Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit
chapter-180

Ouyang Wei-Jian sent out twelve attacks rapidly, using his Drifting Wind Sword, a top-grade mystic instrument.

The first four attacks had the element of surprise. Consequently, the four cultivators nearest to the Void Stone were all killed.

The following four attacks only managed to kill a weaker cultivator, with the remaining three targets only being knocked back and injured, suffering damage to their high-grade defensive mystic instruments.

The last four attacks forced the remaining cultivators to retreat, clearing the battlefield.

Ouyang Wei-Jian laughed loudly and reached out to grab the Void Stone. Just as he was about to touch the Void Stone, a snowy white wave suddenly rose up behind him, with 182 swordfishes inside, that lunged towards him.

A stealth attack!

A murderous aura and a small hint of… disdain?!

Not good, this also contains Sword Intent!

In an instant, those thoughts flashed through Ouyang Wei-Jian's mind. He had no time to grab the Void Stone and swung his Drifting Wind Sword backwards without turning back. He stabbed at the 128 swordfishes one by one.

After that, Ouyang Wei-Jian turned around and looked in the direction of the attack, but there was already no one in front of him, only a huge wave crashing down.

Not good! The enemy has attained the State of Intent for both sword and spell! I only blocked the Sword Intent in the swordfishes and forgot the Spell Intent in the wave!

Ouyang Wei-Jian didn’t have time to think. He quickly summoned a wing-like mystic instrument on his back. The wings were black, with shiny feathers shaped like short swords. The feathers curled around Ouyang Wei-Jian, and protected him inside.

But unexpectedly, the arcane energy in the huge wave suddenly withdrew, and the water poured down like a waterfall onto Ouyang Wei-Jian.

Ouyang Wei-Jian didn’t expect such a mischievous tactic. If he is not trying to kill me, then what was with the murderous aura I felt earlier?

I can't be wrong, the aura was so murderous, and there was also… disdain! Not good, it's a trap!

Ouyang Wei-Jian's reaction was fast, he hastily turned, surged his arcane energy and sent out a powerful sword attack towards the Void Stone. At the same time, the surging arcane energy evaporated the water, returning Ouyang Wei-Jian to his previous dazzling appearance.

Dang—

A low, but ear-penetrating din, could be heard as the Drifting Wind Sword finally stopped the attacker's move, whose ultimate goal was the Void Stone!

"It's you!"

Ouyang Wei-Jian turned around and finally saw the attacker, immediately recognizing him.

Although the red mask could disguise Lu Ping's appearance, it couldn't hide his aura!

Meanwhile, the gray stone made a beautiful arc across the sky, flying towards the Zhen Ling Sect cultivators.

Lu Ping had calculated Ouyang Wei-Jian's every move right from the start. Lu Ping knew that Ouyang Wei-Jian wouldn't give up on the Void Stone even when attacked.

Hence, when Ouyang Wei-Jian turned back around to force Lu Ping away from the Void Stone, Lu Ping also took advantage of the situation. Not only did Lu Ping parry Ouyang Wei-Jian's Drifting Wind Sword with the Verdant Dawn Sword, he also used the opportunity to knock the Void Stone out of the battlefield.

While the cultivators were attracted by the battle, before they realized the Void Stone had flown out, they suddenly saw a roll of silk rising upward from the Zhen Ling Sect cultivators, retrieving the Void Stone. The silk returned into the hands of a female cultivator, who then waved her hand towards them.

It all happened so quickly that some cultivators were still confused by the dramatic development of the battle, and the change in ownership of the Void Stone.

Lu Ping dared not stay in the battlefield for long. When he saw Qi Zi-Cai waving her hand, he knew that Qi Zi-Cai would come rescue him. Hence, he sent out another sword attack and broke out from the crowd of cultivators, regrouping with the Zhen Ling Sect cultivators who were coming for him.

On the other hand, Ouyang Wei-Jian also did not stay in the battlefield. He turned into a breeze and flowed past the cultivators. Whilst the cultivators tried to stop him, they couldn’t capture his position at all.

They could hear Ouyang Wei-Jian saying loudly, "Zhen Ling Sect's Lu Ping, there will be a battle between you and I!"

"Anytime!"

Lu Ping, who had returned to Zhen Ling Sect's territory, replied.

Lu Ping was standing in front of Qi Zi-Cai. Behind her was Senior Martial Brother Cao, who always wore a gloomy face. Before Qi Zi-Cai could speak, Senior Martial Brother Cao said, "Well done."

Qi Zi-Cai giggled, "Senior Brother Cao rarely gives out compliments!"

Although Senior Martial Brother Cao didn't answer her, Qi Zi-Cai didn't take it personally, as she knew Senior Martial Brother Cao's personality.

Lu Ping was ninety-percent sure that Senior Martial Brother Cao and Senior Martial Brother Sun, who had been following Qi Zi-Cai, were actually Enlightened Masters sent by the sect. So, Lu Ping didn't dare to be rude and replied politely, "Thank you, Senior Brother Cao."

