Chapter 118: The Sword Formation Displays Its Power
Chapter 118: The Sword Formation Displays Its Power
Southern City Market.
A group of Spirit Coalescence Elders surrounded Lu Hangzhi, who had the aura of the eighth-grade Epiphany Stage, and looked at each other.
Yu Changgu frowned deeply and hesitated.
Their group originally just wanted to start with Lu Hangzhi, the only non-Spirit Coalescence member of the Southern City Special Operations Team, to corner Honglian’s first army!
They never expected Lu Hangzhi to be so unruthless and unrespectful. Not only did he counter their move in front of everyone, exposing their plan, but he also proactively suggested a public spell showdown to verify identities. This put them in a difficult position.
If he were just an ordinary Epiphany Stage cultivator, any Spirit Coalescence Elder present could easily defeat him!
Unfortunately…
In just a few days, Lu Hangzhi had pursued and killed thousands of Monster Beasts, achieving glorious battle merits. This included independently killing an Early Spirit Concentration Stage Pangolin Demon Beast! He also had brilliant achievements like killing several Spirit Concentrating Demon Beasts at the Xuanxin Sect. His cultivation was already invincible below the Spirit Condensation Stage.
Not only did Yu Changgu lack confidence to fight him, but even a few Mid Soul-Concentrating Stage Elders in the crowd stayed silent, not daring to claim they had one hundred percent confidence to defeat Lu Hangzhi.
But Lu Hangzhi did not plan to give Yu Changgu a chance to retreat!
Since Honglian’s opponents wanted to cause trouble, it wasn’t his style not to counterattack!!
Daring to fight for power and engage in internal conflict at such a time…
Lu Hangzhi stared coldly at Yu Changgu and said, “You were the most energetic just now. How about you personally conduct the test… In front of so many people, you wouldn’t dare not, right?”
His words immediately backed Yu Changgu into a corner!
The latter flew into a rage, gritting his teeth and saying:
“I’ll grant your wish.”
As soon as the words fell, the Defensive Barrier was fully activated…
Two Artifact Flying Swords of different attributes, one white and one red, appeared beside Yu Changgu;
The Sword Qi contained the Heaven and Earth Power of the Spirit Coalescence Stage!
The left side felt like falling into the North Pole, the air freezing; the right side was like the heart of a volcano, flames burning the void. Following Yu Changgu’s command, they fiercely stabbed towards Lu Hangzhi.
An Early Spirit Concentration Stage Elder actually attacked without declaring battle.
The crowd instantly erupted in exclamations:
“Shameless!”
“So shameless!”
“They haven’t even formally established distance…”
“Do they even have any face left.”
Faced with the surrounding criticism and accusations, Yu Changgu remained unashamed, gritting his teeth as he controlled the flying swords to attack Lu Hangzhi several meters away.
“Hmph!”
Lu Hangzhi remained calm. The Tianji Umbrella suddenly opened and rose into the air, several brilliant lights shot out, easily intercepting and knocking away Yu Changgu’s surprise-attacking flying swords.
“You fell for it.”
Yu Changgu laughed instead of being startled, his hands forming seals.
Lu Hangzhi slightly started. He saw Yu Changgu suddenly abandon control of his flying swords, open his mouth wide, and a powerful suction force centered on him, drawing in Spiritual Energy like rivers flowing to the sea. A white river of Spiritual Energy quickly gathered in the void and was swallowed by Yu Changgu like a whale. Then, his eyes snapped open, and he exhaled a storm-like airflow at an even faster speed!
BOOM!!!!
A storm tornado formed, changing the color of heaven and earth.
“The Imperial Wine Sect’s ‘Long Whale Battle Art’!”
“Truly an Elder of the Imperial Wine Sect, able to execute a Spirit Coalescence spell so quickly while controlling flying swords.”
Although the observing cultivators despised Yu Changgu’s sneak attack, they still acknowledged his strength quite a bit.
With this level of strength, he could already fight an Early Spirit Concentration Stage Monster Beast.
Not simple!
“Hangzhi!”
