“It’s Sword Immortal Lu!” Initially, the medicine shop owner and the others were surprised to be saved by the sudden sword qi.

But upon recognizing Lu Yang, their astonishment turned into ecstatic joy.

“Sword Immortal Lu saved us!”

“What’s wrong? Still not fully awake?” Lu Yang smiled teasingly at Tang Chuanwu’s dazed expression.

“I’m awake, I’m awake.” Tang Chuanwu finally confirmed that the events of the previous loop were not hallucinations. There truly is someone else who retains memories across loops, and that person is on my side.

Lu Yang picked up the wolf king, whose head had been pierced, and examined it closely. I remember that Old Meng and I had casually dealt with a pack of sand wolves and their king. Why has another one appeared?

“Right. Wolf packs have territorial instincts. Since we wiped out the previous pack, another one from somewhere else must have migrated here.”

With two consecutive wolf packs slaughtered near Kaihuang City, no wolves would probably dare move into this area for the time being.

“But I really never expected your time reversal to be triggered by death.” Lu Yang had been forced to experience hundreds of loops, which meant that Tang Chuanwu had experienced hundreds of deaths, whether voluntary or involuntary.

“Immortal Fairy, if death can serve as the trigger condition for time reversal, how was the Epoch Immortal assassinated back then?

“That I have no idea. No one knows what the Karma Dao Fruit is capable of. Perhaps it temporarily severed the connection between the Epoch Immortal and the Epoch Dao Fruit. Or perhaps it reversed cause and effect, locking in the outcome of the ‘Epoch Immortal’s demise?’”

“Fair enough.”

Returning to the real world, Lu Yang whipped out several wooden swords and addressed the camel caravan.

“Chuanwu and I have some affinity. I’m taking him back to Kaihuang City. I heard you’re heading to Lianhua City to stock up on medicinal supplies. If you still plan to go, you can take these wooden swords as protective talismans...”

“We’re going back,” the medicine shop owner said hastily. Having just walked the boundary between life and death, he was in no mood to procure supplies. All he wanted was to return home and rest.

“That also works. Remember to stay safe when you go back.” Lu Yang handed the wooden swords to the medicine shop owner.

He pulled Tang Chuanwu onto the Sword-Cleansing Pond and headed straight for Kaihuang City.

The two landed at the city gate.

Lu Yang put away the Sword-Cleansing Pond. “You mentioned a Golden Core cultivator took a fancy to Cui Que’er and wanted to abduct her?”

“Yes.”

“Do you remember what he looked like?”

“I’ll never forget!”

“Let’s go. Take me to him.”

It wasn’t the time yet. The Golden Core cultivator who had abducted Cui Que’er previously hadn’t arrived at the slums yet. Tang Chuanwu searched the area and finally spotted a furtive figure, seemingly looking for someone.

“That’s him!”

“Fang Wudi?” Lu Yang raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected the Golden Core cultivator Tang Chuanwu spoke of to be Fang Wudi, ranked ninety-fifth on the Earth Ranking.

If nothing unexpected happens in the tournament, Fang Wudi will likely be the champion. Could it be that he had taken a liking to Cui Que’er when she passed by the arena stage with Tang Qiaoqiao?

“He probably noticed Cui Que’er’s Mystic Yin Physique,” the Everlasting Immortal Fairy remarked. “Though this Fang fellow has the so-called Innate Supreme Physique, it’s actually an inferior version of the Pure Yang Physique. People with such constitutions are either like that Meng boy—walk all the way down that path and achieve something decent—or they use yin-yang balancing methods to suppress their yang energy, and their future is average.”

An individual with the Mystic Yin Physique was born in a yin year, yin month, and yin day. It was considered a special constitution. Lu Yang had encountered a Foundation Establishment cultivator with such a constitution during the Qing Province Grand Ceremony. Her cultivation speed wasn’t slow; she was only one major cultivation realm behind Lu Yang.

