Chapter 204: The Outsider: The Demon Ancestor's Recruitment, The Return

"Hahaha, a top-tier powerhouse capable of rivaling a Universe Venerable has fallen right into my hands!"

Looking at the two remaining arms left after the Star-Extinguishing Great Venerable's demise, Lu Qingshan felt quite pleased in his heart.

If the timing hadn't been wrong, he would probably have set up wine and celebrated right now.

You must know, there is a complete difference in level between a Universe Venerable and an Immortal King!

Even in the original work, a peerless powerhouse like True Origin King could only manage to preserve his life under the hands of a Universe Venerable!

Of course, in the vast universe, there are always a very few Immortal Kings who can suppress, or even defeat, Universe Venerables.

For instance, the Mirror-Reflecting King, the Insect-Chasing King, and others that appeared in the original work...

But those Immortal Kings were undoubtedly extremely heaven-defying special lifeforms; their life gene levels were naturally thousands of times that of ordinary life in the universe, and they even possessed extremely powerful innate secret arts!

Apart from those special lifeforms, in the original work, only Luo Feng, who could create the Ultimate Secret Art of the Universe Master at the Immortal stage, dared to claim he could kill a true Universe Venerable, or even a Universe Hegemon, at the Immortal realm.

Of course, at that time, Luo Feng's life gene level had also risen to an extremely astonishing degree; otherwise, he would not have been able to slay a Universe Hegemon.

And what about Lu Qingshan?

Along the way, there might have been some special aspects about him, such as his will being quite powerful, or relying on the help of the Dao-Comprehension Enhancement function within the Chat Group to raise both his body amplification and soul amplification to extremely high realms...

But these advantages could only allow him to hold a certain edge at the Immortal Spirit stage; they were insufficient to let him defeat a Universe Venerable by crossing a realm!

It was just that the overall strength of the Star-Extinguishing Great Venerable was somewhat weaker than that of a true Universe Venerable, which gave him such an opportunity to kill across a realm.

Actually, judging by true strength, the Star-Extinguishing Great Venerable's power was completely equivalent to that of a Universe Venerable, and even his divine body strength was slightly superior.

But his biggest flaw was that he possessed no heavy treasure armor to protect himself, and he was unable to enhance his strength by burning divine power.

Whereas Lu Qingshan could enhance himself by burning Immortal Divine Power; with this ebb and flow, being able to kill the opponent was only to be expected!

But if the opponent were switched to a true Universe Venerable within the Starry Sky World, even one who had just broken through from the peak of Immortal King with no heavy treasure armor for protection, Lu Qingshan would only be able to turn and flee!

After all, once he enhanced his own strength by burning Immortal Divine Power, the opponent would similarly burn divine power!

And after the people in the Chat Group saw that Lu Qingshan had quickly killed the Star-Extinguishing Great Venerable, they all began to discuss it.

【Brother Xiao Yan: The Group Owner's strength is truly formidable; that terrifying Star-Extinguishing Great Venerable was swiftly annihilated by the Group Owner!】

【Pang Bo: Yes! I wonder when I will be able to reach the Group Owner's level of strength!】

【Han Li: I said it long ago; the Group Owner plans thoroughly before acting. Wasn't it just that as soon as he made his move, he successfully killed that Star-Extinguishing Great Venerable?】

And while everyone was communicating within the Chat Group, the Heavenly Dao of the Flying Sword Asking Dao World also quickly bestowed the merit for eliminating the Demon Head.

Whoosh!

It was seen that the entire Dachang World began to bathe under Jin Guang, and even the vast starry sky outside was dyed by it.

Those Buddhist Arhats and Heavenly Court Divine Generals in the starry sky outside were all shocked upon seeing such a massive amount of merit.

"Merit descending from heaven?"

"Such a huge commotion; how much merit must there be?"

"This Star-Extinguishing Great Demon Head, relying on his own powerful strength, frequently devours small worlds; judging by the depth of his sins, he could probably rank in the top five of the Three Realms."

"Exactly! Killing this Star-Extinguishing Demon Head will naturally yield endless great merit!"

Whoosh whoosh whoosh...

Merit fell like rain, like a sea, endless and boundless.

Yet at this moment, Lu Qingshan, who had killed the Star-Extinguishing Great Venerable, stood before everyone, but that endless merit seemed unable to find a target, lingering above the Dachang World.

A moment later...

This massive amount of merit split into two; a small portion rushed directly outside the Dachang World, enveloping the group of Buddhist Arhats and Heavenly Court Divine Generals; while the larger portion rushed before Zhang Zushi and Qin Yun and others, enveloping them.

