Chapter 888: Chapter 611: Looks Like I Still Need More Training
That night.
Prince Northern Guardian, Yaochi Immortal, Hui Kong, and other Tianxia experts were summoned by Lu Chenzhou to discuss war strategy.
"Military Leader, let me introduce—you, this is E Xian, an ally from Southern Heaven Realm. Her strength is not inferior to the four Great Commanders, and she’s been a great help to us."
Beside Bai Feng stood a young maiden with an oval face, veiled in white gauze, her temperament peerlessly refined, her gaze as clear as a mirror.
E Xian observed closely this crown-generation genius whom both the Sword Elder and Mister Wan had mentioned many times.
"Her aura is actually not weaker than mine."
E Xian could hardly imagine that this youth before her was not even a hundred years old—an age not even a fraction of her own.
It made her feel as if she had wasted her years.
"Greetings, Sir Lu."
E Xian gave a slight curtsy in greeting.
Lu Chenzhou returned the salute and said, "Thank you, Fairy, for your aid. The Tianxia Civilization will forever remember your kindness."
He, too, often heard Bai Feng speak of E Xian’s reputation; rumor had it she possessed the True Spirit Bloodline of the Phoenix Clan.
When all had gathered, Prince Northern Guardian spoke:
"The current situation is apparent to you all. The Divine Alliance has used military might to bring almost all the overt forces of the Mystic Sky Continent under its banner, forming a legion in Mystic Sky of more than twenty strong— all Seventh Realm experts—twice our own. The disparity between enemy and us is vast; thus, in recent years, we’ve fought mainly guerrilla battles, barely scratching the Divine Alliance. Now that the Military Leader has arrived, I think we must find a way to win a decisive battle—strike the Divine Alliance hard, unite those races oppressed by them, and gather them around us to reverse this difference in strength."
The blood of all present gradually boiled.
Prince Northern Guardian continued:
"At present, the Divine Alliance has three main strongholds. The Eastern Extreme Boundary Tower is personally guarded by the Thunder Realm Venerable’s Early Eighth Realm clone. The Venerable can call upon the power of the Clan’s Sacred Artifact, his true strength likely no less than Middle Stage of Eighth Realm."
Lu Chenzhou said, "Leave the Boundary Tower alone for now—they can’t open it anyway." Ever since he’d been tricked by the Heavenly Gu Daoist, Lu Chenzhou knew this truth: if you can crush them in your own realm, never fight across realms.
Safety first.
"The other two strongholds are guarded respectively by the [Wind and Fire Department], composed of Gale and Red Feather, and the [Thunder Stone Department], held by Purple Beard and Rock Clan. I suggest we strike the latter first. The Thunder Stone Department has seized a top grade mineral vein, one that produces billions of Mid-grade Primordial Stones and over a hundred High Grade Primordial Stones each year—enough, if we took it, for us to cultivate over a dozen Seventh Realm existences in the next years."
There are three grades of Primordial Stones, but in truth, there’s a rank above High Grade—however, it is exceptionally rare.
Thus, it’s not included in normal classification.
That is Top Grade.
The main vein of Top Grade is often the principal vein of all Primordial Stone mines in a Great World—a Dragon Vein! Worlds of third, middle, and high classes cannot give birth to Top Grade mines.
In the Great Wilderness, their worth rivals Supreme Treasures—only Great Power experts dare occupy a Top Grade vein.
When there’s no tiger in the mountain, monkeys crown themselves king.
After discovering a Top Grade mineral vein, the Divine Alliance colonized all Mystic Sky Clans that depended on mining for life, enslaved the native experts to mine for them, and over these years have plundered at least several billion Mid-grade and thousands of High Grade Primordial Stones to the Divine Race’s World, for the Realm Kings and World Venerables of each tribe to use for cultivation. Though Tianxia Civilization covets it, the Thunder Stone Department is guarded by two peak Realm Kings; except for E Xian, Tianxia simply has no one to match them. As for Eighth Realm combat power, both sides tacitly refrain from intervening.
Tianxia fears the Divine Alliance’s foundations.
The Divine Alliance’s four World Venerables are also wary.
Thus, both sides treat the Eighth Realm as the strategic nuclear threat.
Take Yan Ming Realm Venerable as an example: in the Divine Race’s Great World, backed by World Destiny and the Clan’s Sacred Artifact, he is at Late Stage Eighth Realm— even peak experts don’t dare provoke him. But once outside the Divine Race’s Great World, he’s just an ordinary Middle Stage Eighth Realm.
The Divine Race’s enemies are not only Tianxia; in their rampant invasions, they’ve clashed with powerful neighboring races, not to mention that the Forbidden Zone Evil Gods also eye them hungrily.
Very quickly, all agreed on a plan.
"Let’s cut down the Thunder Stone Department. While the enemy doesn’t yet know I’m in Mystic Sky, I will go and kill Lei Wanliu and Qiu Kuangyi." said Lu Chenzhou.
"??"
Everyone was stunned.
Prince Northern Guardian said:
"Military Leader—you alone?"
Lu Chenzhou replied earnestly:
"Decapitation operations don’t depend on numbers."
Bai Feng explained:
"Lei Wanliu and Qiu Kuangyi, working together, can withstand an Early Eighth Realm. The Purple Beard Clan’s Thunder Skill has immense attack power, and Rock Clan’s defense is monstrous. Not to mention, there are more than just those two at Seventh Realm over there..."
"No matter. So long as there’s no Eighth Realm, I fear nothing." Lu Chenzhou replied with much confidence, "Of course, you mustn’t stay idle. E Xian and Yaochi Immortal, lead your teams to hide near the Wind and Fire Department outpost, prevent Fang Xingyu and Yin Jiujiao from supporting Thunder Stone Department and interfering with my plan. Your goal is to delay them until my task is done."
Yaochi Immortal nodded slightly.
"Fine. But don’t turn off the Lighting Order—keep the projection on. If anything unexpected happens on your end, we can be alerted."
She was worried the Heavenly Gu Daoist lurked in the shadows.
"Alright."
Without further delay, Lu Chenzhou set off that night for the Thunder Stone Department in secret. Yaochi Immortal, E Xian, Hui Kong, and Xuanwu Daoist—these four, all Late Stage Seventh Realm or above—along with Bai Feng, skilled in Escape Skill, went to intercept Wind and Fire Department’s rescue from Fiery Fire Department. The rest remained at headquarters, while Thunder Realm Venerable was watched by Emperor Shitian.
...
Central Mystic Domain.
Night had deepened.
The mountains lay coiled like slumbering dragons, snaking endless and long. Here, within the sunless heart of the mines, tens of thousands of miners with cultivation ranging from First to Fourth Realm were digging away. They hailed from every Mystic Sky clan, among them outstanding geniuses.
But here, all were cattle and horses.
The miners wore special purple collars around their necks—standard Spiritual Weapons forged by Purple Beard Sect from the Thunder Realm’s unique resource, [Thunder Absorption Stone]. Should any miner try to escape, the collars would blast them with Thunder God Skill.
Those struck would find death preferable to survival.
The miners labored on, numb and dead-eyed.
In a corner, a youthful, golden-haired boy rested against the wall, blood and sweat oozing from his body. His arms reached past his knees, ape-like in length. He belonged to the humanoid [Changyou Clan], natives of Mystic Sky since ancient times. The Changyou Clan had no Dao Pioneers; their path was that of the Qi Refiner. They lived secluded in secret realms, enjoying a utopian existance. But their peace did not last long. The Divine Alliance, hearing of the Changyou Clan’s innate talent in forging, devised schemes to break through the secret realm. Over a hundred Divine Craftsmen of the clan, including his father [Starforger Lord Loda], were enslaved to forge war weapons for the Divine Alliance. All others became Mine Slaves, and the fate of the clan plummeted overnight.
"Martial Arts! Only the mysterious Martial Arts can change the destiny of our clan! Luoshan, you are a born seedling for Martial Arts. Even without a teacher, you’ve taught yourself, and by relying on cultivation methods picked up by chance, stepped into Martial Arts Grandmaster before thirty. You must survive, endure all humiliation and burdens—if you can reach the Xia Realm mentioned in the cultivation methods, you’ll be able to enter under a Martial Arts Expert and receive systematic instruction."
That was his father’s last exhortation.
