Chapter 233: A Sudden Transformation, Returning to the Front Line

Just as Lu Yuan had expected.

After this day, no clues were discovered regarding the Spirit Contract he had signed.

Not two days later, Huanglong Zhenren of Linglong Peak personally issued a decree, ordering his disciple, Liuyun Zhenren, to announce to the entire city that he had officially joined as a First-Class Guest Elder of Longshan Immortal City, with status and treatment equivalent to the Hall Masters of the various halls.

Once this news broke, it caused quite a stir throughout the vast Immortal City. Many cultivators who were slower to receive the news were astonished and began inquiring everywhere about the background of this First-Class Guest Elder.

Other Golden Core Cultivators of the Immortal City came one after another to offer congratulatory gifts, even more enthusiastically than they had been at the Dharma assembly.

After all, although Lu Yuan had previously broken through to the Jiedan Late Stage in Longshan Immortal City, he had only been an outsider. Now that he had joined the Immortal City and become a First-Class Guest Elder, his status and standing were naturally incomparable to before.

For a time, major Golden Core Cultivators, and even many immortal cultivation families within the city, sent special representatives to present ingenious congratulatory gifts, hoping to leave a good impression on Lu Yuan.

Even Su Lingyue specifically chose a time to bring a gift and visit Zizhu Peak.

Arriving in the guest hall and taking a seat, Su Lingyue frowned slightly and said:

"Fellow Daoist Lu, oh Fellow Daoist Lu, I truly did not expect you to be so bold. Breaking through in this Longshan Immortal City was one thing, but why did you agree to the recruitment of Liuyun Zhenren? True Monarch Huanglong is, after all, a Nascent Soul Great Cultivator with his own bearing; I believe that even if you had refused to stay, he would not have done anything to you."

Lu Yuan smiled:

"Then wouldn't all the painstaking effort I spent changing my identity to return to the Immortal City have been in vain? The reception channel to the lower realm is in this city; naturally, I must first establish a foothold here."

Su Lingyue was even more puzzled:

"But by joining the Immortal City, you must sign a Spirit Contract. No matter how superior the treatment and conditions given, you cannot avoid being restricted and controlled. When facing some extremely dangerous situations, you might even be forced to obey orders. Are you not worried...?"

"Rest assured, I know what I am doing. The Spirit Contract I signed has limited constraints on me. If I truly encounter any situation, I can leave at any time."

Lu Yuan did not take it to heart and changed the subject:

"By the way, how has the situation in the lower realm been over this past year or so? Has True Monarch Huanglong discovered any clues on his end?"

Su Lingyue replied:

"Everything is as usual. Repairing the channel with the Repairing Array in the lower realm requires a long time; it is not something that can show results in a year or half a year. True Monarch Huanglong has only checked it once during this period and discovered absolutely nothing.

Of course, in another three to five years, if the two-realm channel remains in its current state, it will inevitably arouse his suspicion. Therefore, I plan to find an excuse in a while to go to the Reception Array and send a message to Hanyu, telling her to start the Repairing Array at low power for a period of time. But continuing like this is not a solution; sooner or later, the matter will be exposed, and then..."

Lu Yuan nodded:

"Good, I have troubled you, Fellow Daoist Su. There is no need to worry too much. Within three to five years, I will completely resolve this problem and let your maid return safely."

Su Lingyue could not help but ask:

"To resolve this problem, one must resolve True Monarch Huanglong. Such a Nascent Soul Great Cultivator cannot be persuaded by words alone. How will you...?"

Lu Yuan smiled slightly and was about to speak when he heard a maid's report from outside the guest hall:

"Master, Master, Liuyun Zhenren has arrived and is waiting outside the cave dwelling!"

Lu Yuan gave Su Lingyue an apologetic smile:

"It is likely that the Immortal City's arrangements for me have arrived. Let's go, Fellow Daoist Su, let us go out together."

Su Lingyue nodded, stood up, and left the cave dwelling with Lu Yuan, then saw Liuyun Zhenren waiting quietly outside, accompanied by two young Daoists holding trays.

Seeing Lu Yuan and Su Lingyue walk out, Liuyun Zhenren looked slightly surprised and smiled:

"What a coincidence, is Fellow Daoist Su also here to visit Fellow Daoist Lu? Have I disturbed you two by coming here?"

Su Lingyue bowed slightly:

"Greetings, Zhenren. This one has been conversing with Fellow Daoist Lu for some time and was just preparing to take my leave; it is no disturbance at all. You two may talk freely; I will head back first."

Having said that, she signaled to the two of them one by one and then drifted away, leaving Zizhu Peak.

Cultivators visiting Lu Yuan had been endless these past few days, so Su Lingyue's appearance here was perfectly normal. After she left, Liuyun Zhenren chuckled:

"Fellow Daoist Lu, Fellow Daoist Su Lingyue is the Hall Master of the Array Hall and is also a famous beauty in the Immortal City, still without a partner..."

This remark seemed like a tease, and Lu Yuan waved his hands repeatedly:

"Fellow Daoist Liuyun is joking. Lu is only newly acquainted with Fellow Daoist Su and has no such thoughts. I wonder if you have come because the Immortal City has made arrangements for Lu?"

