Chapter 64: Day of Auspicious Omen, Seven Martial Artists Slaughter the Immortal!

"Th-this... this..."

Having lived for several decades and forged the illustrious reputation of 'King Zhenwu', this was the first time Ji Xiongying had ever felt an emotion bordering on the absurd.

He saw Lu Yang simply raise a hand, causing a sheet of yellow paper covered in ghostly scribbles to appear beside him; then, upon igniting it, all manner of phenomena completely alien to the martial path would emerge—sword qi cleaving the sky, five thunders striking the crown, golden light flashing into existence. Every single sheet of yellow paper brought him mortal danger!

Whoosh—whoosh!

Sword qi sliced Ji Xiongying's cheek, thunder crashed upon his body, leaving him numb from head to toe, while his all-out punch was halted mid-air by a beam of golden light.

"Impossible!"

Ji Xiongying retreated once more, no longer daring to engage Lu Yang in combat; instead, he gritted his teeth, gazing at the Lu Yang before him with a mixture of terror and hidden longing.

The next second, a title leapt into his mind.

An Immortal!?

The methods Lu Yang displayed at this very moment were exactly like those of the Immortals in tales and novels, instantly igniting within him the desire for eternal life and agelessness.

Thinking of this, Ji Xiongying once again increased the distance between himself and Lu Yang, speaking with激动 excitement: "Wait, there is actually no deep grudge between us, is there? How about this: if you join my Imperial House's Hall of Patronage and hand over a copy of that yellow paper technique to me, I will grant you ten thousand taels of gold and a fiefdom carved from the empire—choose whichever you prefer!"

"Whichever I prefer?"

Lu Yang shook his head with a wry smile. Do I need to choose? The entire Great Zhou is the Holy Sect's Secret Realm; it already belongs to me! How dare you promise me what is already mine?

"That works too; I am quite interested in the Martial Path's Heavenly Human Method..."

"This is my 'Dominion Over the World'!"

Without another word, Ji Xiongying directly took out a classic and threw it to Lu Yang: "Inside is only half a volume; you give me the technique, and I will give you the remaining half!"

Lu Yang: "..."

Ji Xiongying had practically written his ambition across his face, which Lu Yang naturally perceived; however, he did not care, and even less would he transmit a cultivation method to him.

After all, doing so would bring no benefit to his cultivation of the Sage's Theft, and furthermore, it violated sect rules.

"What a pity."

Lu Yang shook his head, put away 'Dominion Over the World', cast a faint glance at Ji Xiongying, and then his form suddenly dispersed as he prepared to turn and depart directly.

"You think you can leave!?"

Seeing Lu Yang's flesh-and-blood body directly crumble and dissolve into a wispy white vapor, Ji Xiongying roared in fury while the longing on his face deepened even further.

Immortal arts! It must absolutely be immortal arts!

I must obtain them!

"Power Toppling the World!"

Ji Xiongying exhaled with a shout, raised his hand and clenched his five fingers, causing surging blood and qi to rush violently into them, turning his entire palm instantly blood-red.

In an instant, Lu Yang seemed to see a vast landscape of mountains and rivers slowly unfolding before his eyes: within it, scholars rose at the crow of the rooster to practice, farmers rested at sunset, martial artists wandered the rivers and lakes, and traveling merchants conducted trade—a hundred states of mortal life, clearly the national fortune of Great Zhou, and likewise the great trend of the world.

Power Toppling the World was also Fist Toppling the World!

Ji Xiongying's fist momentum possessed no physical form; it was purely oppression of intent, the spiritual accumulation of Ji Xiongying, this Martial Path Heavenly Human, having already transcended the martial path.

However—

"You want to compare intent with me? I cultivate immortality; I have spiritual sense!"

When facing crude martial artists who understood only fist and foot combat like himself, Ji Xiongying's fist momentum might have been unstoppable, but using it against him was utterly futile.

Boom!

With a single thought from Lu Yang, Ji Xiongying's fist momentum instantly shattered; what national destiny, what vast mountains and rivers, were all directly swept away by his spiritual sense.

"You can actually withstand my fist?" Ji Xiongying ground his steel-like teeth: "Again!"

Yet the response he received was merely a cold laugh.

"Obstinate and unenlightened."

As soon as the words fell, dozens of talismans suddenly appeared out of thin air; with the Myriad Souls Banner present, he had brought enough talismans for this trip and cared not at all about consumption.