Luoshan kept it in his heart.
The mysterious, mighty Martial Arts were his everything—the only way to change fate.
The Qi Refiner’s path was too slow!
According to the Martial Arts heritage he obtained, in the Xia Realm, first came the Cangtian Dragon King, who reached Seventh Realm in a hundred years; then there was Lu Chenzhou, who became a Grandmaster skilled in Inner and Outer Cultivation by twenty-eight, and even forged the strongest Heaven-reaching Immortal Armor in history.
"Sadly, the inheritance I got belonged to Martial Arts Grandmasters of Da Xia who perished by accident in Mystic Sky decades ago—I know nothing of Da Xia’s present. Who knows what realm Lu Chenzhou is at now, has he broken through Seven? If I can escape the mines, I want to be apprenticed to Dragon King as my master!"
Crack!
An ear-splitting electric snap broke Luoshan from his reverie. He saw an elder Changyou tribesman at his side writhing in agony on the ground, his body wrapped in electric arcs.
"Hiding primordial ore! Death!"
A powerfully intimidating Sixth Realm Divine Race general watched coldly as the elder foamed at the mouth.
A block of Mid-grade Primordial Ore tumbled to the ground.
Someone pleaded, "Sir, mining primordial ore is exhausting. The distributed stones aren’t enough to maintain our cultivation. Please spare his life."
The Divine Race general sneered.
"Don’t want to work?"
At once, all others fell silent, terrified.
Luoshan closed his eyes, pretending not to see. He feared he’d lose control and be executed on the spot.
He must stay alive.
Scenes like this played out day after day, across the entire mega-mine stretching for tens of thousands of miles.
...
High above in the skies.
Two towering palaces stood, surveying the entire region.
A semi-transparent Divine Race elder, clothed in a purple magic robe and coursing with noble purple blood, cradled a High Grade Primordial Stone in his hands, tempering his Divine Blood.
Lei Wanliu.
A peak Realm King since a thousand years ago.
"Great Commander, this is this month’s primordial ore."
A Realm King bowed and offered up a storage bag.
Lei Wanliu received it, face displeased.
"Only a hundred High Grade Primordial Stones?"
"My Lord, the surface ore is nearly depleted. Mining deeper underground is much harder."
"Pick up the pace. Don’t worry about draining the pond to catch the fish. This World—even this Universe—was doomed from the start. If we don’t take these resources, they’ll just end up in the hands of demon ghosts." Lei Wanliu said.
...
In the other palace—
Qiu Kuangyi’s Communication Order vibrated.
Fang Xingyu’s projection appeared.
"Be careful recently. Fang Bifan’s intelligence department says Tianxia’s Lu Chenzhou has likely already arrived in Mystic Sky, and his strength is not below ours."
"You must be joking? That guy surnamed Lu has only been in Seventh Realm for twenty years or so—he thinks he can stand on our level?"
Qiu Kuangyi was deeply skeptical. Even if Martial Arts Cultivation advanced quickly, there ought to be some basic laws, right?
"Just be careful anyway."
"Got it."
Suddenly,
Qiu Kuangyi’s eyes narrowed. In the mine’s night sky, countless blue butterflies appeared, dancing between heaven and earth. The butterflies gathered into a blue river, with a figure in white robe walking upon it.
"What’s going on?"
"Dare trespass on my Divine Race forbidden ground! Die!"
Lei Wanliu struck with his palm. A thunder pillar tore through a thousand li of sky, drowning out the figure in white!
The thunder dispersed.
The white-robed figure stood unmoved as a mountain.
Countless round shields hovered on the outside; the outermost ring cracked and vanished amidst the lightning.
"Seems I still need practice." Lu Chenzhou shook his head slightly. "That strike of yours actually shattered a thousand Mystic Sky Shields of mine..." He turned his head, smiling at Lei Wanliu: "You should be proud."
Lei Wanliu’s eyes narrowed in shock.
"Eighth Realm?"
Lu Chenzhou raised his hand and pointed lightly.
In the next instant, worms crawled out of Lei Wanliu’s mouth and nose, turning into butterflies. His body began burning uncontrollably, and within a breath, he was reduced to ash.
The wind blew, scattering the ashes away.
Peak Realm King, dead!