Black Lotus, Deep Waters, a Young Woman, and That Lord!!!

Jiuguang Town was only a town, but it was not far from the urban area of Longjiang City, and so people thronged there and traffic flowed without end. It was thoroughly prosperous. But at this moment, on the town's broad streets, many cars braked hard and crashed into one another. Pedestrians screamed again and again. They stared at the people of the Black Lotus Sect standing high in the sky, terrified and bewildered at once. "The Black Lotus Sect—what is that? A sect?" "They're flying! They can fly! Our world has actually been hiding immortal cultivators, supermen?" "No. The one leading them said, 'This world, our Black Lotus Sect claims it.' That means they come from another world!" "An invasion from another world? Who would have thought Canxing would not be invaded by aliens that may or may not even exist in the cosmos, but invaded by a pack of immortal cultivators who look like ancients—" "Get moving! Stop looking! These people strike without the least scruple. Every one of them is vicious and ruthless. Stay, and you may be killed by a casual blow." "I don't want to go. This is true extraordinary power! If I leave, I may never have another chance to come into contact with the extraordinary. And these people of the Black Lotus Sect don't seem like madmen or fools. However cruel they are, they still need mortals to work and serve them, don't they?" "Putting your life at the mercy of someone else's whim—that is stupid beyond words—" The street was a mess. Cries of terror filled the air. Liu Qingqing slammed on the brakes and looked at the hundred and more Black Lotus Sect cultivators in the sky, her face exceedingly grim. "I knew it. Yuzhou being at peace for nearly two months was no good thing. Sure enough, real trouble has come!" The Black Lotus Sect cultivators before her eyes, able to roam heaven and earth, were already the equal of a hundred little supermen. Dealing with them would be extremely difficult! More importantly, these hundred and more could not possibly be all the forces of the Black Lotus Sect. There were surely quite a few more hidden behind, watching how the situation developed— Zhou Dongqiang quickly pushed the door open and got out. He said in a low voice, "It has to be that oddity of Xiao Wei's! That oddity can link two different worlds. Xiao Wei could cross over by means of it, and people from the other world can cross over too!" Liu Qingqing nodded in agreement. At the same time she took out her phone and dialed an emergency number. The call connected in an instant, and she spoke extremely fast. "Yuzhou, Longjiang City, Jiuguang Town. An oddity that lets people cross between worlds has appeared. Immortal cultivators of a sect from another world have used it to come to Canxing. Their methods are domineering, they do exactly as they please, and their strength is great. Requesting headquarters send support at once!" "Received!" A voice came from the other end. Once the situation had been reported, the call ended. Liu Qingqing took two steps forward, drew the special firearm at her waist, and fired a shot into the air above her head. "Bang!" The gazes of the Black Lotus Sect crowd were drawn over in spite of themselves. Liu Qingqing lifted her head and, across the long sky, warned in a loud voice, "No matter which world you come from, and no matter how strong you are, stop every hostile act of killing this instant. Otherwise there will be no further chance to turn this around!" The people of the Black Lotus Sect looked at one another. Mockery was in every eye. The leading black-robed Daoist let out a sneering laugh. "A chance to turn this around? Ridiculous. We came here precisely to plunge this world into war, and to make you submit willingly to our Black Lotus Sect. What need is there of any chance to turn things around?" As the words fell, the long sword in his hand trembled. A clear, bright sword qi burst forth. In the blink of an eye it crossed the long sky, carrying a biting chill, and shot straight at Liu Qingqing! "Air barrier!" Liu Qingqing instinctively raised a hand and pushed. A transparent barrier appeared before her. The barrier held the sword qi for an instant, then shattered, but that instant was enough for her to dodge. She lunged to the side. Where she had been standing, the sword qi carved a deep trench. "Hm?" Seeing this, the black-robed Daoist frowned. He thought, I used a soul search on Xiao Wei. From his memories, this world had only the so-called technological mechanical arts. How is this person using methods like the Mystic Dao? The situation seemed to have gone somewhat beyond his expectations. Still, it was no great matter. He had confidence in his own strength, and still more confidence in the vast Black Lotus Sect! He gave a short, cold laugh and was about to send his sword out again, when Zhou Dongqiang on the ground cursed in fury. "Damn it! Striking so decisively, without a shred of mercy! That's demonic Dao through and through!" Even as he cursed, he pulled a pitch-black, compass-shaped object from his pocket and tossed it upward. The compass hummed and shook, releasing thousands upon thousands of transparent rays that spread a net-like web across the sky and covered every person of the Black Lotus Sect. "This is—a fourth-rank confinement formation!" someone cried in shock. "How can that be? Any random person can bring out a fourth-rank great formation? Were the memories of that man called Xiao Wei false?" Seeing his disciples somewhat panicked, the black-robed Daoist rebuked them. "What of a fourth-rank great formation? Join our strength and break it at our ease!" He raised his sword. The hundred and more disciples raised the swords in their hands as well. In a flash, more than a hundred beams of sword light burst forth and