Chapter 1087: The World of the Strong
Lu Zhou knew the ‘rat’ could hear him. He was not in a rush. He hovered in the air and recited the mantra for the power of hearing.
Lu Zhou could smell the intruder’s aura clearly. He could even smell changes in the density of the aura that was slight as a strand of hair. The cold aura lingered in all four directions. Nevertheless, he knew it would be rather difficult to find this rat that was rather good at hiding even if he knew the general area where the rat was hiding just by relying on the power of smell alone.
The sound of the wind and gra.s.s in the surroundings entered Lu Zhou’s ears as he searched for the sound of breathing and heartbeat.
Only a true expert could suppress his breathing and heartbeat, appearing dead, in this kind of situation.
Back then, Meng Changdong was unaware that no matter how good his escape technique was, he could never hide from an expert like Lu Zhou. Only if he was able to become one with nature or suppress his breathing and heartbeat to appear dead would he have a chance of escaping.
Lu Zhou increased the range of his hearing, covering a radius of 100 meters. All of a sudden, he faced north and raised his hand.
Bang!
A s.h.i.+ning golden palm seal struck the tiles on the ground, shattering them.
The hunchbacked old man was shocked. He retreated from his hiding place to avoid the palm seal and was forced to reveal himself. Following that, he appeared in front of Lu Zhou.
Lu Zhou raised his hand to stroke his non-existent beard again as he said tonelessly, “Rat.”
The hunchbacked old man stared at Lu Zhou with a hint of surprise and said, “You’re quite skilled.”
Lu Zhou said, “I wasn’t worried I won’t be able to find you. What a pity! You refused the path to heaven and barged through the doors of h.e.l.l instead…”
The hunchbacked old man brought the jade disk out. He saw that the jade disk vibrated slightly; its movements were rather slight. After putting it away, he asked, “Is the Green Cicada Jade with you?”
Lu Zhou was not in a hurry to make a move. It was best to familiarize himself with the enemy. As the saying went, ‘One could ensure victory if one knew oneself and one’s enemy’. His opponent was from the green lotus domain; it was best if he could nip this problem in the bud to prevent future troubles.
Lu Zhou did not reply to the question. Instead, he asked, “Is that young man your master?”
The hunchbacked old man sneered as he said, “It wouldn’t be so bad if you’d just s.n.a.t.c.hed the Young Master’s Green Cicada Jade, but it’s unforgivable that you destroy one of his Birth Charts. How can I allow your vicious act to go unpunished?”
The hunchbacked old man was lost in his thoughts. Earlier, when he was attacking Conch, his attack had collided with the palm strike of the person in front of him. Based on that, he could tell his opponent had a profound cultivation base. However, it was really strange; his opponent’s aura was rather weak and was not like the aura of a super expert. It was strange that his opponent could catch up to him and even pinpoint his location. With such amazing perception, he knew his opponent was not weak. For all these reasons, he was incredibly cautious dealing with his opponent.
At this time, Yu Shangrong, who had rushed over like the wind from afar, heard the hunchbacked old man’s words. He said, “How hypocritical. You’re allowed to kill others, but it’s wrong when someone else does it? What kind of twisted logic is this?”
The hunchbacked old man looked at Yu Shangrong and recalled the previous incident. He said, “You better not interfere.”
Yu Shangrong shook his head. Then, he bowed at Lu Zhou and said. “Master, such an obstinate person isn’t worthy of you personally making a move. Let me deal with him; I’ll behead him on your behalf.”
The hunchbacked old man’s expression stiffened upon hearing these words.
Lu Zhou waved his hand. “Stand back and watch.”
“Understood.” Yu Shangrong retreated respectfully to the side.
“Is he your disciple?” the hunchbacked old man asked.
Before he finished speaking, another person with golden wings that span dozens of meters rushed over from afar.
“Master, ” Si Wuya came to a stop nearby and said, “Little Junior Sister is fine.”
The hunchbacked old man sensed Si Wuya’s strength and discovered Si Wuya was only on the verge of sprouting the tenth leaf. These people were only Hundred Tribulations Insight cultivators. After a beat, his eyes gleamed as he asked, “That girl is also your disciple?”
Was this a coincidence? How could he run into so many disciples of that person in front of him in the vast royal palace? With this, the hunchbacked old man grew even warier of Lu Zhou.
Lu Zhou said, “The person you tried to kill is my disciple.”
The hunchbacked old man chuckled. “I underestimated you.”
Lu Zhou said, “You’re dead the moment you made a move. I destroyed one of your Young Master’s Birth Charts to teach him a lesson instead of killing him. I didn’t expect he would not repent.”
The hunchbacked old man shook his head and said, “The one who should repent is you, not my Young Master. It’s only right and proper that I avenge my Young Master today.”