In the crowd, Elder Zhao was also startled by the strength Yu Changgu suddenly displayed. He never expected the opponent’s side to send an elite Early Spirit Concentration Stage cultivator, whose single strike approached the power of a Mid Soul-Concentrating Stage attack! He couldn’t help but sweat nervously for Lu Hangzhi.
Many people secretly stared at Lu Hangzhi without blinking.
Facing the overwhelming, earth-shattering Power of Heaven and Earth, Lu Hangzhi didn’t even bat an eye. He didn’t perform any hand seals or take out any Talismans. He remained calm, letting the storm tornado roar and envelop him completely.
In the Southern City Market, aside from Honglian’s competitors, there were also strong experts from other sects and informants from all sides of the Barbarian Continent!
Seeing this scene, they all showed astonished expressions;
Even Yu Changgu was startled by Lu Hangzhi’s reckless move of not dodging, not avoiding, and not activating a Barrier, his face turning pale…
He wanted to intimidate Lu Hangzhi, but that didn’t mean he actually wanted to kill him.
He knew very well how powerful the Imperial Wine Sect’s ‘Long Whale Battle Art’ was. For the other party to be so overconfident, the final result could only be one!
However.
Just as everyone was gasping in shock.
Lu Hangzhi was completely swallowed by the storm tornado.
The next second.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The Tianji Umbrella spat out seven flying swords in one breath. Sword Qi crisscrossed, instantly covering the ground around Yu Changgu, embedding themselves halfway into the soil with loud, clear clangs!
Yu Changgu was shocked.
The thought that Lu Hangzhi wasn’t dead had just surfaced when he saw Lu Hangzhi, clad in armor, walking out step by step unscathed from the storm tornado…
Immediately after!
Silver Magic Power connected the seven flying swords.
Forty-nine silver Sword Qi, comparable to Early Spirit Concentration Stage power, shot into the sky.
Within a several-mile radius of the city gate, all cultivators felt a chilling sense of crisis, as if they were locked onto by the Sword Qi.
Yu Changgu bore the brunt of it!
Flying swords were everywhere;
Locked onto simultaneously by forty-nine Mind-Concentrating Sword Qi, their sharpness unstoppable, giving him the constant illusion of being pierced into a sieve.
With several sharp whistles of Sword Qi breaking through the air, the Defensive Barrier outside Yu Changgu’s body instantly shattered…
Several Spiritual Artifacts were activated almost instinctively.
But it was useless.
A few more sharp whistles of Sword Qi sounded.
Over a dozen Sword Qi swept magnificently and swiftly across Yu Changgu’s body. Barriers shattered one after another, and Spiritual Artifacts simultaneously dimmed.
Yu Changgu gritted his teeth and threw out a disc-shaped Magical Artifact, once again forming a thick, golden, glowing shield armor around his body. Unfortunately, before it could fully deploy, over a dozen Sword Qi blasted it into a sieve, causing it to disintegrate and scatter even faster.
Dozens of Sword Qi hung suspended in the air, their tips pointed directly at Yu Changgu, stopping less than a meter away from him all around, the Sword Qi chilly and severe.
Nearby cultivators were astonished and bewildered.
Firstly, they were surprised that Lu Hangzhi could walk out unscathed from the ‘Long Whale Battle Art’, which was comparable to a full-force strike from a Mid Soul-Concentrating Stage cultivator.
Secondly, Lu Hangzhi, who superficially seemed to only have the aura of the eighth-grade Epiphany Stage, displayed combat power and control over the Sword Formation so skillfully that it was breathtaking. His strength far exceeded that of an ordinary Early Spirit Concentration Stage cultivator… even an elite…
His strength was undoubtedly formidable.
“Who else doubts I am a Monster Beast, or wants to step forward and offer advice? Lu Hangzhi will accept all challenges here.”
Lu Hangzhi did not look at Yu Changgu, whose face was pale with embarrassment, shame, and fury, but instead scanned the group of Spirit Coalescence cultivators, Yu Changgu’s accomplices, his tone icy:
“If there are no objections, I have no time to waste with you any longer. I am returning to the Reinforcement Department to report.”
“…”
The group looked at each other.
