Lu Yuan stood proud in midair, looking down from above.
His aura was overwhelmingly formidable.
Zhou Yunqiong had already been wounded in the preceding clash. Facing such immense pressure, her face grew even paler.
At this moment, she knew for certain.
He was not bluffing; he harbored genuine killing intent.
"If you kill me, you will definitely regret it! Standing behind me is the Ji clan, ranked among the top ten in the entire starry sky!"
Zhou Yunqiong cried out. She was truly terrified, so she brought forth the faction behind her without hesitation. She hoped to sow doubt in Lu Yuan's mind, so that she might retain a chance to survive—even if only the faintest sliver.
Lu Yuan acted as if he had not heard a word.
Golden qi and blood permeated the air, causing the earth below to tremble faintly. His aura erupted, and without the slightest hesitation, he threw a devastating punch downward.
In the end, Zhou Yunqiong's body cracked. She failed to withstand it for even a single moment before directly shattering into pieces.
Pfft!
Her blood spilled straight onto the ground, and her life force drained away. She had miscalculated.
Yet after doing all this, Lu Yuan showed not the slightest ripple of emotion, as if to him it were nothing more than a trivial matter.
Right at that moment, however—
Hum, hum...
An inexplicable power surged and converged, forming an ancient bronze talisman. After the ancient talisman appeared, it gathered all of Zhou Yunqiong's vital energy that had not yet dispersed, condensing it into a shadowy silhouette.
In an instant, the silhouette and the ancient talisman transformed into a streak of flowing light, vanishing from the spot.
Seeing this, Lu Yuan's gaze shifted.
"Wait."
Right where Zhou Yunqiong had died, a wisp of light radiated outward from the pool of blood.
Jiang Ningxian looked at the bloodstain, her eyes trembling in shock. "This... that shouldn't be possible, right?"
She stepped forward, her expression solemn. "To refine a Death Immunity Talisman, it requires at least the sacrifice of an immortal for it to take effect."
"What is that?" The Spirit Monkey came over and asked, perplexity lacing its voice. It did not understand what that object signified.
"It is a life-preserving method—a forbidden technique that only the great clans ranked in the top ten across the starfields can command. It grants immunity from death once. This method is called the Death Immunity Talisman, and each person can only use it once in a lifetime," Jiang Ningxian explained. "Even among the top ten great clans of the starfields combined, there are no more than three in total. It is precious to the extreme, because for it to take effect, an immortal must be sacrificed."
She was indeed shocked, because she possessed a Death Immunity Talisman herself. That had been granted only after her father pleaded with the ancient ancestors for a long time before they finally brought it out. Yet Zhou Yunqiong actually had one as well. That was treatment reserved for a Divine Son or a Saintess, wasn't it?
What Jiang Ningxian had not expected was that Zhou Yunqiong was valued this highly. In short, the Ji clan had left her an extraordinary forbidden technique to preserve her life. Although she appeared dead right now, with the Death Immunity Talisman, she could be revived in the future.
To revive the dead through such means was truly heaven-defying. The four Beast Kings could not help but be shaken.
Beside her, Lu Yuan understood after hearing the explanation. Moreover, as she had said, even across the top ten great clans of the starfields combined, there were no more than three in total—it was precious to the extreme. Judging from Jiang Ningxian's expression, Lu Yuan also knew that such an item was exceedingly rare. On second thought, that was only natural; if there were too many, that would be truly terrifying.
That the Death Immunity Talisman saved Zhou Yunqiong's life had indeed exceeded his expectations, but it did not make much difference. He knew the two of them would eventually cross paths again, and when that day came, no matter how many tricks she had, none would be of any use.
With this thought, Lu Yuan chuckled softly and said, "So what if she cheated death once? When the time comes, I'll just kill her a second time."
Jiang Ningxian calmed down as well and immediately smiled. "The descendants of Xuanyuan the Yellow Emperor's bloodline—aren't you afraid? At that time, you might have to face the Ji clan."
Hearing this, Lu Yuan chuckled. "Haven't I already clashed with them?"
Both the Celestial Clan and the Zhou family had ties to the Ji clan. Under such circumstances, conflict between the two sides was inevitable no matter what happened in the future. They were already in a feud to the death; there was no need to worry about leaving future troubles. Furthermore, he was considering another matter: wiping out the Zhou family needed to be placed on the agenda as well.
As for where the talisman came from, there was hardly any need to think—it definitely came from the Ji clan. The Ji clan was truly powerful, recognized by the entire starry sky, with an incomparably profound foundation. Coupled with their ancestor being a renowned figure of legend, anyone would balk at crossing them. Although the Yellow Emperor was the Yellow Emperor and the Ji clan was the Ji clan, and the two could not be entirely conflated, when it came down to it, Lu Yuan harbored no fear whatsoever.
"True enough." Jiang Ningxian smiled after hearing his words and said no more.
On the other side, the four Beast Kings hurried over. Everything that had just happened gave them a general understanding of the relationship between Lu Yuan and Zhou Yunqiong—a grudge had long existed between the two.
"Let's examine this Jiuzhou Map first."
Without further ado, Lu Yuan took out the map he had seized earlier. Jiang Ningxian and the four Beast Kings gathered around as well.
The Jiuzhou Map was unrolled. What was depicted upon it were precisely the nine provinces demarcated by Yu the Great during ancient times.
Yu the Great, though not counted among the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, held a status in Huaxia that could not be overlooked. In history, he founded Huaxia's first dynasty and lived in the same era as Shun, one of the Five Emperors. The Nine Cauldrons he cast held a supreme status—and the Nine Cauldrons were legendary divine artifacts that anchored the nation.
Not only the Beast Kings, but even Lu Yuan was astonished upon seeing this Jiuzhou Map.
In each region of the nine provinces, there was a small red mark. The mark was not round; instead, it took the shape of a cauldron, each identical in form. To their surprise, one of the cauldrons radiated a faint wisp of light from time to time.
Cauldrons. The nine provinces. What was depicted on the map was simply too obvious, and anyone would make the connection. Earlier, when they first saw the Jiuzhou Map, they had felt it was extraordinary and must be of great use. Now, after examining it closely, they felt all the more certain.
"Cauldrons, nine provinces... could the marks on this map indicate the locations of the Nine Cauldrons?" the Nine-Tailed Fox King spoke up, thoroughly amazed.
Could it be that they could actually gather all of the Nine Cauldrons by relying on this map?
In particular, judging from the markings, one of the cauldrons was located within Kunlun. Shockingly, the marked position seemed to be right here in Mount Kunlun.
Lu Yuan did not know the exact utility of the Nine Cauldrons, but as legendary sacred vessels of the realm, what kind of immense fortune would it be if he could acquire them? Thinking to this point, he could not help feeling a sense of delight in his heart.
Half of the Heavenly Palace had already been explored by himself and Jiang Ningxian earlier, and there was nothing left there. What they were currently in was the other half, the Netherworld City. Lu Yuan looked into the distance and noticed that the inversion of yin and yang was complete by now. Only the other half of the region remained.
"Since one of the cauldrons is in Mount Kunlun, let us go take a look," Lu Yuan said. Following the indications on the Jiuzhou Map, he immediately determined a direction.
Chapter 187