A sudden clamor erupted on the long street.

The numerous Cultivators surrounding the area cracked their knuckles and limbered up. Some of the Celestial Humans even projected their Spiritual Wills outward, transforming them into brilliant Great Suns.

However, the resulting turmoil was contained within the street by an array the three great merchant guilds had set up in advance, preventing any disturbance to the outside world.

Lü Niangrong’s expression changed as she cried out sharply:

“Shameless!”

“We chase profit and will stop at nothing. What’s shameless about that?”

Elder Bai stroked his long beard and smiled faintly. He, along with the elders from the Duanmu and Fan Families, unleashed their Spiritual Light. Their bodies shone like Great Suns, bathing the entire street in a piercing glow.

Over a hundred Grandmasters, plus twelve Celestial Humans—even Lü Niangrong felt the immense pressure. But she neither fled nor retreated. Instead, she brandished her sword and shouted urgently,

“Brother Zhao, get Jianxue and Daoist Lu out of here! Quickly!”

With that, Lü Niangrong leaped forward. Her sword vibrated, unleashing a glistening, watery radiance as she engaged the twelve Celestial Humans in battle. Every so often, she would flick out a beam of sword light, dicing any Grandmaster who got too close to Daoist Lu and his companions into mincemeat!

Zhao Zheng opened his mouth, about to speak, but then he glanced at the portly monk standing calmly to the side—the one who called himself Maitreya. In the end, he didn’t dare say a word or make a move. He simply covered Lu Jianxue’s eyes in silence.

The old Daoist in his robe and crown and the fat monk toying with his Buddhist beads, a wide smile on his face, both remained completely still.

The two of them simply faced each other in a standoff.

Nearby, Lü Niangrong unleashed a tidal wave of Sword Qi with a single strike, sending Elder Bai staggering back, coughing up blood. A deep, cross-shaped gash was carved into his chest.

But her situation was grim. Despite her astonishing skill in the Sword Dao and her Cultivation being at the peak of the Celestial Human Level—just one step from pushing open the Celestial Gate to become an Earth Immortal—she was struggling.

The problem was that she was fighting twelve opponents at once. Her anxiety for Lu Jianxue and the others made her flustered, and she inevitably began to show openings in her defense.

“Hurry up and go!” she cried out. Her sword movements grew increasingly frantic. Even though she was forcing the twelve Celestial Humans back again and again,

smiles appeared on the faces of all twelve Celestial Humans.

“Go?” The elder from the Duanmu Family sneered. “Where could you possibly go?”

As he spoke, his gaze sharpened. He shot into the air and bellowed,

“Keep Lü Niangrong busy! I’ll go capture the others!”

“Fine!” Elder Bai wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and snarled, “Miss Lü the Elder, you’d be wise to surrender!”

With that, he thrust out his fists, creating a roiling blast of air. Profound patterns flickered into existence on his hands, shimmering with the light of talismans as he lunged at Lü Niangrong.

Preoccupied with the situation on the ground, she was caught off guard and nearly struck. The terrifying blast of force grazed past her dress, leaving a bloody scratch on her fair skin.

Zhao Zheng’s expression darkened. He glanced at the broadly smiling fat monk and gritted his teeth. With one arm, he pulled Lu Jianxue close, burying her face in his chest to shield her from the gruesome scene of clashing Weapons and flying gore.

His other hand shot out in a tyrannical fist strike as he let out a cold shout:

“Get out of my way!”

His fist contained the magnificent image of a dragon and phoenix crying in unison, with phantom mountains and rivers rising and falling within. The elder from the Duanmu Family, who had been strolling over nonchalantly, saw this and his expression changed drastically.

‘There’s another expert here?’

He raised his saber to block, unleashing a sky-full of divine splendor. He too erupted with a searing radiance, transforming into a Great Sun. But before the fist that contained phantom mountains and rivers, all of his defenses crumbled to dust.

CRACK!

With an explosive crack, half of the Duanmu elder’s body was pulverized. He was sent flying backward, carving a long trench in the ground before landing in a crater. His chest heaved as he lay on the verge of death.

The entire street fell silent.

The Grandmasters who had been closing in all retreated abruptly. In the air, the faces of the remaining eleven Celestial Humans changed color. ‘The Duanmu elder was a Celestial Human of the Eighth Celestial Realm, yet a single blow left him on the brink of death?!’

Zhao Zheng could no longer afford to hold back. Even knowing a Buddha might be watching from the sidelines, he cast all caution aside and roared:

“All of you, back off!”

