Chapter 2169.1: Sol Truefire

Bloodbath was Bloodbath, after all. He was a legendary character who defined his generation. The elder shifted slightly and twisted nine times in a bizarre fashion, smoothly evading the enormous dragon of sword light.

Lu Yun came up to him, wrapped in a haze of dull sword light.

“I want this person alive!” he stated.

“Too hard.” Bloodbath recognized Lu Yun with a single glance, despite the young man’s aura and appearance being different. “He’s obviously reaped the inheritance of some powerhouse and he didn’t use his full strength just now.”

One who Bloodbath would call a powerhouse was at least tribulation level.

“He probably obtained the inheritance of some stunning heavyweight for the ages, which is why I want him alive!” Lu Yun cackled.

Bloodbath blinked. You want him alive? Get him yourself!

Massive chaos had engulfed the Ling cultivators; countless Ling disciples and descendants were injured or dead. Their complex lay in ruins as Bloodbath’s blow had shattered their defensive formation.

“Hmph!” Gray Robes erupted again and recollected his sword light. Two dragons hovered in the air this time and threw themselves at Bloodbath.

“Stay over there. As strong as this person is, he’s no match for me.” Bloodbath shoved Lu Yun aside and formed several hand seals, manifesting more cerulean waves from his body and ensconcing himself in a huge whirlpool.

“The Primordial Floods! It’s the Ouyang Primordial Floods technique! Ouyang Clan, do you intend to exterminate the Lings?!” Ling Tianfeng keened with the sorrow of seeing his family die in front of him.

Rumble!!

Bloodbath exploded with another wave that was three hundred meters tall and smacked it down on the sword dragons churning toward him.

RUMBLE!!

Two overwhelming forces crashed into each other in the air, scattering sword qi and waves everywhere. Their energy rampaged through the capital, eliciting shrieks and screams from the bystanders. Some didn’t have time to react before they were torn to pieces by the energy’s vibrations.

Whether it was Bloodbath or Gray Robes, both of them deployed power that was far in excess of nascent soul. Bearing the brunt of the fallout, countless Ling disciples flew apart as ashes and neighboring houses also suffered for their proximity. Their inhabitants wailed and screamed in agony.

Lu Yun frowned slightly, a trace of pity stirring in his heart. Was this his latent saint tendencies?

“As much of a bastard I am, I haven’t completely lost my conscience!” The young man set his jaw and flung out countless talismans. Each of them lit up and eroded the terrifying power unleashed in the air.

“Hah!” He took out a jade-green pill from his storage ring and crushed it, scattering its powder in jade-green arcs over the earth.

The Lu Yun of three months ago would’ve gleefully watched devastation run wild in the surroundings. No matter how many died, they were just numbers and nothing to do with him.

But after journeying through three thousand worlds and living endless lives, his mentality had undergone a tremendous shift. The more he experienced, the more he understood how precious life was, as opposed to becoming more detached.

Most important were his sealed memories. It seemed that he also fought for the good of all during that time. The Ling Clan was the enemy, but not everyone was at fault. There were also innocents among them.

Their disaster arose because of him, so he wouldn’t idly sit by. But neither did he feel much guilt because he wasn’t a good person to begin with.

Humm!

His eyes widened as the Seal of the Multitude flared with magnificent blue light. Goodwill streamed into it, originating from the ten thousand cultivators beneath him. The Ling Clan was among them as he’d blocked the terrifying energy ripples for them and showered restorative medicine on them. Goodwill from such a large sum of people was heaven-shaking for the current Lu Yun.

“They would probably hate me if they knew the truth..” The thought flashed through his mind.

Goodwill from the seal flooded into the dao character of his dantian, causing it to flare in turn and spontaneously raise his cultivation to mid foundation establishment.

“Stop!” He frowned and suppressed his raging cultivation. Goodwill was just a supplement. He would easily destabilize his foundation if he depended on it too much and create issues for later cultivation.

Lu Yun had already used goodwill to reach mid second turn. He needed to take some time to thoroughly temper his foundation and cultivate by himself. More importantly, he needed to fully understand every cultivation level to come in the first chapter and make preparations for the future.

Thus, Lu Yun was in no hurry to break through and stored the incredible amount of goodwill deep within the seal.

....

Up in the sky, the battle between Bloodbath and Gray Robes reached its peak. Gray Robes fully released his hidden strength and displayed the might of his spirit rank treasure. He had another spirit rank defensive treasure on his body, so the two combined made it impossible for Bloodbath to defeat him.

