Because she was originally the inheritor of the internal formations of the Law Sect, Hongxiu stayed behind at the sect while everyone else went out to welcome the bride.
The journey was quite smooth, but on the way back, Lu Xuan noticed that he started to attract more attention from those around him.
He sighed, closed his eyes, and remained silent. But the temperature around him had already dropped several degrees.
Lu Xuan hadn't been young and impetuous for a long time. Perhaps it was because he was no longer young. He was much more restrained now. Even after receiving the news, he remained inactive. If this were in the worlds of the Tang and Ming dynasties, Lu Xuan would have gone straight to their doorstep before they even made a move.
For hundreds of years, Lu Xuan had fought countless battles. It wasn't that he was tired of fighting, but rather that his desire for the Dao had grown stronger, causing him to devote his energy to cultivation. He became less involved in worldly affairs and human relationships.
Hongyu gently approached her.
"Should we just send them away?"
"No need, leave it to me. You take them both back and give them a wedding. I guarantee no one will come to bother us."
Hongyu sensed the murderous intent in Lu Xuan's tone. She nodded slightly, then led the team back at a faster pace, leaving Lu Xuan far behind.
More and more people followed behind, and gradually, they began to openly pursue him without any attempt at concealment. As they entered the territory of the Hidden Immortal Sect, even more people appeared. Among them were even familiar faces to Lu Xuan—these were disciples of the Qingyun Sect. Leading them was the head of the Dragon Head Peak of the Qingyun Sect, Daoist Cangsong.
Meanwhile, people from Tianyin Temple and Fenxiang Valley also arrived. They surrounded Lu Xuan and his wedding procession from all sides.
"Sect Leader Lu, how have you been?" Cangsong stepped forward to greet him. Lu Xuan glanced up at him.
"Are you all here for a wedding? That's a real shame. My Hidden Immortal Sect isn't planning a grand wedding this time. Please leave."
"We're not here for the wedding wine, we just want to know. Which family's daughter did your disciple Zhang Xiaofan marry?"
"Cangsong, you are a renowned figure in the cultivation world. Asking such a question is probably not in keeping with your status."
"There are some inappropriate aspects, but for the sake of upholding justice..."
"What do you mean by the so-called righteous path? When did my Hidden Immortal Sect become a member of your so-called righteous path?"
Lu Xuan's cold voice made Cang Song tremble slightly. He knew that Lu Xuan's cultivation was higher than his, and he didn't really like doing things like forcing someone to submit. But he had no choice; Qingyun Sect was the leader of the righteous path. If he didn't do it, wouldn't he be losing face for Qingyun?
Mustering his courage, Cangsong was about to speak when he suddenly felt a surge of spiritual energy in front of him. Looking up, he saw a sword aura that stretched across the sky and earth, hurtling towards him. It was Hongxiu, who was beside Lu Xuan, who could no longer hold back and directly slashed at him with her sword.
Cangsong instinctively drew his sword to defend. But after the sword was drawn, he realized that the sword energy was so powerful that it reached the heavens and the earth, far beyond his ability to withstand.
"Retreat!" Cangsong shouted, and the Qingyun Sect members scattered in panic. The violent sword energy pierced through their formation. The mere overflowing sword energy left those disciples with lower cultivation levels covered in wounds. Fortunately, Hongyu eventually stopped, and the Qingyun Sect members were wounded but not killed.
"Let's go, don't be late," Hongyu said coldly. With that, she led the group through the Qingyun Sect's obstruction and into the Yinxian Sect's mountain gate. Neither Cangsong of the Qingyun Sect nor the thirty-odd disciples behind him dared to stop them.
They could only turn their anger towards Lu Xuan.
"Sect Leader Lu, what do you mean by this?"
"What do you mean? You're on my territory, stopping my disciples from getting married, and you ask me what my intentions are? I know why you're here—you want to know the girl's identity? No, you just want to hear it from me. Well then, I'll grant your wish. That girl is Biyao, the current sect leader of the Ghost King Sect, the daughter of Wanrenwang. Any other questions? If not, please leave."
“You are a righteous cultivator…” an unknown cultivator couldn’t help but retort. But as soon as he opened his mouth, a bolt of azure lightning flashed across the sky. The unknown cultivator fell headfirst to the ground.
