The 150-feet avatar stood tall in the southern sky. The nine leaves spun around the golden lotus dazzlingly.
Unfortunately, Lu Zhou was the only one who was able to admire his glory. There was no audience around him. His meticulously planned demonstration was suddenly disrupted by this uninvited Nine-leaf cultivator from the red lotus domain.
Lu Zhou was not overly moved or happy. He was merely interested in reaching the peak he had once. This was too insignificant to mention.
He glanced at his remaining life on the system dashboard.
Remaining life: 3 days.
“…”
Lu Zhou was back to the starting point. However, the current starting point could be his endpoint as well. This single digit made him recall the time when he had just transmigrated over to this place. Back then, he only had three days to live as well.
However, unlike the Lu Zhou of the past, he was much calmer now after experiencing so many things.
Inside the Sky Shuttle, the monk, Fa Kong, could sense a sudden change in Lu Zhou who was hovering in the sky across him. He could also sense the changes in the Primal Qi around him.
Fa Kong moved his Sky Shuttle slightly, puzzled. He wanted to get out. However, he knew the Sky Shuttle’s incredibly strong defenses were part of his protection and strength. Coupled with the karmic fire, he had enough power to kill a Nine-leaf cultivator in the golden lotus domain. He knew he could not simply leave the Sky Shuttle.
Lu Zhou continued staring at the numbers on the dashboard. All of sudden, the numbers showed signs of changes, causing his heart to race. However, contrary to his expectations, his numbers were not dwindling. Instead, they had increased!
+200!
+300!
+500!
The numbers continued to climb up until they stopped at 73,003 days.
After a brief calculation, Lu Zhou confirmed 73,000 days were equivalent to 200 years.
At this moment, power surged from his expanded dantian’s sea of Qi like a fountain. Primal Qi formed heavenly energy that swirled around his avatar that towered in the air.
This was the power of a Nine-leaf cultivator!
Inside the Sky Shuttle, Fa Kong exclaimed in shock, “He’s grown stronger?”
Lu Zhou narrowed his eyes and studied the red Sky Shuttle in front of him as many thoughts fleeted across his mind.
A quarter of his extraordinary power, even after his limit had increased, could not damage the red Sky Shuttle, let alone destroy it. Clearly, its defenses were shockingly strong. Moreover, there was also the red karmic fire that was clearly powerful as well. He could easily kill an Eight-leaf cultivator with a quarter of his extraordinary power. However, he might not be capable of killing a Nine-leaf cultivator. Apart from that, the red Sky Shuttle’s defenses had exceeded his expectations.
‘The red lotus domain surely has expended a lot of effort to create this transporter to invade Great Yan.’
In the end, Lu Zhou said in a leisurely manner, “I’ve already said that if you dare to show yourself and fight me, I’ll show you the true might of a Nine-leaf cultivator.”
“You’ve just broken through to the Nine-leaf stage, and yet, you’re already so full of yourself!” Fa Kong said, annoyed.
The red lotus karmic fire on the Sky Shuttle continued to blaze. It burned hotter than before. All of a sudden, it shot toward Lu Zhou.
Since Lu Zhou was now truly at the Nine-leaf stage, he no longer had to worry about his life and cultivation base being insufficient.
He raised his palm to block the attack. In just a moment, he unleashed Abandon Wisdom.
Boom!
The palm struck the Sky Shuttle.
Instead of retreating, the Sky Shuttle began to spin wildly in an attempt to strike Lu Zhou out of the sky.
Lu Zhou sped backward to evade the Sky Shuttle.
Both opponents were engaged in a fierce battle. The red and golden entities fought ferociously in the air. They moved all the way to Measure Heaven River.
The more they fought, the more shocked Fa Kong was. Under normal circumstances, his opponent would not be able to withstand the scorching heat of the karmic fire.
Boom!
Lu Zhou launched more palm seals at the Sky Shuttle.
Both opponents backed away from each other and faced each other in the distance.
“It’s no wonder you were able to kill Jiang Wenxu.” Fa Kong failed to gain the upper hand even after battling for so long.
Lu Zhou hovered in the air as he looked at the Sky Shuttle and asked, “Was Jiang Wenxu powerful?”
