Chapter 80: Chapter 63: Lou Zhenxiao and the Fate Shuzi Xuanchan

The burly man’s gaze was like lightning, piercing straight through him. Jiang Yi felt a chill run down his spine, as if he’d been run through by a sword!

’What kind of Cultivation is this? A single glance made me feel like I was on death’s door! An Upper Cultivator? He’s definitely an Upper Cultivator!’

Jiang Yi was horrified, but then he remembered the verdict he’d received after consulting the Celestial Book before leaving: “A scare, but no danger.” With that in mind, he forced himself to calm his Heart Spirit.

’The outcome is already set. I won’t die here tonight!’

Besides, he had truly never heard the name “Lou Zhenxiao.”

The gap between a Mortal Servant of the Qianji Sect and one of the Ten Great True Inheritance of the Taifu Sect was far greater than the distance between the clouds and the mud.

The two were as far apart as the Nanzhan Continent and the Dongsheng Continent—a chasm a Lower Cultivator could hardly hope to cross in a lifetime.

’Lou Zhenxiao? Who’s that?’

With that thought, a sense of calm assurance washed over Jiang Yi, and his expression became composed.

“In all my years, the Demonic Cultivators I’ve seen have been either timid and cowardly, greedy and cunning, or selfish and profit-seeking.

You clearly Cultivate Ding Fire, yet you aren’t sinister. On the contrary, you seem forthright. That’s a rare sight.”

The burly man sighed emotionally.

He prided himself on having seen countless people, his perception sharp as a hawk’s eye. When he’d questioned the boy just now, the youth’s expression had been frank and his Qi Mechanism stable—it was clearly not an act.

After all, one’s appearance could be faked and one’s Heart Spirit deceived, but an aura that radiated from within was the one thing that could not be feigned.

’It seems he really isn’t a spy sent by Lou Zhenxiao.’

“Leave quickly, junior. Had we met elsewhere, I might have been willing to form a connection with you. But this place is perilous; don’t get yourself killed.”

As the burly man spoke, a rumbling sound echoed from outside the ruined temple. Deep, rolling claps of thunder drew closer and closer.

He paused and shook his head.

“It seems you’re too late.”

…

…

In the Qingming High Heaven, a Dharma Tower hung suspended in the void.

The young Cultivator was still there, as if imprisoned, holding the Gold Talisman and continuously channeling Magical Power into it.

The faint gold Profound Light erupting from the crown of his head, once dazzlingly bright, now flickered erratically.

He looked as if he’d been squeezed completely dry.

BOOM!

A hole was blasted open in the turbulent astral winds, and a figure emerged, stepping out with a slow, composed gait.

He was surrounded by a three-colored radiance that coalesced into a mirrored wheel behind his head, a sword-shape visible within it.

The newcomer had a cold, severe expression and sharp, sword-like eyebrows. He stood upon the air, treading the void. Without any apparent movement, the surrounding astral winds tore themselves asunder, carving out a tranquil space around him.

“Headed for Longhua Mountain. Just as I thought, the Little Ancestor’s fate is entangled with that Zhongyi Sect Remnant.

My old rival, with whom my battles were always a stalemate, can no longer give me, Lou Zhenxiao, a satisfying fight.

What a pity, what a pity!”

With a flick of his wide sleeve, the cold young man who called himself Lou Zhenxiao descended into the Dharma Tower.

“Master! You’re finally back!”

The young Cultivator looked as if he’d seen his savior, nearly rushing forward to greet him.

“You worthless thing! You can’t even endure a few days of quiet hardship? With a temperament like this, you dare dream of cultivating your Life Essence to reach Foundation Establishment? Stand down!”

Displeasure on his face, Lou Zhenxiao flicked his sleeve, and an immense force sent his disciple tumbling head over heels.

The young Cultivator prostrated himself on the ground and began to complain bitterly.

