Chapter 74

"Wei Kuangdao, you are going too far. The Sacred Martial Hall may be powerful, but don't think you can run wild in my Lu Family!"

Lu Erye brandished a long spear, infused it with True Qi, and met Wei Kuangdao's great saber with vigorous momentum.

"Clang, clang!" went the crisp sounds of metal clashing. As the momentum surged, the group of Martial Masters and even the Blood-Armored Guards felt their blood boil and their eardrums ache.

Lu Fan strolled leisurely, waving a small silver flag that rolled and churned, dispersing the bloody evil aura of the Blood Fiend Pagoda Array. He even occasionally triggered the power of the Small Formless Array, causing certain troubles for the Great Elder and Wei Kuangdao.

"Brother Shanlin, this brat is a bit troublesome. Quickly have those three juniors join in and hold him down!"

Wei Kuangdao had been attacking for a long time without success. His cultivation was a notch higher than his opponent's, and with the added power of the Blood Fiend Pagoda Array, he still couldn't take down Lu Erye. He couldn't help but recall the scene before the Tianyuan Academy year-end competition. Lu Fan was too strange; if he wasn't dealt with and was left to his own devices, he might capsize in the gutter again.

The Great Elder also realized this, slapped away Lu Shanxing's ghost spirit phantom, and said to the three people behind him, "Honglian, Tianchou, Lu Ran, why haven't you come over yet!"

The three, including the girl in red, immediately realized what was happening, dove into the Blood Fiend Pagoda Array, and gathered around Lu Fan.

Lu Fan looked nonchalant and said to the girl in red, "You must be the little girl my second brother picked up ten years ago, right! Shouldn't you be in the Black Water Empire? Why have you returned to my Lu Family?"

The three surrounded him to attack, but Lu Fan seemed not to notice, acting as if he were just making small talk.

"Hmph! Brat, enough nonsense! Once I kill you, let's see if that bastard Lu Sheng will be heartbroken and shed tears!"

The girl in red snorted coldly, seemingly very irritated by the "second brother" Lu Fan mentioned. Aggressively, she leaped and was already in front of Lu Fan.

"Take this, Splendid Flowing Clouds!"

With a delicate shout, a colorful ribbon suddenly shot out from the girl's sleeve. It grew in the wind, expanding a hundredfold in an instant, and like a swimming dragon, it coiled toward Lu Fan.

Lu Fan seemed unprepared and struck out a few times, but the surroundings were filled with soft force that deflected his strength back at him. He was actually trapped within it, and his entire figure was completely submerged.

Lu Ran and Lu Tianchou, one on the left and one on the right, were overjoyed to see this scene. Both had suffered greatly at Lu Fan's hands, and seeing such an opportunity, how could they let it pass? They unleashed their thunderous techniques, both using the Small Thousand Leaves Hand, covering the surrounding void so tightly that not even a drop of water could pass through. Under layers of restrictions, Lu Fan had no way to escape.

"You unfilial son, get out of the way quickly! If you lose your life later, don't blame your father for not warning you!" At this moment, Lu Erye was distracted by this, and his cold words were transmitted over.

This was clearly a father's advice to his son, but to Lu Ran's ears, it sounded as if he were being deceived. The scene he had imagined countless times over the past few days was appearing before his eyes; how could he give up?

"My affairs are none of your concern, you should look after yourself!"

Lu Ran had long since made his decision; otherwise, he wouldn't have appeared here today. While he and Lu Erye were father and son, their relationship had never been harmonious, and today the bond was completely severed; he would have no qualms at all.

"Brother Lu Ran, what courage. Don't worry, once the matter of the Mingyue Empire is settled, you will come to Great Qian with me. I will introduce you to a Sixth-Tier Martial Venerable to take you as a closed-door disciple. With your talent, your future will be limitless!" Lu Tianchou's seductive words came over, sounding exceptionally smug.

Lu Ran was also very excited. Thinking of his future in Great Qian—roaring like a tiger in the mountains and singing like a dragon in the nine heavens—he couldn't help but be moved by the imposing aura.

"You two are thinking quite far ahead. Survive my Lu Family's clan law first, then plot other things!"

From within the splendid red clouds, Lu Fan's voice suddenly rose, and then a wave of power erupted. Red light rolled out, reflecting against the splendid red clouds, revealing a sense of blood-evil.

"This is... the Blood Sea Pagoda?" Lu Honglian was shocked, her face filled with disbelief.

