âThree hundred and sixty five restrictions⊠in an ordinary stick of bamboo? Is this what the sect uses to test disciples?â Kong Mengqianâs eyes shone with expectation. âThen you need to keep your word, master!â
She skipped off. Meanwhile, Lu Yun held his head. He probably shouldâve taught his disciple how to respect others first, hmm?
âMaybe the issueâs with my cultivation. Itâs so low that my disciple is more like a younger sister.â
âWhen do we begin, young master?â Terra Demon approached the young man. They were to destroy the true immortal in three days, of which two had passed.
Lu Yun tossed a storage ring to him. âHere are one hundred and eight Transfer Talismans that I refined over the past two days. They can be assembled into a talisman formation. Go place them where the true immortal is.â
Terra Demon left to carry out his orders. With the nascent soul of an immortal king and the fortification of the Hongmeng Fruit, a minor true immortal wouldnât discover him if he set his mind to staying invisible.
Fighting a true immortal in the capital would level the entire city. Thus, Lu Yun wanted to move the man elsewhere first before killing him.
The only thing he was worried about was if the Origin Sect would send out higher level immortals against him. He could manage empyrean, true, and even august immortals. As immortals were divided into nine ranks, those three indicated lower rank immortals. But once a mid rank immortal appeared, Lu Yunâs hands would be tied. Heâd have to flee with the entire family if that was the case.
The Zhao Clan, one of Darklakeâs seven great families and oldest aristocracies.
Everyone of note in the family was gathered in the visitorâs hall, including representatives from the Yuwen and Yu Clans.
âWhat are your thoughts, Patriarch Zhao?â The patriarch of the Yuwen Clan, mid nascent soul Yuwen Zhi, merrily stroked his beard. âPatriarch Yu has already decided to give us Yu Shuai.â
âThere is no room for discussion in this,â Zhao Hongtu shook his head. âChenguang is my son. As useless as he is, he is still my son.â
âWe donât want his life,â Yuwen Zhi chuckled. âPlus, your son is already golden core, isnât he? Golden core at less than twenty years of age⊠and that is someone useless in your view!â
âZhao Hongtuâs son is Zhao Hongtuâs son! He will not be one of your bargaining chips, no matter what!â The Zhao patriarchâs cold snort indicated the end of the matter.
âBrother Zhao, wise are those who recognize the times weâre in!â Patriarch Yu Chengze on the other side tried to convince his friend. âSeniors from the Nineheavens Pavilion have already arrived and it is the end of the road for the Lu Clan. Chenguang and Shuaiâer will only be guests at the Yuwensâ for a few days, nothing will happen to themâŠâ
âShut up!â Zhao Hongtu sneered. âYu Chengze, how dare you run your mouth when you canât even protect your own son? Seniors from the Nineheavens Pavilion? The Nineheavens Pavilion of the Dark Orchid Empire has already been razed to the ground by a combination powerhouse! The ones here are defeated losers!â
Yu Chengze shut his mouth as Yuwen Zhiâs expression cooled. The latter closed his eyes and spoke no more. An awkward atmosphere descended on the scene.
A Zhao servant suddenly ran in. âSenior elder, the matter is done. Young master Chenguang has been delivered to the Yuwen Clan.â
âWhat?!â Zhao Hongtu surged to his feet. âWhat did you say?!â
The servant ignored Zhao Hongtu and remained looking at the highest ranked senior on the other side, Zhao Lingyue.
âHongtu, you are no longer suited to be the patriarch. Upon deliberations by the council of elders, we have removed you from your position. The family will be overseen by the council from henceforth.â Zhao Lingyue was a very old man with white hair and so many wrinkles crossing his face that his skin looked like shriveled bark. But it was this latter nascent soul elder whose cultivation was second only to Zhao Hongtu.
âHongtu, you are indeed unfit to be patriarch.â More people walked in after the elder spoke. They were all soul projection powerhousesâthe heavyweights of the Zhao Clan whoâd joined Dark Orchid after breaking through.
Their speaker was Zhao Hongtuâs grandfather, Zhao Lingfei.
âGrandfather, youâŠâ
âGreetings to the patriarch!â Zhao Lingyue and the other elders rose to their feet and bowed in unison.
âDespite his average potential, Zhao Chenguang was able to successively break through in a short period of time and form his golden core. There must be a reason for anything out of the ordinary. This matter must be fully investigated,â Zhao Lingfei said coldly. âAdditionally, Lu Tianling of the Lu Clan is controlling the emperor and seeks to overthrow Darklake Empire. Such a viciously ambitious character should be hunted down by all! We Zhaos will naturally not shirk our duty.â
Yu Chengze smiled ruefully at the stunned Zhao Hongtu. The same circumstances had taken place with him as well, but the seniors of his clan didnât strip him of his patriarch position. Theyâd only forced him to submit.
For clans such as the Yus and Zhaos, someone broke through to soul projection once every thousand years and was brought to Dark Orchid Empire.