How massive was the merit for killing the Star-Extinguishing Great Venerable? Even that small portion, scattered among numerous Arhats and Divine Generals, was enough to benefit them greatly;

As for Zhang Zushi and Qin Yun, who were enveloped by the majority of the merit, they were already protected by Jin Guang of merit, and even the excess merit was infused by them into their Lifebound Flying Swords and other special treasures.

In the original plot, Qin Yun relied on the merit from killing the Star-Extinguishing Great Venerable alone to transform his Lifebound Flying Sword into a Merit Spiritual Treasure;

But now that the massive merit was scattered into multiple portions, the merit he obtained was roughly equivalent to Zhang Zushi's, so naturally he could not refine a Merit Spiritual Treasure as in the original plot.

However, since Qin Yun currently faced no threat from the Immortal Tribulation, it was nothing that he could not refine a Merit Spiritual Treasure for the time being.

Anyway, given Qin Yun's nature of hating evil as he hated his enemies, once his strength greatly increased in the future, he would surely take action against the Demonic Path side; at that time, he would naturally be able to refine a Merit Spiritual Treasure!

A moment later, the Jin Guang in heaven and earth dissipated.

And at this time...

"Hmm?"

The group of Buddhist Arhats and Heavenly Court Divine Generals above, upon seeing this scene of merit descending, were all greatly surprised.

"How could this be?"

"This person personally killed the Star-Extinguishing Great Venerable; how is it possible that he cannot obtain any merit at all?"

"I see that he has neither merit nor sins upon his body; this is truly too strange!"

And while these Buddhist Arhats and Heavenly Court Divine Generals were puzzled in their hearts, the supreme existences standing at the very peak of the Three Realms communicated via divine sense.

"This is..."

In Nuwa Palace, Empress Nuwa stood there, gazing far away at Lu Qingshan within the Dachang World, and then transmitted her voice: "Laojun, Yuanshi, Lingbao, Rulai, look at this person; what exactly is his identity?"

"He must undoubtedly be an alien race from beyond the boundary!"

In Bajing Palace, Taishang Laojun, with white beard and white hair, also gazed far away at Lu Qingshan, and then spoke: "However, observing the words he spoke earlier, he must have been hiding within that Dachang World for a very long time; this time, he likely acted because he encountered the Star-Extinguishing Great Venerable who wanted to annihilate the Dachang World!"

"Hmph!"

Yuanshi Tianzun let out a cold snort, and then said: "An alien race from beyond the boundary hiding within our Three Realms must have some scheme; we must still find a way to eliminate him!"

"Yuanshi, do not think of everything so sinister!"

Lingbao Tianzun immediately transmitted his voice: "This person's strength is extremely powerful; within a small world, he has no rival! Yet he hid within that Dachang World for many years and never committed evil; I suppose he is not a person who does evil!"

"Furthermore, with this person's strength, if he stayed within a small world, we would simply be unable to deal with him!"

"Actually, what I am worried about is the Black Lotus!"

In the Western Spirit Mountain, the Buddha Tathagata sat high upon a lotus throne, then smiled slightly: "Although that Star-Eraser has been killed, if this person is recruited by the Black Lotus, the future harm will likely be even greater than that Star-Eraser!"

"Exactly!"

The Primordial Heavenly Venerable transmitted his voice again: "The Black Lotus is the Demon Ancestor, the source of the Demon Path. If she makes a move to recruit this person, he might very well defect to her side!"

And just as the Primordial Heavenly Venerable and others were exchanging words via voice transmission...

Inside the Dark Demon Abyss, after seeing the Great Venerable Star-Eraser killed, the Demon Ancestor Black Lotus also quickly had many thoughts flash through her mind.

"Originally, I thought he was someone from the Daoist lineage, but now it seems the Heavenly Dao's merit does not recognize this person; he must undoubtedly be someone from outside the realms!"

"However, this is actually a good thing for our Demon Path!"

"With this person's strength, if we can recruit him to our Demon Path faction, he would be far more useful than the Star-Eraser; perhaps I could even obtain his cultivation method!"

"Let us go and meet him!"

After this thought flashed through her mind, the Demon Ancestor Black Lotus quickly took action.

Inside the Great Prosperity World.

Whoosh!

Lu Qingshan waved his hand, instantly drawing the many treasures left behind after the death of the Great Venerable Star-Eraser to his side.

Among them were a pair of red stone arms, the Innate Spiritual Treasure 'Great Yin Plate', the Innate Spiritual Treasure 'Cloud-Grasping Sky-Chain', and many other treasures.

