Chapter 1025: Truly a Skilled Speaker
The fact that Erniu could astonish three people by saying only one thing just went to show how powerful his words could be. It made sense considering that most people would only have one lifetime to cultivate the use of their tongue. But Erniu had been cultivating that skill for many lifetimes, and by this point, his skill had reached the point of perfection. If there was an actual cultivation system for such things, then Erniu would definitely be extremely close to the peak of the system.
Even Xu Qing under the full influence of godliness couldn’t help but take a second glance at Erniu.
Looking very pleased with himself, Erniu puffed his chest out proudly. Xu Qing had just brought a new challenge to the table for him.
Under normal circumstances, it’s not exactly hard to get little Ah Qing to revere me. In fact, it’s simple. But now he’s under the full influence of godliness. To get him to respect me with full rationality is going to require some real skill!
Erniu cleared his throat and prepared to continue speaking.
However, it was at that moment that, outside of the pagoda in the ravaged lands of ice, the situation between Yue Dong, Lan Yao, and Lu Lingzi, was reaching a critical juncture.
Yue Dong waved her finger again, and Lan Yao, who had just recovered her thinking faculties, found her emotions surging again. The seven emotions and six sensory pleasures erupted within her, turning into threads that burst out of her and swept toward Lu Lingzi.
Lan Yao shivered, and a look of pain appeared on her face. She wanted to struggle, but in an instant, that desire was completely buried by the other emotions.
Ignoring Lan Yao’s agony, Yue Dong turned to Lu Lingzi. “Hubby, earlier on, I already threw Lan Yao’s seven emotions and six sensory pleasures into chaos to set the stage. Now, I’ve stirred up her feelings to meet all of the requirements you set. Afterward, I hope you remember the agreement we made. I need Feng Lintao’s legacy to seal my immortal skill and turn it into authority. As for you... you’re now going to experience a meteoric rise to the Imperial Sovereign level!”
Lu Lingzi looked tenderly at Yue Dong, then nodded sincerely. “There’s no way I would forget. Going forward, you and I will walk the path of a great dao together!”
Yue Dong fell silent. Taking a deep breath, and looking very determined, she again performed an incantation gesture. At that point, the last bit of clarity in Lan Yao’s eyes disappeared like smoke in the wind. The only thing left behind was empty blankness. The absorption process could now begin!
Lu Lingzi took a deep breath, and his eyes glittered with anticipation. Walking toward Lan Yao, he lifted his right hand to grab the threads of emotion stretching toward him. The moment he touched them, the threads were sucked into his fingers, becoming a part of his flesh, blood, and soul.
Lan Yao began to shake violently as her aura weakened, and the threads of emotion from her continued to be sucked into Lu Lingzi. Next, the same thing happened with her flesh and blood. She was rapidly withering up! Even her cultivation base power was being pulled along the emotion threads to Lu Lingzi. Most importantly of all, Lan Yao’s pure blood from the bloodline of a Grand Emperor was stirring.
The emptiness in her eyes grew deeper. She became increasingly blank. And though it was hard to tell if it was because of grief or something else, crystalline tears began to well up in her eyes and then pour down her cheeks.
When Lu Lingzi saw those tears, he sighed.
Yue Dong noticed that and said, “Having second thoughts?”
Lu Lingzi shook his head. “No,” he said with a faint smile. “No second thoughts. I’m just wondering when things changed between the two of you. The tears are actually very realistic. Were you going to wait until I actually completely absorbed her? Yue Dong. I have to admit you hid the secret attack very well within Lan Yao’s seven emotions and six sensory pleasures. However... I still found it.”
Up in the pagoda, Xu Qing’s face remained completely expressionless as he continued to study Lu Lingzi.
Next to him, Erniu, who had been watching closely as the entire dramatic scene played out, suddenly exclaimed, “Here’s the twist!! Didn’t I say it? These three really know how to crank things up! Yue Dong, he figured out your plan! You need to do something. If you miss this chance, it’ll be almost impossible to get a second try.”
Ignoring Erniu, Yue Dong frowned and looked at Lu Lingzi. “What’s that supposed to mean, Lu Lingzi?” she said.
Lu Lingzi chuckled, and his eyes shone with a strange light. “Didn’t you hear what that fellow daoist in the pagoda said just now? You might want to keep the act up, but I’ve lost interest. In other words, I won’t be continuing with the absorption process.”
Lu Lingzi suddenly made a grasping gesture in Lan Yao’s direction. As he did, nine-world power shot out in a deadly attack that screamed right toward her. He was planning to rip Lan Yao to shreds!
Yue Dong’s face fell as she sensed the killing intent from Lu Lingzi. This was not a test. He was really planning to kill Lan Yao! Her hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture.
The emotion threads coming off Lan Yao suddenly shimmered dazzlingly as they transformed into a curse mark that shot toward Lu Lingzi. What was more, the emotion threads that Lu Lingzi already had inside of him also turned into a curse.
Lan Yao, who had looked blank and empty up to this point, suddenly seemed in full possession of her faculties. She could also move again. Expression turning cold, she slammed her hand onto the top of her own head.