“Master, your disciple cultivates Xin Metal! Most of this Beimang Ridge is under the Sun Radiance Appearance Form. For me, Cultivation here is like swallowing thick smoke—it’s pure agony.

Besides, this Gold Talisman of yours… how could my meager Cultivation possibly be enough to sustain it!”

Lou Zhenxiao casually plucked the perfectly round and flawless Gold Talisman from the air. The object, which seemed hard and tangible, instantly dissipated and merged into his palm.

“Cloud Seal of the Void, at the dawn of calamity; now distant, now near, now sinking, now floating. The Heavenly Emperor puts brush to paper, first to draft the Cave Chapter, then to write the Spirit Talisman… Manifest in its presence, concealed in its absence!”

As Lou Zhenxiao softly recited the verse, the Spiritual Energy from all directions seemed to receive a command, letting out a torrential roar!

In that instant, the three-thousand-li seal over Beimang Ridge was lifted.

The terrifying Magical Power that had kept Sleeve Pouches sealed and prevented Cultivators from flying vanished without a trace.

“Master… did you find the Little Ancestor?”

The young Cultivator was baffled. Without the seal from the Gold Talisman, wouldn’t the Little Ancestor just flee far away, making it impossible to find them again?

“I just defeated Xuan Chanzi of the Zhongyi Sect. Afterward, I received another decree from the Upper Sect.”

Lou Zhenxiao stood with his hands clasped behind him. The radiant Magical Power that formed the mirrored wheel behind his head illuminated his cold, severe features.

“Just eight characters.”

The young Cultivator looked up, having rarely seen his master wear such a grave expression.

“The Daoist Palace has spoken: Let it roam free.”

The Daoist Palace?

The young Cultivator held his breath, barely daring to make a sound.

Among the myriad Dharma Lineages in the Nanzhan Continent, the highest were the “Ancestral Sects.”

This was known as the “Eight Sects’ Governance of the World”!

But the true masters of the Daoist Lineage were the Daoist Palaces.

Legend had it that before the gates of the Daoist Palaces for each of the four Daoist Lineages in the Yanfu Vast Land, a plaque with eight characters was hung, as if to proclaim their Mighty Virtue to the world.

Those eight words were precisely— “Supreme across all heavens, the Dao’s True Inheritance”!

From this, one could see their weight, having reached the highest venerable position!

To think that even the Daoist Palace had been alerted.

’Just what is the origin of that Little Ancestor?’

The young Cultivator didn’t dare ask more, afraid of getting entangled in karma he could not bear.

Lou Zhenxiao’s fingers moved within his sleeve, performing a calculation. The divine light of the mirrored wheel behind his head swirled, its three colors weaving together to produce a brilliant glow.

He wasn’t trying to divine the Little Ancestor’s whereabouts; the being carried too much karma. Their destiny could not be calculated, and Divine Techniques could not touch them.

If that weren’t the case, how could they have escaped the Daoist Palace, crossed the Mingcang Marsh, and ended up in the spiritually barren Beimang Ridge?

“There should be no problem.”

After a long period of calculation, Lou Zhenxiao foresaw no deviations.

Xuan Chanzi had likely been forced toward Longhua Mountain and would run into the Little Ancestor there.

“Mu Qiu, attend to my orders,”

he commanded in a deep voice.

“I have injured the Zhongyi Sect Remnant, Xuan Chanzi, with my ’Washing Yin and Eliminating True Light,’ and his Cultivation has been slashed by Seventy Percent.

He is currently fleeing toward Longhua Mountain. Take some men at once and pursue him…”

The young Cultivator named Mu Qiu grimaced.

“Master, I’m your only disciple! Can’t you give this job to someone else? That Xuan Chanzi carries the destiny of the entire Zhongyi Sect. He’s a bona fide ’Fate Shuzi’!

