Chapter 770

Xi Yao was surrounded by black mist, wearing a hint of a mysterious smile; he didn't know what secret technique he had used, instantly reducing his presence to the extreme.

Even Fan Kun, who had just exchanged blows with him, instantly overlooked his presence.

Wu Tie stared at the three youths in white; the three youths in white examined him from head to toe, the greed in their eyes growing ever more intense.

The youth in the middle suddenly laughed: "Fan Kun, stop spouting nonsense; we, disciples of the White Lotus Academy qualified to wander the world, cultivate the mind, nurture nature, establish words, establish virtue—don't go splashing filth on us for no reason, frightening our karmic disciples."

"Heh!" Fan Kun let out a strange, eerie laugh.

His body blazed with golden light; the knife scar on his abdomen quickly faded, accompanied by faint, sharp whistling sounds, as thin black smoke continually welled from his wound and was then annihilated by the golden light surrounding him.

"Martial King, you'd better be careful—the karmic disciples of the White Lotus Palace… heh, the White Lotus Palace of Pure Heart, they devour people without spitting out bones." Fan Kun laughed loudly: "Moreover, after they flay you, strip your tendons, and eat you clean, they will proclaim to the world that you are a demon, you are a heretic, you deserve to die—not only you deserve to die, but your whole clan deserves to die."

The white-clad youth in the middle grew somewhat grim in expression; he looked at Fan Kun and said in a deep voice: "Fan Kun, don't rely on the power of your Red Lotus Temple of Karmic Fire to sow discord here."

He snorted coldly; the white-clad youth solemnly gazed at Wu Tie, his aura becoming extremely dignified and stern; he clasped his hands and bowed solemnly to Wu Tie: "This junior brother, Senior Brother Bai Lu, these are your two senior brothers Bai He and Bai Yuan."

Wu Tie hastily shook his head: "Wait, who is your junior brother?"

Bai Lu smiled: "It was my brother's rashness, but… scholars of the world emerge from the White Lotus… you have cultivated the highest achievement of scholars—cultivating mind and nurturing nature, the grand righteous qi—so you are destined to be a disciple of my White Lotus Academy."

Holding a feather fan in his right hand, he lightly tapped his left palm; Bai Lu's eyes gleamed as he fixed his gaze on Wu Tie and smiled: "Look, though you are young, you have managed to cultivate grand righteous qi; once you return to the sect, you will surely shake the entire White Lotus Academy—our nine grand masters will certainly vie to take you as a disciple."

Bai Lu sighed lightly: "Junior brother, the grand masters of my White Lotus Palace are all venerable 'King Gods'."

Smiling faintly, Bai Lu continued: "Judging by your aura, it seems you follow the path of Profound Darkness? Hmm, your path is a bit narrow, but that's no problem—my White Lotus Palace possesses the secret treasures 'Wen Xin' and 'Mo Dan' left by ancient Confucian-Dao sages; if the grand masters act to refine your divine body, they will surely help you newly comprehend at least a hundred great Dao."

Bai Lu spoke extremely fast, leaving Wu Tie no chance to interject.

As his three-inch unrotting tongue moved, faintly visible were tiny white lotus blossoms, each the size of a mung bean, continually blooming on the tip of his tongue.

Semi-transparent white lotus phantoms entwined Bai Lu's three-inch tongue, swirling and dancing; inexplicably, a faint ink fragrance drifted in the air, and his words inexplicably gained a few degrees of wondrous power that compelled belief.

This power, comparable to Xi Yao's soul attack, silently permeates people's souls like spring wind turning to rain, gently altering the will and thoughts deep in the subconscious of all listeners.

Wu Tie's grand righteous qi specializes in restraining all evil forces, but against Bai Lu's three-inch unrotting tongue, its efficacy seemed greatly diminished.

The Great Wei Kong clan elder Kong Chengxi, standing behind Wu Tie, suddenly spoke: "Your Majesty, I believe Master Bai Lu's words are entirely correct. If Your Majesty were to join the White Lotus Palace, it would surely be most beneficial for our Wuguo."

