Zhu Yunwu's pupils shrank to needlepoints. The feathers across his four wings bristled, and the smile froze on his face.
As Lu Yang's combat opponent, he knew all too well what a terrifying existence Lu Yang was.
If Lu Yang were allowed to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, Zhu Yunwu feared he wouldn't be able to defeat him even by burning his essence blood!
Step by step, Lu Yang closed the distance to Zhu Yunwu with crisp, rhythmic taps. Each stride bore a faint pause. The footsteps sounded less like they were falling on the Altar of Heaven and more like they were stamping directly upon Zhu Yunwu's spiritual platform.
His demeanor was leisurely, as though taking a stroll through an idle courtyard, completely disregarding Zhu Yunwu.
Lu Yang had originally already been at the ninth layer of the Golden Core; if he wanted to break through, he could do so at any time. It was just that his original plan had been to tour the Demon Empire and then return to the Dao Seeking Sect to break through at his own pace. After all, breaking through a major realm called for a sense of ceremony.
Unfortunately, plans had changed.
Seeing that things were turning sour, Zhu Yunwu gave a low roar and struck first to seize the initiative!
He must never be allowed to succeed in breaking through!
With four wings vibrating and six hooves treading the heavens, the surrounding space shuddered. Zhu Yunwu put his life on the line, cascading downward like a mountain torrent of mud and boulders!
Boom—!
Without putting up any defense, Lu Yang was sent flying by Zhu Yunwu's collision, crashing hard into the balustrade of the Altar of Heaven.
"Pant, pant... so you were at the end of your rope after all."
Zhu Yunwu laughed heartily, abruptly relaxing.
Of course. That Heaven-Covering Great Handprint earlier had already consumed all of Lu Yang's spiritual energy. Where would he find the strength to break through? He had simply been making himself nervous over nothing.
Ptui.
Lu Yang spat out a mouthful of blood. The flecks of crimson landed on the pristine glazed white jade, strikingly conspicuous.
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he stood up and walked toward Zhu Yunwu, the same smile of assured victory still hanging on his lips.
"Come again."
Zhu Yunwu's eyes turned crimson in an instant. Fear crept into his heart. Like a maddened bull, he launched a frantic assault on Lu Yang.
Every time, Lu Yang neither dodged nor avoided, taking Zhu Yunwu's collisions head-on. Yet with each of Zhu Yunwu's attacks, the distance Lu Yang was knocked back shrank.
On the previous blow, Lu Yang had retreated by merely half a step.
Amid the repeated impacts, fissures appeared across the surface of the Golden Core, and a milky-white glow spilled out from the cracks, rapidly healing Lu Yang's injuries.
Boom—!
Zhu Yunwu gathered force to slam into him once more, but Lu Yang finally moved. Reaching out with his right hand, he exerted explosive power and grabbed Zhu Yunwu by the head, forcibly stopping the strike in its tracks!
With utter disbelief written across his face, Zhu Yunwu looked up at Lu Yang. What greeted him was a radiant smile... and a Lu Yang of the Nascent Soul stage.
Bones crackled and popped as his skeleton underwent rapid refining in mere moments, elevating his physical constitution to a level worlds apart from before.
Essence, qi, and spirit converged into one. Guided by his accumulated invincible momentum, they intertwined within his dantian, giving birth to a wondrous power.
The Invincible Core shattered completely. Overflowing spiritual energy erupted, coursing through the meridians of his entire body. High above the Altar of Heaven, a terrifying vortex of spiritual energy formed, pouring madly into Lu Yang's body to replenish his parched meridians and nourish the newborn infant.
Within his dantian, an infant no bigger than a fingertip curled into a ball, radiating a serene, milky-white luminescence. It absorbed the spiritual energy from outside, swelling steadily until it stood three inches tall—a Nascent Soul capable of free movement—before ceasing its intake.
Unlike a truly newborn baby, this Nascent Soul was plump, fair, and tender, its face filled with excitement and joyous laughter.
"Is that all?"
Lu Yang's muscles coiled tight, his body surging with power like a great dragon, and he planted a fist squarely in Zhu Yunwu's face!
"How is this possible?!"
Zhu Yunwu couldn't believe it. Leaving aside the fact that his opponent could break through to the Nascent Soul stage whenever he pleased, how could he possess such strength immediately after breaking through? Did he not need to consolidate his foundation or temper his Nascent Soul?
When ordinary cultivators broke through to the Nascent Soul stage, their cultivation was unstable and required time to consolidate.
