Lu Xuan's inner armor shimmered, and he transformed into a massive fireball, forcing the dark red blood to detach from his body.
The two fell from the sky simultaneously. Lu Xuan took a step forward, but then cautiously stopped. Unbeknownst to them, the entire courtyard was now sealed off by a dense network of blood-red threads.
Lu Xuan could even see that the threads resembled extremely fine blood vessels, with blood-colored liquid flowing inside.
Lu Xuan raised the Thunder Spear in his hand and gently touched the 'vessels' in front of him. Those veins, as if they were alive, suddenly contracted, avoiding the lightning on the spear.
"I spent thirty years searching for one hundred and twenty-eight children with some innate spiritual roots. I extracted the meridian with the most spiritual energy from them and refined this magical artifact. I named it 'Half-Hidden Red Veil.' Do you know why it's called 'Half-Hidden'? Because this magical artifact is still missing a celestial spiritual root as its main meridian. I see that you have amazing talent, fellow Daoist, and you should be qualified. Why don't you grant me this wish?"
As soon as the words were spoken, the previously timid blood vessels suddenly began to move. Countless threads, no thinner than a hair, coiled around them from all directions.
Lu Xuan waved his right hand, severing thousands upon thousands of blood threads. But those severed threads, as if alive, fearlessly surged towards Lu Xuan along the Thunder Spear, like countless dense red worms, burning to death with lightning while writhing forward madly.
That kind of image would probably make someone with trypophobia faint on the spot.
Lu Xuan sighed, feeling that the style of this fantasy world he was experiencing was somewhat different from what he had imagined. What should combat in a fantasy world be like?
Sword energy crisscrossed, hundreds of flying swords traversing the heavens and earth. Thunder magic vanquished demons, the might of heaven and earth sweeping across the universe. At the very least, it had to be a spectacle of various strange magical treasures clashing in mid-air, Taoist techniques and secret arts dismantling each other, accompanied by lightning and thunder, with sound and light effects at their peak.
But look at it now, the whole atmosphere is like a horror movie. Night, torrential rain, black water, blood streaks, zombies, all sorts of elements show that this is a completely dark version of a fantasy novel.
Lu Xuan, his entire body enveloped in lightning, broke free from the range of the blood-red threads. These threads didn't seem particularly powerful; they could be severed with a little effort. However, they were as if they were immortal; even with lightning magic, it took a considerable amount of time to completely burn them to death.
The more the structure fractured, the more densely packed the ground became with red worms. Their numbers increased, until the entire yard was covered in a writhing red ocean. The scene grew increasingly explicit.
Lu Xuan used his Nemesis's Inch technique, weaving back and forth in the courtyard. At the same time, he continuously drove silver nails into the ground. During countless movements, a thin thread of blood broke through Lu Xuan's lightning magic protection and touched his arm.
The moment the blood vessels touched Lu Xuan's flesh, they tried to pierce through his skin and crawl into his body.
"You cultivators, all you do is ponder this stuff all day?" Lu Xuan's hand flashed with fire, turning the bloodstains into ashes. He looked at the three enemies around him and asked with a mocking expression.
"Heh, yet another hypocritical righteous cultivator. So-called cultivation is nothing more than seizing the power of heaven and earth to complete oneself. And the people, demons, ghosts, and monsters in this world are all part of this heaven and earth. I seize their opportunities to achieve my own success, which is the true path of cultivation."
“That makes sense, but aren’t you afraid of being burdened by karma and having your fortune turned against you? You should know that the Great Jin Dynasty is already on the verge of collapse. This massive dynasty has stood for hundreds of years, and even the final backlash from its fortune is something a cultivator like you can’t withstand. With your methods, you’ll probably be reduced to ashes along with this dynasty in a few years.”
"Hahahaha, karma and the dynasty's destiny are no longer a problem for us. There will be no backlash from the dynasty's destiny, we will..."
"Shut up, you idiot, he's bluffing you." A Blackwater Town resident couldn't help but interrupt the two's conversation.
"You want to steal the dynasty's fortune?" Although he was stopped in time, Lu Xuan had already gleaned a lot of useful information from the other party's words.
It's not uncommon for cultivators to utilize the fortune of a dynasty for their practice. Cultivators often go to mortal dynasties to make offerings, allowing them to gather resources through the dynasty's power and accelerate their cultivation by leveraging its fortune. However, this method easily creates excessive karmic ties with those dynasties. Often, once their cultivation level increases, they become entangled in these karmic burdens, unable to extricate themselves.