Lu Ping looked around and didn’t see Ji Zi-Xuan and Yin Zi-Chu, so he quickly asked Qi Zi-Cai about them.

Qi Zi-Cai said, "What are the odds? Just as the two of them left, you returned with the Void Stone. When they saw that Tian Xuan Palace's treasures didn't head towards us, they thought that they wouldn't be able to provide any help, and so they left in search of other opportunities."

Senior Martial Brother Sun added, "This Void Stone is huge, I’m afraid even our sect's Great Ancestors will be interested. There might be rewards from them."

Lu Ping didn’t care much about the rewards. After all, without Qi Zi-Cai’s rescue, he wasn't confident at all about being able to get out of the situation unharmed.

Furthermore, the reward from the sect might not be too significant considering his current wealth. However, it would be another situation altogether if the reward was to come from the Great Ancestors; rewards from them were always the best of the best. So, Lu Ping's heart pumped with excitement when he thought about it!

At the moment, only Kai Yang Hall hadn’t opened yet. So, Lu Ping decided to go out on his own and try his luck, after saying goodbye to Qi Zi-Cai and the others.

This time, Lu Ping ventured to the east side, which was the closest to the monster race territory. Just a few hundred feet away was the territory occupied by Young Master Jin and his subordinates. The Primal Giant Crocodile occupied another territory.

They were all waiting for the last seven treasures from Kai Yang Hall.

At this time, news was circulating amongst the cultivators.

Firstly, most of the treasures from the halls were mystic treasures, with only a few being top-grade mystic instruments. Even so, the top-grade mystic instruments all had special effects and the potential to be upgraded into mystic treasures.

The second piece of news was about a top-grade alchemy cauldron that was obtained by a rogue cultivator. It was rumored that the rogue cultivator was now being hunted down by cultivators all over the place.

Lu Ping naturally knew who had the top-grade alchemy cauldron. So, he was happy to hear that the rumor said "he" was being hunted. He only hoped that the "owner" of the alchemy cauldron would keep on changing and escaping until the Heaven of Seven Stars closed.

When he arrived at the east side, Lu Ping was afraid of attracting Young Master Jin's attention, so he took the mask off his face.

To be honest, although Lu Ping was eager to fight Young Master Jin, he was very clear that he was still far from Young Master Jin's match.

Young Master Jin's Sword Complexity could already produce more than 500 sword lights in one attack, which was something Lu Ping couldn’t achieve anytime soon. Not to mention that Young Master Jin was actually an Enlightened Master who had sealed his cultivation base.

A few moments later, the last hall, Kai Yang Hall, finally opened. The treasures flew out in all directions.

Unfortunately, Lu Ping was not in a good position. But he could clearly see a jade bottle heading in the direction of the Zhen Ling Sect cultivators. If it was a jade bottle, it would most likely contain medicinal pellets.

It seemed that even without Lu Ping, Ji Zi-Xuan, and Yin Zi-Chu, Zhen Ling Sect would still secure six treasures, which was one more than Xuan Ling Sect.

When the last hall opened, and the cultivators finished fighting for the treasures, more than half of the remaining cultivators had left Seven Star Palace for opportunities at other places.

Lu Ping was also turning around to leave when a sudden thought flashed in his mind. He thought, Wait a second… there were only six treasures from Kai Yang Hall, where's the seventh?

Cultivators were used to the treasures flying out in all directions. Hence, they only focused on the ones that were flying in their direction, ignoring the treasures in other directions. Naturally, they wouldn't know how many treasures had flown out from the halls.

So, Lu Ping turned back around and looked. To his surprise, he found that there were many who had noticed the problem, but they were clearly not going to say anything, to avoid attracting back the cultivators who had left.

Kai Yang Hall started quivering again and a loud sound resounded. Twelve bright pearls, three-inches in diameter, shot out from Kai Yang Hall, heading towards Lu Ping's and Young Master Jin's direction.

The appearance of the twelve pearls ignited the enthusiasm of the cultivators nearby. The eerily calm battlefield suddenly turned bloody.

Regardless of the strong or weak, near or far, old or young, every cultivator rushed to compete for the twelve bright pearls. This was the last chance to secure a treasure from the Seven Star Palace.

The east side of the Seven Star Palace had turned into a chaotic battlefield, with many more cultivators swarming in from other directions.

All the cultivators could do was to attack everyone around them, and try to protect themselves. In a chaotic battle such as this, everyone but themselves was an enemy.

…

Lu Ping performed the [Stormy Waves Crashing Shore Sword Art], which was the best sword art for chaotic battles. He kept pressuring the cultivators around him to move out of the way, while he advanced as far as possible towards the bright pearls.

The best way to perform this sword art was with two swords, so Lu Ping couldn't help but miss his Soaring Wing Swords that were shattered by Young Master Jin.

A dark cloud wrapped Lu Ping tightly inside, while his [Water Sky Curtain] overlaid his skin. He held the two Emerald Blood Divine Needles in his left hand, and Landslide in his sleeve.

The Water Tornado talisman treasure was also ready in his interspatial ring. It could still be used once, and had been saved as Lu Ping’s biggest trump card.