Lu Wuhen's Scheme!

Seeing that he remained stubbornly unmoved, Gu Huai let out a long sigh and cursed under his breath, "Ungrateful wretch! If not for young friend Li, you'd have been dead long ago!" "Playing dead at a time like this—you really are something!" The people beside him tried to persuade the old man to calm down, but Gu Huai shrugged off their hands. His chest heaved violently, disheveled hair veiling his brow and eyes. Sword in hand, the old man barked angrily, "Get lost, all of you! Not an ounce of bloody spirit among you!" Gu Huai took a deep look at Zhou Shiyu, then turned toward the disciple and sent a voice transmission: "In a moment, convey the Great Xia Sword Sect's battle status to him word for word without missing a thing." "Uh... Sect Master, what if Senior Brother Zhou still doesn't wake up?" The old man snapped peevishly, "Doesn't matter! Just recount every single piece of news to him word for word so he hears it." "When there's no new news, just stand by his side and repeat it over and over." BOOM! "It's here! It's here! The Great Xia Sword Sect's barrier has opened!" "Phew... Great Xia Sword Sect... you must win! Show them our backbone!" "That's the Yanluo Sword Venerable, and... so many powerful experts!" At present, Xi Yunhuai and the others were all considered members of the Great Xia Sword Sect, along with Guanyun Peak's peak master, Ji Yuchuan. Two Body Integration Realm powerhouses were nothing to scoff at, and joining them were Tantai Yiting and Han Chengxian. Together with Gong Ze, Nangong Qianyan, Tu Zhongqiu, and Ji Hong, there were nearly twenty mighty cultivators in the Void Refining Realm! Cultivators in the Soul Formation Realm were too numerous to count. A dense sea of figures, clad in uniform sect robes, lined up in a row. At the forefront stood Lu Kangnian, with Li Guanqi at his side! Although Li Guanqi currently held only the position of elder, his status rivaled that of the Discipline Master; calling him vice sect master would hardly be an exaggeration... Even if he would not claim it himself, in the hearts of everyone in the Great Xia Sword Sect, he was practically a vice sect master already. Li Guanqi's expression was somber, his cold gaze darting toward the distant Lu clan cloud boat. Aboard the prow of that magnificent, fiery-red cloud boat, Lu Wuhen looked down at Li Guanqi with a contemptuous smirk playing across his lips. Not only the Lu clan, but nearly every clan of standing among the Ancient Clans had sent representatives. Buzz! The void trembled as a faint pressure of the Mahayana realm rippled outward. Lu Kangnian and Li Guanqi's expressions shifted slightly. Then, an elder robed in dark gold slowly stepped out from nothingness. The elder looked senile and decrepit, his face aged with withered white hair. Hunched and somewhat short of stature, he leaned on a cane as he surveyed the entire field with indifferent eyes. Everywhere his gaze swept, everyone felt their heart constrict, as if gripped tight by an invisible giant hand! Light flashed in Lu Wuhen's hand as he brought out a redwood chair, helping the elder sit down before smiling. "Forefather, what brought you here as well?" This old man was none other than the Lu clan's forefather, the Mahayana realm old monster, Lu Hengtian! Lu Hengtian smiled faintly, seeing nothing wrong with what Lu Wuhen had done. In fact, he felt that for such minor tricks, Lu Wuhen's execution had still been far too superficial. Just as he was about to instruct Lu Wuhen on a few points, two middle-aged men suddenly stepped out from behind Lu Wuhen!! When Li Guanqi saw these two men, his expression drastically changed!!! At the same time, the two black-robed men within that spatial dharma artifact let their disguise slip as well! Spurt! After taking a slash of a sword and being wounded, Ye Feng's face changed drastically as he roared, "Not good, Elder Li!! They aren't from the Lu clan!!" Li Changqing repelled the two with a single-handed sword strike, flashing over to shield Ye Feng as he said in a chilling voice: "I know now as well..." "Quite a lavish display. Let me think... just the two of you shouldn't qualify for any of the four ranks—Chi, Mei, Wang, or Liang!" The two black-robed men exchanged a glance, surprised that their opponent knew so much. Just then, a cold gleam flickered in Ye Feng's eyes as he caught a glimpse of a corner beneath the black robe. Swallowing hard, he transmitted his voice in a low whisper, "The mask says... 