Although there were Spirit Coalescence Elders in the crowd whose strength surpassed Yu Changgu’s, the power of the Sword Formation Lu Hangzhi supported was terrifying. The forty-nine Mind-Concentrating Sword Qi obeyed his command like his own arms; ordinary defensive methods simply couldn’t withstand it.
Lu Hangzhi himself also seemed to have considerable defensive means.
Ordinary Mid Soul-Concentrating Stage cultivators put themselves in Yu Changgu’s place, mentally simulated the fight, broke out in cold sweat, shut their mouths, and didn’t dare say more. They could only watch as Lu Hangzhi calmly retrieved the Tianji Umbrella, deactivated the Sword Formation, unhurriedly brushed the dust off his armor, and entered the city.
Yu Changgu and his group looked at each other, speechless.
Elder Zhao never expected Lu Hangzhi to resolve this troublesome matter so neatly and decisively. Seeing that Yu Changgu and the others no longer blocked Lu Hangzhi from entering the city, he finally laughed heartily, feeling great, and chased after him.
“Hangzhi! Well done!”
“Honglian indeed did not misjudge you.”
“Haha…”
“You don’t know, these past few days, a few troublemakers from the Seven Great Sects, in order to compete for the position of Southern City Inspector, have been searching everywhere for flaws in our leader, almost driving us crazy… Hehe, you directly intimidated their whole group this time, equivalent to giving them a hard slap, and venting our anger for us!”
He hadn’t noticed that Elder Zhao had the potential to be a chatterbox. He kept talking nonstop along the way, not caring if Lu Hangzhi was listening or not.
Along the way, Lu Hangzhi continuously observed this newly built Southern City Market.
Compared to the previous market, the various defenses and arrangements had significantly improved, and the density of various Defensive Formations had greatly increased. The only thing lacking was liveliness…
In the past, the Southern City Market gave people a very solid and reassuring sense of security!
Now, however.
Most were outsiders, their eyes filled with vigilance. The number of people exchanging resources on the streets was less than one-tenth of what it was during its peak period.
“Elder Zhao, is Honglian in the city now?”
“We are, after all, comrades who have faced life and death together. If you don’t mind me, Zhao Qian, just call me Brother Zhao, and I’ll call you Little Brother Hangzhi.”
Zhao Qian patted his chest to establish rapport.
“Alright. Hangzhi hasn’t been at Two Realms Mountain for long. I’ll ask for Brother Zhao’s guidance in the future.” Lu Hangzhi nodded and changed his form of address.
Zhao Qian immediately felt very pleased!
“Don’t mention it. If you have any matters in the future, just tell me! By the way, Honglian isn’t at the Reinforcement Department right now. Recently, the progress in killing Late Concentration Stage and Concentrated Spirit Peak Stage cultivators in the War Zone has been a bit slow, clearly lagging behind the other three divisions. The leader is quite anxious about this and is personally stationed at the Reinforcement Department headquarters commanding the Special Operations Team.”
“Then why am I entering the city? I should go report directly to the headquarters.”
Hearing this, Lu Hangzhi decisively stopped and turned to leave.
Zhao Qian finally managed to pull him back:
“Don’t be in such a hurry. Let me get your Identity Tablet exchanged first. Honglian instructed me that after picking you up, we should take some Spirit Honey to the Southern City auction house.”
Lu Hangzhi quickly understood.
Spirit Honey was a unique supply item for the Southern City auction house. Once the news got out, it would definitely attract many cultivators to station themselves in the Southern City Market.
Now that the four major markets were rebuilt, and cultivators were undecided about staying or leaving, naturally, whoever made the first move, whoever had more resources, and whoever had enough attraction could attract more cultivator teams.
“How many ownerless shops are there in the market now?”
“What? You want to open a shop?” Zhao Qian reacted, his mind racing. “This time the market was breached, most shop owners died to Monster Beasts. Only a few shops are open now, so… there are many ownerless shops. If you want to acquire one, now is indeed the best time. Our Special Operations Team brings back some high-level Artifact Refining and alchemy materials after each mission. I can persuade some members to hand over their materials to be sold uniformly in your shop.”
“No need.”
Lu Hangzhi politely declined Zhao Qian’s offer and said, “I plan to open a specialty store.”