but he did not seem to feel the pain at all. His body fell for dozens of meters, and he spat out a mouthful of blood before he flew up again.
Lu Zhou struck with his palm again, and the result was the same as before.
After a moment, the hunchbacked old man suddenly said, “Why are you holding back your strength?”
“Hmm?”
“Are you trying to torture me?” In the hunchbacked old man’s opinion, he was no match for Lu Zhou even when he had 13 Birth Charts. Now that he only had 8 Birth Charts, it should be easy for Lu Zhou to kill him. For this reason, he assumed Lu Zhou was intentionally torturing him instead of granting him a quick death.
“Don’t worry. If you want to die, I will surely grant you your wish!” Lu Zhou struck with his palm again.
Bang!
Just like before, the hunchbacked old man would charge upward again after being struck down. After five consecutive palm strikes, he looked up and said, “You’re sick in the head…”
“Even when death is close at hand, you’re still so stubborn,” Lu Zhou said, “Speak. What’s your master’s background?”
The hunchbacked old man laughed loudly. His laughter resounded in the royal palace, causing the debris and rubble on the ground to quake slightly.
“You finally realized you’re in trouble? You’ve offended the Qin clan; this enmity can never be erased until you die,” the hunchbacked old man said.
Lu Zhou shook his head. “So what?”
“So what? So the Qin clan will definitely flay you alive and crush your bones to avenge me!” The hunchbacked old man’s eyes emitted a green light at this moment.
At this moment, Si Wuya transmitted his voice from the distance and said, “You’re thinking too much.”
The hunchbacked old man snarled. “You don’t have the right to interrupt!”
“You’ve been defeated, but you’re still so arrogant,” Si Wuya said, undeterred, “You don’t believe me when I say you’re thinking too much? Based on your attire, words, and actions, you should just be a lowly slave in the Qin clan. What makes you think the Qin clan will seek revenge for a mad dog that randomly bites people?”
The hunchbacked old man, triggered by Si Wuya’s words, said, “I’m one of the Four Great Ghost Servants of the Qin clan. My Young Master has lost a Birth Chart and you dare to kill; the old enmity hasn’t been resolved, and a new one has already been formed. I’m not afraid of death. The other three Great Ghosts are my brothers-in-arms; even if the Qin clan doesn’t avenge me, my three brothers will definitely avenge me. It’s worth it if I can exchange my life for all of your lives!” Then, he laughed maniacally.
Si Wuya shook his head. “Let me correct a few of your misconceptions. First, no matter if you’re a ghost servant or a human servant, a servant is still a servant. You’re no different from a dog in your master’s eyes. There’s no point denying this. Think about it; your cultivation base is high, and you have 13 Birth Charts, but how many times have your esteemed Young Master scolded you?” After a beat, he continued to say, “Second, although it’s true that one should look at the owner before beating a dog, a dog is still a dog. If a dog makes a mistake, without waiting for outsiders to make a move, the owner would make a move to punish the dog first.”
Si Wuya did not give the hunchbacked old man a chance to speak and continued to say, “Finally, the biggest and gravest misconception that I have to correct is that your Qin clan offended my master, not the other way around. Believe me, the people who will suffer a disaster are those from the Qin clan. Imagine a dog like you bringing disaster to the Qin clan; if you are alive when my master deals with the Qin clan, I bet you they’ll kill you with their own hands after making you kneel and apologize to my master!”
It was as silent as a graveyard after Si Wuya finished speaking. Every word of his was brilliant and piercing. It made people feel like applauding him.
In fact, Xia Changqiu could not hold back his urge and began to clap.
The sound of the applause was not loud, but it was abrupt and was thus, very conspicuous.
At this moment, the green light in the hunchbacked old man’s eyes intensified. “Very well! In that case, let’s perish together!”
Swoosh!
Green light shot into the sky as the hunchbacked old man shot toward Lu Zhou like an arrow. At the same time, green gas began to rise as well.
Lu Zhou flicked his sleeves and shook his head as he said, “I’m impervious to all poisons.”