Liuyun Zhenren gestured with his hand, and the two young Daoists behind him stepped forward holding the trays. Lu Yuan glanced over and saw that on the trays were a set of black Dharma Robes shimmering with spirit light, an Identity Jade Token, and a Storage Bag.

Liuyun Zhenren smiled faintly:

"Fellow Daoist Lu, this is the Xuanming Dharma Robe representing the status of a First-Class Guest Elder of the Immortal City. This Dharma Robe is a third-tier Dharma Robe of considerable value, engraved with nearly ten types of Dharma Array patterns such as Clean, Like Spring, Return, Water Avoidance, and Fire Repelling. At critical moments, it can even release all spirit power to activate a third-tier Spirit Light Shield, which can be used to save one's life.

Besides this, the Identity Jade Token allows you to move unimpeded within the Immortal City, and you can enjoy discounts at all major shops. Additionally, in this Storage Bag, the Immortal City has already prepaid ten years of salary as a token of sincerity, totaling fifty thousand Spirit Money. You may check it."

The young Daoist presented the three items before him. Lu Yuan feigned surprise as he picked them up, especially holding the Dharma Robe and examining it repeatedly, as if he could not put it down:

"Fellow Daoist Liuyun is joking. How could Lu not trust you? Many thanks to True Monarch for the gift; Lu is truly flattered."

In reality, being flattered was fake, but being moved by the wealth and extravagance of Longshan Immortal City was real.

Bai Qianfeng had achieved the Golden Core stage for twenty or thirty years, and despite trying every means to increase income and reduce expenditure, his entire net worth was less than twenty thousand Spirit Money, the bulk of which was obtained only after taking on the mission to explore the lower realm.

Yet here, Liuyun Zhenren had just prepaid him ten years of salary, fifty thousand Spirit Money.

Furthermore, not to mention this fifty thousand Spirit Money, even the third-tier Dharma Robe in his hand had an intrinsic value exceeding ten thousand Spirit Money. It was evident that Longshan Immortal City had invested a great deal of capital to "buy a horse's bones with a thousand gold."

Liuyun Zhenren smiled:

"This is the treatment Fellow Daoist Lu deserves; just accept it with peace of mind. At the same time, I have also come to convey my master's decree. There have been frequent abnormal movements of the Corpse Tide on the front line, and the pressure is quite high. We need to trouble Fellow Daoist Lu to go and assist in suppressing it. Do you have any issues?"

Since it was free for the taking, Lu Yuan accepted all three items and said solemnly:

"No issues. Lu can set off today."

"There is no need to be that rushed."

Liuyun Zhenren said:

"The day after tomorrow, a team of rotating cultivators will head to the front line. Fellow Daoist Lu can just bring them along when the time comes. Upon arriving at the front line, you will be received by the War Hall Master."

Lu Yuan nodded: "Good, Lu understands."

Having said what needed to be said, Liuyun Zhenren did not stay long and left immediately with the two young Daoists.

Lu Yuan returned to his cave dwelling and used his divine sense to inspect the three items—the Dharma Robe, the Identity Jade Token, and the Storage Bag—and soon discovered the clues.

The Identity Jade Token and the Storage Bag were completely normal and had not been tampered with, but on the Dharma Robe, hidden beneath the various array patterns, was an secretly inscribed array pattern that seemed capable of tracking.

This array pattern was hidden extremely deeply and was very inconspicuous; if Lu Yuan did not possess the Supernatural Power of Array Formation, he would never have been able to see it!

Clearly, although on the surface they were "buying horse bones with a thousand gold," Longshan Immortal City did not truly feel at ease or trust him, so they had arranged some small measures.

This move was understandable, and Lu Yuan did not take it too much to heart; he simply studied the Dharma robe for a while, confirmed that he could completely destroy the formation patterns at any time to make its tracking ability disappear, and then put the robe on.

In reality, he possessed the Supernatural Power of 【Obstacle Clothing】, and under year after year of refining with Dharma Power, ordinary clothes had long since transformed into Dharma robes possessing powerful defensive capabilities.

However, there was clearly a huge difference between applying Obstacle Clothing to ordinary clothes and applying it to a third-tier Dharma robe; apart from the hidden tracking formation patterns, he was quite satisfied with this Dharma robe and did not mind wearing it on his body, furthermore using the reinforcement of Obstacle Clothing to obtain even more formidable defensive power.

Just like that.

After Lu Yuan put on the Profound Dark Dharma robe, he shook his body and changed, his majestic bearing manifesting naturally.

Another day passed, and by the early morning of the third day, a team of about thirty-odd cultivators gathered at the foot of Zizhu Peak and waited respectfully.

Knowing that these people were the cultivators going to relieve the guard, Lu Yuan gave a few instructions to the two maidservants before flying away from his cave dwelling, then led this team of cultivators toward the front-line position.

He was in no hurry on this trip, letting a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator leader guide the way, and after more than an hour, he caught sight of the gloomy and dark Yin Corpse Mountain Range in the far distance, which looked like a mountain of the underworld.