“He’s only a minor elder of the Flying Star House… He didn’t even master the karmic fire. He’s not someone we’ll task with important missions,” Fa Kong said in a voice dripping with contempt.
‘Karmic fire?’ Lu Zhou was perplexed. He could tell the karmic fire that the red lotus produced was fierce and not any weaker than energy. ‘How do you manifest and master the karmic fire? Is this something you’ll obtain after reaching the Nine-leaf stage?’
At this moment, mnemonic chants could be heard from within the Sky Shuttle. It sounded as though a swarm of flies was buzzing.
“There’s only One Vehicle in Buddhism. Just by listening to it, one will gain complete enlightenment. The myriad of sutras leads to one…”
The chanting stopped abruptly.
The red lotus karmic fire burned several times brighter around the Sky Shuttle as it sped toward Lu Zhou at lightning speed.
“You’re someone from nirvana. This old monk will strike you down…” The deep voice from the Sky Shuttle sounded as fierce as the red karmic fire.
The Nine-leaf cultivation base alone was not sufficient to breach the Sky Shuttle’s defenses.
Lu Zhou weighed his options and thought it was too risky to deplete his extraordinary power in one go.
Bam!
The Sky Shuttle almost collided with Lu Zhou. He raised his palm in time, manifesting a palm seal as big as a sky curtain-barrier. Shining golden Daoist Formation seals formed a wall that was erected in front of him.
The karmic flames raged and devoured the golden energy that tried to keep it at bay.
Under the impact of the powerful strike, energy burst forth in a vertical plane and rippled in the air.
Lu Zhou flew backward again.
At this moment, the red lotus karmic flames devoured the golden energy.
From afar, it looked as though a red rectangular object was pushing against the 150-foot golden avatar.
The trees of the forest and mountains sped past Lu Zhou in a blur as he flew back.
“Return.” Lu Zhou’s avatar vanished.
Upon seeing Lu Zhou retracting his avatar, Fa Kong, the monk, laughed loudly. “Very good! This old monk will leave you with an intact corpse after you die.”
This was the first time Lu Zhou was forced to be in a defensive position. During all his countless battles in the past, he always held the dominant position.
This time, the appearance of the red lotus karmic fire truly exceeded his expectations.
The Nine-leaf cultivator… was not an ordinary Nine-leaf cultivator.
Bam!
The Sky Shuttle struck again!
Crack!
The palm seal was about to shatter.
At this moment, Lu Zhou said gruffly, “Let’s call it a day.”
“Hm?” Fa Kong’s exclamation of confusion rang from the Sky Shuttle.
Lu Zhou flipped his left hand, and Unnamed materialized in his hand.
The power of past lives.
Originating from nothing, from it comes everything.
The Guiyuan Sword Technique, the Traceless Sword.
He wielded the sword against the karmic fire. He swung his sword from the right with all his might. A cold gleam of light flashed from right to left.
Crack!
At the time the palm seal shattered, a beam of Sword’s Consciousness was unleashed.
Bam!
The crescent-like Sword’s Consciousness slashed at the red lotus karmic fire and the Sky Shuttle. The Sword’s Consciousness did not stop. It pushed forward and downward at an angle.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Dozens of towering trees fell as the Sword’s Consciousness crashed against them before finally striking the ground. A narrow and long gully was left in its wake.
The technique was called the Traceless Sword because it was hard to detect. The destruction it caused was terrifying and unstoppable.
After the sword strike, both opponents retreated.
Lu Zhou wielded Unnamed with his left hand while he stroked his beard with his right. He looked at the Sky Shuttle hovering in the air.
Creak!
Crack!
A long opening appeared on the Shy Shuttle.
Fa Kong’s voice was trembling with fear as he said, “Y-you managed to break the Sky Shuttle’s defenses?”
As soon as Lu Zhou saw the Sky Shuttle cracking open, he knew victory was in his hand. “There’s nothing in this world that can’t be broken.”
‘So, it’s called a Sky Shuttle.’ Lu Zhou thought about the crudely built red coffin with a few veins. In contrast, the Sky Shuttle was completely red as though it had been painted red. Perhaps, the red karmic fire contributed to the visual impact as well.
Crack!
Finally, the Sky Shuttle cracked into two and fell from the sky. The karmic fire was extinguished as well.