Lu Zhou struck with his palm. This time, he increased the size of the palm seal that was filled with the supreme mystic power.
The palm seal was like a mountain as it advanced toward the hunchbacked old man who was flying over.
The hunchbacked old man was shocked when he saw the palm seal. He hurriedly brought out his broken jade disk and astrolabe.
“You’re too slow.” Lu Zhou flashed over with Unnamed in his hand and stabbed it out.
‘He changed his move?’ The hunchbacked old man was shocked. He had grown complacent and assumed Lu Zhou would use the same move to deal with him. Lu Zhou’s sudden change caught him completely off guard.
Unnamed that was in the form of a sword began to glow with the supreme mystic power. In just a moment, an energy sword that was 1,000 feet long appeared and slashed at the jade disk.
Bang!
A crack appeared on the jade disk.
“Fusion grade?” The hunchbacked old man looked at the sword in surprise. He knew when everything was frozen earlier; it was caused by a fusion-grade item. However, he did not expect his opponent to have another fusion-grade weapon!
“You have two fusion-grade items?”
Fusion-grade weapons came with special abilities like the Purple Glazed Ceramic’s Ice Seal. Apart from that, their forces were unimaginably strong.
The hunchbacked old man thought that it was no wonder the sword managed to break his jade disk.
At this time, Unnamed that brimmed with the supreme mystic power continued to press against the jade disk; it was unstoppable.
Swoosh!
All of a sudden, golden flames surged around Unnamed.
“Karmic fire?!” The hunchbacked old man looked at Lu Zhou with a complex expression. He suddenly felt that his opponents had more tricks up his sleeve. At this moment, he suddenly dodged.
Lu Zhou had expected this. He exerted Di Jiang’s ability and brought the sword down.
Contrary to expectations, the old man suddenly bared his teeth. “You’re too slow. You shouldn’t be slow if you have more than 12 Birth Charts!” Then, he aimed his palm at Lu Zhou’s shoulder.
Bang!
The sword in Lu Zhou suddenly grew longer and pierced the old man’s arm.
Meanwhile, when the hunchbacked old man’s palm was about to land, he could sense the blue protective energy on his opponent’s body repelling the force from his palm.
Lu Zhou took advantage of the situation and flew over; he could not give his opponent a chance. With six Birth Charts, the supreme mystic power, and his fusion-grade weapon, he should be able to deal with an injured Eight Chart cultivator. If they were not enough, then he’ll deal with it later.
Following that, Lu Zhou turned around to look at the people of the Evil Sky Pavilion and said in a deep voice, “Watch carefully.”
Everyone’s eyes shone with expectation and anticipation.
Lu Zhou divided the supreme mystic power into smaller parts before he circulated them like a stream in his Eight Extraordinary Meridians. Then, he began to wave Unnamed in the air.
“It’s the Guiyuan Sword Technique! It’s Second Senior Brother’s Guiyuan Sword Technique!”
One sword, two swords, three swords…
The speed was getting faster and faster.
Yu Shangrong’s eyes lit up when he saw this. He was reminded of the time when his master demonstrated his swordsmanship on Golden Court Mountain. At that time, his master had only used a wooden sword. Without using Primal Qi, his master managed to hit every snowflake that fell. As expected of his master, no matter how many years had passed, his master’s swordsmanship was as superb as ever.
Lu Zhou’s sword seemed like it could cut through everything, but the sword intent was traceless.
At this moment…
“Return and Enter Three Souls!”
When Yu Shangrong executed the Return and Enter Three Souls, he could manifest three figures in different directions. The figures were powerful and could confuse the opponent. On the other hand, his master manifested 12 figures altogether. There are three figures in each of the four directions. It was an incredibly dazzling sight.