Yet as the possessor of the strongest Golden Core, undefeated through a hundred battles in the Golden Core stage with victory after consecutive victory, the invincible momentum Lu Yang had forged helped him firmly solidify his foundation right away. He had no need whatsoever for secluded meditation to stabilize his cultivation!
When had Zhu Yunwu ever encountered such a thing? Caught completely off guard by Lu Yang's flurry of transformations, he lost the initiative. Lu Yang didn't even need to use sword techniques; relying solely on bare-handed martial arts, he suppressed Zhu Yunwu thoroughly.
"I will definitely win!"
Zhu Yunwu went berserk. Reckless of the consequences, he burned his essence blood to temporarily boost his combat strength.
Cries of shock rippled through the surrounding onlookers. Zhu Yunwu's foundation was already unstable. Burning his essence blood right after breaking through meant that even if he won this match, any future breakthroughs would likely be exceedingly difficult!
Zhu Tian's phantom loomed indistinctly behind Zhu Yunwu. As the ancient ancestor of the Dijiang Clan and its most powerful existence, Zhu Tian was the very source of their bloodline; the manifestation of his phantom was one of the telltale signs of burning essence blood.
Borrowing power from the ancestor to vanquish a formidable foe!
Roar—!
Zhu Yunwu bellowed, completely losing his mind. Taking advantage of the demon's wide-open roar, Lu Yang produced a pill and flicked his index finger, sending it flying right into Zhu Yunwu's mouth.
Zhu Yunwu tried to spit it out, but Lu Yang stepped forward, caught him beneath the chin, and shoved upward. Zhu Yunwu instinctively swallowed, gulping the pill down.
"What did you feed me?!" Zhu Yunwu gasped in shock.
He felt the power gained from burning his essence blood vanishing at breakneck speed. That pill had actually severed the process of burning essence blood right in its tracks!
Lu Yang explained with a beaming smile, "A Realm Breaking Pill. It can help one break through from the Foundation Establishment stage to the Golden Core stage, and it can also help one break through from the Nascent Soul stage to the Golden Core stage."
Back when Lu Yang had asked the Seventh Elder to concoct the Spring-Returning Yang-Restoring Pill, the Seventh Elder happened to have just refined this Realm Breaking Pill, and gave one to Lu Yang to celebrate.
Zhu Yunwu's heart sank with a thud. Sure enough, not only was the power from burning essence blood fading, but his very cultivation realm was tumbling downward!
He panicked entirely. How was he supposed to fight now?
"Useless trash!"
Zhu Tian flew into a rage. By now, he was certain that the one standing on the Altar of Heaven was the genuine Young Cult Master Lu; otherwise, where could such a peerless genius have sprung from?
No matter what, Zhu Yunwu could never be allowed to lose here.
This was a matter of face!
If the very first battle in the founding of the Demon Empire ended in defeat at the hands of the Heavenly Court Cult, it would become a laughingstock that haunted him for the rest of his days!
He split off a wisp of divine sense and attached it to Zhu Yunwu.
"Master..."
"Worthless fool, let me handle this!"
Zhu Tian temporarily seized control of Zhu Yunwu's body and halted the plunging realm.
"Rise!"
With a low shout from Zhu Tian, Zhu Yunwu's cultivation actually climbed right back to the Nascent Soul stage!
Lu Yang had just learned from the Immortal Fairy that his opponent had switched from Zhu Yunwu to Supreme Zhu Tian.
He felt utterly exasperated. It was bad enough that the Demon Empire's referee showed blatant favoritism, but now the referee was stepping into the ring himself?
The Immortal Fairy was indignant on Lu Yang's behalf. Rolling up her sleeves, she flared up, "That bastard Zhu Tian has been pulling cheap, dishonest tricks ever since I first met him! To think he dares pull this stunt now! Move aside, let me take over!"
Lu Yang invited the deity to possess him, telling the Immortal Fairy to have at it as she pleased.
Over on the other side, Zhu Tian was berating Zhu Yunwu within the spiritual space.
"You good-for-nothing scoundrel! You couldn't even beat an opponent like this and needed your master to step in personally! Watch closely and see how your master fights!"
Taking control of Zhu Yunwu's body, Zhu Tian summoned his spirits and prepared to counterattack—only for Lu Yang's fist to slam square into his face with a resounding crack, leaving him completely dazed.
Vaguely, words like "Fairy Boxing" could be heard.
Watching this scene, Zhu Yunwu kept his mouth firmly shut, silently and humbly taking notes.
Chapter 615