"Hehe, using their own methods against them—this is the most common tactic in the way of arrays. No need to be so surprised!"

Just as Lu Fan's light laughter began, the splendid red clouds suddenly expanded to the limit and shattered, and a massive wave of blood sea evil aura burst out, swallowing the surrounding void entirely.

Above the blood sea evil aura, Lu Fan's figure slowly emerged, standing in the void. Blood energy swirled around him, evil power crisscrossed, and as his clothes fluttered, he looked indescribably free and easy.

"How did you do that? The Blood Fiend Pagoda Array has always been a secret of the Sacred Martial Hall that is not passed on. Except for the big shots in the Punishment Hall, no one can pry into it!"

Lu Honglian was filled with trepidation and could not understand the scene before her. In her impression, Lu Fan was just a martial arts waste. Although he had been making waves recently, she only assumed he had good luck.

"No one can pry into it? Is that so?" Lu Fan looked indifferent, with a half-smiling expression. To Lu Honglian and the others, it looked like deep mockery, especially to Lu Ran and Lu Tianchou. A moment ago, they thought they had seized the opportunity to kill Lu Fan, the thorn in their side, but they never expected such a change to occur in an instant, and they simply couldn't accept it.

"Ah!" Lu Tianchou let out a loud cry. He, a core disciple of the Great Qian Lu Family, had actually been defeated by a youth in this backwater place. Unable to bear such humiliation under the current circumstances, he suddenly exploded and charged at Lu Fan.

Lu Fan raised an eyebrow, a mocking smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. His gaze, however, turned toward Lu Ran. The other party's eyes flickered, his expression complex to the extreme, and seeing Lu Tianchou fighting for his life, he couldn't hold back either and followed along.

"In Martial Dao cultivation, the greatest taboo is overestimating one's own strength! You three are also members of my Lu Family; repent and turn back to the shore!"

Lu Fan's expression turned cold. He pointed a single hand in front of him, and the blood sea beneath his feet rolled out, changing and swirling until it transformed into a twisted blood dragon. It danced and churned, charging toward Lu Tianchou and the other.

"What? Blood Dragon Condensation—how is that possible for you?"

On the other side, Wei Kuangdao, seeing that Lu Fan had actually used his own blood sea evil aura, was astonished and kept a wary eye on this area. He never expected that Lu Fan would not only do that but also condense a blood dragon within the blood sea; it was truly inconceivable, and he cried out in shock.

"Hmph! Wei Kuangdao, my Lu Family has a succession of talents; how could a treacherous villain like you fathom it!"

Lu Erye snorted coldly, his long spear suddenly thrusting out a dozen cold-light forces. He took a moment to look toward Lu Fan's battlefield, also quite shocked by Lu Fan's methods.

He couldn't help but feel secretly glad that he had put aside his prejudices earlier and handed the array flag to the other party. Otherwise, with his own means, even if he could control the Small Formless Array like Lu Fan, he would never have been able to withstand the power of the Blood Fiend Pagoda Array.

Lu Fan had no time to pay attention to this battlefield. Controlling the twisted blood dragon with one hand, he charged forward, and a domineering, bloody power erupted. Lu Tianchou and the other couldn't withstand it at all. In their terror and fear, their bodies stiffened, and they were swept into the blood dragon, not even having time to let out a cry.

Lu Honglian was shocked beyond words, her pretty face full of cold evil. "Step, step, step," she couldn't help but retreat several paces, fearing that she too would be swept into the blood dragon.

"Roar!"

The blood dragon let out a roar, and boundless evil aura rolled out. Despite having just suppressed two people, Lu Fan's expression didn't relax in the slightest; instead, it became solemn.

The seal techniques in his hands surged out, all covering the blood dragon. However, for some reason, the blood dragon's power grew larger and larger, and there was a faint sense of it losing control and going berserk.

"Haha!" Seeing this scene, Wei Kuangdao's face was filled with joy, and he said, "Stinky brat, overestimating your own strength, actually daring to meddle with the Blood Fiend Pagoda Array—now you're suffering the backlash, aren't you!"

Although he couldn't figure out how Lu Fan had tampered with his array, the scene of the blood dragon about to go berserk and lose control was clearly a sign of the Blood Dragon Technique's backlash. Given the ferocity of this technique, the other party, a mere Martial Master, could never withstand it.

Lu Erye's expression tightened, and he also noticed a trace of abnormality in Lu Fan, who had completely lost his previous sense of indifference and seemed overwhelmed.