The ghost servant’s eyes were bloodshot and filled with unwillingness. His opponent clearly did not seem very strong, but why was his opponent able to thwart him every single time? He saw the figures that occupied his surroundings suddenly merge before energy swords fell like rain. He roared, exploding with countless palm seals that filled the sky like stars, in retaliation.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The energy swords struck at the palm seals accurately.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
“The Sword of Creation: the Swordless Path. Using all creations as swords…”
Millions of energy swords covered the sky, but only a small number of them were blue. The blue energy swords stabbed toward the ghost servants with terrifying precision.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
He roared in pain. He was already heavily injured; how could he withstand such high-intensity and concentrated attacks from the energy swords? Nevertheless, he tried to resist with all his might. He tried to repel the energy swords with what was left of his energy.
The ghost servant was trapped in the eyes of the hurricane of impenetrable energy swords.
At this time, Lu Zhou’s figure came to a stop. He had half of the supreme mystic power left.
At this time, the ghost servant finally broke out of the hurricane of energy swords. However, he did not stop waving his hand as though he could not stop himself. He was screaming like a madman; his body was riddled with sword wounds and drenched in blood. When he finally realized he was free of the energy swords, he finally stopped. At the same time, he fell several meters from the sky.
Suddenly, three energy swords shot straight down from the sky and pierced through the ghost servant’s body.
Lu Zhou had been waiting for this moment. These three energy swords were formed by the supreme mystic power.
“???” The hunchbacked ghost servant’s blood spurted out like a fountain as his body trembled.
“Ding! Destroyed one Birth Chart. Reward: 6,000 merit points.”
Lu Zhou shook his head and said, “You’re already at the end of your rope, but I’ve only just begun…”
“You…”
Lu Zhou ignored the ghost servant and turned to look at Yu Shangrong before he asked, “Do you understand?”
Yu Shangrong bowed and said, “Thank you for your guidance, master.”
“Ding! Received 500 merit points for guiding Yu Shangrong.”
With the effect of the Eternal Paragon, it was easier for Yu Shangrong to understand his master’s movements. His master’s 12 figures kept flashing in his mind.
At this time, Lu Zhou turned back to look at the ghost servant and said, “Now, the real game begins…”
Previously, he had used his item cards. Now, he used all his supreme mystic power to manifest more energy swords.
Up, down, left, right; Lu Zhou’s energy swords were everywhere. All of a sudden, the energy swords merged into one before it slashed down from the sky.
The hunchbacked old man used the last of his strength and decided to sacrifice his lotus.
A lotus appeared and flew out along with 11 leaves.
He grunted and spat out a large amount of blood as he controlled the flying leaves.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Lu Zhou swung Unnamed, accurately hitting one leaf. Following that, using Unnamed and the supreme mystic power, he cleaved all eleven leaves into two.
Lu Zhou retreated dozens of meters; his arms were slightly numb. He did not expect the eleven leaves to be so powerful. If he did not use Unnamed and used the Seven Star sword instead, the sword might not even be able to block the eleven leaves, let alone destroy them.
The hunchbacked old man narrowed his eyes and shook his head. He lowered his arms. This move was undoubtedly a self-damaging move. He finally gave up on resisting. “You win.”
Lu Zhou tossed Unnamed out with his remaining supreme mystic power.
With that, the ghost servant lost all seven Birth Charts. He did not feel much pain; he had used witchcraft techniques to numb the pain. However, he could feel the contractions from his Thousand Realms Whirling avatar. Now that he had lost all his Birth Charts, all he had left was one life. “Wait.”
Lu Zhou said, “Before you die, do you have any last words?”
Time passed so quickly. It was finally Lu Zhou’s turn to say these words.
“Before I die, can I see your true avatar?” The ghost servant only had Lu Zhou in his eyes that shone with a hint of anticipation.
“Perhaps, in the next life…” Lu Zhou said before he moved Unnamed.
The ghost servant coughed violently as his chest bled profusely. He seemed to have a moment of clarity now that he was on the brink of death. “I… I-I seem to remember… now…” He coughed again before he continued to say with great difficulty, “I… I seem to have come from the golden lotus…”
The ghost servant’s voice came to an abrupt stop as his head fell limply to the side.
“Ding! Killed one target. Reward: 15,000 merit points. Domain bonus: 5,000 merit points.”