Fa Kong, who was lying horizontally, rose to his feet. He was a bald monk dressed in a red kasaya. He had a pair of thick eyebrows and big eyes. As he rose to his feet, his palms were joined together. At the same time, killing intent flashed coldly in his eyes.
Fa Kong’s kasaya fluttered as he looked at the land and the mountains. He parted his palms and spread his arms. Then, he inhaled deeply as though he was relishing the air and everything here.
Then, he joined his palms again. “Amitabha…” He looked at Lu Zhou and said gruffly, “Lay down the butcher’s knife and become a Buddhist now. Who’s going to hell if not you?”
Lu Zhou stroked his beard calmly and said, “The Blood Sun Temple, the Monastic Discipline Hall, Fa Kong… I’ll remember that.” After a brief pause, he continued to say, “Breaking the Sky Shuttle… is only the beginning. You’re the first person who forced me to use all my strength.”
Fa Kong made several hand signs, reigniting the karmic fire. His energy surged again, fiery red.
Lu Zhou continued to stroke his beard. Indeed, this must be some unknown power of the Nine-leaf stage. Then, he said coldly, “Just a frog in the well.”
Lu Zhou leaped as an item card appeared in his hand. He summoned his 150-foot avatar and shot up to the sky with a flurry of movements.
Fa Kong did not move. Instead, he was relishing the feeling of a battle.
Lu Zhou pushed his palm forward; an anti-clockwise vortex appeared in his palm. It slowly enlarged like a black hole in the galaxy. It was a power that could not be described with words. The stronger his opponent was, the stronger he would become. As soon as his power surged out, a palm seal appeared immediately.
The Great Blitz Treasure Seal.
Shining golden script seals hung around the palm seal. This was one of the genuine Daoist Nine Cuts Hand Seals, the Great Blitz Treasure Seal.
Fa Kong looked up. His karmic fire was at its peak. When he saw the palm seal sailing toward him, he frowned slightly. ‘No! This palm seal… is dangerous!’
Fa Kong raised his palms, and his kasaya spun in the air. His karmic fire wrapped around his kasaya and shot out like projectiles.
Boom!
The karmic fire collided with the palm seal.
Whizz!
The palm seal increased in size immediately!
“Hm?” Fa Kong glared at the palm seal. “Size alone is useless!” Then, he proceeded to launch dozens of blood-red palm seals in the air.
Meanwhile, the Great Blitz Treasure Seal enlarged ten times in size!
Fa Kong’s heart trembled as he looked up. The five-finger palm seal was dropping down on him like a huge flying chariot. He could sense the extremely precarious situation he was in, at this moment.
Fa Kong’s arms glowed red as the karmic fire shrouded his arms. Then, he raised his arms to the sky. He cried out, “Karmic Fire Dhyana Mudra!”
When Fa Kong raised his arms, the Great Blitz Treasure Seal enlarged ten times in size again.
Fa Kong was like a fly in comparison.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The Great Blitz Treasure Seal fell on Fa Kong, breaking his arms in the process.
Fa Kong wailed in pain. An incredulous expression appeared on his face as fear crept into his heart. He said in a voice laden with hatred, “You’re beyond the Nine-leaf stage, right? The Sky Martial Court tricked me!”
Then, Fa Kong summoned his red lotus avatar and tried to move.
However, the Great Blitz Treasure Seal seemed to have locked onto him. It absorbed the Primal Qi in the surroundings.
Boom!
The huge palm easily suppressed the red lotus!
The upper half of the red lotus avatar was viciously shattered by Lu Zhou’s palm seal!
Fa Kong spat out a mouthful of blood before he plummeted to the ground.
The Great Blitz Treasure Seal continued to follow after Fa Kong!
The towering trees within 1,000 meters could not withstand the impact of the palm seal and were destroyed.
Fa Kong stared at the palm seal that was falling on him. He suddenly understood what Lu Zhou meant when Lu Zhou called him a frog in the well.
Then, Fa Kong joined his palms again. His blood stained his chest and palms. He chanted something unintelligible before he finally said, “If I’m not the one who would go to hell… who would…”
Boom!
The palm seal dropped down.
Lu Zhou hovered in the air and stroked his beard as he looked down.
“Ding! Killed a target. Reward: 4,000 merit points. Domain extra: 1,000 merit points.”