How precious were these treasures; even many Arhats of the Fomen and Divine Generals of the Heavenly Court above felt envious, after all, most of them did not even possess a single Innate Spiritual Treasure.

However, even if greed stirred in their hearts, they dared not make a move to seize the treasures.

After all, Lu Qingshan had just directly annihilated the Great Venerable Star-Eraser; let alone them, these people!

But just at this moment...

"Hmm?"

Lu Qingshan suddenly felt a sensation in his heart, then looked directly out into the starry sky beyond.

He saw a towering figure of a woman suddenly appear in the starry sky; even the star worlds beside her were not as large as one of her feet.

At this moment, she wore white robes and had long purple hair, smiling as she looked down at Lu Qingshan within the small world.

And behind this white-robed woman, an endless, vast dark shadow manifested; within that dark shadow lay great terror, great darkness, and great ferocity.

The surrounding Arhats of the Fomen and Divine Generals of the Heavenly Court, upon seeing this white-robed woman, even knowing the opponent could not act within the Great World, still had expressions of panic on their faces.

"The Demon Ancestor?"

Seeing the expressions of the surrounding Arhats and Divine Generals, Lu Qingshan quickly guessed the identity of the opponent.

The Demon Ancestor of the Dark Demon Abyss, the source of the Demon Path in the Flying Sword Asking the Dao World!

The Demon Ancestor Black Lotus has three avatars: a female form, a male form, and a Destruction Form.

The one appearing here now was naturally her female form, possessing endless charm capable of confusing the Dao hearts of countless strong ones.

According to Lu Qingshan's speculation, the Heavenly Dao Realm within this world should be comparable to the Universe Master of the Devouring Starry Sky World; he was naturally far from being an opponent for this Demon Ancestor.

However, since he was currently staying within the small world, according to the rules of the Flying Sword Asking the Dao World, no matter how powerful this Demon Ancestor's strength was, she could not cause him any harm within the small world.

"Young friend!"

The towering white-robed woman sat upon a massive rock, her white robes fluttering, looking extremely charming.

She smiled at Lu Qingshan; merely her smile caused Lu Qingshan to involuntarily generate many feelings of goodwill in his heart.

"Young friend, you must be from outside the realms!"

The Demon Ancestor's female form said with a smile: "Although I do not know how you secretly appeared within this Great Prosperity World, you must know that these so-called Righteous factions will surely hunt you down to the last for someone like you from outside the realms, unless you stay within the small world and never come out!"

"But if you are willing to join our Demon Path faction, I will naturally protect you; even Lingbao Tianzun and Nuwa would be unable to make a move against you!"

"Moreover, our Demon Path faction possesses many precious treasures and vast inheritances. As long as you can make sufficient contributions to our Demon Path faction, any treasure and inheritance can be obtained at will; I believe this can greatly enhance your strength!"

"Make your choice: join our Demon Path faction to roam freely throughout the Three Realms, or choose to hide within this small world, barely surviving!"

On the other side, after hearing the words of the Demon Ancestor Black Lotus, the many Arhats of the Fomen and Divine Generals of the Heavenly Court in the starry sky all changed their expressions.

Especially Zhang Zushi, Qin Yun, and others within the Great Prosperity World, their hearts became extremely vigilant.

Because if Lu Qingshan truly defected to the Demon Path faction, the harm brought would even far exceed that of the previous Great Venerable Star-Eraser.

Given the terrifying power the opponent had displayed previously, a casual strike would likely be enough to break through the Great Prosperity World's defensive formation, then completely annihilate all living beings within the Great Prosperity World.

Thinking of this, Qin Yun could not help but transmit a voice secretly to his adopted son Meng Huan: "Huan'er, this person..."

"Father, rest assured!"

Meng Huan quickly replied via voice transmission: "This senior will definitely not agree to the Demon Ancestor's conditions!"

Hearing Meng Huan's reply, Qin Yun's heart felt much more at ease, though he did not completely lower his guard.

And on the other side...

"Hahaha!"

After hearing the words of the Demon Ancestor Black Lotus, Lu Qingshan immediately laughed loudly: "A mere Initial Realm existence, yet dares to recruit me?"

"What, do you think I would fear a mere Initial Realm existence like you?"

For Lu Qingshan, although he was currently far from being an opponent for the Demon Ancestor Black Lotus, when venturing out, one's identity is given by oneself!

As long as he did not leave the small world, the Demon Ancestor Black Lotus could do nothing to him.

Moreover, currently, besides Meng Huan, no one knew his origins; why not act even more mysterious?

Anyway, with the help of the Dao-Comprehension Enhancement function, his strength could continue to increase indefinitely; in the future, he would surely surpass that Demon Ancestor Black Lotus!