A bang rang out as the emotion threads scattered, and fate threads took their place to shoot toward Lu Lingzi. She actually had never lost her mental faculties! This entire situation was actually a carefully laid trap. And the person who had seemingly been the prey was actually the hunter! She had been secretly working with Yue Dong all along. The two of them had been putting on a show the whole time, and now they had turned the seven emotions and six sensory pleasures into an explosive curse.
At that point, a voice echoed out. “This whole thing was set up for your sake, Lu Lingzi! Did you really think that I, Lan Yao, would be unaware of what you were secretly planning? Let me tell you, Little Luey, I know everything about you, from head to toe!
“Big Sis Yue Dong told me everything a long time ago. And our goal was the same all along. You... have always been the prey of me, Lan Yao!”
The person to say these things actually wasn’t Lan Yao.
It was Erniu, who was still in the pagoda up above. As he watched the exciting scene play out, he couldn’t help but join in the fun.
Neither Lan Yao nor Yue Dong were inclined to pay any attention to Erniu. They were attacking with full ferocity, and were focused on the curse exploding within Lu Lingzi. Lu Lingzi’s aura was already in chaos, and he looked like he was weakening dramatically. However, his facial expression hadn’t changed at all the entire time, and in fact, he even smiled faintly as he opened his mouth to speak.
“Yue Dong and Lan Yao, you two whores, did you really think you could pull off a win that easily? I, the great Lu, am the apprentice of a Grand Emperor. I’ve never trusted either of you. And given that my moment of triumph is nigh, it’s only natural that I have one hundred percent confidence in being able to absolutely crush the two of you!”
These words were also spoken by Erniu, who almost seemed to be providing the dubbing so that the three participants didn’t actually have to tell their own stories.
Lu Lingzi smiled broadly. Even as the curse surged within him, he looked up at the pagoda. “You expressed things perfectly for me, Fellow Daoist.”
Eyes shining, Lu Lingzi lifted a foot to walk. However, instead of walking toward Yue Dong and Lan Yao, he rose into the air, clenched his hand into a fist, and punched in a specific direction. The power of nine major worlds rumbled forth, bolstering the fist with power that could seemingly shatter anything.
The fist caused the empty air to ripple and distort as six figures suddenly appeared, all of whom were struggling to defend against Lu Lingzi’s attack. Rumbling booms echoed out everywhere. Blood oozed out of the corners of Lu Lingzi’s mouth as he fell back rapidly.
At the same time, blood sprayed out of the mouths of the six figures, who also fell back. All of them seemed to be middle-aged, and their facial features were very similar to those of Lan Yao. As they glared at Lu Lingzi, they pulsed with killing intent.
“So,” Lu Lingzi said, “six nine-world Smoldering God elders of the Lan Clan have secretly come to Revered Ancient. It looks like this hunting expedition didn’t just involve Lan Yao. Your whole clan is out to get me. In that case, I supposed Patriarch Lan will be showing up soon?”
Lu Lingzi turned to look off in a specific direction.
In that spot, the air rippled as an old man appeared wearing fancy garments. His arrival caused wild colors to flash as the might of an Imperial Sovereign weighed down. Lan Yao and Yue Dong immediately bowed in greeting to him, as did the six elders. The old man’s face remained expressionless as he nodded at Yue Dong and Lan Yao. Then he turned to Lu Lingzi.
“You might not have the bloodline of a Grand Emperor,” he said coolly, “but you have a devil-eye the likes of which is hard to come across once in ten thousand years. That’s the reason why our venerable Grand Emperor patriarch took you as an apprentice. It’s also why our clan was willing to accept you as a son-in-law. As for a hunting expedition.... you schemed to get the blood of our clan, and we schemed to get your devil-eye. I’d say that makes things fair.”
Inside the pagoda, Xu Qing’s eyes glittered thoughtfully. Next to him, Erniu blinked a few times.
“Holy crap,” he said. “This whole thing really is a rollercoaster! I wonder if Little Luey has more contingency plans ready to go.”
Outside the pagoda, Lu Lingzi looked at Patriarch Lan and the others. Smiling, he nodded. “Yes, I’d say it’s fair. And it’s also why, even after becoming a son-in-law of your clan and an apprentice to my Master, I never trusted any of you.”
When Lan Yao, Yue Dong, and Patriarch Lan saw how calm Lu Lingzi was acting, their hearts sank a bit.
“I know you’re extraordinary, Lu Lingzi,” Patriarch Lan said. “That’s why I came here in person. By the way, I already used the wartime situation as a cover to nullify all your contingency plans back in the holy land. As of now, you have nowhere to run to.”
Patriarch Lan pulsed with immense pressure that spread out in all directions. It was the might of an Imperial Sovereign, which caused the sky to flash and made him seem like the ruler of everything in the area. He began to walk toward Lu Lingzi, and every step he took caused the entire world to shake.
Yet despite that, Lu Lingzi’s expression remained tranquil, and he was still smiling.
“ All my contingency plans?” he asked softly.
As he spoke, he looked up into the sky at... the Sageheaven Pagoda! At Erniu!
Erniu’s jaw dropped.