He bears the fortune of a Grand Sect, his destiny is incredibly potent! He’s the type who gets stronger every time someone fails to kill him. Wherever he goes, people plot against him, which forces him to wipe out their entire families…

If your disciple goes, it’ll be like I’m serving myself up as a stepping stone for him!”

Lou Zhenxiao waved his sleeve dismissively.

“Nonsense! Would I, your master, send you to your doom? The North and South Dipper Sword tournament is in eight years. The revival of the Zhongyi Sect is a grand plan set by the Eight Sects!

A Fate Shuzi’s destiny is flourishing, making them invincible and ensuring everything goes their way. Getting entangled with him has both pros and cons.

Say no more. Now, get out of my sight!”

In a flash of shifting stars, Mu Qiu was teleported from the Dharma Tower and dumped on a desolate hill.

“Five hundred years ago, they destroyed Zhongyi. Five hundred years later, they want to revive it. The big shots up top are so fickle.”

Muttering a few words, Mu Qiu summoned a golden light and shot off into the sky.

…

…

“Xuan Chanzi, there is no retreat, nowhere to run!

Considering your difficult path of Cultivation, if you surrender without a fight, there may yet be a sliver of hope for you!”

Mu Qiu woodenly recited the lines he’d learned from storybooks, doing his best to play the role of the “villain.”

The burly man slowly rose to his feet. His shoulders were broad, his frame powerful and imposing, like a lone peak rising from the plains.

“Does the Taifu Sect hold me in such contempt? Lou Zhenxiao couldn’t be bothered to come himself, so he sent a junior like you to die in his place?”

With a casual wave of his hand, the burly man known as Xuan Chanzi swept aside Jiang Yi, who was in the middle of holding the Sacrificial Offering to present to the Venerable Supreme.

“Why don’t you summon seven or eight Foundation Establishment cultivators and find a dozen at the Qi Cultivation Twelfth Layer? Then I can have a proper slaughter. Otherwise, this will be far too boring!”

TSK!

Such arrogant words!

Jiang Yi knew his place. He obediently shrank behind the ruined temple’s incense table and sighed to himself.

’This guy is unbelievably arrogant! He talks about Foundation Establishment and Qi Cultivation Twelfth Layer cultivators like they’re pigs and dogs.

You have to understand, the entire Beimang Ridge might not even have that many High Cultivators combined!

He must be an Upper Cultivator among Upper Cultivators!’

Jiang Yi held his breath and focused his spirit. If not for the Celestial Book’s verdict of “a scare, but no danger,” he would surely be trembling with anxiety.

’I’m only at the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer. What have I done to deserve being dragged into a storm of this magnitude?’

“Why bother putting up a front, Xuan Chanzi! My master’s ’Washing Yin and Eliminating True Light’ is specifically designed to break a Sword Cultivator’s Dharma Body, drain their Magical Power, and damage their True Spirit.

If you were at full strength, I wouldn’t dare to even look you in the eye.

But now you’re a beaten dog. Spouting such nonsense is just pointless.”

Xuan Chanzi, who had slowly walked to the entrance of the ruined temple, sneered.

“If you’re so certain, why haven’t you attacked me yet? Oh, I see. You’re waiting for backup!”

’When these two start their Magical Combat, where am I going to hide?’

Jiang Yi wondered anxiously.

’Xuan Chanzi must be a Foundation Establishment Upper Cultivator, and the one outside is at least at the Qi Cultivation Twelfth Layer.’

A clash between figures of their Realm was, for him, no different than watching Immortals do battle!

’This drafty old temple probably won’t survive more than a few blows.’

As he was pondering, a fuzzy shadow suddenly appeared at his feet.

He looked down and met a pair of round, amber eyes, as clear as crystal.

“Meow.”

The cat looked as if it had rolled around in a pile of coal. Its fur was filthy, making its large eyes seem all the more clear by comparison.

It tilted its head and stared intently at Jiang Yi—or more accurately, at the fragrant Spirit Bird Jerky he held in his arms.

“Venerable Supreme?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep