West Mountain of Beiluo.
Heavy snow fell from the sky. The white jade pagoda looked as if it was blanketed with goose feathers.
Many cultivators sat with legs crossed under the white jade pagoda. They exerted themselves to condense the Spirit Qi to achieve the Ninth Stage Qi Core Realm since it was a prerequisite for entering the Trial Pagoda.
Young Master Lu of Beiluo didn’t impose any other restrictions on people who wanted to enter the Trial Pagoda, except for their cultivation level. Anyone who wished to cultivate in the Trial Pagoda had to be in the Ninth Stage Qi Core Realm at least.
Nie Changqing had sat on the ground for a while.
Stock-still like a statue, a thick layer of snow had accumulated on his body.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes. The Knife Qi burst from his eyes like a beam of light, intense and brilliant. It didn’t dim for a long time.
He stood up, flicked off the snow on him, and exhaled a frosty breath. With the butcher knife pinned on the belt of his white robe, he strode toward the Trial Pagoda.
Ning Zhao opened her eyes as well, her long eyelashes fluttering.
She looked at Nie Changqing. They only had three chances for each level in the Trial Pagoda.
If they lost all three chances, even if they didn’t die, they would be disqualified from staying in the Trial Pagoda.
Therefore, Ning Zhao cherished every chance she had.
In the distance.
Ni Yu and Nie Shuang were also eager for action. They conditioned themselves and were ready to try it out in the Trial Pagoda.
Bai Qingniao was resting and recuperating. After all, she was still recovering from her injuries. It would be a bad time for her to cultivate in the Trial Pagoda.
She heard from Ning Zhao that they only had three chances for each level in the Trial Pagoda. Thus every opportunity was extremely valuable.
Lv Dongxuan was discussing something with Lv Mudui on the side.
Holding the pipa, Mingyue stared at the Trial Pagoda with curiosity. She wanted to give it a try as well, but not before waiting and watching others first.
She had terrific breakthroughs from the battle in West County. Even though she was not in the Internal Organs Realm yet, her Qi Core was at capacity.
Lv Mudui pulled a long face.
“We’re issuing another Tianji Order?”
Lv Dongxuan cracked a smile. The golden chain hanging from his neck moved from side to side.
“No, it’s not a Tianji Order this time. We’re only sending a message to the public…to let them know that there is a Trial Pagoda in Beiluo.” Lv Dongxuan laughed.
“Oh.”
Lv Mudui gripped the bamboo cane with a poker face.
“Therefore…”
Lv Dongxuan looked at Lv Mudui, squinting.
Lv Mudui pretended he didn’t notice Lv Dongxuan’s pleading eyes. Did Lv Dongxuan want him to cough blood for something other than a Tianji Order?
What wishful thinking!
Did he think coughing blood cost him nothing?!
Was Lv Mudui only a pawn for blood supply?!
After a while…
Lv Mudui pressed his chest and sat on the bluestone in front of the white jade pagoda. His face was chalky white, and his lips were stained with blood residue.
He was filled with indignation.
Next time… He had to prepare pig blood in advance!
He swore!
Lv Dongxuan, on the other hand, cheerfully wrote down the content on a Divine Paper.
“The public has begun cultivation in the newly transformed world. In light of the difficulty of cultivation, Young Master Lu built a white jade Trial Pagoda to aid cultivators around the world. Anyone who had attained a Ninth Stage Qi Core can enter to cultivate, comprehend, and advance, striving for immortal life.”
He wrote it down with a pen.
It was done smoothly in one sitting.
Lv Dongxuan stroked the golden chain on his neck and grinned broadly.
Mingyue read the message from behind and breathed in deeply. Lv Dongxuan indeed deserved to be the head of the pavilion. The message he wrote even made Mingyue choke up with emotions.
“Mingyue, do you understand why the Young Master built this white jade Trial Pagoda?” Lv Dongxuan exclaimed as he rubbed the golden chain on his neck.
Mingyue shook her head.
“The Young Master is so generous and open-minded that he is willing to offer such treasure to the public. The Young Master once said that he wants the world of cultivators to be inclusive and flourishing. I wasn’t convinced back then since it’s not an easy thing to achieve. Now, however, looking at the sky-high white jade Trial Pagoda… I’m starting to believe him.”
“Because the Young Master is really doing his utmost for the future of the cultivators,” Lv Dongxuan said.
He shifted his eyes on Mingyue, inhaled a deep breath, and said, “Mingyue, you don’t belong to my Tianji Pavilion. Even though you have received some guidance from the Young Master, you are not an official disciple of White Jade City.”
“Although you could live in Beiluo as a guest your whole life… you shouldn’t forget how the Young Master guided you.”
“You have a talent for music and the pipa and can establish your own sect. We took care of you in the past because Kong Xiu entrusted you to us, and you were only a weak girl. Nowadays, you’re strong enough to venture out into the Jianghu. You can go out to broaden your horizon, set up your own sect, and make some contribution to the world of cultivators. So the Young Master doesn’t nurture you in vain,” Lv Dongxuan said.
Mingyue was stunned. She held the pipa tighter.
She didn’t expect to hear such a speech from Lv Dongxuan.
She was bewildered by it.
Lv Dongxuan patted Mingyue’s head. Mingyue was now a cultivator as well. Ultimately, she needed to grow up.
Then, Lv Dongxuan rolled up the Divine Paper and called a Tianji Pigeon. He stuffed the Divine Paper in the letterbox tied on the Tianji Pigeon’s leg and let the pigeon go. The white pigeon flew in the sky and blended with the falling snow.
Nie Changqing entered the Trial Pagoda again.
He sat on the pouf, and the scene in front of his eyes changed at once. He was in the dense forest again.
Five mysterious creatures who just entered the Internal Organs Realm wore face masks with a round hole in the center. Their eyes behind the masks were cold and ruthless.
Buzz…
Butcher knives appeared in the five creatures’ hands. They charged at Nie Changqing at full speed.
The force detonated in the forest and blast the branches and leaves away.
Nie Changqing raised his butcher knife. The Knife became blurry in the forest.
It was a brutal fight.
The five creatures cooperated seamlessly. Each one of them might not be the most skilled knife user on his own, yet the tacit collaboration of all five of them posed a challenge for Nie Changqing.
Outside of the white jade pagoda.
Ning Zhao stood up. She took in a deep breath and walked into the Trial Pagoda.
The moment she got in…
She saw Nie Changqing sitting on the pouf. The word “four” blinked above Nie Changqing’s head.
All of a sudden…
Ning Zhao jolted with surprise and saw that the number “four” above Nie Changqing’s head had become fuzzy and then suddenly vanished in smoke. The number “five” now appeared.
Nie Changqing finished the fourth level!
Ning Zhao felt enormous pressure. She was still stuck in the third level, yet Old Nie had entered the fifth level!
She and Old Nie were roughly in the same rank. Nevertheless, was she really so far behind in terms of combat capability?
Ning Zhao sat on the pouf and composed herself.
The door of the white jade pagoda was pushed open again.
An unkempt Daoist priest stumbled in, along with Ni Yu, Nie Shuang, and Jing Yue, who was holding the Jing Heaven Sword.
Ning Zhao nodded slightly at them and then closed her eyes and started the trail.
The number “three” quickly appeared above her head.
Kong Nanfei combed the hair on his forehead. His eyes brightened up with excitement.
He remembered Lu Fan said he would give him a gift that was helpful for the Righteousness Qi if he could break through the fifth level.
A gift from the Young Master Lu couldn’t possibly be too shabby.
Therefore, Kong Nanfei was eagerly looking forward to it.
Imitating Nie Changqing and Ning Zhao, Kong Nanfei found a pouf and sat down with his legs crossed.
The sucking power changed the scene in front of his eyes immediately.
…
White Jade City Pavilion.