converged, merging into an enormous black lotus. The lotus rose and sank within the great formation, shedding a wondrous radiance. "Go!" The black lotus quivered once and slammed into the edge of the great formation. At once the formation patterns rippled like water, flaring and dimming without rest. "Sister Qing, from the look of it the great formation won't hold for long—" Zhou Dongqiang was quite helpless. This special formation disk was the last-resort treasure he had fished up with his fishing rod. He had always placed great hopes on it, but as things looked now, it seemed unable to hold the situation down. Liu Qingqing said calmly, "The one leading them should be a fourth-rank Soul cultivator. Add the many second-rank and third-rank disciples under his command, and it is normal that they cannot be confined." The members of the Oddity Management Association understood the cultivation system of the Mystic Dao. After all, not long ago they had "caught" a transmigrator, the Golden Core cultivator Yu Feng. Yu Feng had also given them the important news that spiritual qi was reviving on Canxing, and so had smoothly joined the Association, becoming a probationary member charged with teaching the full members how to cultivate. Both Liu Qingqing and Zhou Dongqiang had cultivated at headquarters under Yu Feng. But because the time had been short, neither of them had yet trained up much in the way of results. "We don't need to keep them confined the whole time. We only need to hold out for a while." Liu Qingqing drew a deep breath. Suddenly her phone vibrated. She hurriedly answered. The voice on the other end was brief. "The army has already moved out. The first wave of fighter jets is expected to arrive in support within four minutes. At the same time, the Fire God happens to be on a mission near Yuzhou. He will need four to five minutes to reach Longjiang City—" "Excellent! The Fire God is actually coming!" Zhou Dongqiang, listening at the side, heard it clearly. He swung his right fist, and the tightness in his chest abruptly eased. The Fire God, Chen Yan, was a senior member of the Oddity Management Association, the one who had fused with the oddity Flame Godhood. Ever since fusing with the godhood, his strength had been growing at every moment. From an ordinary person, he had rapidly transformed into a powerful extraordinary being whose name shook the four directions. At a thought, he could rouse ten thousand fires, burn mountains, and boil seas! Within the Association it was speculated that only when his strength "recovered" to one-third to one-half of that of the Flame Godhood's original owner would this state of growing stronger at every moment come to a stop. By then, however, he might have to face the cost of use head-on—possession by the godhood's original owner! Of course, so-called possession was only a guess. Until the final moment, no one could be certain what the cost of use actually was— "If it is only a matter of a few minutes, the great formation ought to hold." Liu Qingqing judged. Zhou Dongqiang nodded, then drew from his pocket a sphere gleaming with silver light. The sphere was smooth and round, and faintly gave off a dangerous aura. "Even if the great formation is broken early, I still have this Heavenly Thunder Orb. Throw it, and it can at least blast several Golden Core cultivators to death. Even that great Soul cultivator will have to take a light injury. It can buy us a little time." Hummm— As the two spoke, air currents surged within the great formation. Sword light, firelight, and lightning light burst and scattered, and the roar of explosions never ceased. The black-robed Daoist's gaze was icy. He attacked the great formation without pause. A little more than three full minutes passed. His expression stirred, and he thrust a beam of sword light toward a certain node of the great formation. "Rumble—" The confinement formation, already tottering, instantly threw up enormous ripples, then split open several gaps. The gaps grew larger and larger. In less than ten seconds the whole formation collapsed completely, and a damaged formation disk fell from high in the sky. Zhou Dongqiang and Liu Qingqing both tightened. The former clenched the Heavenly Thunder Orb and was just about to throw it when a piercing shriek suddenly rose at the edge of the sky. "Hm?!" The black-robed Daoist had already lifted his long sword, ready to slay the two annoying ants on the ground. Hearing the sound, he frowned and turned to look toward the eastern horizon—only to see dozens of imposing fighter jets sweeping in. And arriving a step ahead of the jets were missiles! Dozens of missiles trailed blazing white flames, howling in from the edge of the sky. They split the long heavens, their momentum vast. "Mechanical creations with a little something to them. But only a little." The black-robed Daoist's expression did not change. The long sword in his hand rose, and upon the blade an exceedingly brilliant light suddenly blazed. That light was at first like a single morning star, then burst open with a roar. In an instant it became hundreds and thousands of sharp sword lights, like a snow lotus suddenly blooming across the canopy of the sky! The snow lotus bloomed. Sword light spread, and met dozens of missiles high overhead! "Boom!!!" A tremendous explosion sounded. Orange-red fireballs burst apart one after another the instant the sword light touched them. The violent shock wave swept in all directions like a hurricane, tearing the heavy banks of cloud to pieces! A rain of fierce flame scattered down, dyeing half the sky a magnificent crimson. Amid the weaving of light and fire, the black-robed Daoist calmly flicked a finger against his sword. Dozens of strands of sword qi, fine as gossamer, flew toward the fighter jets darting back and forth in the