There were only a handful of cultivators with such talents in the world.
The chilly breeze seemed to soften the tune as they carried it to the clouds…
Even after the mellow tune stopped, it still seemed to linger in the air before it seemed to drift off to the horizon.
The flying beasts in the clouds cried out along with the flute’s tone. When the tune stopped and the red energy dispersed, they scattered as well.
There were only a few beasts that tried to get closer to the Ninth Temple. They were fallen by the ballistae on the platform.
Xia Changqiu and Tian Buji had forgotten that they were supposed to lead the way. They were shocked and puzzled. Were they not cultivators from the golden lotus domain? Why was there a red lotus cultivator in their midst? Moreover, she was a genius in music!
Yu Shangrong turned to look at Conch and said with a faint smile, “That was amazing, Little Junior Sister.”
“Thank you for the praise, Second Senior Brother,” Conch said, clearly happy that she was praised.
Yu Shangrong returned to the flying chariot. He glanced at Xia Changqiu and said, “Monastery Master Xia?”
Xia Changqiu snapped back to his senses and regarded Conch with a complicated gaze. He said awkwardly, “I’m sorry I was out of it.” Then, he steered the flying chariot forward. In the end, he could not hold back his curiosity so he asked, “Old senior, are all of them you’re disciples?” Although he knew the answer, he still wanted to confirm.
Little Yuan’er giggled before she said, “This is my Little Junior Sister!”
“Little Junior Sister?”
“Yes, my Tenth Junior Sister.”
Xia Changqiu. “…”
‘Tenth… Junior Sister. Does this mean this old senior has ten shocking disciples?’ Xia Changqiu had already met four disciples. Yu Zhenghai and Yu Shangrong were on par with a Nine-leaf cultivator. The youngest disciple could control beasts. In that case, the other disciples…
The flying chariot rocked at this moment.
Lu Zhou glanced at Xia Changqiu and said as he stroked his beard, “If you’re afraid, you may leave now.”
“I’m not afraid as long as you’re here, old senior… My piloting skills are just rusty from lack of practice. Please forgive me,” Xia Changqiu said.
Little Yuan’er felt it was necessary to say, “My Eldest Senior Brother doesn’t have this problem.”
“…”
‘This little girl seems to have a knack for raining on someone’s parade.’ Xia Changqiu opted to remain silent.
When the flying chariot entered the Ninth Temple’s boundaries, it had to lower its altitude.
When those on the flying chariot looked down, they were in awe. This place was big enough to be its own city. The area it occupied surpassed their imagination. Before this, they were looking down from high above and merely felt the scale and the Formation were shocking. Now that they were inside, the magnificence of the buildings amazed them.
The buildings formed a ring around the main building. The plaza extended for 1,000 meters while the nine main halls towered around it.
“Land!” A high-pitch voice like that of a palace eunuch rang in the air.
The flying chariot slowly descended.
Two cultivators approached the flying chariot on swords. They cupped their fists together and said in unison, “Elder Kong welcomes you.”
“Elder Kong?” Xia Changqiu leaped out of the flying chariot. “The old senior wants to meet Elder Zhu, not Elder Kong.”
Yu Shangrong said, “My apologies, I have a correction to make. My master wants to meet Sikong Beichen, not Elder Zhu…”
The disciples of Ninth Temple. “…”
The troubled Xia Changqiu and Tian Buji. “…”
“Who gave you the guts to call the temple master by his name?” The disciples who came on their swords gripped their weapons.
They were about to make a move when a voice from somewhere behind them rang in the air. “Stop!”
The others looked in the direction of the voice. A middle-aged man seated on a wooden wheelchair that was being pushed by someone else appeared in their sight. Clearly, he was gravely injured and had yet to recover.
The two disciples bowed and saluted him. “Elder Kong.”
Kong Lu looked up and saw the people on the flying chariot. He said, “Xia Changqiu, the Monastery Master of the Thousand Willow Monastery?”
“Yes.”
“Was the one who played the flute one of your disciples?” Kong Lu asked.
Xia Changqiu stepped aside and said, “It was this young lady who laced the tune with Qi and controlled the beasts. She’s the capable disciple of this old senior.”
On the wheelchair, Kong Lu looked at the obedient Conch and smiled in satisfaction. Then, he turned to look at the old man who had an erudite air about him. After appraising the old man for a moment, he said, “Old mister, I can see this young girl has great talents. Why don’t you give her to me? Just tell me your conditions.”