The talismans shattered in one breath, transforming into towering sword qi that fell upon Ji Xiongying, causing him to let out a miserable scream on the spot; instantly, blood dyed the long sky. However, a physique comparable to the Great Perfection of Qi Condensation was truly fierce; although the sword qi talismans could slice through his flesh and blood, they could not sever his bones.

By the time the sword qi dissipated, Ji Xiongying had already become a man of blood.

He appeared to have not a single patch of good flesh on his entire body, as if he had just been subjected to death by a thousand cuts; daring not to linger in place, he vanished from the spot in the blink of an eye.

"He fled quite decisively..."

Lu Yang frowned slightly; this avatar of his specialized in the martial path and relied entirely on talismans to defeat enemies. Although it could fly, its speed was actually not as fast as Ji Xiongying's.

Lu Yang's expression turned strange; the vitality of a Martial Path Heavenly Human exceeded his expectations. Despite looking so miserable and haggard, as long as Ji Xiongying escaped with his life and rested properly for a few days, he would recover mostly—a physique comparable to the Great Perfection of Qi Condensation, yet lacking corresponding bodily divine abilities.

"Truly excellent material for refining a corpse..."

Thinking of this, Lu Yang felt somewhat self-reproaching; truly, staying near ink stains one black. Even a good person like him, having stayed in the Holy Sect for so long, had become cruel.

"... am not that kind of person." Lu Yang shook his head.

Besides, refining corpses was far too inefficient; using the Myriad Souls Banner to refine and assimilate instantly was undoubtedly much more efficient.

Even so, Lu Yang had no intention of focusing on this path; after all, when this life ended, he would definitely choose to retain his cultivation base, and the Myriad Souls Banner could not be taken with him.

"Let's discuss it in the next life!"

Thinking of this, Lu Yang directly dispersed his body, then silently descended into an alleyway in the Imperial Capital to reassemble, thus merging invisibly into the crowd.

"Sure enough, he lost; that is only normal."

In the Imperial Capital of Tian, within the Wei family residence, the Yun family Patriarch calmly withdrew his gaze. Ji Xiongying's defeat was within his expectations; indeed, it would have been strange if he had won.

After all, the purpose of stirring up karma this time, and of the battle between Ji Xiongying and Lu Yang, was not victory, but rather to prompt Ji Xiongying to discover Lu Yang's existence, then slowly spread that knowledge outward, eventually influencing other Heavenly Humans, and finally causing all Heavenly Humans to unite and join forces against Lu Yang!

As long as they slay his avatar, there is no worry that his true body will not appear!

For this sake, he had long ago designed a piece of 'opportunity', or rather, bait; all that remained was for a fish to take the hook, and now presented an excellent chance.

Thinking of this, he immediately began stirring up karma once more.

Almost simultaneously, Ji Xiongying, who had just escaped with his life and dared not return to the imperial palace, fleeing only to the outskirts of the Imperial Capital, was currently lying in ambush within a mountain forest.

His original intention had merely been to evade Lu Yang.

Yet as he hid, he 'accidentally' discovered a sealed stone chamber within a secluded cave, inside of which sat a skeleton.

"This is..."

Ji Xiongying walked before the skeleton and saw that the bones were clutching a dust-covered classic; he immediately reached out, took it down, opened it, and casually scanned a glance.

"... m!?"

At that single glance, Ji Xiongying's eyes instantly widened, followed by an expression of disbelief and wild joy spreading across his face: "Truly heaven aids me!"

The author of the book was nameless, and its contents were merely a single record:

"Immortals exist in this world, ageless and deathless; kill one and eat their flesh, and one may obtain eternal life... Alas, immortal arts are lofty and supreme, difficult to overcome. I have painstakingly studied for several decades, and before my death, finally comprehended the method to slay an Immortal... Only on the Day of Auspicious Omen, with seven great experts wielding seven great divine weapons, joining hands to form an array, is there a chance of victory..."

On the Day of Auspicious Omen, Seven Martial Artists Slaughter the Immortal!

Apart from the context, the book also recorded the forging methods for the 'Seven Great Divine Weapons', causing Ji Xiongying to become intoxicated with fascination, his ambition reignited once more.

"Hahahaha! This King truly possesses great opportunity and great fortune!"

"Once I kill that Immortal, I will definitely achieve eternal life!"

Amidst his loud laughter, Ji Xiongying's consciousness became increasingly obsessed; karma obscured his original heart, leaving him with no thoughts other than 'slay the Immortal and gain eternal life'.

(End of Chapter)