"Cultivation always comes with risks, don't you agree? Once you set foot on the path of cultivation, you're bound to run into things like battles, lightning tribulations, or death."
"Even half-immortals are no exception. They might fail the Immortal Ascension Tribulation, or their rudimentary Dao fruits might spin out of control." The Immortal Fairy attempted, with utter solemnity, to argue that their present predicament was entirely normal.
"My guess is that the girl Bai Ri grasped some emotion she shouldn't have grasped, exceeding her own comprehension, and that caused her rudimentary Dao fruit of the seven emotions to run wild."
"Look at you—back in Huangzhou, you were always whining about having no luck in love. Look how wonderful things are now! So many people are infatuated with you."
"Speaking of which, the person who formed the Harem Golden Core faced a similar situation before dying. Just think of it as walking in the footsteps of an ancient half-immortal."
"Except I didn't form a Harem Golden Core!" Lu Yang wailed in despair.
"Senior Brother Lu Yang, stop right there!"
"Senior Brother, I love you!"
"Why don't the two of us retire to the countryside and stay together forever?"
Lu Yang didn't dare slow down for a second. If he lagged behind by even half a step, he would be tackled by a swarm of senior and junior sisters, and his fate would be unspeakably grim!
Lu Yang sent a voice transmission behind him, trying to sow discord among them. "I appreciate the kind feelings of every senior and junior sister, but there's only one of me and so many of you! Even if you catch me, how are you going to decide who gets me?"
"Then we'll just have to divide Senior Brother up!"
"!"
Lu Yang was terrified. Why did that method sound so horrifyingly familiar?
*Right, Defying Heaven to Change Name!* Lu Yang remembered that he still possessed this bottom-of-the-trunk trump card—a bona fide great karmic divine power.
He spread his divine sense backward to scout, only to find they hadn't slowed in the slightest.
"Senior Brother Lu Yin, we're going to be together forever!"
"Senior Brother, in life you belong to me, and in death you are my ghost!"
"Fairy, why isn't it working?" Lu Yin asked in a frantic hurry.
"Of course it's not working! Defying Heaven to Change Name can only fool low-grade lightning tribulations like the Qiantian Lightning Tribulation. Right now, you're locked on by a rudimentary Dao fruit! A rudimentary Dao fruit is vastly higher in grade than a Qiantian Lightning Tribulation; you can't trick it."
"I'd wager you'll have to reach the Tribulation Transcendence stage before using Defying Heaven to Change Name could fool a rudimentary Dao fruit of the seven emotions."
"If I were at the Tribulation Transcendence stage, why would I be running? I'd be chasing them instead!"
"...Wait, why would I chase them?"
Seeing that Defying Heaven to Change Name was useless, Lu Yin had no choice but to change his name back.
With the situation dire, Lu Yang could no longer care about the Immortal Palace's ban on flying. He stepped onto the Sword Cleansing Pool and took off into the air.
Besides, no matter how one looked at it, this definitely counted as an "exceptional circumstance" under palace rules.
As expected of a sword cultivator, his speed shot up drastically once he mounted the Sword Cleansing Pool. He swiftly pulled ahead of the pursuing horde, leaving behind only a blurred silhouette amidst the vast, drifting snow.
Suddenly, two attacks lashed out from his left and right, both being binding and ensnaring divine powers. Possessing a spiritual nature of its own, the Sword Cleansing Pool automatically ascended, dodging the pincer attack.
Two more Immortal Palace disciples had joined the hunt for Lu Yang!
*This won't work. If this goes on, I'm bound to get caught sooner or later.* Lu Yang realized that although he was flying fast, he couldn't withstand so many people surrounding and intercepting him. There was no telling where the next ambush might come from. Over time, his energy would flag, and a single slip-up would mean his capture.
Lu Yang pushed the Sword Cleansing Pool to accelerate forward, temporarily shaking off his pursuers' sight, then leaped down and sank into the earth.
"Tree Planting Art!"
Two Lu Yangs emerged from the ground—one was the genuine Lu Yang, and the other was a wood clone clad in foliage.
His Primordial Soul flew out and submerged itself into the wood clone. That way, he wouldn't need to divide his attention to control it.
Lu Yang had the wood clone change into identical clothes, then seated him atop the Sword Cleansing Pool and sent him speeding away.