As he roared, he raised one hand. The immense Human Dao Fortune swirled around it, forming images of mountains and rivers, reflecting the sun, moon, and stars. Then, he swept his fist horizontally!

Lü Niangrong watched, dumbfounded, as the gale from his fist swept through them like a storm tearing through dead wood. It knocked all eleven Celestial Humans out of the sky. Some had their chests caved in, others had their limbs broken—all were grievously wounded!

The force of the punch continued to rage down the long street, tearing up the stone-paved ground. It shredded the small array that had sealed the area. The hundred-odd Grandmasters were merely grazed by the gale, but it was enough to send them flying, vomiting blood.

“An… an Earth Immortal?!” Elder Bai exclaimed, coughing up blood.

Nearby, Elder Fan, his chest caved in and his heart shattered, cried out in terror:

“Not an Earth Immortal… It’s… it’s the Celestial Human Extreme Realm!”

“Retreat! Retreat!”

The eleven Celestial Humans fled for their lives. Zhao Zheng didn’t pursue them. Instead, he gently patted Lu Jianxue’s back, his gaze instinctively flicking to the side as he swallowed hard.

Over there, the old Daoist and the fat monk were still locked in their standoff.

Lü Niangrong, however, was still on the attack. Her Sword Qi surged, tide after tide, wave after wave, in a continuous, deafening roar.

The fleeing Elder Fan and several weaker Celestial Humans were cut down from the sky.

The elder from the Bai Family managed to escape Jiangling City entirely.

Now that the small array was gone, the disturbance had been detected by the outside world. A hush fell over Jiangling City. From the direction of the City Lord’s Mansion, a brilliant light soared into the sky as an Earth Immortal arrived, treading on the clouds.

“Who dares cause trouble in my city?” The Earth Immortal City Lord’s figure was imposing and his aura majestic. Lotuses bloomed with his every step.

His heavy Earth Immortal aura pressed down, rolling in like a tidal wave.

The next moment.

Under the immense pressure of the standoff between his foster father and the fat monk, sweat dripped endlessly from Zhao Zheng’s brow. He knew he couldn’t let outsiders interfere. “Back off!” he shouted, once again thrusting his palm downward.

‘This was the Wood Splitting Form his foster father had taught him.’

“Brother Zhao, don’t!” Lü Niangrong’s expression changed drastically. “The Master of Jiangling is an Earth Immortal and a high-ranking minister of the Chu Kingdom! You may be extraordinary, standing at the very limit of the Celestial Human realm, but if you anger him…”

In the next instant.

The Earth Immortal City Lord was slammed into the ground by that single palm strike, causing the entire city of Jiangling to tremble violently.

Lü Niangrong was dumbfounded.

‘This Brother Zhao…’

She was in a daze. She never imagined that Zhao Zheng, the man she idly chatted with all day, possessed such incredible power. He was clearly at the Celestial Human Level, but he unleashed a force that not even an Earth Immortal could withstand!

‘This… this is…’

As she reeled in shock, a new thought made Lü Niangrong’s heart tremble. ‘If Zhao Zheng is this terrifying, then what about… Daoist Lu?’

She instinctively glanced over.

「At that moment.」

“What are you thinking, Benefactor?” the fat monk asked softly. “Are you perhaps wondering how to escape? This humble monk advises you to abandon that notion.”

He paused, then said with a beaming smile,

“Although you are a ‘Variable,’ Benefactor, and the true disciple of that certain someone… and you possess a grand spirit, your Cultivation is, after all, still far too shallow.”

Lu Xuan’s breathing remained steady. He looked directly at the fat monk, seemingly oblivious to the chaos erupting around them.

He lowered his gaze and said,

“I am waiting for five days to pass.”

“Is that so?” The fat monk lowered his eyelids as well, his tone nonchalant. “You seem so confident, Benefactor. It’s making this humble monk a bit nervous…”

“What is the source of your confidence?”

“Is it that Cyan Bull? No, I have already clouded Niu’Er’s six senses. It is unable to perceive the outside world, deep in a dream-filled slumber.”

“Are you waiting for those three to notice, then? That’s useless as well. Those three are currently away at war, and I’ve used the Two Realms Cloth to block off this area. They will never sense a thing…”

The fat monk seemed genuinely perplexed.

Meanwhile, several more brilliant lights shot through the sky. The commotion in Jiangling City was immense. The defeated Earth Immortal City Lord had called for aid, and many nearby Earth Immortals from the Chu Kingdom—and even one or two True Immortal Great Powers—had sensed it and were now arriving.