"You..." another person couldn't help but speak. But this time, they only managed to utter one word before being struck by lightning. From beginning to end, Lu Xuan didn't even flinch. Now, Lu Xuan's lightning techniques, apart from demonic lightning, included the other nine types, which he had already mastered to perfection. In the blink of an eye, lightning arrived.
"What's the point of all this nonsense? You dared to come here simply to intimidate me using your so-called righteous cause. But now, I'm not swayed by righteousness. What other tricks do you have up your sleeve? A fight? Will you come at me one by one, or all at once?"
This time, everyone finally sensed the fluctuations of spiritual energy emanating from Lu Xuan. He floated silently in place, his body crackling with wisps of lightning. The lightning grew stronger and stronger, eventually completely enveloping him. Those with lower cultivation levels could only see the multicolored lightning flashing back and forth.
However, those with higher cultivation levels, like Cangsong, could sense that there were a total of nine different lightning techniques surrounding Lu Xuan. Nine!!!
The Divine Sword Lightning Control Technique of the Qingyun Sect is one of the very few spells in this world capable of manipulating lightning. Lu Xueqi won the championship using this very technique. However, compared to Lu Xuan's lightning magic, Cangsong felt that the Qingyun Sect should probably avoid using their lightning magic in the future.
He wasn't actually willing to step forward. Firstly, he knew he couldn't defeat Lu Xuan, and secondly, Lu Xuan was already a traitor. He had never truly intended to serve the Qingyun Sect. However, now, in front of hundreds of cultivators from various sects, if the Qingyun Sect, representing him, didn't step forward, it would attract far too much attention. Left with no other choice, Cang Song stepped forward.
"Qingyun Sect..."
Before he could finish speaking, Lu Xuan suddenly looked up. When Cang Song saw Lu Xuan's eyes, he felt a jolt, as if struck by some force. His whole body trembled. Lu Xuan hadn't actually used any magic; he had merely used his superior cultivation level to suppress Cang Song with spiritual power. Cang Song, already harboring a guilty conscience, was caught completely off guard.
He hastily parried with his longsword, but lacked the strength. He was struck directly by the azure lightning. This was not the cloud lightning that had instantly killed that nameless fellow before. It was a Five Elements Yin Lightning, the Kui Water Lightning.
And so, the pine tree fell headfirst to the ground.
In an instant, the entire arena fell silent!
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Chapter 431 First Trial of Thunder Technique
The fact that Lu Xuan had instantly defeated one of the seven chief disciples of the Qingyun Sect with a single glance made the surrounding hundred or so cultivators feel that something was amiss. However, they didn't know how to convince themselves that what had just happened was fake.
How could this be? Even the leader of the Qingyun Sect couldn't possibly kill Cangsong Daoist in a single move. The people from Tianyin Temple and Fenxiang Valley, on the other two sides, were also filled with disbelief. Especially the few from Fenxiang Valley. Their sect was in the Southern Frontier. The total number of people who came to the Central Plains this time was only ten.
Seeing that the situation was not going well, they began to quietly retreat.
About an incense stick's time later, some people in the crowd started making noise again.
"His disciple married a demoness from the Demonic Sect. He must have already defected to the Demonic Sect. We don't need to talk about morality when dealing with demonic people. Let's all attack together and crush this Hidden Immortal Sect. Let's restore a bright and clear sky for the righteous path."
This encouragement actually spurred quite a few people to try their luck. Lu Xuan looked around and saw that at least fifty cultivators had already unleashed their magical treasures, preparing to launch a siege.
Several young disciples of the Qingyun Sect were also eager to try. However, Qi Hao and Lu Xueqi quickly stopped them. They had fought alongside Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu before and knew the level of these two youngest disciples of the Hidden Immortal Sect. Moreover, the leader, Daoist Cangsong, was already unconscious, so they, as juniors, should not act on their own.
Of course, the more direct reason is that the two of them have higher standards. As soon as Lu Xuan made his move, they knew that he was no match for them.
The restless cultivators finally couldn't contain themselves any longer. Despite Lu Xuan's formidable combat prowess, they still couldn't suppress their inner desires.
One reason is that with so many people on their side, there's no way they could lose to the other. Another important reason is that news of Zhang Xiaofan has already spread. As for Daoist Duobao, according to some reliable sources, that title is indeed genuine.