The elder’s flying sword was just a lower rank treasure that he’d obtained from Lu Yun. Other than that, his personal treasure was sealed in his dantian and inaccessible before he recovered his previous cultivation.

Gray Robes had two spirit rank treasures on him as well as the Eighteen Cerulean Sword Dragons. The latter was a preeminent sword technique from the world of immortals. Although Gray Rovers couldn’t fully utilize its might, it was sufficient to help him fight the gravely restrained Bloodbath to a standstill!

“I always thought that I only needed to be wary of Lu Tianling, but to think that there’s someone like this in Darklake! He commands this level of battle strength at golden core. He can’t be allowed to develop further!” Gray Robes set his jaw. “The second move of the Cerulean Sword Dragons, Abyss Rising!”

He twisted and shrank the ponderous dragon of sword light, but his speed was more than three times before.

“Primordial Floods!” Bloodbath sneered and sent floodwaters cascading again.

RUMBLE!

A pillar of fiery light descended from the sky, heralding the arrival of an enormous bird of fire. It easily dispelled both the second move of the Cerulean Sword Dragons and the Primordial Floods.

“Daoists, please exit the city if you wish to do battle,” came a stately voice of imposing majesty.

“A replica beyond the body—a second nascent soul.” Bloodbath blinked when he saw the odd bird, then emitted a long peal of laughter. “As expected of the Darklake emperor, you refined the spirit beast Inferno Swan as a second nascent soul! It’s part of the divine Bi Fang beast’s bloodline—with it as your nascent soul, you stand a chance of becoming an immortal!”

“The bloodline of the divine Bi Fang beast..” Gray Robes’ heart clenched when he heard the identification. Jealousy, fury, and greed rose in his heart. All good things should be his! All fortuitous encounters should be his!

“Please exit the city.” The Inferno Swan looked coldly at the two combatants.

Back in the palace, Situ Wenxian looked on with resignation. These two fought with abandon in the capital and were beginning to threaten the entire city’s safety. They would level half of the city if they weren’t kept in check.

But all of the great families kept to themselves and no one was willing to take a stand. Thus, it was up to the emperor to take the field. His Inferno Swan was extremely strong as it possessed a divine beast’s bloodline. It easily broke up the fight for the time being.

“Hmph, it’s your lucky day.” A variety of expressions flickered through Gray Robes’ face with the Darklake emperor’s involvement. He grit his teeth and left amid sword light.

There was no sign of Lu Yun to be seen.

Bloodbath raised cupped fists at the emperor’s replica and followed Gray Robes out.

“Your Majesty, please administer justice on behalf of the Lings!” Ling survivors wailed on the ground, kowtowing fervently to the Inferno Swan in the sky.

One of the seven great families of the capital was no more after today. Their family treasure—the Wovenfire Cauldron—had been stolen. Half of the complex’s defensive formation was broken after Bloodbath pierced it through with Moon Slayer.

The energy ripples from the battle between Bloodbath and Gray Robes shook the rest of the complex into rubble. Many of their nascent soul powerhouses were dead. There were too many dead golden core and foundation establishment cultivators to be counted. A thousand years of accumulation had been destroyed in one night.

This kind of loss was far worse than what the Ouyangs and Yuwens had suffered.

Pity appeared in the fiery bird’s eyes before it sighed and vanished in the air, not saying anything else.

....

Lu Yun and Bloodbath flew through the western city gates, speeding toward a certain location.

“What, you couldn’t bear their suffering?” Up ahead, Bloodbath slowed down to keep pace with Lu Yun.

“Couldn’t bear their suffering?” Lu Yun blinked. “Why would I?”

“Then why did you save them?” Bloodbath snorted with laughter.

“Because I wanted to?” Lu Yun sniffed.

“Um..” Bloodbath paused, not knowing what to say.

“It looks like your mindset hasn’t reached perfection yet.” Lu Yun cast a sidelong glance at him. “Killing people, saving people, all are a function of my wishes. To think is to take action, my heart and mind are one.”

In other words, your daddy felt like it!

Bloodbath rubbed his nose wordlessly.

“Heh heh heh, you don’t let up, do you? And a tiny foundation establishment fellow came to watch the show as well?” A sinister ran in the air as Gray Robes had come back. He stood in front of Lu Yun and Bloodbath.