"A mere Initial Realm existence?"

After hearing Lu Qingshan's words, the Demon Ancestor Black Lotus also felt somewhat surprised and uncertain in her heart.

Over the long ages, members of the Demon Path faction had naturally gone to the Time-Space Tide to venture; from the mouths of the strong ones within that Time-Space Tide, they learned that the Initial Realm was equivalent to the Heavenly Dao Realm within the Three Realms.

"Is this person merely bluffing, or does he truly have nothing to fear?" The Demon Ancestor could not help but think silently in her heart.

Thus, after various thoughts flashed through his mind, the Demon Ancestor Black Lotus spoke again: "Young friend, I did not come here to recruit you, but to join you in plotting great matters!"

"As long as you can join our Demon Dao faction, the two of us can stand on equal footing!"

For the Demon Ancestor Black Lotus, what he wanted most right now was to uncover Lu Qingshan's background!

As for the so-called equal footing, that depended on how significant Lu Qingshan's background was!

If Lu Qingshan's background was great, even being temporarily suppressed by the other party would be acceptable;

but if Lu Qingshan was merely bluffing, he would naturally make the other party pay the price!

Hearing the Demon Ancestor's words, Lu Qingshan also spoke within the chat group.

【Lu Qingshan: @Meng Huan, the Star-Extinguishing Great Venerable has been killed by me. Can you handle the rest yourselves?】

【Meng Huan: Thank you, Group Leader, for your great kindness. Meng Huan will surely remember it in his heart!】

【Lu Qingshan: Very well, then I should leave too! As for the treasures on the Star-Extinguishing Great Venerable's body, I'll leave them to you!】

When using the inter-realm travel transmission channel, one cannot directly carry treasures from another world back to the original world.

Just as Lu Qingshan had this intention in his heart, he received a reminder from the chat group: to bring treasures like the Great Yin Plate and the Mo Yun Chain that Binds Heaven to the Devouring Starry Sky World would cost at least hundreds of thousands of points!

Not to mention Lu Qingshan currently did not have so many points on him; even if he did, it would be impossible to waste them so recklessly!

Although treasures like the Great Yin Plate sounded very powerful, in Lu Qingshan's eyes, they were merely treasures of the heavy treasure tier!

After Lu Qingshan's strength increased, obtaining such items in the original world would be very simple; naturally, there was no need to waste a large amount of points on them.

Moreover, whether these treasures could be used normally after being brought back to the Devouring Starry Sky World was still an issue!

After settling these matters, Lu Qingshan quickly looked again at the figure of the Demon Ancestor Black Lotus in the starry sky outside.

"Very well!"

Lu Qingshan said casually: "I can see through your thoughts at a glance, so stop wasting your scheming!"

"Since this place has already been discovered by you, I should leave. If you wish to recruit me, speak of it only after you find me!"

Having said this, Lu Qingshan activated the inter-realm travel transmission channel again, and his entire person instantly vanished.

"This..."

Seeing Lu Qingshan's figure disappear completely before his eyes, the Demon Ancestor Black Lotus instantly froze: "How is this possible?"

In an instant, the Demon Ancestor Black Lotus's divine sense swept over every inch of space within the Dachang World.

Yet no matter how he investigated, he still could not find even a single trace of Lu Qingshan.

Indeed, not only the Demon Ancestor Black Lotus, but even Yuanshi Tianzun, Lingbao Tianzun, Taishang Laojun, and Nüwa Niangniang all had their consciousness descend remotely to the Dachang World.

Although they had not personally descended to stop the Demon Ancestor Black Lotus before, they were equally paying attention to the Dachang World.

For them, no matter what choice Lu Qingshan made, they could find a way to respond.

But now, Lu Qingshan's figure had completely vanished from the spot, without even any cause and effect, as if he had never appeared at all.

It must be known that as existences of the Heavenly Dao Realm, such matters they could not comprehend had never occurred within the Three Realms.

But now such a bizarre event happened right before their eyes, naturally causing each of them to feel extremely shocked!

Meanwhile, within the chat group, everyone was still watching Meng Huan's live broadcast.

【Pang Bo: The Group Leader is truly too cunning; before leaving, he even left a psychological shadow for that Demon Ancestor Black Lotus!】

【Brother Xiao Yan: Indeed! I fear that even if the Demon Ancestor Black Lotus thinks until his head breaks, he will never think that the Group Leader himself is from another world!】

【Han Li: Of course he wouldn't think of it! They can at most think of beyond the Three Realms; how would they know the Group Leader's identity?】

(End of this chapter)