Lu Zhou shook his head. “You really don’t know what’s good for you.”
Subsequently, Lu Zhou brought the Golden Taixu Mirror out.
The light from the mirror shone on the hunchbacked old man, and he instinctively tried to avoid it. However, how could he be faster than the speed of light?
Lu Zhou rose into the air, holding onto the Golden Taixu, which was s.h.i.+ning on the hunchbacked old man, with his right hand.
At this moment, Si Wuya reminded Yu Shangrong, “Senior brother, step back.”
Si Wuya was worried the old thing in front of them would seize the chance and take them hostage to threaten their master. That would put their master in a disadvantageous position.
Yu Shangrong nodded and flew back. He and Si Wuya flew toward Yu Zhenghai and the other disciples along with the Guardian of the Evil Sky Pavilion who had just arrived.
Si Wuya had no time to explain their master’s youthful appearance. He only told them the young man was the Pavilion Master of the Evil Sky Pavilion and that they were not to breathe a word of this matter to anyone else.
Needless to say, Lu Zhou’s youthful appearance shocked everyone.
Yu Zhenghai and Little Yuan’er’s hearts were filled with questions. Was the young man really their master? However, when they saw the blue palm seals flying in the air, they no longer doubted the young man’s ident.i.ty.
When the golden light shone on the hunchbacked old man, nothing could be seen. His reflection mirrored his current appearance. He sneered and said, “You’re not strong enough to probe my cultivation…”
Lu Zhou said faintly, “It’s too early to say.”
Following that, Lu Zhou’s hand glowed with a faint blue light. With this, the golden beam of light from the Golden Taixu Mirror turned blue as it shone on the hunchbacked old man.
A puppet could be seen behind the old man, and standing behind the puppet was the old man’s avatar.
Wisps of ribbon-like green smoke snaked around the hunchbacked old man’s avatar and astrolabe. Green light shone faintly from the Birth Disk that contained the 36 triangles. When Lu Zhou looked down at the lotus at the avatar’s feet, he saw 13 Birth Charts flas.h.i.+ng distinctly in the Birth Palace.
However, unlike Lan Xihe, the hunchbacked old man had eleven leaves on top of the 13 Birth Charts.
Lan Xihe had once said that there was a mistake in her cultivation; she did not sprout the eleventh leaf before she activated her thirteenth Birth Chart.
Clearly, the hunchbacked old man did not make such a mistake and successfully sprouted the eleventh leaf before activating his thirteenth Birth Chart.
“Blue light? You’re capable of spying on my avatar?!” The hunchbacked old man’s expression was unsightly; he was both angry and surprised.
‘One leaf for every 12 Birth Charts?’ A vague idea formed in Lu Zhou’s mind. At the same time, he withdrew the supreme mystic power, causing the blue light to turn golden. In fact, he was also surprised by his opponent’s puppet and 13 Birth Charts. This was his first time facing such an opponent.
Lu Zhou still did not put the Golden Taixu Mirror away; it was still s.h.i.+ning on the hunchbacked old man.
The hunchbacked old man was angry. This was no different from someone s.h.i.+ning a torchlight at one’s face at night! He casually waved his hand; the jade disk spun out in the air. Spiral-shaped energy seals shot out in all directions in just a blink of an eye as he moved out of the range of the light.
After putting away the Golden Taixu Mirror, Lu Zhou said condescendingly, “I thought you’re an expert. To think a mere Thirteen Chart cultivator dares to act so arrogantly.”
“You’re really good at bragging. Are you the expert who defeated that Thirteen Chart cultivator from the white lotus domain?” the hunchbacked man asked.
“Oh, has my name spread to the green lotus domain?” Lu Zhou asked.
The hunchbacked old man really could not endure Lu Zhou’s high-handed way of speaking any longer. His figure flickered before he appeared in front of Lu Zhou in just a blink of an eye.
Meanwhile, the cultivators watching in the distance revealed excited expressions on their faces.
“Let’s see how Pavilion Master Lu defeats his opponent!”
“It’s still the same style as before. The result will be the same.”
Xia Changqiu wore a smile on his face as he watched the scene in front of him. In his mind, he had already prepared 10,000 words of flattery.
At this moment…
Boom!
When the hunchbacked old man suddenly pushed his hand that glowed with a green light out, green ribbons of smoke from the jade disk shot out violently.
Lu Zhou raised his hands to block the attack, but the ribbons of smoke bypa.s.sed his hands and landed on his protective energy, causing him to fly back.
Critical Block Card -1!
Lu Zhou was caught off guard by the hunchbacked old man, whose speed was faster than Lan Xihe’s. He berated himself for being sloppy. After he quickly stabilized his body, he looked at his opponent.
