Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit
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chapter-204
Lu Ping didn’t know where the teleportation formation was headed, but by using it, he could at least escape from his pursuers.
In any other situation, he wouldn't want to ever take the risk, but he had no other option.
Behind him, a daunting sword intent pierced through the clouds. More than six hundred spiritual sword lights flew out of Enlightened Master Jin's flying sword, followed by a hundred-feet long projection of the sword.
All the spiritual sword lights aligned in a sword array inside the giant sword projection. The sword then cut through the sky and came slashing down at Lu Ping with huge momentum, as if it could split the sea in half!
This was the moment of life and death that he had been wary about all this time!He didn't hesitate and immediately used the talisman treasure given to him by his teacher who crafted it when she was in the Seventh Layer Core Forging Realm. It contained a powerful water spell that could unleash seven water tornadoes.
The water tornadoes formed side by side and rolled towards Enlightened Master Jin, whose face had changed after seeing the water spell.
Although talisman treasures weren’t very reliable against real Core Forging Realm Enlightened Masters, it was a different matter altogether if the talisman treasures crafted by Late Core Forging Realm Enlightened Masters, were used against Early or Mid Core Forging Realm Enlightened Masters.
Additionally, casting a water spell on the surface of the sea undoubtedly increased its power. So, if Enlightened Master Jin was not cautious, he could be severely injured by the water tornadoes.
The magnificent giant sword slashed down from the sky and crushed four of the seven water tornadoes. Although the giant sword was also heavily damaged, it still continued to come down towards Lu Ping.
Lu Ping knew that the time had come, so he poured all of his arcane energy into the Verdant Dawn Sword and cast the [Thousand Stacks of Snow Sword Art].
Among the 162 sword lights he had cultivated, one-third were spiritual sword lights. They evenly split themselves into three groups, forming three huge waves that pounced towards the incoming giant sword.Suddenly, while he was concentrating on casting the sword art, another one-third of the sword lights turned into spiritual sword lights.
Lu Ping had just broken through in his swordsmanship, more specifically, in the state of Sword Spirituality, during this tense life and death crisis. Now, his spiritual sword lights doubled from 54 to 108.
As the sword waves crashed on the giant sword, the sword lights destroyed each other. The sword waves and giant sword collapsed, leaving only the flying sword left.
Lu Ping retreated as fast as he could, but he was still unable to dodge the flying sword.
The flying sword swiftly cut through Umbra like tofu, withstood the corrosion from the Million Poisons Ominous Essence in his aegis energy, and then shattered his aegis energy before piercing into his golden inner vest.
Lu Ping heaved a long sigh of relief. How fortunate, his quick and timely reactions along with his defensive measures eventually saved him. On top of that, his recent cultivation advancement also greatly enhanced his physical body.
So, even though the flying sword pierced through his last line of defense, the golden inner vest, it only managed to cut an inch deep into his chest. Furthermore, he was able to protect his vital points, so the wound was not as severe as it appeared to be.
However, the sword intent in Enlightened Master Jin's flying sword still damaged Lu Ping's internal organs, and so he spurted out a mouthful of blood.
Lu Ping didn't waste the blood and used it to cast the [Blood Spirit Escape]. The Auspicious Cloud turned blood-red and brought him away at its fastest possible speed towards Qiu Yun Island.
Enlightened Master Jin was held back by the remaining three water tornadoes. The water spell was equivalent to a Late Enlightened Master's full-blown attack, so he couldn't parry the attack without his nascent flying sword.
As a result, Enlightened Master Jin could only hold his ground firmly and wait until the water tornadoes dispersed on their own.
After Enlightened Master Jin was freed from the water tornadoes after they collapsed, he no longer looked like a suave gentleman anymore. He was consumed by anger, with golden scales emerging on his body.
Enlightened Master Jin glanced around only to see the blood-red trail left behind in the sky by Lu Ping.
Although no one was around, Enlightened Master Jin could already foresee the mocking jeers of the other monster Enlightened Masters, and he finally burst out in anger.
He pulled his feet together turning them into a huge golden carp tail. Then, he dived into the seawater and shot out like a nocked arrow let loose.
At this time, Qiu Yun Island had already appeared in Lu Ping's vision. As long as he entered the island, he would be temporarily safe, as the cultivators on the island would push back against the incoming monster beasts and Enlightened Master Jin.
However, Lu Ping's excitement didn’t last long.
He heard a long and angry whistle coming from behind him. A merman with a golden tail was chasing after him like a bolt of lightning underwater.
This merman was none other than Enlightened Master Jin!
