Chapter 998: The Cunning Ying Zhao

The air above the mountain range had turned into a battlefield for the four forces.

King Chen of Wu brandished the Hollow Halberd, stirring up a storm.

Luo Huan initially wanted to charge forward but was forced to raise his arms to defend against the force from the Hollow Halberd.

Meanwhile, after King Chen of Wu brought the spear down like a hot knife through butter, Ye Liuyun’s eyes widened. When he tried to flee, he discovered it was too late; he had been retrained by the Hollow Halberd. “You!”

The astrolabe hanging at the back of the black Thousand Realms Whirling avatars lit up with eight Birth Charts like stars in the night sky. At the same time, the tyrannical power of the flood-grade halberd rolled out again, causing people to shudder. Once again, King Chen of Wu swung his halberd.

Boom!

The halberd landed heavily on the astrolabe Ye Liuyun was forced to manifest to defend himself.

The impact from the collision rippled out and landed on the mountains nearby, causing a few of them to collapse.

Ye Liuyun grunted as he fell.

King Chen of Wu laughed before he said, “The best way to deal with an assassin is to face him in a direct fight.” Following that, he controlled his astrolabe and shot a few beams of light down at Ye Liuyun!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The moment Ye Liuyun landed on the ground, he tossed the life heart away.

Luo Huan who was standing closest to Ye Liuyun grabbed the life heart at lightning speed. He laughed heartily before he said, “King Chen, thank you!”

Ning Wanqing frowned. “You’re not going anywhere with the life heart.”

Everyone knew that Ning Wanqing had studied forbidden Confucian cultivation methods. They watched as he rose into the sky before he spat out a mouthful of blood on his palm before he waved his bloody hand in the air.

In just a moment, the wind swept the clouds away. The heavens and earth seemed to have changed at this moment.

“Are you crazy?!”

Ning Wanqing’s eyes turned completely white. He looked up at the sky and said, “Although I’m from the White Tower Council, I abandoned the light and live in darkness. I’m not afraid of darkness because I’m stronger in the dark!”

King Chen of Wu lifted his Hollow Halberd as he looked at the sky.

Ye Liuyun gritted his teeth and quickly retreated.

Luo Huan said in a deep voice, “You better stop now!”

At this moment, King Chen of Wu suddenly flew out as fast as the wind toward Luo Huan, spurred by a conical energy. Then, he stabbed his Hollow Halberd at Luo Huan. “Hand me the life heart!”

“Get lost!” Luo Huan said through gritted teeth. Then, he looked at the members of the Black Tower Council and said, “Kill them!”

With this, the members of the Black Tower Council rushed out.

Needless to say, the members from the White Tower Council, the Dark and Light Alliance, and Great Yuan’s royal court made a move as well.

At this time, Ning Wanqing’s body shone with a dazzling light. He was like the sun in the sky at this moment. The vitality energy in the surroundings surged toward him.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Yunhe, who was standing in the distance, said in a grave tone, “Brother Lu, this isn’t good…”

“Defend yourselves,” Luzhou said as he looked at the battle above the mountains with his hands on his back.

“Close your eyes,” Xiao Yunhe reminded everyone.

As soon as Xiao Yunhe’s voice fell, a dazzling white light exploded in the sky.

Many people were blinded from this alone; they felt their heads buzzed. One after another, Thousand Realms Whirling experts fell from the sky.

Xiao Yunhe and the people from the Humble White Sect were not too badly affected by the white light due to the distance and them closing their eyes.

On the contrary, not only did Lu Zhou not close his eyes, but he looked at Ning Wanqing who was hovering in the sky with his supreme mystic power.

The battlefield that was illuminated by the white light seemed to slow down. Even Luo Huan and King Chen of Wu were not exempted.

“This technique…” Lu Zhou frowned. Ning Wanqing was not as simple as he appeared to be.

Ning Wanqing’s figure flashed past several black Thousand Realms Whirling experts from the Black Tower Council as he made his way toward Luo Huan. It seemed as though he could see from his eyes that were shining with a white light.

Upon sensing the incoming threat, Luo Huan instinctively released his energy. Alas, it was too late!

Bang!

One of Luo Huan’s Birth Charts dimmed immediately as he was sent flying back.

The life heart in Luo Huan’s possession was now in Ning Wanqing’s hand.

Lu Zhou frowned slightly. He used the power of smell from the Heavenly Writing and sniffed the life heart that glowed with a soft light. It smelled somewhat familiar, but he could place his fingers on it.

Ning Wanqing did not stop moving. He flashed toward King Chen of Wu at lightning speed and launched an energy seal.

Due to Ning Wanqing’s speed that was several times faster, although King Chen of Wu was aware of the incoming attack, there was not much he could do but passively defend against the attack.

Bang!

It did not take long before King Chen of Wu was sent flying as well. Apart from spitting out a mouthful of blood, his Birth Charts were not destroyed.