Little Yuan’er was about to lose her temper when Lu Zhou raised his hand to stop her.
Lu Zhou initially wanted to ignore Kong Lu, but since Kong Lu had spoken, he felt he needed to respond. “You wish to be my disciple’s master?”
“I hope that you’ll approve,” Kong Lu said seriously, “I granted you entry because I like her talent.”
Lu Zhou raised his hand slowly and pushed forward. Then, he fisted his hand and gathered Primal Qi. There was no need to condense them into energy for him to generate a pulling force.
Kong Lu was shocked; he could not react in time before he was pulled over.
The Ninth Temple disciples present on the scene drew their swords immediately.
Lu Zhou pulled Kong Lu and struck with his palm.
Bam!
Kong Lu was sent flying back. He cried out in alarm as he crashed back into his wooden wheelchair, spitting out blood.
Xia Changqiu and Tian Buji were shocked. They did not expect Lu Zhou would suddenly attack without any warning.
Lu Zhou stroked his beard and said apathetically, “You can’t even withstand a single palm strike from me. How are you going to become someone else’s master?”
“You…” Kong Lu pressed his hand against his chest as he coughed. He spat out more blood.
“Elder Kong!”
Lu Zhou shook his head. ‘I’ll have to do something if I want to meet Sikong Beichen today. This is the problem with major sects.’
Kong Lu’s face flushed from the palm strike.
More than ten disciples drew their swords.
Energy swords buzzed.
The commotion was too great; it naturally caught many people’s attention.
Many Ninth Temple disciples hurried over to the scene.
“Kong Lu, you’re already injured to begin with. Why are you trying to act tough?”
The Square Box floated over from behind.
The disciples bowed at once. “Grand Elder!”
The Square Box grew several meters wide in just a blink of an eye as it sailed toward the flying chariot.
Xia Changqiu immediately cried out, “Elder Zhu, have mercy!”
“I can’t spare you! How dare you?!” Zhu Xuan could not possibly allow anyone to cause a scene in the Ninth Temple’s domain. Although he disliked Kong Lu, it did not matter.
When the Square Box flew over, Yu Shangrong pushed away from the ground. With a flurry of movements, he appeared above the Square Box and stomped his foot on it.
Bam!
Due to his prior experience, Yu Shangrong easily dealt with the Square Box and pushed it down with his foot.
Boom!
The Square Box crashed onto the marble floor like a sturdy box.
Yu Shangrong’s arms were still crossed as he looked ahead. He said, “Zhu Xuan, we meet again.”
“You?” Zhu Xuan finally saw Yu Shangrong. Half of his anger seemed to have dissipated as he said, “Have you thought things through, sir?”
He thought Yu Shangrong was the same as Yu Zhenghai.
Yu Shangrong shook his head. “My apologies, I didn’t think about it at all.”
“In that case, what brings you to the Ninth Temple?” Zhu Xuan asked.
“Two things. The first is to retrieve my Eldest Senior Brother. Secondly, my master has come, and he wants to meet Sikong Beichen. Sikong Beichen should show his face.” Yu Shangrong called the Temple Master of the Ninth Temple by name again.
Kong Lu fought back the pain and said, “You? Yu Zhenghai is a foreign tribesman, and he snuck up on me in the first place. Now that he’s in the Ninth Temple’s hands, you think you can rescue him?”
When Yu Zhenghai first arrived in the red lotus domain, the person he had heavily injured was Kong Lu.
Since Yu Zhenghai’s arrival, Kong Lu had been racking his brain in search of a way to exact revenge. However, Kong Lu was stopped by Zhu Xuan. After all, Zhu Xuan had to keep Yu Zhenghai safe if he wanted to become the leader of the nine First Seats. Kong Lu was an obstacle in his path. He glared at Kong Lu. “Shut up!”
Kong Lu retreated fearfully.
Zhu Xuan forced a smile on his face. He looked at Yu Shangrong and said, “Sir, have you forgotten about our promise the other day? Your Eldest Senior Brother has agreed to stay. I won’t hold this against all of you on his account. Please return.”