'Earth: Low'!" Li Changqing licked the blood at the corner of his mouth, his grip tightening on his sword. Back then, the assassin Meng Wanshu had encountered in the Heaven-Slaughtering Sea was also a Body Integration Realm member of the Sha organization. Yet that person had only been 'Mystic: High'. Lu Hengtian gave Lu Wuhen a deep, knowing look, then glanced back at the heads of the two branch clans behind him. The corners of his lips curved slightly into an enigmatic smile. Li Guanqi's mind was in total turmoil. In full view of everyone, he pulled out a jade slip and immediately transmitted his voice: "Third Brother, are you sure those were Lu clan cultivators!?" "All eight branch heads are right here with me—not a single one is missing!!" As the two streaks of light sped through the void, spatial fluctuations suddenly rippled beside them. Hearing the words within, Cao Yan's pupils constricted sharply!! Xiao Chen frowned and asked, "What is it, Third Brother?" Cao Yan turned dazed to look at Xiao Chen and muttered, "Those two... weren't dispatched by the Lu clan..." "What?! Not from the Lu clan???" "Yet when I shouted that remark calling them out, they clearly froze for a second!" With an exceedingly grim expression, Cao Yan handed him the jade slip, from which Li Guanqi's voice rang out. Xiao Chen swallowed hard, murmuring in disbelief: "Could it be... those two... are from Sha?!" Xiao Chen felt his scalp go numb, the hairs on his arms standing on end. While he was lost in wild thoughts, Cao Yan grabbed him and tore forward at breakneck speed. "Forget about all that for now! I believe in Second Brother! Let's get back first!" Lu Hengtian made no effort to restrain his aura, causing the expressions of many Six Domains cultivators to turn exceedingly grim. Min Jiuzhou snorted coldly and likewise released a wave of pressure, blanketing the entire Six Domains side within it. Everyone immediately felt the crushing weight around them ease considerably. At the same time, Ji Yuchuan and Xi Yunhuai sprang into action. One terrifying array after another rose abruptly, while hundreds of spirit talismans suppressed the void. Lu Kangnian's mouth twitched, and the Demon-Slaying Crossbows that had previously intimidated the crowd were hauled out once again. Not only that, but the colossal sword array rose as well, pillars of light soaring into the heavens. Lu Kangnian's stance was unmistakable: if you fail to play by the rules today, the Great Xia Sword Sect would rather fight to the death and drag you down with us!! This display drew solemn looks from both the Six Domains cultivators and the Ancient Clan camp. Seeing those Demon-Slaying Crossbows, even Lu Wuhen couldn't help his mouth twitching; he truly hadn't expected the Great Xia Sword Sect's foundations to be so terrifying. Things like these... he even wondered if they had been smuggled down by cultivators who had ascended to the Immortal Realm. Demon-Slaying Crossbows capable of shooting and slaying Void Refining Realm cultivators at will were rare treasures across the entire world. Suddenly! Zhao Xianglu and Min Jiuzhou, who had been seated on their thrones, experienced a slight change in expression and hurriedly dispersed their thrones to rise. Buzz! Everyone turned their gaze in unison toward the sky above the Great Xia Sword Sect. Even Lu Hengtian narrowed his eyes, gazing into the void before him. A man clad in a magnificent azure drifting-cloud robe stepped out from within. Standing to one side, Zhao Xianglu and Min Jiuzhou bowed in salutation and said solemnly, "Greetings, Domain Lord!" Indeed, this poised, dashing man with one hand behind his back was none other than the Domain Lord of the Great Xia Domain, Zhou Yunqing! On that day, having unsealed the Summer Cicada Sword ahead of time, Zhou Yunqing had witnessed Hong Zhi drawing her blade—a sight he could never forget for the rest of his life. In a battle of that caliber, he had lacked even the qualification to intervene.