Chapter 501

Chapter 501: I’ll Die Proving This to You!

"Ancestor Lu, the Qin, Luo, Hong, and Shangguan families have displayed suspicious movements these past few days."

At the Lu Family’s ancestral land, Yuan Qingfeng came seeking an audience, his expression grave as he stated, "In my view, they’re highly likely to have been turned against us and intend to strike."

"Has Daoist friend Yuan Daozong still not returned from Primordial Dao Divine Mountain?" Lu Xuanyin inquired.

Yuan Qingfeng nodded.

Yuan Daozong had journeyed to the Tian Cang Immortal Domain seeking an opportunity to break through to the Nine Tribulations Dao Lord realm and had yet to return. Even Yuan Qingfeng’s Divine Sense messages went unanswered, indicating he must be at a critical juncture in his breakthrough.

"Send word instructing him not to return," Lu Xuanyin ordered.

"The Qin and Luo Families were already subjugated by the Second Young Master long ago."

Her expression turned somber. "Yesterday, this elder received a message from a Daoist friend in the Myriad Phases True Demon Palace. Several days prior, the Second Young Master dispatched emissaries to separately contact the Hundred Blossoms Sacred Land, the Ascension Sky Sect, and the Myriad Phases True Demon Palace."

"Such extensive maneuvers surely mean the Second Young Master is making his move."

Ding!

Suddenly,

a communication jade talisman lit up.

Lu Xuanyin’s Divine Sense flooded into it, and her expression grew increasingly grave.

"The Myriad Phases True Demon Palace has surrendered."

Yuan Qingfeng and Lu Yunzhao’s expressions darkened.

"Would surrendering now… still be possible?" Yuan Qingfeng suggested awkwardly.

Lu Xuanyin shook her head.

"I’ve long said that the more prosperous the Canglan Merchant Alliance becomes, the swifter its demise arrives. Without strength, in this world where martial might reigns supreme, we’re merely lambs waiting to be slaughtered."

"However, the Second Young Master has always preferred gradual, careful plotting. Why launch such an overt and blatant operation this time? And why have the Third Young Master and Sixth Young Master, contrary to their usual stance, offered no opposition?"

"Ancestor, overthinking serves no purpose,"

Lu Yunzhao stated. "With our strength, we cannot withstand them. Elder, you must immediately take Father-in-law, Ziying, and Chengfeng away from Canglan City."

"If escape is impossible, head to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion and beg the Master for sanctuary."

"Son-in-law, could we…pay the Master to intervene?" Yuan Qingfeng proposed.

"Impossible."

Lu Yunzhao solemnly said, "The Master established the rule of non-interference in worldly affairs. When Luo Nishang faced calamity before, he merely offered her sanctuary; he did not act to avenge her."

"Moreover, the Second Young Master’s influence far surpasses what a single Ziyang Immortal Palace represents. Though the Master’s depth is unfathomable, he may not dare to openly rupture relations with the Second Young Master."

"You must all leave quickly. I will remain to buy time."

Boom!

At that instant, the entire Lu Family’s ancestral land trembled as a Secret Realm portal tore open. Yuan Ziying and Lu Chengfeng burst into the ancestral ground. Yuan Ziying cried out, "The Hall Master’s Elder has rebelled!"

Fury consumed all who heard it.

"Daoist friend Lu, after years of friendship, this lord can grant you an honorable end should you choose to surrender." A deep, resonant voice echoed across the Lu Family’s ancestral land.

"Come out."

Someone else said, "The situation is settled. Struggling further is futile."

"Follow me outside."

Lu Xuanyin summoned her magic power, and a golden divine spear materialized in her hand. Upon the spearhead lay mottled bloodstains, radiating a terrifying sharpness.

This was a treasure of a Dao Sovereign.

She took the lead, stepping out of the ancestral grounds. Awaiting outside were six Eight Tribulations Dao Lords, led by Xuan Du Ancient Immortal. Each wore a cold sneer.

"Daoist friend Lu, have you nothing to say?" Ancestor Shangguan laughed.

Lu Xuanyin replied lightly, "I speak the language of men."

"How could dogs understand?"

"Which of you lot speaks the tongue of men?"

Xuan Du Ancient Immortal’s eyes turned shadowy.

With one sentence, Lu Xuanyin insulted them all.

"Spare Lu Chengfeng’s life!" commanded Xuan Du Ancient Immortal, sweeping his sleeve in a gesture that tore the void. "Kill everyone else!"