Today, these family seniors returned to their original clans and immediately assumed the reins of power. The position of family patriarch had long been turned into a mere figurehead. Not only did the seniors of the Yu and Zhao Clans return, but so did those of the Ouyang, Yuwen, Ling Clans, and even Darklake royalty!
âGrandfather, Marshal Lu Tianling has rendered great deeds to the nation and committed no faults. The battle of Tiger Suppression Pass twenty years agoâŠâ
âShut up!â Zhao Lingfe sneered. âYou do not need to speak of these things and you no longer need to worry about family affairs. Focus on cultivation and break through to soul projection so you can follow me to Dark Orchid.
âZhao Lingyue, you will handle the familyâs affairs from now on.â
âYes, senior patriarch!â The elder hastily bowed.
âWhy do I feel like this isnât a very nice course of action?â rang a clear voice. Light flurried in front of the assemblyâs eyes as a young man dressed in long ivory robes walked in through the door.
âWho are you?â Zhao Lingfei frowned at the newcomer.
âLu Yun?â Yuwen Zhi recognized the young man and subconsciously rose to his feet.
âSo you are Lu Tianlingâs grandson? Good timing, this saves me some time.â Zhao Lingfei reached out a hand to grab Lu Yunâs head.
The young man snorted and waved his in return, sending the old man flying with a wave of dense qi.
The hall shook when Zhao Lingfei stopped. He was embedded in the wall.
âI should be the one saying that. Since youâre all gathered together, this saves me some time.â Lu Yun curled his lip and smiled at Zhao Hongtu. âMy late arrival has caused Uncle Zhao some suffering.
The others on the scene sucked in sharp breaths to see Lu Yun casually rebuff the mid soul projection Zhao Lingfei. Zhao Hongtu, however, was unperturbed. âPlease spare my familyâs seniors, young master Lu.â
âBut of course,â Lu Yun waved off his concerns. âI will not touch the Zhao and Lu Clan out of consideration for Chenguang and Yu Shuai.â
Zhao Hongtu breathed out more easily upon hearing this, while Yu Chengze looked at his fellow figurehead with bafflement.
âBut the Yuwens must die. I said I would exterminate their bloodline if there was a single hair missing from my second uncleâs head. I, Lu Yun, am a man of my words.â He turned a cutting glare at Yuwen Zhi.
âYouâŠâ The man was flabbergasted. If the mid soul projection Zhao Lingfei was no match for the young man, then a latter nascent soul cultivator would just be a baby to Lu Yun!
Find the original at "pawread dot com".
Lu Yun formed a massive hand from Hongmeng qi with a push of his hand and smacked Yuwen Zhi into a cloud of bloody mist.
The Yu and Yuwen Clans gaped; Zhao Lingfei struggling down from the wall was also horrified. Smacking a latter nascent soul cultivator into bloody mist with one slap?
Not even latter soul projection powerhouses could manage such a feat!
Meanwhile, Zhao Hongtu was as pale as a sheet. He inwardly celebrated that heâd visited Immortal Burial Valley a few months ago and personally witnessed Terra Demon holding off one hundred thousand immortals.
Otherwise, he wouldâve made the same decision as Yu Chengze this time.
Lu Yun swiftly dispatched the rest of the Yuwen clan members whoâd come with Yuwen Zhi.
âUncle Zhao, Uncle Yu, it would be best to not let your family walk around too much these days. Your clans do not have the right to participate in the upcoming turmoil, and you may face annihilation if you do not handle the situation properly.â Lu Yun swept a look at Zhao Hongtu. âI will save Chenguang and Yu Shuai.â
He turned left without a trace.
âWas that⊠really Lu Yun?â Yu Chengze swallowed hard.
âOf course it was. If it wasnât for a trip I made to Immortal Burial Valley and seeing their steward hold off one hundred thousand immortals by himself, including a few awakened powerhouses⊠I wouldâve made the same decision as you,â Zhao Hongtu chuckled ruefully. âTo think that young master Lu would also be a heavyweight so far ahead that we are unable to look upon him!â
âWhat?!â Yu Chengzeâs eyes went round. âOne versus one hundred thousand? Isnât that the ability of real immortals? The Lus have an immortal with themâŠâ
Lu Yun visited the Yus after leaving the Zhaos and found that Zhao Chenguang and Yu Shuai were indeed missing. Theyâd been taken to the Yuwen Clan.
He didnât care about the situation at the Yu Clan. If it wasnât for Yu Shuai, he wouldnât be bothered with this family. They knew his stance, so it was up to them how they handled it.
In either case, he wasnât planning on sitting around. He was going to counterattack the Yuwen Clan.
âBrother Ouyang, long time no see.â When Lu Yun arrived at the Ouyang Clan, he found Ouyang Shengtian being harassed by some family elders.
âHahaha, well met young master Lu!â Ouyang Shengtian heaved a long sigh of relief to see Lu Yun. âHelp me settle these old guys.â
âThereâs no rush,â Lu Yun waved a hand. âBring me all the spirit stones in your family vaults, Iâm borrowing them and will return them after the fact.â