Seeing the two appear, Master Duanchen’s heart sank.

One of them had appeared in the three-eyed ghost monk’s memories. It is his superior, Bai Liting, a Heartless Creed elder and a Fusion cultivator.

Since the other can stand shoulder to shoulder with Bai Liting, it implies he is also a Fusion cultivator.

Two Fusion cultivators are scheming against my Kaihuang City!

Can Benefactor Lu and Benefactor Meng handle them? And if not, what then?

“May the World-Honored One bless us.” Master Duanchen silently recited Buddhist scriptures, praying for the safety of the two and of Kaihuang City.

“Emotion-Forgetting Poison? This name is not bad,” the Wu Shui, the other Heartless Creed elder commented.

“Why did you release the Emotion-Forgetting Poison?!” Lu Yang demanded sternly. He still couldn’t figure out what exactly the Heartless Creed wanted.

“What do we want? Naturally, it’s to produce Emotion-Forgetting Pills.” Elder Wu Shui was confident in his victory and didn’t mind revealing part of the truth.

We may not be able to deal with the onrushing Meng Family, but surely we can deal with two young prodigies?

“Humans are the spiritual essence of all things. If there is any natural pill furnace, it is the human body.”

An absurd thought crossed Lu Yang’s mind. Could the Emotion-Forgetting Pill have been concocted using humans as vessels?

No wonder the Everlasting Immortal Fairy hadn’t discerned the concoction method. This is something she has never encountered.

“Your Meng Family has been rooting out our arrangements in the Buddhist Kingdom one by one, preventing us from staying here. If we leave without doing something, wouldn’t that make our Heartless Creed come off as too weak?”

“You found our creed’s trail in Kaihuang City, and it so happens that you’re both here. Wouldn’t it be a waste not to do something?”

Lu Yang’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Oh? From the sound of it, you’re not just targeting the city’s populace but coming after us too?”

“Of course, we’re coming after you. The two of you are the prime culprits who exposed our creed’s whereabouts. Yet instead of fleeing back to Great Xia, you’ve remained in the Buddhist Kingdom and been swaggering about. You really don’t know how the character for death is written.”

These two Heartless Creed elders had long achieved the heartless mental state. Their tone was flat and devoid of any inflection, sounding odd to the ear.

“I really don’t know how the character for death is written!” Lu Yang raised the Qingfeng Sword, preparing to get serious. He had already asked the Everlasting Immortal Fairy and learned that these two elders were at the Intermediate Fusion Stage.

He had killed a Basic Fusion Stage elder from the Heartless Creed before, but the latter had already been worn down by Man Gu and Lan Ting, making the fight easy.

But these two Heartless Creed elders are at their peak. This will indeed be a difficult battle.

But I can try.

“Arrogant junior,” Elder Bai Liting remarked coldly. I’ve seen many prodigies in my life, but an Intermediate Divine Transfiguration prodigy who can threaten me? Never seen one!

“One Sword Into Ten Thousand Swords!” Lu Yang roared. A golden Sword Dao Field appeared beneath his feet. Countless Qingfeng Swords formed from sword qi spread across the sky like a broad path.

Lu Yang casually drew a sword and slashed at Elder Bai Liting. A sword ray flashed, gone in an instant.

Elder Bai Liting hadn’t taken Lu Yang seriously, but now, his hair stood on end. This sword strike was faster than he had expected. He instantly produced a tortoise shell from his storage ring and blocked it.

The sword ray left a faint white mark on the tortoise shell.

It was meant to be a probing attack; Lu Yang was not surprised that it hadn’t injured Bai Liting. What surprised him was the tortoise shell that Bai Liting had taken out.

“A Xuanwu tortoise shell?” Lu Yang sneered. This Heartless Creed elder truly has no scruples. To think he dares to use a Xuanwu tortoise shell as a magical treasure. Isn’t he afraid of being discovered?

Lu Yang spoke no more. His Sword Dao Incipient Field shook. One by one, Qingfeng Swords rose from the ground and hovered in the air, their gleaming tips aimed at Bai Liting.

“Go!”

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

Countless Qingfeng Swords transformed into sword rays and shot toward Bai Liting. Despite defending with the Xuanwu tortoise shell, he was forced back repeatedly. These sword rays are not only astonishingly powerful, but their force is also unusually immense!

“What fierce attacks.”

Bai Liting dared not be careless. The three-eyed ghost monk and the hollow shadow were his subordinates. When he heard that Lu Yang had fought them in public and claimed they were Fusion Stage ghost kings, he had assumed Lu Yang was someone who liked to exaggerate, and such people often had combat prowess lower than in the rumors.

But this is clearly stronger than the rumors!

Master Duanchen was overjoyed. Benefactor Lu truly has skill.

“But so what? The rules Fusion cultivators wield are a chasm you will never cross.

“I hereby establish Rule: My body’s resilience is elevated to the level of a Xuanwu tortoise shell.”

The power of rules flowed into Bai Liting’s body, renewing him from the inside out. Even without the Xuanwu tortoise shell, the sword rays couldn’t harm him. They clanged against him but left no injury.

“Taciturn’s disciple, what will you do now?”

Bai Liting stepped onto the Sword Dao Incipient Field, bronze spear in one hand and the Xuanwu tortoise shell in the other, equipped with both offense and defense.

Close combat was normally a sword cultivator’s forte, for they could unleash exceptionally sharp sword rays up close. But with Bai Liting’s defense enhanced, Lu Yang’s advantage was weakened. Haphazardly condensed sword rays could no longer hurt him.