Lu Yang had always thought of Cui Que’er as an ordinary person. He hadn’t expected her to possess such a constitution. Since future Fang Wudi had dared to abduct Cui Que’er for his cultivation, it shows that this is certainly not the first time he has done something like this.

“Fang Wudi.”

“Who’s calling me?!” Fang Wudi turned in surprise, only to find a large hand choking his neck.

“Who are you?!” Fang Wudi released the oppressive pressure of the Golden Core Stage. Within his dantian, a full, plump golden core floated. It was a Supreme Golden Core, a first-grade golden core.

To his shock, he discovered that the golden core he prided himself on was as useless as a stone ox sinking into the sea. He couldn’t mobilize it at all. His so-called Golden Core oppressive pressure couldn’t even leave him.

Despite all of Tang Chuanwu’s efforts in the previous loop, he could not even leave so much as a scratch on Fang Wudi. But now, Lu Yang had subdued him as easily as one could crush an ant.

“Lu Yang,” he announced his name flatly.

Fang Wudi’s eyes instantly widened, his face filled with disbelief.

Ranked ninety-fifth on the Earth Ranking, Fang Wudi’s status was special. Handing him over to Master Duanchen could put the latter in a difficult position.

But that didn’t matter. Lu Yang had a more suitable candidate.

Lu Yang calculated the time. Before setting off, he had informed Meng Jingzhou about the threats in the city. By now, Meng Jingzhou ought to have caught everyone and brought them back to Kaihuang City. The two had agreed to meet at the temple gate.

Sure enough, when Lu Yang arrived at the temple gate with Tang Chuanwu and Fang Wudi, he saw Meng Jingzhou just emerge.

“You’re back. What were you up to? You left in such a hurry.”

“Here. I’ll leave him to you.” Lu Yang tossed Fang Wudi to Meng Jingzhou.

“Who’s this?”

When this loop had just begun, before Fang Wudi could even make his appearance on the arena stage, Lu Yang had sent Meng Jingzhou off to handle the troublemakers. Thus, Meng Jingzhou didn’t recognize Fang Wudi.

But the moment Meng Jingzhou caught Fang Wudi, he sensed the man’s unique constitution.

“He’s called Fang Wudi. He’ll likely be the champion of this tournament. He possesses the Innate Supreme Physique, a yang-type constitution like your Single’s Spirit Root. To balance yin and yang, he has probably forced himself on quite a few people.

“Didn’t Master Duanchen invite us to serve as judges and give some pointers to the top eight? Perfect timing. You can give him ‘pointers’ in advance.”

“Oh?” Meng Jingzhou’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the trembling Fang Wudi. A cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth. “Then leave him to me.”

“I need to look for Senior Brother Dai. See you later.”

Lu Yang led Tang Chuanwu into the guest room at Kaihuang Temple and had him wait quietly at the side.

Then Tang Chuanwu watched as Lu Yang lay down on the bed, suddenly stopped breathing, and just as suddenly returned to life.

A spatial portal opened. Lu Yang stepped through it and vanished.

After a while, the portal opened again, and Lu Yang returned in high spirits, his Qingfeng Sword in hand.

Just as in the sixth loop, after the Emotion-Forgetting Poison broke out, Lu Yang notified Master Duanchen to take charge of the situation. He and Meng Jingzhou put on their performance before the populace. The bodhi clone self-detonated, causing the people to hold their breath.

Two figures soared into the sky and looked down coldly at Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.

“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?”

Lu Yang looked at the two with keen interest. “Oh? From the sound of it, you’re not just targeting the city’s populace but are 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 the 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.”

Lu Yang looked at the two Heartless Creed elders with a mysterious smile. “You’re both at the Intermediate Fusion Stage. Old Meng and I are only at the Intermediate Divine Transfiguration Stage. How are we qualified to be your opponents?

“Coincidentally enough, we have someone on our side who happens to be qualified to be your opponent.”

Lu Yang raised the Qingfeng Sword. A man in azure robes stepped out from the Qingfeng Sword’s small world.

“Senior Brother Dai, you must stand up for us brothers. It was the Heartless Creed who came after us first.”