However, the thrusting and smashing force of his long spear didn't falter in the slightest, as he kept attacking Wei Kuangdao. Although he had high hopes for Lu Fan, only he could possibly hold off this Wei Kuangdao, so he couldn't be careless.

"Hehe! Patriarch Lu, although that stinky brat is suffering the backlash, the two people swallowed by the Blood Dragon Technique are in extreme danger and will be refined into blood water in a short while. You wouldn't just sit by and watch your own son die miserably, would you?"

At this moment, Wei Kuangdao was actually sowing discord.

Although Lu Erye's expression didn't show anything unusual, his movements clearly slowed down. His own son was working against him, even following outsiders to seize his position as Patriarch; he had previously been forced to suppress his anger due to the situation.

However, at this moment, with Lu Ran trapped in the twisted blood dragon, he put aside all faults. If it weren't for the safety of the family, he would have stopped immediately to break the blood dragon and rescue the other party.

"Gaga! Such deep fatherly love—Second Brother, why don't you strike quickly? In another moment, your good nephew will refine your son, and then there will be no medicine for regret."

The Great Elder blasted away Lu Shanxing's pair of sharp claws and also clamored to sow discord.

Although there were still three battlefields in the arena and two major forces fighting, all focus had already converged entirely on Lu Fan.

At this moment, Lu Fan's face was cold and grim, cold light flashing in his eyes as he stared tightly at the direction of the blood dragon. The seal techniques in his hands hadn't faltered in the slightest. Swish, swish, swish—in the intense activity, more and more rune seals appeared around the body of the originally twisted blood dragon, looking just like dragon scales.

Wei Kuangdao was right; he was indeed on the verge of a backlash from the Blood Fiend Pagoda Array. It wasn't because he had overestimated his strength or controlled it improperly, but because he had blocked the blood dragon from swallowing and refining Lu Ran and the other. He had originally been going with the flow, but now he was indeed going against it.

"Hmph! A mere Blood Dragon Technique, and you dare to be presumptuous in front of me!"

He gave a loud shout, his figure rose from the ground, and with a leap, his silhouette flashed, and he actually landed on the head of the blood dragon in one go.

"Puchi!" Two sounds—two hand-blade strikes thrust down violently, smashing deep into the top of the blood dragon's head.

"Awoo!"

The twisted face of the blood dragon actually opened its mouth wide, and a shrill howl spread out, with an indescribable aura dissipating and surging. The group of Martial Masters in the Small Formless Array were the first to be unable to withstand it, and they all groaned in unison, spitting out a mouthful of blood. If it weren't for the array's support, they would likely have collapsed to the ground.

Lu Honglian, whose heart was shaken, was also stimulated by this aura, her blood surging and her throat feeling sweet.

However, the ones who suffered the greatest blow were the Blood-Armored Guards who had condensed the Blood Fiend Pagoda Array around them. The True Qi and spirit of the entire group were connected to the array; although they had the array's support, the burden was even greater. When the blood dragon suffered Lu Fan's hand-blade strike, in a sense, it was equivalent to them personally taking the blow.

Almost at the very moment Lu Fan's hand-blade struck, the Blood-Armored Guards all shook violently, their blood and energy seemingly out of control, flowing in reverse and drilling out from their pores and acupoints, pouring into the Blood Fiend Pagoda Array.

The Blood-Armored Guards' faces were ashen, like dead men. But the Blood Fiend Pagoda Array was as stable as Mount Tai, and its power was even greater.

The blood dragon suffered heavy damage, but its power didn't diminish; instead, it became even crazier, shaking its head and tail, coiling and wrapping. Lu Fan, however, clamped down tightly on the blood dragon's skull, and no matter how this evil thing rolled, he remained unmoved.

"The Blood Fiend Pagoda Array is indeed bloody. And you in the Sacred Hall claim to be orthodox—bah!" Lu Erye's expression was somewhat ugly, filled with hatred.

"Our Sacred Hall's Blood Fiend Pagoda Array is precisely for killing you demons and heretics. A mere family from a backwater country, and you dare to criticize it!"

Wei Kuangdao laughed wildly, but his expression didn't have a hint of relaxation; instead, he stared fixedly at Lu Fan on the head of the blood dragon, fearing he might miss even a single moment.

"There is no right or wrong, good or evil in the world; in Martial Dao cultivation, it is the strong who are respected. It is just that your Sacred Martial Hall is deceiving yourselves and others, stealing fame—it is truly ridiculous to the extreme!"