Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit
chapter-322-30041322

Wang Hua quickly cast the Mystical Wooden Shield and activated his aegis divine ability, [Wall of All Forest], to enhance his shield.

Bang, bang, bang, bang…

The sword lights slammed into the shield, while Wang Hua moved it around such that the sword lights didn’t hit the same position and break the wall. However, the immense power in the sword lights shook the wall incessantly, pushing back Wang Hua bit by bit.

Eventually, he was pushed back more than a hundred feet, his aegis energy was almost broken, and his shield was full of cracks as it was shrunk back into the size of a palm.

Wang Hua was thoroughly scared by the ferocity behind the attack, heaving a sigh of relief after managing to defend against it. He looked at the now broken shield and mourned; this one attack had damaged it more than the combined attacks from the other four cultivators. It would take a lot of resources to repair it back to its original state.

The golden flying sword flew back into the hands of a young cultivator in his twenties. He stood on a cloud that slowly landed on the ground in front of Wang Hua. This was none other than Lu Ping!

Unbeknownst to everyone present, the message sword that flew towards the east had quietly disappeared as if it had never existed. Lu Ping looked in the same direction with a sarcastic smile plastered on his face as a bright light flashed in his eyes.

"You!"

Wang Hua naturally recognized Lu Ping, or rather Lu Jiu, from the Alchemy Conference. He was the one who had defeated the Wang Clan’s alchemist and put the Wang Clan in a bad position in the negotiations for the distribution of the spirit stone mine.

"Alchemist Lu Jiu, I didn’t think that your swordsmanship would be as good as your alchemy. You have reached the peak of both Sword Complexity and Sword Spirituality. The next step is Sword Simplicity. Once that is achieved, every one of your sword attacks will be as strong as a mini divine ability!"

Lu Ping smiled, "Enlightened Master Wang Hua, you think too highly of me."

"You must be a Master Alchemist now that you have advanced to the Core Forging Realm, or so I’ve heard. May I ask, has the Wang Clan ever offended you before?"

The moment Wang Hua saw Lu Ping, he knew that things were far more complicated than he had initially thought. It was not only because of Lu Ping’s status as a Master Alchemist, but also because of the Late Core Forging Realm Enlightened Master that had once showed up beside him.

Even Crystal Palace wouldn’t want to offend a Late Core Forging Realm Enlightened Master for no reason, let alone the Wang Clan. Hence, there was no way they would want to become enemies with someone like that, at least not without Crystal Palace’s support.

"Island Master Hong Ying has made it clear, hasn’t he? We need a base to establish our power. I’m sure your Wang Clan doesn’t mind letting us have yours, you have more than enough wealth to start another establishment elsewhere; pity us rogue cultivators for being poor."

Wang Hua naturally knew that Lu Ping wouldn’t be frank, so he said directly, "The Zhang Clan and Li Clan are also involved in this, otherwise you wouldn’t have known about my movements and managed to intercept me right here."

Although Lu Ping was impressed that Wang Hua could figure out most of the truth from small hints, he didn’t admit anything and only smiled in return. After all, some things were best left unsaid. But, not answering was already an answer of its own.

Wang Hua sneered coldly, "Do you think that just you can stop me from leaving? I’ll admit that you excel in swordsmanship, but you’re still just in the Second Layer Core Forging Realm. Also, do you really think you can handle the Wang Clan with just your own forces? "

The biggest reason why Lu Ping declined Maiden Pavilion’s help was because Maiden Pavilion’s involvement would give Crystal Palace a reason to get involved as well. Eventually, that would turn into a power struggle between the two behemoths, with his forces and the Wang Clan used as chess pieces.

In that scenario, Crystal Palace’s involvement would force Lu Ping to rely on Maiden Pavilion’s power even more causing his forces to be eventually controlled by Maiden Pavilion, which was exactly what he didn’t want to see happening.

On the other hand, if Lu Ping defeated the Wang Clan and chased them out of Fallen Rift without the help from any external forces, he would be following the rules laid down by the Northern League. As a result, Crystal Palace wouldn’t have any excuse to get involved, or else the Northern League would step in to admonish Crystal Palace for crossing the line, and even take action if necessary.

Additionally, the Northern League was aware of the collusion between the Wang Clan and Crystal Palace, so it was also waiting for a chance to weaken or even take down the Wang Clan. Hence, the Northern League would be more than willing to protect Lu Ping’s power, especially if he followed the rules.