Yu Shangrong was not surprised by this. There was a burst of movement before he appeared before Zhu Xuan. He joined his palms together, and energy swords appeared around him. His first skill was the most powerful move from the Guiyuan Sword Technique, Primal Restoration.
Zhu Xuan did not seem to think much about it. “I’m already a Nine-leaf cultivator. Do you think I’m still the same as I was before?”
The Square Box suddenly shot up toward Yu Shangrong’s back.
Then, there was a burst of golden energy!
The disciples of Ninth Temple in the vicinity who saw this flew over immediately. In just a short moment, there were almost 100 cultivators who came to watch the show.
The energy swords gathered and swirled around Yu Shangrong.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The Square Box hit the energy swords, but the energy swords shot up into the sky before they shot toward Zhu Xuan who flew backward. The Square Box shrank, and he used it as a shield.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The energy swords from Primal Restoration hit the Square Box. The final few energy swords seemed bigger and brighter. They continued to strike the Square Box.
Zhu Xuan and the Square Box did not move. He said, “This is the difference between an Eight-leaf cultivator and a Nine-leaf cultivator… Hm?”
‘It’s not finished?’
The final few energy swords struck the Square Box. They were clearly stronger than the previous energy swords.
Bam!
The Square Box retreated suddenly.
Zhu Xuan defended with his arms. With a boom, he was pushed back dozens of meters.
“How can this be?” When he was an Eight-and-a-half-leaf cultivator, he fought the two fellow disciples on equal ground. Now that he was a Nine-leaf cultivator, why did he fall into a disadvantageous position when he was just facing Yu Shangrong alone?
“Are you Zhu Xuan whose strength is comparable to my disciples?” Lu Zhou was intrigued by the Square Box.
Yu Shangrong stopped and lowered himself before he walked to the side.
Zhu Xuan looked at Lu Zhou and turned to Yu Shangrong. “Your master?”
“My master is going to make his move. You better look after yourself,” Yu Shangrong said.
Zhu Xuan was shocked. The master of these two elites was surely a Nine-leaf cultivator. Without a second thought, he hastily extended his hand.
The Square Box flew up and suddenly grew dozens of meters in size. It loomed above Lu Zhou’s head.
Lu Zhou was interested in the Square Box. He looked at the spinning box as he stroked his beard and said, “A desolate-grade treasure?”
“Indeed. It’s a desolate-grade weapon. It’s called the Square Box. Be careful, old senior,” Xia Changqiu said anxiously.
The Square Box had been powerful when wielded by an Eight-and-a-half-leaf cultivator. How powerful was it now that Zhu Xuan was a Nine-leaf cultivator?
From below, the Square Box seemed like a huge square carpet that was falling down.
“Elder Zhu is getting serious!”
The Square Box descended.
Zhu Xuan circulated his Primal Qi. With a burst of movement, he appeared above the Square Box before stomping on it.
Boom!
The Square Box fell.
Lu Zhou stroked his beard with one hand as he casually raised his other hand. The box fell on his hand.
Fiend Monk Hand Seal.
It contained extraordinary power.
Whizz!
Square Box could not suppress Lu Zhou. In fact, it was being carried by him.
“Hm?” Zhu Xuan stomped again.
Another buzzing sound rang in the air.
‘A quarter of my extraordinary power. Collect!’
The Square Box suddenly shrank and fell into Lu Zhou’s hand.
Zhu Xuan stomped his foot, but he felt as though he was stomping on thin air. He… he seemed to be descending. “Huh?” Zhu Xuan was shocked. ‘How can there be karmic fire?’
Lu Zhou’s palm was still aimed upward. A burst of karmic fire shot out.
Bam!
Zhu Xuan was sent flying. His feet were burned. He cried out.
Lu Zhou unleashed both techniques at the same instant. His opponent barely had time to react.
Fortunately for Zhu Xuan, he caught sight of the karmic fire at the final moment.
The others were shocked.
Was a Nine-leaf cultivator so fragile?
Xia Changqiu suddenly recalled Ji Fengxing’s words. ‘Is he really unparalleled?’
…
Meanwhile, the five First Seats in the Peace Hall, the Truce Hall, the Unending Hall, the Prisoner Dragon Hall, and the Mystery Hall felt a wave of danger. Their eyes snapped open immediately.
The five old men unleashed their grand techniques at the same time and appeared.
“Who’s causing a scene in the Ninth Temple?!”
