Chapter 139: line with translation of chapter title

On Jade Dragon Mountain, all the scenery remained as before; only the guide was not You Lulai Te, but this black‑faced fellow, the Divine Eagle King. Zhou Shuo had no interest in chatting with him, merely walking silently. When he reached the flat mountaintop where he had last seen the Champion Marquis, he finally stopped his steps.

The dao altar on the flat ground remained intact; Champion Marquis Yang An stood at the forefront, and beside him stood more than a dozen men and women, the lowest cultivators among them having exchanged blood to become minor martial sages. Zhou Shuo could barely recognize half of them—those he had met in person, Yao Qinghui and Yan Zhenzong, as well as the steward of the Martial Warm Marquis Manor, Wu Wenhui, whom he had seen from afar.

"This time, Sect Leader Xiao didn't come to join the fun, alas, Aunt Yao, you're here too!" Zhou Shuo scanned the crowd, involuntarily smiling as he offered a greeting.

"……" Facing Zhou Shuo's words, Yao Qinghui turned her head away.

"All right! It seems you don't intend to say more, but I still have to add one thing: while you have the time, you'd better leave!" Zhou Shuo looked at Yao Qinghui, who had turned her head, and with his left hand smiling, raised the Devouring Pouch, from which he released a bamboo‑rod‑shaped Divine Communication Whip.

"Do you have confidence you can defeat all of us?" Standing beside Yan Zhenzong, a woman with her hair tied high and a swan‑like neck let out a dismissive little laugh.

"If you're not going to leave, then there's no need for more words." Zhou Shuo glanced at Zhao Feier, the sect master of the Great Luo School standing beside Yan Zhenzong, then turned his gaze to Champion Marquis Yang An, who was different from before, hooked the corner of his mouth, and lightly whipped the air twice with his Divine Communication Whip.

"Today I will surely kill you." Yang An gazed at the bamboo‑joint whip Zhou Shuo was whipping in the air, his eyes involuntarily reddening; with a light probe of his right hand, the air seemed to be squeezed open, and a wheel of moonlight flew out, shining on him, and at the same time a deep‑purple spear flew out, its shaft appearing to have countless eyes—an aberrant long spear.

"Shangmang Divine Spear, what a fine thing! Holy Maiden, are you also going to wade into this muddy water, conspiring with these outsiders to harm me?" Zhou Shuo looked at Champion Marquis Yang An, who held the purple hundred‑eye long spear and was bathed in water‑like moonlight, raised his Divine Communication Whip and hoisted it onto his shoulder. Besides those before him, he could sense many breaths lingering in the void, among them the Holy Maiden Su Mu of the Supreme Dao.

"And what relation do you claim to have with me?" A clear voice rang out from the void. Hearing it, Yao Qinghui, Yan Zhenzong, and Liu Feier all had unnatural expressions; only the steward of the Martial Warm Marquis Manor, Wu Wenhui, kept his composure, his hands clasped in his sleeves, head lowered and eyes downcast as he waited for the elders to speak, seeming like a mere servant.

"Holy Maiden, you make me sad this way. Forget it—I'm just too sentimental." Zhou Shuo lowered the Divine Communication Whip from his shoulder, then sighed. He didn't understand what he had done to provoke the Great Qian royal family and the Supreme Dao into indirectly joining forces; now this situation is probably even grander than the siege of the Great Chan Temple back then.

"Since it's come to this, which of you will be the first to come and die?" Zhou Shuo held the Divine Communication Whip, looking at the motionless crowd, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly, his narrowed eyes scanning over them.

"I'll go first." Yang An, seeing the others unmoving, suppressed a breath, relying on the silvery moon armor that wrapped his body like quicksilver, he leapt into the air with a heroic bound, shaking his purple spear; in an instant, an intangible aura unfolded, the trembling spear tip slowing down while expanding without limit, like a great mountain collapsing, it came crashing down toward Zhou Shuo.

"Shatter Star Strike." Accompanying the attack was Yang An's loud shout; the technique lived up to its name—used on other ghost immortals, even a mere graze would scatter their souls from the shock of this fist intent, but Zhou Shuo couldn't be bothered; lacking any solidified fist intent, it meant nothing to him.

"Ding!" Like a metallic chime, the purple spear tip struck the golden light wall, ripples spreading outward from the point of impact, completely dissipating the force.

"Martial way, martial way—enter the Dao through martial practice; what is sought is not martial skill but the Dao, and without the Dao, how can martial prowess advance?" Zhou Shuo activated a layer of golden‑light mantra protection with his Divine Communication Whip, smiling at Yang An outside the golden glow, then shook his wrist; the bamboo‑rod‑like Divine Communication Whip instantly segmented into thirteen sections linked by golden light, the whip tip pointing toward the Champion Marquis.

"Guard the Marquis!" The jade‑green whip tip was blocked by the Champion Marquis drawing his spear; at the same time, a clear whistle filled with fist intent rang out, and a pair of black‑and‑white‑striped iron rulers exuding a menacing aura arced through the air, smashing heavily into the golden light, sending out two rings of rippling waves.

"Useless—your attacks can't even break my defense." Zhou Shuo looked at the attacks blocked outside the golden light and raised his eyebrows slightly.