Luck is something invisible and intangible. Although it's something most cultivators desperately crave, it's not something you can simply extract by having high magical power or some secret technique. Otherwise, why would cultivators go to the mortal realm to make offerings? It's because you must be part of this dynasty to obtain its luck. The higher your position, the more luck you can obtain.
As for status, the centipede demon at this point should already be the Imperial Advisor. This status is second only to the Emperor, above all others. Lu Xuan even speculated that the Emperor might already be under its control. In a sense, it might already be the true ruler of the country.
This is no longer a matter of stealing the dynasty's fortune. It's likely that it will sacrifice the entire human dynasty, gathering the fortune of all people under heaven into one's own body. Lu Xuan couldn't even imagine what it would ultimately achieve.
The key point is that the Grand Preceptor's plot to seize the country wasn't confined to the imperial court; it permeated the entire Great Jin Kingdom. His schemes were planned in every corner of the country, like countless tentacles spreading from the capital to the entire human empire. Lu Xuan could even picture it.
Countless tentacles, swirling back from all corners of the land, swept up the entire destiny of humanity and poured it back into the capital. They then converged upon the Grand Preceptor. The destiny of the human dynasty was utterly severed, replaced by an unprecedented demonic dynasty.
Good heavens, if that day truly comes, this world will no longer be the world. Lu Xuan even vaguely guessed that the cultivators of this world might have already noticed this problem. That's why they let it go unchecked. Because they were waiting to get a share of the spoils.
At this moment, Lu Xuan even felt a chill run down his spine. The bloodshed and cruelty revealed behind the word "cultivation" made him feel as if he had been drenched in ice water, chilling him to the bone.
In the darkness, a crimson flame ignited. Accompanying the blazing flame was Lu Xuan's voice, chilling to the bone.
"Go to hell!!"
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Chapter 366 Battle of Wits (Part 2)
Lu Xuan has pursued the path to immortality through cultivation for several lifetimes, but he has never truly detached himself from the mortal world. In every world he has been in, he has made efforts to bring about certain changes.
Therefore, when he heard about this scheme that used the world as a game of chess, he was extremely angry.
Perhaps his anger stemmed from an immature cultivator. But in Lu Xuan's view, it was the anchor that kept him human. And now, someone was preparing to completely destroy that anchor.
This is the first time since the start of the war that true solar fire has been used. The flames spread throughout the entire courtyard the moment they appeared, scorching every writhing thread of blood.
The very moment Lu Xuan unleashed his Solar True Fire, the other two enemies who had been observing simultaneously attacked. The plan was simple: the moment Lu Xuan revealed his trump card, the Solar True Fire, regardless of who the target was, the others would unleash their full power to eliminate him. They seemed certain that Lu Xuan's Solar True Fire couldn't handle multiple opponents at once.
In the darkness, the fourth enemy, who had remained silent until now, suddenly waved his hand, lifting his red robe to reveal his bare upper body.
It was a tall, strong body, like that of a bodybuilder. The exposed muscles even radiated a faint golden glow. She didn't use any magical artifacts or spells; she simply charged forward bare-handed.
Lu Xuan noticed that its physical body had even come into contact with the True Fire of the Sun. Large chunks of flesh were scorched by the flames. Yet, it managed to withstand the attack and charged towards Lu Xuan. In its roar, Lu Xuan saw the fangs in its mouth. It was a zombie, unlike any he had ever seen before, possibly a high-level Golden Armored Corpse.
At the same time, Blackwater Master, who had been playing a support role and had never actually made a move, also made his move.
He took out a pitch-black mirror and chanted a few unknown incantations at Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan felt an invisible pressure suddenly pressing down on his soul. For a moment, his soul even trembled, almost being forced out of his body.
In a daze, Lu Xuan didn't react in time and was hit in the chest by the golden-armored corpse.
A low, guttural roar emanated from the golden-armored corpse. It grabbed Lu Xuan's arms with both hands. Lu Xuan could even see the smug smile on its face.
With a loud bang, the golden-armored corpse suddenly exerted its power. Unlike ordinary cultivators, most of the supernatural abilities of zombie cultivators reside in their physical bodies. They don't even need magical treasures, because their physical bodies are a perfect embodiment of both magic and cultivation.
After grasping Lu Xuan's hands, it felt much more at ease. Since Lu Xuan's debut, all his battles had been fought using the Five Elements techniques, lightning magic, and the True Fire of the Sun, along with a few standard magical treasures. He was basically the traditional template of a righteous cultivator. However, most of his techniques were extremely powerful, and ordinary cultivators simply couldn't withstand them.