distance. "Dodge!" "Dodge, quick!" No matter how the many jets evaded and climbed, the sword qi clung fast behind them. Just as it seemed the craft would be destroyed and their pilots killed— Boom!! A stretch of sky, like a scroll unrolling, was suddenly spread with fire! The fire was like a great sea. It swept the long sky and burned the threadlike sword qi to nothing in an instant. "Wicked guests from another world?" A cold voice sounded out of the void. Then, from amid the churning sea of fire, a lean young man strolled forth. "It's the Fire God! Chen Yan!" Zhou Dongqiang shouted in excitement. Liu Qingqing also let out a long breath. The black-robed Daoist's expression went rigid at once. This aura was at least that of a fifth-rank cultivator—very possibly sixth-rank Great Ascension! Damn it! Xiao Wei was simply useless. Living in the so-called information age, he actually knew nothing of the great cultivators of this world! No. Even if he had known that low-rank cultivators existed, I could have inferred from that alone that this world hid great cultivators. Yet he was utterly certain this was a perfectly ordinary world, without any extraordinary power— The black-robed Daoist felt he had been duped. Fortunately, being duped did not matter. The Black Lotus Sect had long prepared for this, and had the confidence and the strength to suppress all who would not submit! "Since you are wicked guests, then die!" Chen Yan stood high in the sky. He turned a palm, and an incandescent white fire lotus bloomed in the center of it. He reached out and gently sent it forth. The fire lotus drifted in the air, then burst apart with a roar! It became thousands of waterfalls of flame. Crimson and golden flowing fire, like molten rock pouring from the Ninth Heaven, bore the force of burning mountains and boiling seas as it surged wildly toward the black-robed Daoist! Yet faced with an attack of such astonishing might, the black-robed Daoist only watched in silence and offered no resistance. The Black Lotus Sect disciples behind him did the same, their expressions calm. Whoosh— In the instant the flames were about to swallow them, a barely perceptible sound of wind arose. From the void, a black flower basket suddenly descended. It spun as it came down and steadily blocked the way before them all. The thousands of streams of flowing fire struck the flower basket, yet like a great wave crashing into a reef they exploded apart and split off to either side. The flower basket did not budge. Its jet-black petal patterns, lit by the firelight, held a strange beauty of another kind. "Fellow Daoist, your methods are astonishing. Why make things difficult for the disciples of my sect? Shall the two of us try our hands?" Where the flames parted, in the void, a slender foot stepped out, followed by the hem of a moon-white skirt. A young woman walked forth. She carried the black flower basket in her hand. Her features were peerlessly beautiful, yet between her brows and eyes there was a coldness, stern and not to be offended. "We pay our respects to Supreme Elder Wen!" The Black Lotus Sect crowd bowed as one. This young woman was one of the Supreme Elders of the Black Lotus Sect: Wen Ru, a cultivator of Great Ascension Consummation, only a step away from ascension to the Upper Realm! "This person is so strong!" Liu Qingqing and Zhou Dongqiang frowned deeply. Chen Yan's heart was equally heavy. He said slowly, "Fellow Daoist or not, set that aside. I only advise you to go back where you came from. Otherwise there is nothing but a road to death. The waters of this world run deeper than you think. Far deeper! Even the immortals and gods of legend, should they come here, must be careful and cautious, or they too may die." Hearing this, Wen Ru's gaze flickered. "If that is truly so, then my sect has even less reason to abandon this world." A world where even immortals and gods had to tread with care—just how many fated opportunities did it hide? An opportunity like this—how could they let it go? Chen Yan was immediately at a loss for words. Oh, great. He had meant to persuade them to leave, but those words had instead made them firmer in their resolve to remain in this world. "Sigh. It seems we still have to fight it out and settle who wins—" Chen Yan sighed. Both hands swept sharply upward, and the sea of fire in the sky instantly churned! Seeing this, Wen Ru opened her left hand. A jade ruyi appeared upon her pale hand. She tossed it lightly. The instant the ruyi left her hand, it became a cyan arc of light, split the surging waves of fire, and went straight for Chen Yan! Chen Yan snorted. The sea of fire around him, as if summoned, surged and gathered before him, condensing into a wall of fire. Wave upon wave rolled like furious billows, holding the oncoming jade ruyi in midair. The cyan arc and the sea of fire struck. They shook the long sky all around and scattered the streaming clouds for thousands of li! Seeing their own Supreme Elder locked in a stalemate with that "Fire God," the black-robed Daoist looked toward Zhou Dongqiang and Liu Qingqing on the ground and said mockingly, "As things stand now, who is left who can save you?" Zhou Dongqiang gripped the Heavenly Thunder Orb and said not a word, his breathing deep and slow. Liu Qingqing's expression was resolute. Her right hand held the gun, and her left was ready at any moment to raise an air barrier. "Heh. Two ants. Die!" The black-robed Daoist raised his long sword, about to fling out a vast sweep of sword qi. Suddenly— "Huang Tian, the Lord on High!" "Zhonghuang Taiyi!" "High Firmament Zhonghuang Utmost Saint, Xuanshu Creation Great Heavenly Venerable!" All across Jiuguang Town, Longjiang City, and even the entire world, every electronic device that could make a sound was intoning the honored name of that great existence!