Lu Ping looked at Qiu Yun Island, which was still a few hundred miles far away, and knew he wouldn't make it in time anymore.
So, he decisively rushed towards the nameless deserted island that was just to the right of him.
Lu Ping landed on the deserted island and pressed a spot under the surface of the water of the island.
Immediately, a strange boulder at the center of the island appeared.
The middle of the strange rocky island sank in silence. Two Seventh Layer Blood Condensation Realm cultivators leapt out from the sinking hole, and shouted, "Who is it?"
Lu Ping walked over while throwing a token to one of them, and said, "Ocean Overturning Gang, Tranquil Sea Division Master. I've been ordered to return to the palace."
The cultivator verified the token and didn’t think much of it. He went to activate the teleportation formation and returned the token to Lu Ping.
Lu Ping took back the token and walked calmly towards the teleportation formation.
All of a sudden, the second cultivator shouted, "Wait, not good! He’s not the Tranquil Sea Division Master!"
"What?" The first cultivator froze. He had just verified the token and it was obviously real.
In the midst of his confusion, Lu Ping's Verdant Dawn Sword had already decapitated his head. The second cultivator hurriedly cast his mystic instrument to strike at the teleportation formation in an attempt to destroy it.
Lu Ping naturally wouldn’t let him succeed.
Lu Ping slashed the Verdant Dawn Sword backwards and deflected the mystic instrument. Then, he cast out a water rope from the Cold Jade Glazed Bowl and tightly tied down the cultivator.
Before the cultivator managed to fight back, two Emerald Blood Divine Needles pierced through the cultivator's heartspace.
After killing the two of them, Lu Ping quickly rushed to the teleportation formation which was already activating.
At the same time, Enlightened Master Jin had noticed Lu Ping and was rushing to the deserted island.
Lu Ping placed the jade token into the center of the teleportation formation and injected his arcane energy into the formation.
The 49 mid-grade spirit stones in the formation were linked together and the teleportation formation was activated, emitting a faint white light.
Enlightened Master Jin landed on the deserted island, and was furious when he saw Lu Ping getting away. He hurriedly struck out his flying sword towards Lu Ping.
After the teleportation formation had started, Lu Ping inadvertently saw the interspatial pouches on the waist of the two cultivators, and quickly collected them before teleporting away.
By the time Enlightened Master Jin's flying sword reached the teleportation formation, the faint white light flashed brightly for a split second and Lu Ping could no longer be seen.
Enlightened Master Jin walked up to the teleportation formation and saw the corpses lying on the ground. He opened his mouth and swallowed them, licking his lips as if he just had a delicious meal.
After that, he walked around the formation and thought for a second, before finally making a decision.
The token that represented the Ocean Overturning Gang's Division Master was left behind in the teleportation formation. Perhaps, the token could only be used in the North Ocean and had no meaning to the other side of the teleportation formation.
So, Enlightened Master Jin took out 49 mid-grade spirit stones and placed them in the formation. He surged his true energy into the teleportation formation and activated it.
A few moments later, the faint white light flashed brightly again and Enlightened Master Jin’s figure also disappeared.
…
Lu Ping had no idea how long it took, or how far he had traveled. When the teleportation finally ended, he felt a sense of standing on solid ground.
Lu Ping opened his eyes and looked around vigilantly. He was in a crypt and saw two Eighth Layer Blood Condensation Realm cultivators, wearing bright silver uniforms in front of the teleportation formation. They looked at him with a wary face.
"Who are you?" The cultivator on the left asked in a cold voice.
"Ocean Overturning Gang, Tranquil Sea Division Master. I've been ordered to return to the palace to report something important." Lu Ping answered.
The second cultivator on the right looked relieved, but still asked in a stern voice, "There are no orders issued by the palace recently, whose orders are you following?"
Lu Ping looked calm and replied, "The order is not from the palace, but rather Qiu Clan's Grand Elder, Qiu Yeyuan. As for the contents of the order, it is classified."
"I see. Well then, Senior Brother, it's best that we let you go and handle the matter as soon as possible." They finally stopped questioning Lu Ping and smiled at him.
Lu Ping nodded. He acted calmly and walked down from the teleportation formation, moving towards the outside.
At the same time, he appeared to be unintentionally moving closer to the cultivator on the left side.
"By the way, which Enlightened Master is Senior Brother cultivating under?" The cultivator on the left saw Lu Ping walking towards him and asked casually.
"My teacher is Enlightened Master…" As Lu Ping answered, he suddenly lowered his voice.
The cultivator on the left was distracted while listening to the second half of his sentence when suddenly, the other cultivator on the right shouted, "Senior Brother Wu be careful! How dare you!"