Chapter 99: Exterminating the White Lotus

Popular recommendation: On the long street, the forces of the Ming Cult and the White Lotus Sect are locked in a bloody battle.

Boom!

The figures of the Eagle King and Baisun Daoren collide.

One can see the Eagle King's fingers like iron claws, snatching through the air toward the vital acupoints all over Baisun Daoren's body, True Qi erupting from his fingertips; once he manages to seize an acupoint, one would either die or be severely injured.

However, Baisun Daoren's palm technique is even more exquisite, actually blocking all of the Eagle King's eagle claws outside his body.

The two shift their forms, having exchanged dozens of moves in the blink of an eye.

Only a soft "pop" sound is heard as Baisun Daoren strikes the Eagle King's shoulder with a palm.

The Eagle King is struck, his body stumbling backward; his whole body trembles slightly, and a moment later, it is covered in white frost.

The Eagle King has also been defeated!

In merely the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Baisun Daoren, with his own strength, has struck down two Elders and one Dharma King of the Ming Cult.

The only ones remaining, the Eagle King and the Lion King, have also been deeply struck by the Xuanming Palm force and can no longer fight.

"Do you still want to keep fighting?"

Baisun Daoren twists his wrists and says indifferently, "If you kneel and surrender now, I will spare your lives."

The two Dharma Kings and the crowd of cultists gather together, backs against each other, facing the enemies closing in.

The Lion King grits his teeth and says, "We cannot beat you, so there is no need to fight anymore.

But within our Ming Cult, there is not a single coward afraid of death."

"That's right, wanting us to surrender is nothing but wishful thinking."

"It is only a pity that the Bright Venerable is not here; otherwise, how would it be your turn, this clown, to be so arrogant?"

Seeing that there is no hope of victory, not a single person among the Ming Cult members is willing to submit.

Everyone slowly puts down their weapons and sits cross-legged on the ground.

"Burn my remnant body, the Bright Fire burns bright.

What joy is there in life? What bitterness is there in death? To do good and eliminate evil, only for the sake of the light.

Joy, sorrow, and grief all return to dust.

Pity us mortals, for our suffering is truly great!

Pity us mortals, for our suffering is truly great."

On the long street in the dark night, the members of the Ming Cult chant in unison.

Everyone is stained with blood, their voices sorrowful, yet their spines are straight and their faces carry a look of generosity.

Even the White Lotus Sect and the Su and Wang families cannot help but be moved upon seeing this scene.

Baisun Daoren sighs at length, "Good men, you have integrity."

"However, integrity is integrity, and reality is reality.

Since you are unwilling to surrender, then you can only die."

"As for your Cult Leader, he dares not appear during such a great battle, only shrinking back behind you like a turtle.

Heh, what Bright Venerable; in my eyes, he is not even worth a pile of dog shit!

Once you have all perished, I will search the whole city and strike him dead with my own hands."

And Lu Li finally arrives at this moment.

He sees the Ming Cult members sitting cross-legged together chanting the Ming Cult slogan, and several black lines cannot help but appear on his face.

How should one put it? The Ming Cult members being unable to beat the opponent and then collectively chanting the slogan can be considered a famous scene.

Lu Li remembers that in the original work, when the Six Great Sects besieged Brightness Peak, the Ming Cult was defeated for various reasons.

Facing the threat of the Six Great Sects, the Ming Cult members sat where they were and began to chant the slogan collectively.

And it was almost at this time that Zhang Wuji emerged, resolving the crisis and blocking the six powers.

And this generation of the Ming Cult shall be saved by Lu Li.

"I heard you were looking for me?"

A figure suddenly descends from the sky; he has a straight posture and wears a ferocious mask on his face—it is none other than the Bright Venerable, Lu Li.

But seeing the sword in Lu Li's hand, Baisun Daoren cannot help but laugh.

Because that sword is a sword with a rolled edge.

Lu Li used this sword to break the heavy armored army, and this sword itself was completely rolled in the collision with heavy shields.

Such a dull blade, if used by an ordinary person, would probably not even be able to split firewood.

Yet the dignified Bright Venerable appears in the slaughter of the two sides holding it, which is truly somewhat ridiculous.

The Su and Wang families also see the broken sword in Lu Li's hand, and Su Bozhong cannot help but laugh, "Hahaha!