"Senior Brother Lu Yang is over there!"
"After him!"
Hidden underground, Lu Yang watched his Primordial Soul flee in disarray, deeply moved.
*Whatever you do, don't get caught.*
With no one chasing him anymore, Lu Yang's pressure vanished, and he let out a long breath.
Now that he had stopped, he could feel his heart hammering fiercely—thoroughly shaken by fright.
*Head to the Hall of Sinners... No, forget it, Senior Zhuiyue can't be counted on. Go find Palace Master Luo to save me... Those in the Body Integration stage shouldn't be affected, right? There didn't seem to be any Body Integration cultivators among those chasing me just now.*
Lu Yang didn't dare gamble on whether the Body Integration stage was safe. If he ended up throwing himself right into the snare, things would get hilarious in the worst way.
*Seems I've reached the guest quarters.* Lu Yang looked up toward the surface, realizing that without noticing, he had arrived back at his lodgings.
*Might as well go inside and rest for a bit.*
Lu Yang surfaced from the ground, not daring to release his divine sense for fear of being detected by Immortal Palace disciples.
Poking his head out cautiously, Lu Yang skirted along the walls, using the eaves overhead to keep himself hidden.
Just as he was about to push the door open, the wooden door suddenly swung open on its own, and an icy, jade-smooth hand yanked him inside, giving him quite a scare.
Once he saw clearly who owned the hand, Lu Yang let out a sigh of relief, patting his chest with lingering fear. "You scared me half to death. It's just you, Junior Sister Lan."
"Senior Brother, are you all right? I saw a lot of people chasing after you just now," Lan Ting asked with concern.
"I'm fine. I used a little trick to lead them away."
"It's good that you're safe, Senior Brother." A faint smile curled the corners of Lan Ting's lips as she quietly closed the door.
Back in familiar surroundings, Lu Yang couldn't help but let his guard down. Facing away from Lan Ting, he remarked offhandedly, "I suspect Senior Zhuiyue's rudimentary Dao fruit fell apart, causing everyone within the Immortal Palace to fall in love with me..."
Lu Yang froze as he realized the fatal flaw in his reasoning.
Didn't Lan Ting count as part of "everyone within the Immortal Palace"?!
And why was Lan Ting in his room in the first place?!
*Swish!* Lan Ting whipped out two emerald sashes that coiled like flood dragons, instantly binding Lu Yang tight.
"Junior Sister, you..." Lu Yang's expression shifted. He had let his guard down.
Lan Ting extended a slender, delicate hand, caressing Lu Yang's chest through his robe, and then gave him a gentle shove, pushing him onto the bed.
She leaned over him, her soft, sweet voice sounding beside his ear, her breath tickling his neck. "Senior Brother, you are mine."
"!"
With a loud bang, the door was kicked open. Tao Yaoye stood at the threshold holding a red paper umbrella, fuming with anger. "Junior Sister Lan, how dare you steal a march!"
"So what if I stole a march? First come, first served!"
Using her umbrella as a sword, Tao Yaoye thrust straight at Lan Ting. From out of nowhere, Lan Ting produced a battleaxe, holding it across her chest to parry the red paper umbrella.
Her axe movements were fluid and practiced—clearly the result of frequent training.
While the two women were locked in combat, Lu Yang bounced up from the bed. Bound tightly by the sashes, he began hopping toward the door like a stiffened corpse.
"Senior Brother, where do you think you're going?!" Lan Ting grabbed Lu Yang and pulled him into her embrace, fighting off Tao Yaoye with one hand.
Tao Yaoye snapped open her red paper umbrella, unfurling an illusion domain. Lan Ting's eyes glazed over as she fell into the illusion.
"Senior Brother Lu Yang is mine!" Tao Yaoye seized the opening to snatch Lu Yang away.
"Don't you dare!" Because the illusion had been thrown together in haste, Lan Ting broke through it with ease and manipulated her sash to haul Lu Yang back.
Lu Yang was jerked back and forth between the two women like an inanimate object.
Their cultivation was evenly matched. Realizing that whoever was holding Lu Yang ended up at a disadvantage, the two of them reluctantly set him aside for the moment.
"Junior Brother Lu Yang belongs to me!" A third graceful figure appeared at the doorway, joining the fray.
"Senior Sister Jinghong?!"
Chapter 1036