Ning Wanqing shook his head. At the same time, the battlefield returned to normal as well as the white light disappeared. He had used his ultimate move to gain a huge advantage, obtaining Ying Zhao’s life heart. At this moment, he laughed heartily and said, “Luo Huan, King Chen, give up! You’re no longer a match for me!”

King Chen of Wu wiped the blood off the corners of his lips and said, “This is where you’re wrong…”

Buzz!

The Hollow Halberd thrummed at this moment.

King Chen of Wu looked at Luo Huan who was standing across from him and asked, “Luo Huan, why don’t we work together?”

Luo Huan was left with eight Birth Charts now that one of his Birth Charts had been destroyed. With this, he was no longer qualified to compete for the life heart. However, due to the hatred born from losing one Birth Chart, he nodded. “Alright.”

Ning Wanqing smiled and said, “Don’t forget there are still Ye Liuyun and Old Senior Lu. If you continue fighting me, aren’t you afraid they’ll take advantage of you?”

“…”

As soon as Ning Wanqing’s voice fell, everyone turned to look at Lu Zhou who was standing in the distance. They felt chills running up their spines.

Ning Wanqing continued to say, “The life heart is now in my hands. If you’re not afraid, you can come after me…” As soon as he finished speaking, he unleashed his grand techniques a few times in a row and disappeared into the horizon.

“Go after him!” King Chen of Wu and Luo Huan did not hesitate and chased after Ning Wanqing immediately.

King Chen Wu and Luo Huan quickly chased after him.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Yunhe frowned and said, “He escaped? Brother Lu, quickly go after him!”

Lu Zhou shook his head and said, “There’s no need for that.”

Shen Xi sighed and said, “He doesn’t dare to fight the Pavilion Master so he fled as soon as he obtained the life heart. Only Ye Liuyun who was injured by King Chen of Wu is left. Even then, I have to say Ning Wanqing’s skill is impressive. As expected of a judge from the White Tower Council.”

Yu Zhenghai asked in confusion, “Master, why didn’t you chase after him?”

“That’s not Ying Zhao’s life heart,” Lu Zhou replied.

Chen You said, puzzled, “Huh? But I saw Ying Zhao spitting it out…”

Realization dawned on Xiao Yunhe. He said with a smile, “It’s all thanks to Brother Lu’s reminder. Otherwise, we would’ve been fooled by Ying Zhao as well!”

“How did Ying Zhao do it?”

“It first swallowed the life heart of another Birth Chart Beast and nourished it with its Qi before sending his energy into it. With that, it’d be difficult to tell the real from the fake,” Lu Zhou explained.

Everyone was amazed.

No one had seen Yingzhao’s life heart. Therefore, it would be difficult for most people to discern if it was real or fake.

Meanwhile, the battle above the mountain range ahead was moving further and further away. Silence gradually returned to the mountain range

At this time, Lu Zhou flashed forward.

“Brother Lu?”

“Don’t come over,” Lu Zhou said. He closed his eyes and silently recited the mantra for the Heavenly Writing’s power of smell.

The smell of blood, lingering Primal Qi. nature, and all sorts of smell wafted into Lu Zhou’s nose. He slowly sifted through them. When he recalled the place where Ning Wanqing stood with the life heart, he moved over immediately. He could smell the aura that was rich with vitality energy. Although the life heart was fake, its aura and energy were real.

Now that Lu Zhou obtained the scent of Ying Zhao’s aura and energy, he expanded the range of his sense of smell.

Meanwhile, the others looked at Lu Zhou in confusion.

“Senior Lu, what are you doing?”

“Don’t be noisy!” Yu Zhenghai said as he turned around, “My master knows what he’s doing.”

With this, everyone fell silent again.

Lush forests, mountains, clouds, and mist. Their scents entered Lu Zhou’s nose as he tracked the unique scent. He kept moving until he faced the foot of the mountain to the south.

Following that, Lu Zhou activated the power of sight. In just an instant, nothing could be hidden from his eyes. The cores of trees, the stones… everything was revealed to his eyes. Soon enough, he saw an unmoving beast with the body of a tiger and the face of a horse nestled in the bottom of the pond.

‘Found you!’

After he withdrew the Heavenly Writing Power, he stroked his beard. No one would be able to Ying Zhao at all. If it were not for his Heavenly Writing Power, he would not have found Ying Zhao as well.

Lu Zhou was not in a hurry to make a move; he did not want to alert the beast. He thought about the best way to capture it. He looked at his item cards and discovered he did not have any Binding Cage Card. Currently, one Binding Cage Card cost 15,000 merit points. Three cards would cost him 45,000 merit points. If that was the case, he might as well buy an ordinary Deadly Strike Card to take Ying Zhao down. As expected, the most reliable method was to waste merit points. After a while, he changed his mind again and decided to catch Ying Zhao off guard.

“Confinement Seal.”

With the right place, time, and person, the Confinement Seal was very useful. There was no doubt this was the most suitable time for him to use the Confinement Seal.

Lu Zhou extended his hand, and the ink-color Confinement Seal appeared above his palm. In order to prevent it from being discovered, he used the supreme mystic power to conceal its aura.