“This is bad!”

Lü Niangrong had been eavesdropping on the conversation between the fat monk and Daoist Lu, feeling rather confused. But when she looked up and saw the imposing figures in the clouds, her expression changed drastically.

“Brother Zhao, I think you’ve caused a major misunderstanding with the Chu Kingdom! A True Immortal is here!”

Zhao Zheng glanced cautiously at the fat monk, then instinctively patted Lu Jianxue and whispered,

“It’s fine.”

“‘Fine?'”

Lü Niangrong felt the True Immortal’s imposing might from the sky, and a look of terror flashed across her face.

“The one who’s come is Doctor Sanlu, Qu Yuan!”

She sucked in a sharp breath. ‘To have alerted him… things have gotten really serious!’

High in the clouds, the True Immortal’s every step created a magnificent spectacle. He arrived in an instant, casting his gaze downward as his voice boomed:

“Is there an enemy present?”

The resonant voice washed over a deathly silent Jiangling City.

The True Immortal descended from the clouds, step by step. Immortal Music played around him, and his presence was brilliant and doubly majestic.

He stopped in mid-air and looked down. The first person he saw was Lü Niangrong, blood-stained and sword in hand. His brow furrowed, and he was about to speak harshly when suddenly…

The True Immortal glanced at Zhao Zheng and found him vaguely familiar. He paused, startled, then his gaze moved on. He saw an old Daoist and a fat monk… ‘Wait a minute?!’

‘Why does that old Daoist look so familiar?’

The True Immortal looked again and again, his eyes widening. A thunderclap went off in his mind.

‘L-L-L… Lu Zi?!’

Meanwhile, Lü Niangrong’s heart was pounding. ‘Even though my father is a Great Power,’ she thought, ‘he’s too far away to help now!’

She tugged on the corner of Zhao Zheng’s sleeve and whispered,

“You should apologize. Explain everything clearly. Maybe…”

“No need.” Zhao Zheng waved his hand. Seeing that the fat monk still hadn’t moved, he let out a small sigh of relief and said softly,

“That True Immortal will leave on his own.”

“Huh?” Lü Niangrong froze, instinctively looking up.

She saw that the True Immortal in the sky was no longer descending. Instead, he straightened his robes, performed a solemn bow in the direction of Daoist Lu and the fat monk, and then…

…fled as if his life depended on it?

Lü Niangrong blankly rubbed her eyes.

「Meanwhile.」

The fat monk was still muttering to himself in confusion.

“‘Where does your confidence come from, Benefactor… Let me see.'”

He scanned the river of Time, peering into the future, gazing into the past, and observing the present. He found nothing.

Lu Xuan’s body tensed as a sense of crisis washed over him.

The monk, however, shook his head in disbelief and sighed.

“It’s no use. You truly live up to your name as the ‘Variable,’ Benefactor. This humble monk cannot fathom the depths of your secrets… In that case, I’m afraid I’ll have to go back on my word.”

As he spoke, his form wavered, and he stepped into the past.

The memories of everyone present shifted slightly. Lu Xuan also felt a new memory form within him—a memory in which the fat monk hadn’t given him five days to consider, but only a single hour.

Simultaneously, the old memory was being slowly erased. However, the Primordial Ancestral Flame suffusing his Divine Soul vibrated slightly, preserving the original memory.

A chill ran through Lu Xuan’s heart. ‘He can alter the past so casually?!’

The fat monk noticed the shock in the old Daoist’s eyes and let out a soft “oh?” of surprise.

“You’ve actually set foot in the Sea of Suffering and are unmoved by the Years? Interesting, most interesting. You are clearly only an Earth Immortal, Benefactor. How have you managed to avoid being disturbed by the alterations of Time?”

Lu Xuan didn’t answer, a chill creeping through him. ‘But isn’t the past supposed to be fixed?’ he thought.

As if reading Lu Xuan’s mind, the fat monk chuckled.

“When they say ‘the past is fixed,’ it means the grand course of history is fixed. Minor details can be changed at will. In fact, if someone with a Complete Dao Fruit were to act, even the grand course of history could be overturned and replayed as they pleased…”

He paused, clicking his tongue in amazement.

“You become more and more interesting, Benefactor. Our karmic connection grows stronger…”

“Well then, your hour is up. Have you made your decision, Benefactor?”

“I have.”

Lu Xuan suddenly raised his eyes, a compassionate smile on his face.

“Buddha is merciful.”

As his words fell, a Cyan Lamp materialized, and the Heaven-Reaching Fishing Drum appeared.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep