"Who dares fight me?"
As the resonant voice faded, Lu Yang's gaze swept across all the Immortal Nexus Perfected Lords. He appeared extremely composed, as if the people before him made no difference in his eyes.
Only Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue and Immortal Venerable Taiyin caused him to slightly focus his gaze.
Meanwhile, within the Celestial Court.
"Who is this person?"
Immortal Venerable Taiyin frowned. Since she stood guard within the Celestial Court year-round and couldn't leave, she naturally didn't know of Lu Yang's existence, leaving her somewhat shocked and uncertain for a moment.
"This person is named Master of Tribulations," Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue smiled. "He is suspected to be a Perfected Lord of my Saint Sect, but he severed his karma through reincarnation. His cultivation base is practically invincible at the Middle Stage of the Golden Core, and he has stirred up quite a bit of trouble in the Immortal Nexus. In my view, in a one-on-one fight, besides you and me, I fear only Fellow Daoist Gangxing can match him."
"What...?"
Immortal Venerable Taiyin's frown deepened upon hearing this. Especially after Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue relayed the relevant intelligence about Lu Yang via divine sense, she became even more confused.
'That shouldn't be.'
'If he is a Saint Sect Perfected Lord, how could I not recognize him?'
Among everyone present, not even Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue knew her specific background. But she knew her own affairs clearly; her seniority in the Saint Sect was extremely high.
Second only to the first-generation Peak Masters!
Therefore, if he truly were a Saint Sect Perfected Lord, it was impossible for her not to recognize him. Yet, she completely failed to recognize Lu Yang's aura, and there was absolutely no impression of him in her memories.
However, with a great battle before them, she had no time to think deeply about it. She could only say: "Regardless, we must send someone out. Otherwise, if we let this person fight Great Sage Ming Zhu, Great Sage Ming Zhu will inevitably be no match for him. The result will only be her entire spiritual power being assimilated under the influence of the [Supreme Law Fate-Deciding Dao Chapter]."
With that said, she looked at Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao:
"Is Fellow Daoist willing to make a move?"
Hearing this, Perfected Lord Gangxing Budao's eyes flickered, but he then shook his head. "What do the affairs of your Saint Sect have to do with me?"
"I won't go."
Immortal Venerable Taiyin instantly frowned and had to look towards Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue again. The latter pondered for a moment before saying: "Send a few more people to go together."
"As far as I know, although this person also cultivates the Grotto-Heaven Method and wields [Pine & Cypress Wood], he hasn't cultivated it to the Middle Stage of the Golden Core, nor is he affiliated with anyone else. Therefore, he does not possess the ability of immortality and indestructibility. Under the combined attack of multiple parties, even if he is hard to defeat initially, we can exhaust his spiritual power, forcing him to flee in defeat."
After saying that, Perfected Lord Qingcheng Feixue shifted her gaze.
"Xuan Yuan, Hanguang, the two of you will attack... The Celestial Court will send one more person. Along with Ming Zhu, that makes four Middle Stage Golden Cores. If that doesn't work, we'll send more people."
Only then did Immortal Venerable Taiyin nod. "Good."
Following that, she looked at an old man standing behind her. "Duxuan, you cultivate [Taiyang], and among the Middle Stage Immortal Lords, you are the most respected. You will fight in this battle."
"At your command."
Before long, Lu Yang saw three streaks of profound light rise from within the Celestial Court. They rapidly converged with Great Sage Ming Zhu, then stirred up spiritual qi like an ocean, blotting out the sky and earth as they roared towards his position. Raising his eyes to look, he couldn't help but laugh: "I didn't expect them to all be old acquaintances."
The Immortal Nexus ones went without saying.
Even on the Celestial Court's side, Immortal Lord Duxuan was no stranger to him. Back in the Celestial Court, this Immortal Lord had caused him quite a bit of trouble.
Didn't he also injure Patriarch Nether Whisper?
Thinking of this, chilling killing intent instantly surfaced in Lu Yang's eyes, and he sneered inwardly: 'Perfect timing. It's time to settle the scores from the past few lifetimes.'
Meanwhile, the four people gathered opposite Lu Yang. Led by Perfected Lord Hanguang Futian, they cupped their hands in greeting and smiled:
"Fellow Daoist Master of Tribulations, I trust you have been well?"
Hearing this, Lu Yang didn't answer, but instead suddenly broke into a bright smile.
A smile from an already handsome young man made it seem as if heaven and earth were shining brilliantly. It instantly captured all the attention of the four people, even causing them to fall into a daze.
In an instant, the four felt that the Lu Yang before them was incredibly approachable and amiable. His entire body radiated an awe-inspiring righteous qi; he could easily be called a saint of the present age. Inexplicable thoughts sprouted in their minds, making them uncontrollably wonder whether they should even attack. Attacking such a righteous person would simply be a sin...
"Not good!!!"
A second later, Perfected Lord Hanguang Futian violently snapped back to reality. He opened his mouth and let out an earth-shattering roar, shattering all emotions.
However, it was too late.
In just that brief second, boundless purple qi had already swarmed over like a sweeping gale, blowing away the present world and revealing another vast scene.
[Righteous Dao Banner]—[Enlightenment]!
Lu Yang hadn't used the profound wonder of this True Treasure for a long time. Now, unleashing it again caught them by surprise, instantly granting him absolute superiority.
Looking into the distance, one could only see surging waves above and below, with purple qi running rampant. Within it, countless figures of light and shadow could faintly be seen shuttling back and forth, letting out world-shaking battle cries. They were exactly the countless Banner Spirits within the [Righteous Dao Banner], arrayed like an army, clustering around the man with tied-up hair and a black robe like stars surrounding the moon.
Clang, clang...
The sound of a sword ringing rang out. Lu Yang slowly drew his sword from its sheath. The sword light of the Tribulation Wave rippled like flowing water, clear as a mirror, reflecting the figures of the four people.
"Attack!"
At this moment, an intense, ultimate sense of crisis swept over them. Perfected Lord Hanguang Futian and the other three could hold back no longer and took the initiative to charge at Lu Yang!
Boom!
Great Sage Ming Zhu brazenly self-detonated. Augmented by the profound wonder [Pearl Hidden in the Abyss], the boiling light and flames nearly covered the vault of heaven. Great Sage Xuan Yuan also immediately held his hand seals steady.
The profound wonder of [Thunderbolt Flame]—[General's Order]!
This profound wonder didn't fall upon Lu Yang, but rather on the light and flames resulting from Great Sage Ming Zhu's self-detonation. The originally chaotic light and flames instantly became disciplined.
[General's Order] could augment subordinates and elevate profound wonders. Like a commanding general directing an army, anything receiving its augmentation would obey its commands. At this moment, Great Sage Xuan Yuan using the profound wonder to augment the power of the self-detonation was equivalent to consolidating previously chaotic stragglers into a force of elite soldiers and strong generals!
"Go!"
With a command, the boiling light and flames instantly contracted. They no longer covered the vault of heaven, but instead transformed into a single thread of fine light, shining directly onto Lu Yang's face!
Great Sage Xuan Yuan and Great Sage Ming Zhu, two Great Sages of the demon race who had relied on each other for survival overseas for so many years—how could they not have a few methods that worked together?
This single thread of fine light truly possessed both the sharpness of metal and the fierce heat of fire. Yet it was incredibly thin and weak, like a sharp knife, instantly piercing into Lu Yang's face. Even with his formidable Dharma Body, he couldn't help but feel a slight burning pain, and his action of drawing the sword paused for a brief moment.
Almost simultaneously, Perfected Lord Hanguang Futian and Immortal Lord Duxuan also attacked.
Perfected Lord Hanguang Futian held the [Grand Torrent Water] steady, formed a hand seal, and similarly extracted a profound wonder from it. Then, with a flick of his sleeve, he hurled it out:
"[Sovereign Eastflow]!"
Grand Torrent Water: Its qi emerges from Yangming, its water momentum relies on the source, flowing eastwards and pouring in, its momentum soaking and expanding—now manifested, the surging radiant light instantly filled heaven and earth!
This profound wonder generated its own universe within, severing spiritual qi. It could reflect a person inside and suppress them on the spot. Unless their spiritual power stature far exceeded the master of the profound wonder, it was difficult to break free. Now falling upon Lu Yang, it immediately caused the heaven and earth in his eyes to flip, and in the blink of an eye, he had already fallen into a new world.
Even so, Perfected Lord Hanguang Futian still didn't dare to be careless.
"Sever Spirit, Extinguish Law, Break Dao!"
Three Dao chants immediately annihilated the spiritual qi around Lu Yang, making it difficult for him to deploy his spiritual power. His Dao Fruit profound wonders fell silent, like layers of chains binding him.
In the next instant, Immortal Lord Duxuan also unleashed a fatal strike.
"[Kan-Li Hornless Dragon Head Jade]!"
Lu Yang raised his eyes, only to see a jade Ruyi cleaving down towards his head. It used colored glaze as a cover, and the handle was carved with the shapes of hornless dragons, tigers, flies, cicadas, and other beasts, reversing the light of the sun.
Boom!
Up until this moment, the four Middle Stage Golden Core Perfected Lords had already exhausted all their methods. Layers upon layers of iridescent phantom scenes submerged Lu Yang's figure.
Then they saw Lu Yang looking around, his demeanor leisurely, and casually taking a step forward.
With one step, even heaven and earth couldn't catch up. Regardless of how strong or weak the profound wonders of the four Immortal Lords were, they were all effortlessly left behind by Lu Yang's single step.
[Great Relay Earth]—[Boundless Dao]!
Great Relay Earth is the earth that turns the heavens and rotates the sun, bearing the seas and riding the mountains. There is nowhere among the myriad nations it cannot reach. Once the gate is opened, the path ahead is unobstructed, with only a smooth, even road remaining!
With just this single move, the expressions of all four people changed simultaneously.
However, before they could retract their profound wonders to defend, they only heard the ring of a sword in their ears. Subsequently, the heaven and earth in their eyes began to spin violently.
[Tribulation Wave], severing the future!
Under one sword strike, there was no fluke, no other possibility. There was only a single scene reflected on the great karmic net, transforming into an unshakable reality.
Four heads flew up against the sky.
All decapitated!
(End of Chapter)