Thunderclouds stretched for hundreds of thousands of miles, nearly engulfing Canglan Divine City.

"???"

Lu Yunzhao, Yuan Ziying, and Yuan Qingfeng exchanged bewildered glances.

Why spare Lu Chengfeng?

Lu Chengfeng himself was utterly baffled.

BOOM!

Ancestor Shangguan summoned an immortal sword. Its sword aura surged violently, spanning eighty thousand miles.

"Ancestress," the Hall Master’s Elder of the Lu Family laughed sharply, "prepare for your journey."

"Rest assured, with me here, the Lu Family will grow ever stronger."

BOOM!

The Eight Tribulations Dao Lords charged at Lu Xuanyin.

BANG!

In just a single clash, the radiance of the golden spear dimmed. Blood sprayed from Lu Xuanyin’s lips as her body shattered. Ancestor Shangguan’s sword pinned her broken form in the air.

"Grandmother!"

Lu Yunzhao’s eyes cracked with rage. He desperately activated his divine abilities. Streams of supreme treasures shot forth from his Purple Palace. Five Great Dao Worlds burst open as he threw himself at the attackers.

"Father!"

Lu Chengfeng clenched his fists till his knuckles turned white. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind as he frantically sought a path to survival.

His only possible escape lay within Xuan Du Ancient Immortal’s words.

"Why spare me?"

Lu Chengfeng puzzled out the reason with bitter intensity.

"The one who could command Xuan Du Ancient Immortal… someone ranked higher above… Could it be the Second Young Master?"

"But despite being a Dao body, I could never catch Second Young Master’s eye."

"Besides him, who else?"

"Who wishes me dead?"

Lu Chengfeng racked his brain.

He knew only he could save his family now.

"Right!"

Suddenly, inspiration struck Lu Chengfeng. "The sole expert capable of subduing Xuan Du Ancient Immortal and connected to me… is the venerable senior! Only him!"

"He must be coming to save me."

This realization clear, Lu Chengfeng immediately reversed his cultivation technique. Once fully prepared, a single thought was all it would take to reduce him to nothingness.

Lu Chengfeng stared at Xuan Du Ancient Immortal and declared, "If you dare strike again, I’ll kill myself before your eyes!"

Boom!

As the technique reversed, Lu Chengfeng’s meridians began shattering, and his primordial spirit showed signs of dissipating.

"Do you think dying is an option before me?" Xuan Du Ancient Immortal sneered, seizing Lu Chengfeng with one hand. Surging magic power poured into Lu Chengfeng’s body, attempting to immobilize him.

However.

His magic could not instantly paralyze Lu Chengfeng.

Having cultivated the Primordial Longevity Technique – a technique superior to and holding deeper mysteries than Xuan Du Ancient Immortal’s – Lu Chengfeng, by reversing its flow, could utterly pulverize his primordial spirit and vanish completely with just one thought.

Xuan Du Ancient Immortal’s face changed.

"Where did the Lu Family acquire such a formidable technique?"

The answer dawned on him the next moment.

Heaven’s Secret Pavilion!

"So this is your ‘non-interference in mortal affairs’?" Xuan Du Ancient Immortal raged inwardly. "Utter bullshit!"

"Stop!"

Panic flashed through Xuan Du Ancient Immortal. He glared coldly at Lu Chengfeng. "If you die, every member of the Lu Family and the Yuan Family will be buried with you."

Lu Chengfeng’s eyes held mockery.

"If I die, everyone present will likely be buried with me!"

"I am personally chosen by the Master himself. Do you dare kill me?"

Xuan Du Ancient Immortal’s eyelid twitched violently.

Given time, he might unravel the Primordial Longevity Technique. But here, now, on the brink – if Lu Chengfeng truly resolved to end himself, there was nothing he could do to stop it.

"That cursed little bastard… fiendishly clever," Xuan Du Ancient Immortal grudgingly acknowledged.

At this moment, he harbored no doubt about Ye Xu’s motives.

After all.

Had Ye Xu truly intended to intervene, they wouldn’t have even had the chance to threaten the Lu Family.

It’s purely because Lu Chengfeng was too clever and exceedingly audacious.

"Hold."

Xuan Du Ancient Immortal waved his hand grandly.

Hearing the command, the ancestors of the four great clans, the Hall Master’s Elder of the Lu Family, and others all swiftly withdrew their magical power.