"And you! Raising your defense to this extent must surely come at a cost!" Yang An held the purple Shangmang Divine Spear, using his external mercurial moon armor to hover low in the air, looking down at the immovable figure within the golden light like Mount Tai, he clenched his teeth slightly, refusing to believe such a turtle shell existed in the world.

"You mean attack power?" Zhou Shuo glanced at the low‑flying Yang An, raised his eyebrows slightly, then turned his head toward Wu Wenhui not far away; the steward of the Martial Warm Marquis Manor, upon meeting his gaze, seemed about to jump like a tail on fire, but had already stopped.

Enveloping Zhou Shuo's exterior, the golden light, as hard as bronze walls and iron bars, softened, sprouting a gigantic golden hand that reached out to grasp the retreating Wu Wenhui; the golden hand kept expanding, sealing off all of Steward Wu's escape routes.

Old Wu Wenhui also had a couple of tricks; seeing he couldn't dodge, he let out a clear whistle, bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, instantly hurling the pair of Star‑Measuring Heavenly Rulers from his hand at Zhou Shuo—yet what he hadn't expected was that the golden hand, when splashed with the blood, suffered nothing at all; as for the Star‑Measuring Heavenly Rulers…

"Hey, old man, take it easy—I told you this before! All the rules that work for you, like ghost immortals fearing yang‑rigid hot blood and aura, are useless here." Zhou Shuo looked at the old man who had bitten his tongue and spat blood, couldn't help but laugh and shake his head, reaching into the water‑like golden light before him to retrieve the Star‑Measuring Heavenly Rulers.

"Star‑Measuring Heavenly Rulers, a fine thing—thanks, Old Master Wu." Zhou Shuo looked at the jet‑black rulers in his hand, their surface dotted with stellar specks, stored them in his Devouring Pouch, and at the same time gave a smiling greeting to the distant Wu Wenhui.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go together, shoulder to shoulder." Zhao Feier, seeing the two near‑human‑immortal‑level martial saints' attacks fail, let out a sharp cry; she and her husband Yan Zhenzong dispersed together, transforming into countless starlike thoughts that fluttered through the air, weaving a profound formation around Zhou Shuo.

"Even a pearl the size of a grain of rice can shine." Zhou Shuo beheld the sky‑filling starlike thoughts, gave his Divine Communication Whip a shake, and released golden rays shooting in all directions; the airborne thoughts that were dancing and operating in unison, upon being struck by the gold light, instantly crackled and began to fracture and disintegrate.

"How could this be? I've already survived a heavenly tribulation…" Zhao Feier's incredulous voice rang out from all sides; the thought of having once weathered a tribulation could not withstand the golden light of the Divine Communication Whip, but those golden rays, after spreading out, retracted back into the whip in less than three seconds.

"You've stolen someone else's secret manual to cultivate—I don't know where you get the nerve to call the Great Luo School a 'holy land'." Zhou Shuo leapt to avoid Champion Marquis Yang An's spear thrust, gathered back the scattered golden light, his face showing mockery; in the air where the golden light had condensed, the souls of Yan Zhenzong and Liu Feier reconvened, their forms no longer resembling living persons but rather translucent shadows.

"Su Mu, how much longer are you going to wait?" Champion Marquis Yang An, seeing the fellow dodge his thrust, let out a roar; in response to his voice, a sapphire‑blue sword qi erupted in the air, slashing toward Zhou Shuo.

"Great Luo Heavenly Sovereign." Facing Champion Marquis Yang An's words, Liu Feier, atop her translucent soul form, let out a sharp cry; in response to her scream, the sky darkened suddenly, and a figure descended from the ninth heaven, clad in silver armor and grasping a jade‑green great staff, which came down like a mountain‑splitting blow aimed at Zhou Shuo.

"Crack!" The sapphire‑blue sword qi first struck the golden light before Zhou Shuo, cleaving a fissure in it; then the falling jade‑green great staff hammered down hard, instantly blowing out a gap in the crack.

"Well done, nicely done." Zhou Shuo looked at the silver‑armored figure that had fallen before him, couldn't help but grin and shout praise, then raised his Divine Communication Whip; after the opponent lowered his staff, he whipped back, striking the man's crown.

Under the bamboo‑joint‑like Divine Communication Whip, the young man's aberrant visage shattered like porcelain; as the whip came down completely, not only his face but his whole body broke apart like crockery. The resulting "shards" did not fall, but flew outward in all directions, much like a golden cicada shedding its shell, leaving the jade‑green great staff in his hand and the silvery armor on his body behind, while he himself fled to the side.

"Good opportunity." Zhou Shuo dealt a heavy blow that shattered the Great Luo Heavenly Sovereign; over there, Champion Marquis Yang An seized the chance, letting out a mighty roar and thrusting his purple spear toward Zhou Shuo's face, while Steward Wu also gave a tigerish roar, stepped forward, snatched up the fallen jade‑green great staff, and swung it at Zhou Shuo.

Aside from the coordinated assault of the two martial sages, the sky over Jade Dragon Mountain was shrouded in several masses of fire clouds, a sheet of bright silver and dark‑red sparks raining down; however, this shower of sparks encompassed everyone on the plaza except Zhou Shuo himself—whether it was Wu Wenhui and Champion Marquis Yang An attacking him, or Yao Qinghui, Liu Feier, and Yan Zhenzong standing to the side, not to mention the minor martial sages under the Champion Marquis, all were caught within it.