Bright Venerable? You come to show off holding such a sword with a rolled edge?"

"Had I known your Ming Cult was so poor, we really should have gifted you a few commercial streets.

As the dignified master of the Ming Cult, do you want me to gift you a good sword?"

Lu Li looks at the sword in his hand and then says, "To kill you, why would I need a good sword?"

Wang Sheng chuckles, "Hahahaha!

With this broken sword,

can you kill anyone?"

"You say a sword with a rolled edge cannot kill?"

"Of course it cannot."

"I say, it can."

As he speaks, Lu Li's gaze has already fallen upon Wang Sheng.

The next moment, Lu Li's figure suddenly vanished from where he stood.

Replacing him was an extremely dazzling flash of sword light.

The sword light appeared from the spot where Lu Li had originally stood, bright as a star in the sky, sharp as the point of a needle.

With the appearance of the sword light, a cold, murderous intent instantly enveloped everyone's hearts.

The power of this one sword was heavier than a mountain, pressing down so hard that people could not catch their breath.

This flash of sword light instantly passed through the crowd and arrived directly before Wang Sheng's throat.

In Lu Li's hand, that chipped, broken sword was gently rested against Wang Sheng's neck.

"Now then, can I kill you?"

"I... I..."

Pfft!

Baisun Daoren only saw Lu Li's wrist flick, and the next moment, the sword light separated Wang Sheng's head from his body in a single line.

And since Lu Li clearly did not want his clothes to be stained by the blood of such a person, this sword strike was very fast.

Then, Lu Li's figure flashed, and he had already returned to his original position.

Lu Li still stood there holding his sword, as if he had never moved at all.

And Wang Sheng also stood straight in his original spot; the only difference was that what was standing there now was already a corpse.

Beads of sweat began to seep from Baisun Daoren's forehead, because he knew just how inconceivable that sword strike from just a moment ago had been.

Killing people was a very simple matter for people like them.

Baisun Daoren could also easily kill Wang Sheng in a crowd, and he could even kill experts like the Eagle King and the Lion King.

But after Lu Li pierced Wang Sheng's throat with one sword, Wang Sheng's body still stood there without moving at all.

And Lu Li had thrust out this sword; what realm had his swordsmanship reached, and how precise was his control over his own strength? To embroider with the force of ten thousand jun, it was nothing more than this!

Baisun Daoren looked at Lu Li, and Lu Li also looked at him.

Upon being met by Lu Li's gaze, Baisun Daoren already felt the urge to retreat.

"Back when I was still the Bright King, I exchanged blows with the White Lotus Sect a few times; it seems I killed seven hall masters? I had assumed that after that time, your White Lotus Sect would know better, so I didn't pay any more attention.

I didn't expect that you would still dare to oppose my Ming Cult today. Since that is the case, do not blame me for being heartless."

"I heard you went into seclusion to practice the Xuanming Divine Palm. Use it, and let's see how many swords you can take.

I will only give you one chance; if you cannot use it, you will never be able to use it again."

"Are you ready?"

Lu Li asked softly.

His tone was just like a teacher questioning a student.

Baisun Daoren's pupils shrank; he felt a terrifying murderous intent.

The True Qi in his body suddenly surged to its limit, the instinct of an animal erupting when in mortal danger, and he struck out with the Xuanming Divine Palm instantly.

Boom!

The sharp sword light instantly enveloped him; the Sword Intent was peerless, and the white lotus shattered.

Baisun Daoren was struck as if by lightning, his body immediately drifting away like withered grass and dry catkins.

In mid-air, wherever he passed, lines of blood scattered.

Following that was a huge sound; Baisun Daoren's corpse slammed heavily into the wall on the side of the long street, blasting out a hole the size of a person.

Looking at him again, one could see he was bleeding from his seven orifices, his entire person embedded inside like mud.

The Xuanming Divine Palm, which had just been invincible to everyone, was instantly slain by Lu Li.

And his body was already shrouded in an aura of death.

"What a terrifying sword..."

Having said that, Baisun Daoren's head hung down as if broken, and he no longer had the slightest breath.

The leader of the White Lotus Sect, a person of high position and great power with superb martial arts, was slain by Lu Li with one sword.