And as they approached rapidly.

A thick, intense aura of death and even the scent of blood swept over like a tsunami; the originally leisurely Lu Yuan frowned, swept his divine sense, and immediately detected that at the edge of the Yin Corpse Mountain Range, tens of miles away, countless ferocious Corpse Demons were crazily pouring out from the sky and the ground, forming a terrifying tide stretching for twenty or thirty miles.

And on the front line where this huge tide was crashing, hundreds or thousands of cultivators were forming arrays to resist the Corpse Tide, and those Golden Core Real Persons were even crisscrossing the sky with sword light and exchanging spells, fighting against more than one Corpse King-level Corpse Demon.

Under the sweep of his divine sense, Qin Ruoning, whom he had not seen for a long time, was currently locked in a fierce battle with a giant Corpse King bird with its internal organs exposed; although she held a certain upper hand, there were hundreds of small Corpse Birds surrounding and harassing her, and coupled with the sky-filling corpse aura and poisonous gas, she had fallen into an increasingly dangerous entanglement.

Clearly, this was a large-scale Corpse Tide assault currently taking place; although the scale was not as vast as the Corpse Bone Giant Buddha from last time, it could not be underestimated, and Lu Yuan immediately shouted to the accompanying cultivators behind him:

"There is a large Corpse Tide ahead, I will go one step ahead, you all accelerate to provide support!"

Having said that, he immediately transformed into a meteor, rushing out with lightning speed, crossing tens of miles in a few breaths, and arriving above the front-line battlefield.

"This fellow Daoist, Lu is here to assist you!"

Once he arrived at the battlefield, the first place Lu Yuan reached was where Qin Ruoning was; the latter, in the midst of intense entanglement, had not even noticed his arrival, and then she saw a giant sword light, violent to an extreme degree, tear through the sky like a giant thunderbolt and sweep across.

Under the sweep of the sword light, all of the dozens of small Corpse Birds that were continuously swooping down were shredded into powder, and even that Corpse King-level leader had its head severed in an instant, and then its body was torn into four pieces!

Qin Ruoning, who had been struggling under the siege, was suddenly both surprised and delighted, brilliance blooming in her beautiful eyes, and she subconsciously wanted to call out Lu Yuan's name, but changed her words in time:

"Lu... are you that new First-Class Guest Elder of the Immortal City, Fellow Daoist Lu Yuan?"

Lu Yuan pretended to be meeting Qin Ruoning for the first time and laughed:

"Exactly, Lu is here by the order of the Immortal City to assist in the battle!"

The sound of his long laughter spread throughout the void, and the cultivators in the nearby area who were struggling to clear out the Corpse Demons noticed one after another, most of them showing surprise at the first moment:

"The surname is Lu, it's that Golden Core Late Stage Guest Elder who just joined the Immortal City!"

"That's great, with this Elder's arrival, plus Hall Master Xing, repelling the Corpse Tide will be no problem!!"

Although they had been at this front-line position, if there was any important news in the Immortal City, it would be notified here immediately, so the news of the garrisoned cultivators was not blocked, and they also knew that an outsider who had stepped into the Golden Core Late Stage had been added to the Immortal City as a Guest Elder.

Although they were not clear about this Elder's background or origin, a Golden Core Late Stage combat power comparable to War Hall Master Xing Tianding was extremely important at this front-line position, relating to whether they could repel the Corpse Tide faster and reduce the casualties of many low-level cultivators, just like at this very moment.

Including Xing Tianding, who was at the very front of the battlefield fighting fiercely against two top-tier humanoid Corpse Kings with towering arrogance, he also noticed Lu Yuan's arrival and immediately sent a divine sense transmission:

"Fellow Daoist Lu, prioritize killing the third-tier Corpse Kings; if the Corpse Kings do not die, the Corpse Tide will not retreat!"

"Good!"

Scanning this vast Corpse Tide stretching for twenty or thirty miles, Lu Yuan felt as if he were looking at a huge experience pack; after responding with a single word, he flew forward to a place where the Corpse Tide was extremely dense and opened his arms with a long laugh.

Boom—

The next instant, in the pitch-black night sky, a muffled Thunder Sound suddenly rolled and spread, as if the dead, silent night had awakened.

Following closely, in the sight of Qin Ruoning and even the surrounding cultivators, layers upon layers of rolling dark clouds abruptly began to gather in mid-air, just like an avalanche, expanding rapidly with a rumbling muffled sound; the speed of the spread was truly unimaginable, and in just this instant, it had actually spread to the sky above everyone's heads!

Within the dark clouds, dazzling light flickered incessantly, as if lightning and thunder were brewing in the thick dark clouds, and with the flashing of the electric light, the earth-shaking thunder grew louder and more terrifying, just like thousands of ferocious giant beasts roaring in the sky at the same time!

What?

It was also at this moment that within a radius of tens of miles, whether it was Xing Tianding, who had the strongest cultivation and combat power, or the other Golden Core cultivators who were fighting bitterly and struggling, all turned their gazes abruptly, their pupils shaking:

"This is...!?"