The spear struck from cunning angles. Unable to mount any offense, Lu Yang could only defend passively. The Xuanwu tortoise shell was also part of the attacks, and it was an extremely blunt weapon.

“Tortoise and Serpent, unite!”

The spear and the Xuanwu tortoise shell merged into one, forming a Xuanwu corpse that crashed down upon Lu Yang.

Boom!

Lu Yang was sent crashing down!

Just as Bai Liting thought this would severely wound Lu Yang, he saw Lu Yang burrow into the earth. A bodhi tree then sprouted from the ground, and two Lu Yangs emerged from beneath it.

As Lu Yang was flying in the air earlier, he had no chance to use the Tree-Planting Mantra. He deliberately let himself get knocked down, and now, he had finally found the opportunity!

With the birth of his bodhi clone, his primordial soul entered it. The clone held the Chengying Sword, becoming a complete second Lu Yang!

Two Lu Yangs shot skyward. Despite no verbal communication, their coordination was seamless.

“One Sword Into Ten Thousand Swords!” The bodhi clone could also manifest the Sword Dao Incipient Field. Endless Chengying Swords spread out, while the field blazed with raging flames, accompanied by the cries of golden crows.

Three Flavor True Fire! Golden Bird True Fire!

The two true fires fused with the Sword Dao Incipient Field!

Within the Qingfeng Sword’s small world, the Seven-Star Sword Set fused.

Ten Thousand Swords Return to One! Immortal-Exterminating Sword Array!

Lu Yang pointed his sword at Bai Liting and shouted, “I hereby establish Rule: Kneel!”

Bai Liting’s pupils contracted. With a thud, he fell to his knees.

How is this possible? Lu Yang is only at the Divine Transfiguration Stage. How could he use the power of rules?

~~~

Meanwhile, on the other side, Elder Wu Shui produced a flying vessel constructed from white bones. Holding a Myriad Souls Banner at its prow, wailing souls poured forth from the banner, filling the vessel.

The deceased souls moved into their positions like sailors at their posts. They swiveled the cannons and aimed them at Meng Jingzhou.

“Deceased souls? Laughable!” Meng Jingzhou yelled.

Behind him, a golden dharma manifestation slowly rose like the sun, as if born from the primordial sun, wild and untamed.

Bathed in the light of Meng Jingzhou’s dharma manifestation, the deceased souls howled in agony as white smoke curled off them.

Before the Supreme Pure Yang Dharma Manifestation, all deceased souls were nothing!

“I hereby establish Rule: My deceased souls do not fear pure yang power.”

“So what if they don’t fear? Do you really think this young master’s dharma manifestation can only emit light?!”

Meng Jingzhou jumped high up, pressed his palms together, and smashed down upon the white-bone flying vessel. The hundred-zhang-tall Pure Yang Dharma Manifestation mirrored the motion. With a single blow, the flying vessel shook.

“Old Lu, lend me a fire!”

The Supreme Pure Yang Dharma Manifestation extended a massive hand and seized a portion of Lu Yang’s Sword Dao Incipient Field. The Golden Bird True Fire merged with the dharma manifestation, making it even more like a true sun. The dharma manifestation’s fists now gripped sharp sword qi, their power likewise boosted.

“Heaven-Shaking Eight Forms!”

The Third Elder had only developed six moves. After Meng Jingzhou returned to the Meng Family and received guidance from Meng Junzi, Meng Junzi added two more forms to the original set and modified the existing ones to suit Meng Jingzhou’s style better.

This set of fist techniques was now a world apart from its former self!

“This young master would like to see how sturdy your boat is!”

“Arrogant.” Elder Wu Shui spread his arms. Torrential seawater surged from behind him, also forming a hundred-zhang-tall giant that clashed with Meng Jingzhou.

Water and fire collided. Meng Jingzhou’s eyes were crimson, as if they could spew flames. The pure yang power of his Single’s Spirit Root gushed forth.

“Constantly diverting my attention to suppress this fire of desire is really a nuisance!”

Meng Jingzhou whipped out the Emotion-Forgetting Pills and swallowed them all in one go. These were the pills seized from the three-eyed ghost monk, and most of them were in Meng Jingzhou’s possession.

Elder Wu Shui started, almost thinking that Meng Jingzhou was also a member of the Heartless Creed.

He quickly snapped back to reality. The Supreme Pure Yang Dharma Manifestation’s power had advanced, and his own dharma manifestation was on the verge of collapse.

Meng Jingzhou felt his state was better than ever. His mind was clear, and he could finally devote himself fully to the battle without worrying about his body.

“Kill!”

Just as the four were locked in a chaotic melee, an even more tyrannical oppressive pressure enveloped Kaihuang City, interrupting them.

“It seems the young people of late are quite remarkable; they can even challenge Fusion cultivators.”

An aged figure appeared, his smile not reaching his eyes. His gaze frequently drifted toward Lu Yang.

“So you are Ye Zijin’s little junior brother?”

“Vice Creed Leader!” Bai Liting and Wu Shui ceased their attacks and flew to the aged figure’s side, bowing respectfully.

“It’s about time. When we leave the Buddhist Kingdom, we should take something with us to teach the Buddhist Kingdom and the Great Xia a lesson. This Kaihuang City should come with us,” the aged figure said impassively.

Kaihuang City trembled violently, then rose from the ground and flew into the sky.

Then Lu Yang’s vision went black.

Meng Jingzhou pointed to the arena stage. “Old Lu, want to watch how they fight?”