Lu Fan sat upright. The wind blew snowflakes on his body.
Lines flashed in his eyes. He was watching the war against the Great Zhou happening in the capital city.
Even though Lu Fan had the ability to inspect anywhere in the world, he had to enter a state of mind first.
Lu Fan couldn’t watch over all the places all the time.
To be honest, Tantai Xuan’s army of the Great Xuan would be weaker than the army of Western Liang, if not for Jiang Li’s leadership.
The Army of Western Liang, led by the Overlord, was truly crack troops that could even withstand two of the Five Barbarians at the same time.
There was no suspense in the results of this war against the Great Zhou, at least in Lu Fan’s eyes.
Without the Master and Jiang Li, the Great Zhou was like a tiger without its teeth and claws. It lost its deterrent power and defensive ability. There was no way that it could defeat the alliance between the Great Xuan and Western Liang.
Therefore, Lu Fan was more curious about whether the Great Xuan or Western Liang would win the final victory.
He took a sip of the green plum wine.
The taste of peach blossom lingered in his mouth.
Lu Fan leaned in the wheelchair and continued watching the battle.
…
Outside of the capital city of the Great Zhou.
Every snowflake was heavy like a piece of lead.
The guards of Pingnan City and Drunken Dragon City were both rallied to the capital city. Even when the entire force of the Great Zhou assembled in the capital city, it was still much weaker than the Great Xuan and Western Liang.
The Great Zhou had no chance of winning the war from what the public could see.
Tantai Xuan wore the military uniform and armor with a red cape flapping in the wind on his back. Under the protection of Jiang Li and several soldiers of the Xuanwu Guard, he slowly walked to the side of the Western Liang Army.
The Overlord stood on the chariot as three horses trudged forward, pulling it.
Fearless and lionhearted, the Overlord walked to Tantai Xuan alone.
The two exchanged a look. Tantai Xuan couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“We finally come to this.”
The Overlord nodded slightly.
They both rushed to get the lead. Much to their surprise, Western Liang and the Great Xuan breached the strongholds and reached the capital city at the same time.
It made the situation more interesting…
Because they couldn’t exactly tell the winner now that they were both outside of the capital city.
“I didn’t anticipate you would be standing in front of me.”
The Overlord looked at Tantai Xuan.
“Unfortunately, you’re still too weak,” the Overlord said.
“Nowadays, it’s extremely hard for you to exact obedience from cultivators if you’re not powerful enough.”
“Even if you became the Emperor, you would still be overthrown someday.”
Tantai Xuan remained silent…
Because he thought the Overlord had a point.
Tantai Xuan was surprised at himself that he would come this far and became the final competitor against Western Liang.
Compared with the Overlord’s smooth experience with immortal encounter, Tantai Xuan…had a much more arduous journey.
Wearing a silver armor, Jiang Li looked at Tantai Xuan. Tantai Xuan shouldn’t lose heart himself at this critical time.
Whoever became dispirited in the face-off between the Lords of the Great Xuan and Western Liang would have an immense impact on the following contest.
“I’m not afraid. The Great Xuan has cultivated countless soldiers for the Xuanwu Guard and has numerous capable generals. They respect me as their Lord not because of my physical strength, but for their faith in me. They honor me as their Lord because they approve of me.”
“Why should I be worried?”
Tantai Xuan tugged the reins of his horse and smiled.
Facing the domineering Overlord, one of the best cultivators in the world in the Internal Organs Realm, Tantai Xuan didn’t appear fragile or self-doubting.
Jiang Li let out a deep sigh of relief.
The Overlord gave a long look at Tantai Xuan, then turned the three horses around, and galloped toward the gate tower of the capital city.
“The Overlord is truly valiant,” Tantai Xuan solemnly said after taking a deep breath.
“The Overlord was always overbearing and assertive in the age of the Hundred Schools of Philosophy, let alone the current world of cultivators,” Jiang Li commented.
They raised their eyes and saw the Overlord rushing to the gate tower of the capital city, splattering mud along the way.