Like Kong Chengxi, Meng Buyan also wore a grave, utterly earnest expression as he said: "Your Majesty, Old Kong is not mistaken. If our Wuguo could join the White Lotus Palace en masse, its literary Dao would surely flourish… in the future, our Wuguo's young heroes would be as numerous as carp crossing the river, endless and continuous; the prosperity of our Wuguo lies right before our eyes."

Wu Tie's face turned pitch black, and his heart suddenly clenched.

He turned around, heedless of consequences, and with a single punch each knocked Kong Chengxi and Meng Buyan unconscious.

But aside from Kong Chengxi and Meng Buyan, the many Wuguo divine-realm experts standing behind Wu Tie all gazed at Bai Lu with eyes that were not right—an abnormal reverence, an abnormal worship, like that of a child just beginning school beholding a learned grand scholar with admiration.

Wu Tie felt shocked in his heart; he let out a low, stern rebuke, and the five‑element divine light behind him burst forth like a peacock's tail, brilliant and splendid, sweeping downward and forcibly dragging thousands of Wuguo experts into a miniature five‑element world, thus escaping Bai Lu's terrifying "brain‑washing demonic sound."

"Your Excellency, what a fine method!" Wu Tie gritted his teeth, looking at Bai Lu with immense wariness.

Against an enemy like Fan Kun, Wu Tie feels no fear—it's merely a matter of meeting force with force, hard against hard.

Against an enemy as strange and evil as Xi Yao, Wu Tie also feels no fear; facts prove that grand righteous qi can effectively resist Xi Yao's soul attack.

But against Bai Lu's kind, grand righteous qi cannot defend, nor does he strike Wu Tie directly; instead he uses skill of tongue and mouth to strike covertly… if it were just three loners, it would be fine, but behind Bai Lu, Bai He, and Bai Yuan stands the massive White Lotus Palace.

Wu Tie felt a bit of a headache.

This differs from You Ruo and company; even if Fan Kun slays a blood‑essence avatar of You Ruo, Wu Tie still fears no retaliation from You Ruo.

After all, the descent of the myriad gods is not such a simple matter.

Having become the sovereign of the three kingdoms, Wu Tie received a vast amount of imperial secret records, and thus gained a profound understanding of some of the gods' machinations.

Therefore, Wu Tie truly does not fear the gods launching large‑scale retaliation.

But Bai Lu and company… they are in the far‑east divine land; the fact that the three of them can cross the sea proves that those behind them can also cross the sea.

Wu Tie gritted his teeth and gave another cold smile: "Mr. Bai Lu, indeed a fine method."

Beside him, Fan Kun burst out laughing: "These pretty‑boy hypocrites, effeminate sissies, the most treacherous of all—Martial King, you have now witnessed it… Martial King, if you wish to preserve your family, state, and life, just become a disciple of my Red Lotus Temple. With my Red Lotus Temple's protection, this bunch of pretty‑boys dare not harm a single hair of yours!"

Wu Tie drew a deep breath, glanced at Fan Kun, then at the three Bai Lu, still silent, when from afar came a long, drawn‑out, clear and lofty whistle, like a jade chime ringing straight through the clouds.

Hard, hard, hard—the Dao is most profound, like trying to grow a golden lotus in fire.

Hard, hard, hard—the Dao is most profound, wow, how come there's a bald head and a pale face ahead?

A towering ostrich about three zhang high, its whole body plump and strong, as it ran the fat on its belly swayed, it came bounding and leaping over. On its back lay a straw mat, and a carefree‑smiling, quite handsome young Daoist sat crookedly on the mat, making faces at Fan Kun.

Whoa, Fan Kun, from a hundred and eight thousand li away I can see your big bald head—wow, what a coincidence, how do I keep bumping into you here?

Fan Kun, Bai Lu, and the three companions' faces all darkened.

You ragged‑haired one of the Azure Lotus Observatory… you truly are an incessant lingering spirit. Fan Kun's teeth clenched with a "ga‑ga" sound, his whole body ablaze with golden flames of anger.

You ragged‑haired one of the Azure Lotus Observatory… you truly are an incessant lingering spirit. Fan Kun's teeth clenched with a "ga‑ga" sound, his whole body igniting in golden flames of anger.