Chapter 818: Chapter 542: Enlightenment on the Death Star
Xia Realm.
Somewhere in the starry sky.
Lu Chenzhou was traveling aboard the Aurora Palace.
"It’s a pity my Kun Character Technique state has ended. After falling into a period of weakness, I’m definitely no match for the Blood Hidden Building Master. Otherwise, I’d revive and wipe him out completely."
Of course, Lu Chenzhou could also use the Heaven-reaching Spirit Weapon, but there were still uncertainties, so staying alive took priority.
Not long after.
He found a small asteroid.
"Even though the starry sky is deserted, I’d better stay cautious."
He used the Hidden Essence Technique to suppress all of his aura, then put away the Aurora Palace and transformed into a rainbow as he plunged onto the asteroid.
With Lu Chenzhou’s speed, he soon circled the entire planet. He intended to cultivate here and did not wish to be disturbed.
After inspecting the planet,
Lu Chenzhou opened the Eye of Calamity, and on one of the causality lines, he once again saw that bizarre sticky fluid.
Thinking back, on his way to provide support, it seemed he was cursed once again, but nothing happened.
Strands and strands of Causality Dao Essence were absorbed.
The Martial Arts Tree grew slowly.
[Way of Causality: Third Rank (76%)]
His proficiency had improved by a significant margin again.
"That Youtong probably doesn’t know that each time it curses me, it actually helps me comprehend the Way of Causality, does it?"
Lu Chenzhou’s gaze was playful.
Next, he continued researching spear skills.
"Up to this point, Martial God Spear has a total of six major killing moves: Ten Directions Seal, Dusk of the Gods, Nightfall Elegy, Myriad Lights, Star Falling Like Rain, and Eastern Chanting. My ideas for killing moves are actually quite clear.
As long as one fights back, there will always be hope. From the moment I chose World Dao, my martial arts—my spear skill—became bound together with civilization, and with all living beings."
Starting from the humble, gradually growing stronger.
After the dark night, the dawn descends.
"Let’s begin—let me create my first Supreme Divine Skill Level spear technique. I won’t leave seclusion if I don’t succeed."
...
At the same time.
In the Xia Realm, some confident Grandmasters noticed that Lu Chenzhou’s name had quietly disappeared from the Heavenly Person List.
You must know, after that battle against the Blood Hidden Building Master, Lu Chenzhou’s rank on the Heavenly Person List had already soared to second place.
That’s right, second, second only to the Northern Guardian King; all those senior top ten Heavenly Persons now ranked behind Lu Chenzhou, and the Northern Guardian King, as the list master, was first by default.
In a sense, calling Lu Chenzhou the strongest below Absolute Peak was not an exaggeration. Logically, such a major event would be widely reported and made public by the Wanbang Council.
But now, Lu Chenzhou had vanished.
Linking this to previous rumors from the Demon Palace about killing Lu Chenzhou, some people couldn’t help but start to believe it.
The official line from Wanbang Council was still that he wasn’t dead, but they ignored public demands to reveal the soul lamp.
All in all, just like how for years no one could confirm whether the Eternal Immortal had broken through to Eighth, Lu Chenzhou’s situation became a mystery as well.
The Demon Palace, Rashamon Ghost Country, and Blood Hidden Tower—these enemy factions were of course celebrating; especially the Demon Emperor of Yun Meng District was the happiest. With Lu Chenzhou sitting in command before, they hadn’t been able to shine; his response was too fast—even the Mo Yun Demon Emperor was no match.
Now without Lu Chenzhou around, even with Daoist Soldiers stationed, many Demon Emperors dared to opportunistically stir up trouble from time to time.
The Forbidden Zone also knew well that from the grand perspective, the human clan of Xia Realm was fated to win—the disparity in forces was simply too great. Unless the Forbidden Zone kept sending more Demon Emperors and Heavenly Ghosts, but under the great curtain’s rules they couldn’t dispatch Seventh Realm, nor could they send thousands of Demon Emperors at once for a crushing invasion. They could only send a few at a time, which amounted to just giving the Xia Realm free kills and resources.
So in the later stages of the war, the Forbidden Zone had already halted deploying more troops to Xia Realm and instead ordered surviving forces to inflict as much large-scale damage as possible before their destruction.
Now, without Lu Chenzhou.
The Forbidden Zone’s plans would go even smoother—the demon ghosts were sharpening their claws, vowing to make rivers of blood flow in the Human World before leaving the stage.
...
Jiangshan Map Grotto Heaven.
Inside a little villa courtyard.
The Northern Guardian King was chatting with Ji Xuantong and others.
"Don’t worry, Chenzhou isn’t dead. He’s just playing dead to lure out the hidden rats and snakes, so it’ll be easier to settle the war’s end. But this is top secret—except for you close friends, don’t tell anyone else."
Old Ji let out a sigh of relief: "Hahaha, all right, when Chenzhou returns, President, let us know."
Li Yao said proudly, "Master is too strong—even the Blood Hidden Building Master, a Seventh Realm, isn’t his match."
No matter how underwhelming the Blood Hidden Building Master’s strength, his realm was real, his might indeed stronger than any of the top ten ordinary Heavenly Persons.
Master is second on the Heavenly Person List, and rightly so.
...
Blood Hidden Tower.
The Blood Hidden Building Master was drinking in celebration.
The Blood Hidden Four Elders had gathered together.
"Hahaha, congratulations, Tower Master! Who’d have thought that the hard nut the demon ghosts couldn’t crack would be dealt with by us?"
"How satisfying!"
"We no longer have to worry about Lu Chenzhou. We’ve wasted too much effort on that guy."
The subordinates flattered him.
The Blood Hidden Building Master was quite pleased.
He took a long draught of blood wine and raised his cup: "Previously, our Blood Hidden Tower tried to assassinate twice, but both failed. Lu Chenzhou was lucky, to have died at my hands. No matter what, to have fought a Seventh Realm, he can be proud! Though he was my sworn enemy, I respect this kid."
He looked very heroic and didn’t mention at all how he’d almost been wiped out by Lu Chenzhou, escaping with a trump card to survive.
...
Eye of Truth.
"Is he really dead?"
The Witch Master closed his eyes in contemplation.
Then, he looked at Lord Toad.
"Lord Toad, have the You Tong Demon Emperor use the Way of Causality to check whether Lu Chenzhou is still alive?"
Lord Toad replied expressionlessly, "You Tong is still unconscious. The second curse kill cost it too much, almost causing a drop in its realm. Recovery will probably take another year or so."
"Then you try yourself?"
"I just woke up. This agent body only has Second Realm cultivation—even with heaven-defying means, I can’t use them. If you’d woken me up sooner, this kid would have been dead long ago. Where would all this hassle come from now?" Lord Toad complained.
...
Time passed.
Three months slipped by in a flash.
The Demon Palace sent Demon Emperors to harass Su City three times. Each time, it was Old Han Shan and other veteran Heavenly Kings who responded. Lu Chenzhou was never seen again.
This reinforced their belief.
Lu Chenzhou was dead.
Outside, rumors ran wild.
Voices casting doom and gloom were rampant.
The Wanbang Council used the chance to act, untangling clues and capturing several evil forces who hid behind legal façades, but were actually backed by the Eye of Truth to create panic and sow unrest.
There is never a shortage of traitors at any time.
...
In a flash, half a year had passed.
On this day, in the Myriad Phenomena Dao.
"Wang Xian, I’ve become a Grandmaster!"
Lin Xia emerged from seclusion, fiery and full of energy.
"Congratulations, Senior Sister."
Wang Xian now had Intermediate Grandmaster cultivation.
"Where’s Junior Brother? Is he in the Grotto Heaven?"
Lin Xia didn’t sense Lu Chenzhou’s presence.
"No one knows where he’s in seclusion—I hear he’s trying to comprehend a Supreme Spear Technique. It’s unbelievable."
Wang Xian was moved.
Lin Xia’s eyes lit up.
"Supreme Spear Technique?"
Generally, Supreme Divine Skills are created only at a Heavenly King’s peak—only a few are completed at Middle Realm.
After a moment, Lin Xia said expectantly, "I wonder whether Master or Junior Brother will be first to break through Sixth to Seventh? Most likely Junior Brother—Master is powerful, but still a human...
Junior Brother, he’s not human."
Wang Xian laughed, "Fast or slow, doesn’t matter; success is everything. For a single sect to have two at Absolute Peak, that’s enough."
Unnoticed,
Wang Changming has been in seclusion thirty years already.
...
Another month later.
The war in the Human World was more intense than ever.
With Lu Chenzhou absent, demon ghosts rampaged everywhere, bringing disasters far and wide. Over the past year, at least thirty more Demon Emperors and Heavenly Ghosts were slain by the Council.
Up to this point—counting the Shadow Kill Clan—the Forbidden Zone’s Six Realm fighting power was now less than a third of its former level. In contrast, the Wanbang Council’s human Heavenly Kings had lost only thirty or so.
Of the Four Emperors, the Blood Vine Demon Emperor and Qingtian Demon Emperor appeared most frequently, still the greatest headaches for the Wanbang Council.
...
In the blink of an eye, the new year arrived.
The year ’65 had come.
Primordial Mountain Cave Heaven.
Lu Guoping and Li Xianghua were already old and grey—even with life extension, they were nearly a hundred years old.
"Sir, has Little Lu not come back yet?"
They found Mr. Tortoise, who was sipping tea alone.
"Not yet."
Mr. Tortoise looked up at the starry sky and said: "When Junior Brother returns, he’ll probably be a ceiling-level powerhouse of the Human World."
...
Nameless Asteroid.
Over the past year, a disheveled, unkempt, white-robed figure had practiced the spear here day and night.
Looking around, there were tens of thousands of ravines crisscrossing the surface—all traces left from training the spear.
The entire planetary landscape had been transformed by his spear practice.
Countless fragments, swept by the spear light, drifted into orbit, forming an asteroid belt slowly revolving around the world.
On this day—
Lu Chenzhou stood spear in hand.
"The feeling of practicing the spear without a care is really great. If you can stand the loneliness, the starry sky is indeed a perfect place to train spear skills."
With a thought, he entered the Battle Trip.
The target: [Blood Hidden Building Master].
This was the most powerful foe recorded by the Martial Arts Tree, aside from [Lightning Demon Venerable] and [Black Mountain Demon Saint].
In the wasteland,
In the dark night beneath the dazzling stars,
The Blood Hidden Building Master drew his blade and attacked, six afterimages turning into six blood lights. Lu Chenzhou raised his spear to meet him. Compared to a year ago, his spear skills—starting with [Black Cloud Pressing a City], ending with [Life is like a bubble]—had all changed, as he continued to refine them.
After optimization, he no longer even needed to use killing moves to battle the Blood Hidden Building Master to a standstill. Their battle ravaged the plains; streaks of light soared into the sky.
Even when the Blood Hidden Building Master activated Heavenly Demon Six Transformations, he gradually fell under Lu Chenzhou’s suppressed momentum; Lu Chenzhou’s qi-blood now actually only increased by twenty thousand over last year.
There was no qualitative change.
This was a metamorphosis of technique.
"Thousand Leaves Flow· Fallen World!"
The Blood Hidden Building Master repeated his old trick and unleashed his greatest Domain—billions of leaves forming a torrent of Sword Qi.
This was the move that had killed Lu Chenzhou previously.
"Break for me!"
Lu Chenzhou charged against the current, and behind him appeared fourteen phantoms of himself at different ages, each unleashing a different move.
From youth to age sixty,
Every stage of Lu Chenzhou’s life,
At this moment, all overlapped together.
On this little asteroid, remote from any fixed star, thousands of astronomical units from Xia Star, illuminated only by the faintest starlight, suddenly—a sun rose up.