Lu Xuanyin and Lu Yunzhao were gasping for breath, barely clinging to life.

"Esteemed Senior, I can represent the Lu Family and pledge allegiance to the Second Young Master," Lu Chengfeng said. "The events of today, even the matter of the Demonic Seed of Doom, I can treat as never having happened."

Hearing "Demonic Seed of Doom," Xuan Du Ancient Immortal’s heart skipped a beat.

Lu Chengfeng continued, "I only beseech you, Esteemed Senior, to spare my family. What say you?"

"No!"

The Hall Master’s Elder of the Lu Family objected vehemently. "They must die!"

"My lord, sparing them is leaving a future threat!"

"Two demands," Xuan Du Ancient Immortal stated coldly. "First, Lu Xuanyin must die."

"Second, the cultivation of Lu Yunzhao, Yuan Ziying, and Yuan Qingfeng must be destroyed."

"If you agree, this old man will let you leave."

"Impossible!"

Lu Chengfeng’s pupils constricted violently.

"Lu Chengfeng, the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion protects you, but that doesn’t mean this old man dares not touch you," Xuan Du Ancient Immortal spoke icily. "This old man merely wishes to avoid a complete rupture with Heaven’s Secret Pavilion."

"In this world, even a Heavenly Venerate would not intimidate the Second Young Master."

"How much less the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion?"

"Cough, cough, cough…"

Lu Xuanyin coughed up great mouthfuls of blood, her complexion deathly grey. She was hanging on by the thinnest thread.

"Chengfeng, agree to his terms."

Lu Xuanyin said, her voice fading. "By the authority of the Lu Family Ancestor, I command you to agree."

Her aura fluctuated wildly, and another spray of blood erupted from her lips.

"Ancestor…"

Yuan Ziying, Lu Yunzhao, and Lu Chengfeng wore expressions of profound grief.

Lu Chengfeng felt utterly powerless. He slumped heavily to the floor.

He had no choice but to agree.

With trembling hands, Lu Xuanyin slowly reached out, took the pipe from her pocket, lit the coarse tobacco, and drew deep, desperate puffs. Click-clack.

"A pity," she murmured, smoke curling weakly. "I shall never taste its warmth again."

Agh!

Lu Xuanyin blew out a ring of smoke, and her body transformed into a five-colored stream of light, gradually dissipating into the heavens and earth.

She merged with the Dao.

"Old Ancestor!"

The four of them knelt on the ground, their faces ashen.

Xuan Du Ancient Immortal nodded satisfactorily and said, "Yuan Ziying, Lu Yunzhao, Yuan Qingfeng, it is your turn."

"If I can ever rise again, I swear I will tear you apart alive!"

Blood seeped from Yuan Qingfeng’s mouth as he clenched his jaw.

He had just barely broken through to the Seven Tribulations Dao Lord, and now in an instant, he had to give up all his cultivation and become a mortal—such a fate would crush anyone.

Bang!

Yuan Qingfeng inverted his mystic technique, shattering his Dao fruit and collapsing his Great Dao World; his flesh was pierced all over with holes, and he bled profusely.

Lu Yunzhao and Yuan Ziying exchanged a look, then dissolved their cultivation powers without hesitation.

In a moment.

The three descended from their exalted stations as Dao Lords to wretched mortals.

"Hahaha…"

Hall Master’s Elder tilted his head back and chuckled to the sky, "Lu Yunzhao, if you beg me, I might consider letting you stay in the Lu Family and tossing you a daily meal."

"Beg me…"

Lu Yunzhao was impassive.

"Those three are crippled now, stripped of their cultivation. Their injuries are beyond healing, and they cling to life only by their fading physical energy."

"Ten days at the most—without treatment, they will surely perish."

Ancestor Shangguan sneered.

"Get out!"

A young man glared icily at Lu Chengfeng with a look of disgust.

This was Lu Shenyang.

The foremost genius of the Lu Family.

Towards Lu Chengfeng, Lu Shenyang burned with jealousy and loathing; here stood a cultivator’s failure, a supposed weakling, yet he was unnaturally clever and shone dazzlingly even as a mortal.

As the Lu Family’s top genius himself, how could he not envy such a figure for stealing his own thunder?

"Son will lead you away from this place."

Lu Chengfeng channeled his powers, sweeping Lu Yunzhao and the others into his Purple Palace, then scooped up Lu Xuanyin’s long-stemmed bamboo pipe and followed meekly step by step towards the Lu Family estate’s exit.