The hunchbacked old man’s confidence rose seeing that his strike managed to push Lu Zhou back. He said, “Stop posturing. You don’t have the appearance of an expert at all…”
Lu Zhou asked, “What kind of Birth Chart Power is that?”
The hunchbacked old man replied, “Is there a need for me to use my Birth Chart Power on you?”
Meanwhile, even the eunuchs and palace maids had gathered in the near distance, attracted by the huge commotion.
The hunchbacked old man was annoyed by this and roared, “Scram!”
The sound waves rolled out, causing everyone to retreat in a hurry.
Lu Zhou had to determine his opponent’s Birth Chart Power to see if it was worth it to use his Reduction Card. It would be a waste to use it rashly. Moreover, his opponent also had a puppet to protect him, making his opponent difficult to deal with.
Needless to say, although the hunchbacked old man had 13 Birth Charts like Lan Xihe, with the addition of the eleventh leaf, his strength was much superior to Lan Xihe’s.
At this time, in the distance…
“Don’t worry. Pavilion Master is just warming up… Look, isn’t he just fine?” Xia Changqiu said confidently.
“It’d be fine if you didn’t mention this. Now that you mentioned it, I can’t help but feel slightly worried,” Yan Zhenluo said, clearly anxious, “The opponent is very strong. It’s fine you’re worried, but how can you say such senseless words?”
“Uh… there aren’t senseless words. I was just voicing the worries in my heart.”
“Left Envoy Yan, you don’t understand my words. Didn’t the Pavilion Master bring you away from the Black Tower Council back then? Didn’t you witness the collective demotion of the Black Tower Council?”
Upon hearing these words, a contrite expression appeared on Yan Zhenluo’s face. “I apologize.”
“It’s okay. You just watch carefully. What you’re seeing now is the world of the strong. No one knows the Pavilion Master’s true strength. From the moment the Pavilion Master killed Ye Zhen, I knew he has a habit of acting like a pig to devour the tiger!”
“…”
When the hunchbacked old man glanced at those who were not repelled by his sound technique and were watching the battle, he grew suspicious when he saw that they did not look worried at all. To be safe, he said, “Hand over the Green Cicada Jade, spit out all the vitality energy you absorbed, and destroy three of your Birth Charts. If you do that, this matter will be written off…”
Lu Zhou asked, “Do you think you’re capable of forcing me to do that?”
“It seems like you need to be taught another lesson!” The hunchbacked old man tossed the jade disk out again.
Lu Zhou’s figure flashed and he cast his grand technique three times in a row to move backward. Then, he came to a stop above the palace wall.
However, the jade disk appeared above Lu Zhou and descended like a huge flying saucer. It was so fast that he did not have time to use any item card.
Golden Buddha’s Body!
Boom!
The Dao inscriptions on the palace walls were immediately destroyed, and a huge pit appeared on the ground.
When Lu Zhou turned back, he discovered the old man was nowhere to be seen.
Boom!
A green lotus appeared on the jade disk before green energy rained down from the sky.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Golden Buddha’s Body continued to fall from the sky until it could no longer be seen. Based on this, one could only imagine the weight of the jade disk.
In the distance…
Xia Changqiu. “…”
Yan Zhenluo frowned and said, “Something’s not right. Everyone, listen up: spread out quickly. This is the Seven Star formation flag. Catch it.” He brought the Seven Star formation flag out in a hurry.
Si Wuya shook his head. “It’s useless. The opponent’s cultivation base is incredibly high. Zhao Hongfu.”
“Your orders?” Zhao Hongfu’s expression was solemn; her usual carefree self was nowhere to be seen.
“Bring the runic cloth out.”
“What do you want to do?” Yu Zhenghai asked.
“Transport everyone away.”
“All of you go, I’ll stay.” Yu Zhenghai flew forward a few meters.
“How can I leave?” Yu Shangrong moved to Yu Zhenghai’s side.
A cold killing intent permeated the surroundings.
Although Lu Zhou’s two eldest disciples often did not see eye-to-eye, the duo was rather similar. It was especially true in regard to their stubbornness.
At the same time, the hunchbacked old man laughed uproariously before he said, “This is the supposed expert who defeated a Thirteen Chart cultivator with just a move? Ridiculous. You can only blame yourself for being blind and offending my Young Master…”
At this moment, a low voice rang from the ground.
“Rise.”
“Huh?” The hunchbacked old man was taken aback.
Crack!
A huge palm seal caught the jade disk and pushed it up.
Lu Zhou knew the reason the hunchbacked old man possessed strength that seemed to surpa.s.s that of a Thirteen Chart cultivator was the jade disk. He used the supreme mystic power to push the jade disk up. This scene was rather similar to when he held Penglai Island up.