Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit
chapter-417

The master alchemists in the North Ocean Palace were surprised. They hadn’t expected Lu Ping to be fine after being targeted by multiple cultivators.

Just as Lu Ping was about to take another step forward, a colorful mist came flying toward him. Lu Ping shielded himself with the Million Poison Aegis Energy, absorbing the venom in the colorful mist, and causing the purified mist to dissipate.

“Huh? This brat really does have a way of dealing with poison mist, and he’s unbelievably quick! My poison mist is pretty powerful and can give an average Core Forging Realm cultivator a hard time, but he nullified it immediately!”

Lu Ping shook his head in response. “Powerful? It’s barely worthy of being food to the Million Poison Aegis Energy!”

Lu Ping saw an orange flame flying toward him. Then, he heard Tian-Hu roaring from the palace, “Wei Xu-Ren, that’s two wonder fires! Have you no shame?”

Lu Ping chuckled. “It seems like this grandmaster alchemist has no shame at all! Hmmm… The Flame of Blazing Comet? An Earth-Class wonder fire? Now that’s troublesome.”

“This young friend is amazing to have achieved this level at such a young age. I think Xu-Ren just wants to see how brilliant he is. I believe everyone present is also very curious about him.” A cultivator smiled awkwardly as he tried to make up an excuse for Wei Xu-Ren’s actions.

“I’m ashamed to even sit with you!” Tian-Hu scoffed.

In reality, such moves weren’t a problem given Lu Ping’s current strength. All he had to do to break the stalemate was pick up his Golden Scale Sword and charge right through. He was confident that even if he couldn’t outmatch the people inside the palace, he could still easily enter it. Unfortunately, he was forced to endure this ridiculous battle because this was an alchemy conference. In order to enter, he had to only use the methods of an alchemist. Given that the technique he cultivated was a water-type, he was innately handicapped when controlling spirit fires, preventing him from unleashing their full potential. As a result, he relied on his extraordinary true energy and divine revelation to hold his ground.

Although many cultivators tried to stop Lu Ping, only Wei Xu-Ren was hell-bent on stopping Lu Ping. The others were unwilling to turn Lu Ping into an enemy; they didn’t wish to see a young man like him enter the palace without a struggle.

Every single one of them had spent centuries to achieve their current attainments. A young man like Lu Ping, who had entered the cultivation world mere decades ago, had managed to stand in the same position as them. His existence was a stark contrast; they were talentless fools who had been wasting centuries.

Wei Xu-Ren disregarded the traditions and rules, striving to stop Lu Ping from entering the palace. But the others held themselves back as they knew they would be crossing the line if they used their total effort to stop Lu Ping.

“Very well!” Tian-Hu scoffed and glowered at a couple of cultivators. “I suppose there’s no need to have so many people attending the conference next time because of what happened today!”

The wrath of the famous Law Avatar Realm grandmaster alchemist loomed over the many alchemists on the scene. They realized that things had gotten slightly out of hand. None of them had thought that so many people would stop Lu Ping, but they also hadn’t expected him to be so persistent. “He can at least stop for a moment before advancing again. Who will let you have your way if you effortlessly fend off the incoming attacks and smoothly enter the palace? You’re humiliating these guys by doing so!”

The Flame of Blazing Comet dashed across the skies like a meteor, crashing down on Lu Ping, only to be met with a violet-purple flame that emerged from his body.

“The Eastern Violet Flame? The Zhen Ling Sect sure has invested a lot in this young man. A middle Earth-Class wonder fire… it’s a little weaker compared to the Flame of Blazing Comet… What a shame. The Xuan Ling Sect sure lives up to its reputation as the strongest sect in the North Ocean. They really do have a solid foundation.”

“That’s some nonsense! The young man is just a master alchemist, yet his opponent is a grandmaster alchemist. How will a grandmaster alchemist concoct a Law Avatar-level pellet if he doesn’t have an Earth-Class wonder fire?”

In the end, the Eastern Violet Fire lost the upper hand. Through the raging orange flame, Lu Ping saw a smug Wei Xu-Ren.

Lu Ping instantly became angry. “I’ll enter this palace no matter what!”

With a wave of his hand, Lu Ping hurled ten shiny spirit stones into the Eastern Violet Fire. He detonated instantly, unleashing the power they contained, and boosting the fire’s intensity.

The Eastern Violet Fire burnt even stronger than before. It started pushing back the Flame of Blazing Comet, allowing Lu Ping to take another step forward!

In the North Ocean Palace, Tian-Hu was strangely silent after making his threat. Instead of making a move, he merely shut his eyes and sat down quietly as if he was meditating. Despite showing no emotions, his silence had the challengers questioning their decisions.

They were in a difficult spot. If they stopped right now, the Zhen Ling Sect wouldn’t think positively of them, and they would still offend the Xuan Ling Sect. However, if they persisted, they would face Tian-Hu’s wrath at the next conference. Their presence here today was because they needed various things, either for their own personal gain or for their sect; it would be a tragic loss if they were denied entry to the palace.

The challengers wore bitter expressions. Things were considerably better for those from larger sects. The solitary cultivators, or those from smaller sects, were feeling even worse. The Zhen Ling Sect’s might was no secret to everyone in the North Ocean. Aside from the famous eight Law Avatar Realm cultivators, the Zhen Ling Sect was the only sect in the region that had managed to fend off and launch a counter-attack against the monsters. In contrast, the Xuan Ling Sect seemed much weaker outwardly.

To Wei Xu-Ren’s dismay, Lu Ping had already repelled his attacks twice. It was three times if the divine revelation was included. According to the conference's rules, the North Palace alchemists could only attack once. Wei Xu-Ren had already crossed the line and was behaving shamelessly. Yet, he had no choice but to continue; it would be a complete humiliation if Lu Ping entered the palace.

Since advancing to a master alchemist, Wei Xu-Ren had walked a path filled with mockery from other cultivators. From the moment he was denied entry into the palace by Mei Xuan-Qin, who was much younger than him, he had become a laughing-stock to every alchemist in the region. He had a hunch that if he missed this chance to stop Lu Ping, he would allow another rising star no weaker than Mei Xuan-Qin to rise so high that he would never have the opportunity to stop him anymore.

All of a sudden, Wei Xu-Ren sat up straight. Tian-Hu widened his eyes before locking his eyes on Wei Xu-Ren. Despite appearing calm and unwavering, Tian-Hu was focusing solely on Wei Xu-Ren.

The other grandmaster alchemist of the Xuan Ling Sect, Dao-Li, was startled by Tian-Hu’s abrupt movements. He got up from his seat, and said, “Brother Tian-Hu, what are you up to?”

Before his voice faded, a tiny fan appeared in Wei Xu-Ren’s hand. With a flip, the fan glowed brightly before enlarging. The fan was clearly a spirit-emerging mystic treasure.

With a ferocious expression, Wei Xu-Ren fanned the treasure toward the palace’s entrance.

“How dare you!” Tian-Hu roared.

The entire North Ocean Palace shook as a loud explosion took place while Dao-Li shouted, “Tian-Hu, what are you doing? I promise we’ll give you an explanation later!”

Lu Ping suddenly felt an odd gust. The gust ignited the Flame of Blazing Comet further, granting it the upper hand against the Eastern Violet Fire and the other entangled fires.

In Lu Ping's view, there was nothing apart from the blazing orange of the Flame of Blazing Comet. It burnt so strongly that it felt like he would be incinerated into ashes.

Lu Ping reached his hand out and started drawing something in the air with his fingers. Under his control, the Eastern Violet Fire turned into a spinning drill, ramming towards the Flame of Blazing Comet.

Such a move wasn’t enough to defend against the Flame of Blazing Fire, but Lu Ping still had a trick up his sleeves. A ghostly azure water rushed out and circled around Lu Ping. After he channeled his true energy into the water, it started glowing brightly.

Facing the incoming Flame of Blazing Fire, Lu Ping took another step forward, finally stepping into the entrance, causing the attacks around him to dissipate in the blink of an eye.

The Flame of Blazing Comet returned to Wei Xu-Ren, while the ghostly azure water went back to Lu Ping and formed a barrier around him. Standing at the entrance, Lu Ping had a clear view of the scene in the palace. Twenty cultivators sat in the main palace, their gazes filled with mixed emotions.

Lu Ping sneered in response. Just as he was about to walk into the main palace, a man shouted, “Stop! You’re not worthy of entering!”

“Wei Xu-Ren, you’ll die here today!” Tian-Hu’s shout followed right after.