Baisun Daoren's death left the members of the White Lotus Sect and Su Bozhong completely dumbfounded.

He had watched the battle tonight from start to finish.

The several Dharma Kings and Elders of the Ming Cult were all rare experts in the pugilistic world, more than enough to deal with the Su and Wang families.

But Baisun Daoren, relying on a pair of Xuanming Divine Palms, had suppressed the Ming Cult experts by force.

Su Bozhong was incredibly grateful; fortunately, he had invited the White Lotus Sect leader Baisun Daoren to act, otherwise, relying solely on the Su and Wang families to oppose the Ming Cult would certainly have resulted in heavy losses.

He had once imagined that Baisun Daoren might fail, but he had not expected him to fail so quickly, to the point that he couldn't even take one sword from the Bright Venerable.

After the brief shock, Su Bozhong suddenly realized a very terrifying problem.

That was, the most powerful expert on their side, Baisun Daoren, was already dead; who else could contend with that terrifying Bright Venerable? The army was defeated like a collapsing mountain.

In fact, everyone present was completely dumbfounded; they were all intimidated by the aura of the Bright Venerable.

Those who had originally surrounded the Ming Cult members could not help but retreat at this moment, and not a single person dared to take another step forward.

And Lu Li did not have the slightest hesitation.

He saw his figure flash to the side of the Eagle King and the Lion King, extended his palms, and placed them gently on the backs of the two, a mellow, supreme-yang True Qi slowly passing through his palms into the meridians of the two.

The Eagle King and the Lion King instantly felt the cold Xuanming True Qi in their bodies being suppressed by this warm True Qi.

In just a few breaths, the bodies of the two stopped trembling and they were already able to move freely.

Having read the original work, Lu Li knew that the palm power of the Xuanming Divine Palm was extremely yin and cold.

Once struck by the Xuanming Divine Palm, cold poison would enter the body; when it flared up, the pain was extreme, and it could be described as nine deaths and one life.

In the original work, Zhang Wuji was struck by the Xuanming Divine Palm, and the cold poison dispersed into his internal organs.

Although Zhang Sanfeng and the various heroes of Wudang input pure-yang internal energy to save him, and he underwent the all-out treatment of the Butterfly Valley Medical Immortal Hu Qingniu, it was still impossible to drive out all the cold poison.

However, there is one internal martial art that is the natural enemy of the Xuanming Divine Palm, and that is the Nine Yang Divine Skill.

Lu Li had long since cultivated the Nine Yang Divine Skill to maturity; the supreme Yang True Qi in his body had already fused with his Nine Yin True Qi, allowing him to switch between them at will.

The cold poison within the bodies of the Eagle King and the Lion King was instantly suppressed, and the two slowly rose to their feet, cupping their hands in salute to Lu Li.

"Many thanks to the Ming Venerable for expending True Qi to heal your subordinates."

Lu Li waved his hand and said, "It is nothing."

"Time is pressing; the Nine Yang True Qi can only suppress the cold poison in your bodies, it cannot yet completely eradicate it."

"Three days from now, I will channel True Qi for you both once more, and the cold poison in your bodies will be thoroughly eliminated."

"Many thanks, Ming Venerable."

"Now, you two shall take men and completely erase the Wang Family and the Su Family from Haozhou City."

"The time shall be tonight; tomorrow morning, go to Lu Zhuang to rendezvous, and follow me to slaughter the White Lotus."

"Yes."

Baisun Daoren was already dead; how could the remaining people be a match for the Eagle King and the Lion King? Su Bozhong's face was ashen; they had already failed completely.

In the world of martial arts within Haozhou City, there was now only one voice—the voice coming from the Ming Venerable.

Yet, before dying, a thought suddenly flashed through Su Bozhong's mind, wondering if perhaps Prefect Cai's side could manage to capture Colonel Lu.

If that were the case, his Su Family and the Wang Family would not be considered a total failure.

Not only would they not be failures, they could even turn the tide and completely suppress these martial arts practitioners under their feet.

"You bunch of Ming Cult scum, don't be happy too soon!"

"Prefect Cai has already arranged everything; Colonel Lu, who is responsible for meeting with you, will not be able to escape."

"You of the Ming Cult are destined to still be trampled under our feet."

"I am so full of hate!"

"I hate that I cannot see your destruction with my own eyes!"