The three horses ran faster and faster, almost sprinting.
The Overlord carried his giant ax and shield and stood on the chariot. His long hair blew in the wind like steel needles.
His penetrating eyes stared at the towering wall of the capital city—the city that had been the heart of the Great Zhou for so many years.
He visited the capital city when he was a kid. He was so small at that time that he felt like an ant at the foot of the gate tower.
And now, he had returned…
As a fierce tiger!
Roar!
The Overlord rode to the gate tower of the capital city.
The Western Liang Army was in an uproar. Many soldiers pounded their spears on the ground and made deafening rumbles.
The sound of the battle drum was like thunder exploding in the sky.
Finally, he arrived at the foot of the gate tower.
The Overlord abruptly pulled the reins of his horses. His piercing eyes stared at the faces on the gate tower.
The Black Dragon Guards wearing black dragon masks.
“Fight!”
The Overlord let out a roar. The blue veins on his neck bulged.
The Overlord challenged the enemy to battle outside of the capital city of the Great Zhou!
“Who dares to fight me?!”
His bellow was like a clap of thunder reverberating throughout the quiet capital city. The sound slowly faded.
Every general of the Great Zhou standing on the gate tower was frightened.
The Overlord was challenging them under the gate tower.
Yet none of them had the courage to go out and fight against him.
Who was the Overlord?
He was one of the best cultivators in the world. None of them wanted to die!
Thus, who dared to fight?
“Worthless losers!” the Overlord shouted.
The faces hiding behind black dragon masks darkened.
Many generals of the Great Zhou were pale with fear.
The Overlord was disappointed. He yelled for quite a while, yet no one dared to answer. The Great Zhou… let him down.
A Black Dragon Guard bawled out an order.
“Archers, prepare!”
The soldiers of the Great Zhou on the gate tower drew their bows.
The cultivators in the Black Dragon Guard also raised their bows and aimed at the Overlord, who was standing on the chariot pulled by three horses.
The Overlord let out a burst of scornful laughter.
He picked up the bow on the chariot…
Pulled out a steel arrow.
“Come!”
The Overlord’s voice echoed on the gate tower.
A Black Dragon Guard on the gate tower glared at the Overlord, who was standing on the chariot alone and drawing his bow.
“Shoot!”
A Black Dragon Guard waved a flag and shouted with the Spirit Qi.
Whiz!
Whiz! Whiz!
In an instant, on top of the gate tower of the capital city of the Great Zhou…
Everyone released the bowstrings in their hands. The arrows arched across the sky and whistled toward the Overlord at the foot of the gate tower.
The flying arrows rained on the Overlord.
The Overlord laughed.
His laughter lingered in every corner of the battlefield.
He drew the bow to the full extent.
Release!
The steel arrow hurtled out.
Countless arrows were flying above the Overlord’s head like a dark cloud. Yet the Overlord only shot one arrow…
The lonely arrow faced tens of thousands of arrows.
Tragically and heroically, the single steel arrow dashed toward the rain of arrows…
As if the time stopped at this moment.
However!
What shocked everyone was…
The Overlord’s arrow spun in the air. With a roaring sound, it collided with a great number of arrows from the gate tower and broke them into pieces.
It penetrated through a Black Dragon Guard’s chest. Fine droplets of blood sprayed out.
The arrow impaled the Black Dragon Guard on the gate tower with tremendous force.
Tens of thousands of arrows rained from the sky.
The Overlord stood on the battlefield alone.
He raised the ax in his hand.
The arrows all froze in mid-air…
The Overlord was wrapped in Demonic Qi, hair blowing in the wind.
He faced Western Liang with his back and waved the ax forward.
Bang!
The arrows in the air all blew up into tiny pieces!
In the Western Liang Army.
The soldiers of Western Liang watched the man with mysterious power under the gate tower. They could feel their blood boiling.
Xu Chu brandished the two giant iron maces and let out a deep roar.
“Attack the city!”
…