Lu Ping looked at the infuriated Wang Hua, and smiled, "One will never know unless they try!"

Wang Hua looked at Lu Ping, and rebuked, "What nonsense did I just hear? The four of them and you, have all advanced to the Core Forging Realm in less than five years. Do you really think that you can defeat someone as powerful and experienced as me? What a joke! Hmph, come then, let me show you the difference between the Early and Mid Core Forging Realm!"

"[All Forest]!"

The Mystical Wooden Shield shot up into the sky, disappearing into the clouds. Green light started to rain down one after another like a curtain. Whilst Chilian Ying and the others were confused, Lu Ping suddenly said solemnly, "Careful!"

The Golden Scale Sword shot out five sword lights into the sea beneath them.

Countless seaweeds grew from the bottom of the sea, heading towards their feet. The sword lights arrived just in time to sever the first wave of seaweed. However, the seaweed continued to grow more in number.

The five of them flew to a higher altitude in an attempt to evade the seaweed, but the green light curtain from the sky restricted their maneuverability. Left with no choice, they could only resort to cutting down the seaweed.

The seaweeds were soft and easy to cut, but they grew so fast and rampantly that they seemed inexhaustible. The more they were cut down, the more that would grow to replace them.

Wang Hua smiled smugly, "You can’t even handle this one divine ability, yet you talk about defeating me? Clowns, I will paint this sea red with your blood and flesh!"

Wang Hua patted his Mystical Wooden Ruler, and shouted, "Go!"

The ruler disappeared into the sea filled with seaweed. Chilian Ying’s expression changed drastically, as she waved her sleeves into a wall of cloth in front of her.

Bang—

A huge log created from the Mystical Wooden Ruler flew out of the tangle of seaweeds, ramming into her defense. Chilian Ying’s face immediately turned pale, having been clearly injured.

Bang—

The huge log returned to the sea before striking out once again. This time, Hong Ying’s pestle mystic treasure was struck away from his control. His face turned a shade of purple, he spat out a mouthful of blood, and his Core Forging Realm cultivation base even started to falter!

Lu Ping’s expression changed after seeing this. He squinted his eyes as a bright light flashed within them before returning to normal.

Then, he sneered coldly and sent the Golden Scale Sword towards Qiao Wei-Ying.

Bang—

The huge log heading for Qiao Wei-Ying was knocked back into the sea by the sword. The Golden Scale Sword swung in a full circle, forming 1296 spiritual sword lights. The sword then elevated itself horizontally while the sword lights flew towards it, forming a single-horned Sword Jiao.

Lu Ping pointed at the sea, as if he sensed the Mystical Wooden Ruler amidst all the seaweed and sea waters. The Sword Jiao let out a metallic whistle and dived downwards.

Immediately, the seawater undulated violently while the seaweeds attempted to wrap around the Sword Jiao. Wang Hua was still casual and relaxed; he didn’t think the Sword Jiao could fight off the seaweeds, nor did he think that Lu Ping could find the Mystical Wooden Ruler.

However, only a second later, his expression changed drastically. Sounds of weapons clashing could be heard underwater; it appeared that the Sword Jiao had broken through the jungle of seaweed and had actually found the Mystical Wooden Ruler.

Wang Hua quickly swung his hand and summoned the ruler back, noticing the obvious damage the Mystical Wooden Ruler had suffered. However, this wasn’t the time to mourn, since the Sword Jiao, which had now lost its tail and suffered other damages, had just burst out of the sea, lunging towards the ruler once again.

Wang Hua shouted anxiously, "Split!"

The Mystical Wooden Ruler turned into 18 huge logs that bashed towards the Sword Jiao’s head. In response, the Sword Jiao suddenly split back into 1296 spiritual sword lights, which then merged back together with the Golden Scale Sword, creating a 999-foot gigantic light sword.

"Sword Simplicity!" Wang Hua exclaimed in fear.

"A sword mini divine ability! Impossible!" Zhang Feng and Li Mao-Lin were also shocked. They exchanged a glance and saw the shock and unease in each other’s eyes.

Wang Hua hurriedly tried to stow the Mystical Wooden Ruler away, but it was too late. In just one swing, the giant light sword chopped the 18 huge logs apart. At the same time, the Mystical Wooden Ruler quivered nonstop and cracked down its center. This magnitude of damage couldn’t be fixed without a dozen years of care and the help of various precious spirit materials.

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Editor: Immortal BloodRogue