"Ah!"

Su Bozhong's voice came to an abrupt end.

The Lion King's figure flashed, instantly arriving before him, and he smashed a fierce punch out, directly slamming into Su Bozhong's chest.

"Old thief, you are noisy."

The Lion King shouted loudly and killed Su Bozhong with a single punch.

Tonight in Haozhou City was destined to be an unsettled night.

But when the sun rose tomorrow, the merchants in Haozhou City would take to the streets just as they always did.

They were like industrious bees, letting this city radiate new vitality.

And the filth and bloodstains that existed only in the night would also be washed clean by morning, leaving behind only a faint, imperceptible scent of blood.

The initial cleanup tasks were left to the Eagle King, the Lion King, and Li Tong to handle.

In this battle, Lu Li completely seized control of all the underworld and righteous forces within Haozhou City.

But at the same time, the Ming Cult forces under Lu Li also suffered heavy losses.

Hundreds of cult members died last night, and of the Ming Cult's Elders and Dharma Kings, only the Eagle King and the Lion King remained.

Early the next morning, the Eagle King, the Lion King, and Li Tong arrived at Lu Zhuang together.

The three of them had met a few times and had a passing acquaintance.

Lu Li was in the courtyard, closing his eyes to regulate his breath.

The Eagle King and the Lion King did not see the Ming Venerable; they bowed to Lu Manor Master and immediately wanted to retreat outside the courtyard.

Who would have thought, Lu Li waved his hand, signaling for the two to stay.

"Wait a moment, you two."

This action left all three of them quite puzzled.

The Eagle King and the Lion King knew that the Lu Manor Master before them was the Ming Venerable's partner, and they felt they should avoid suspicion when Li Tong was reporting to him.

And Li Tong was even more hesitant in his heart, calculating what he should say and what he should not.

Originally, he had wanted to speak with Lu Li about dealing with the Ming Cult, but with these two present, he could not say it.

Lu Li saw the different expressions on these three and had already guessed what they were thinking.

He slowly reached out his hand, took a ferocious mask from his sleeve, and placed it on the table.

When the Eagle King and the Lion King saw this mask, they were stunned on the spot.

"You..."

"How do you have this mask?"

The two could not help but blurt out the question.

Lu Li laughed: "What, can the Eagle King and the Lion King not recognize this seat's voice?"

After Lu Li finished speaking, he slowly extended his right palm, and one could see a surge of supreme Yang True Qi on his palm—it was exactly the Nine Yang True Qi used to treat their cold poison last night.

The eyes of the two were filled with shock, but while a mask could be faked, martial arts could not; the two already knew that the Lu Manor Master before them was the Ming Venerable of the Ming Cult.

"Greetings, Ming Venerable."

The two knelt on one knee.

And Li Tong, standing to the side, was also dumbfounded.

He had previously been secretly warning Lu Li to be careful of a Ming Cult rebellion.

Just a moment ago, he had still wanted to discuss this matter with Lu Li.

Yet, who would have expected that the Manor Master before him was the Ming Venerable.

No wonder the Manor Master was not worried about a Ming Cult rebellion at all.

How could I rebel against myself!

After a brief moment of surprise, the three began to report on the events of last night.

Li Tong stepped forward and knelt on one knee.

"My Lord, the matter has been handled, and the connections at all levels have been taken care of.

The people of the Su Family and the Wang Family have been dealt with, but I believe it is better to keep some of the shopkeepers from their families who do not share their surnames.

They likely know something about their business routes and connections, and we can make use of them."

Lu Li nodded; he knew these matters were about power and strategy.

Keeping these people would allow for a better takeover of Haozhou City.

"You have done well."

Following this, Li Tong reported some other matters regarding Haozhou City.

At the same time, he also recommended his good friend Liu Tinghuai.

Lu Li was no stranger to the Liu Family; he knew that Liu Tinghuai was quite talented and could become an asset to him, so he agreed to the matter on the spot.

"My Lord, there is one more matter that requires you to step forward personally."

Li Tong said, "In the north of Haozhou City, there is a heavy armored barracks, and its commander is named Tang Liuyi.

This man is highly skilled in martial arts.

He is a rare military talent.

If we can obtain his assistance, your great cause will surely be twice as effective with half the effort."

So it was him...