Volume 1 Volume 6 Chapter 69

Volume 6 Chapter 69: The Great Battle Approaches (Part 1)

Even though he accidentally got trapped in the large yellow net made of countless connected charms, Liu Ziqing didn’t mind and tried to leave with a swift move.

But when his body, composed purely of Original Soul, encountered the giant net formed by the yellow light of the charms, it jolted violently and bounced back, showing a look of surprise on his face.

He didn’t expect that his body, which was now entirely made of Original Soul, could still be trapped by some means.

Just then, Little Black flew back to rest on Xu Qingfan’s shoulder, rubbing its head against Xu Qingfan’s face as if to take credit.

Xu Ying and Xu Zhiyuan slowly flew Zhang Yi over to Xu Qingfan, holding her tightly. Zhang Yi’s face was filled with anger, clearly upset at being captured by Xu Qingfan. But with Xu Zhiyuan’s golden sword pressed against her back, threatening her life, she dared not make a move. Her already cold face was even colder now.

Xu Qingfan first looked at Zhang Yi, who was held by Xu Zhiyuan, and then glanced at Liu Ziqing, who was trapped in the middle by three thousand "Spirit Sealing Talismans." He was surprised that he had won so easily.

Then, he gave a slight smile and said to Liu Ziqing, "It seems that I and the ‘World Defying Sword’ do not need to stay here, but you must come with me to meet the elder Zizhen."

Though he spoke this way, Xu Qingfan was troubled about how to take Liu Ziqing and Zhang Yi away, especially considering Liu Ziqing’s current physical state. Although he wasn’t strong in attack, a little carelessness could let him escape. As the greatest traitor of the Qingxu lineage, Xu Qingfan could not deal with him on his own, and honestly, he had no way to handle Liu Ziqing’s invulnerable body.

While Xu Qingfan was speaking, Liu Ziqing was staring blankly at the large net formed by the linked talismans in front of him.

Xu Qingfan did not pay much attention to him. Even though Xu Qingfan had trapped him, he still didn’t see Xu Qingfan as a threat.

The only opponent in his eyes was Zhang Xusheng, the one who had easily killed him and afterwards looked down on him, destroying all his pride and dignity.

"You are very much like me, except that you are not as crazy and unreasonable as I am. In other ways, we are really similar—our backgrounds, talents, and natures. If this were hundreds of years ago, I might have often talked to you, but sadly, you are like a ripe apple that has no room for growth anymore. You do not interest me at all. Rather than rot away like this, it would be better to die at your peak, wouldn’t it?"

Before Zhang Xusheng killed him, he said these words with a smile. Liu Ziqing remembered them very clearly. The moment Zhang Xusheng finished speaking, he killed him, or rather, killed his original body. His body hurt a lot, but what hurt more was the loss of all his pride and dignity.

From that moment on, his only goal was Zhang Xusheng. He did not care about the threats posed by the "Ming" organization, nor did he care about the safety of the entire cultivation world or humanity. He only thought about the day he could defeat Zhang Xusheng, stepping on Zhang Xusheng’s head while calmly and arrogantly asking him if he ever thought that the fruit he believed had grown to its limit would continue to grow, enough to kill him, and what would Zhang Xusheng feel knowing that he could be killed by a fruit he thought was rotting.

To achieve this goal, he was willing to do anything, and everything he had done over the past hundreds of years was for this purpose.

When he mastered his secret technique and his Original Soul replaced his body, believing that no laws or powers could harm him anymore, he thought he was infinitely close to this goal. All he needed was a "World Defying Sword" that could hurt Zhang Xusheng. At that time, Zhang Xusheng would be powerless against him, while he could use his speed and the "World Defying Sword" to strike Zhang Xusheng, ensuring victory would be within reach.

But this battle with Xu Qingfan severely impacted him. Both the "Life and Death Finger" and the "Spirit Sealing Talisman" had some restraining effects on his new body.

If Xu Qingfan was already so formidable, how would Zhang Xusheng be?

Could it be that he would never surpass Zhang Xusheng in this life? Liu Ziqing felt unwilling!

Yet for a moment, Liu Ziqing found himself wavering about his goal.

However, Liu Ziqing was a person of strong will. In an instant, he shook off the shadow that had suddenly fallen over him. Instead of being discouraged, he became even more determined to seize the "World Defying Sword" from Xu Qingfan, for it was his only means to defeat Zhang Xusheng.

When Xu Qingfan asked him with a hint of teasing, Liu Ziqing regained his focus and smiled slightly at Xu Qingfan. The next moment, something that shocked Xu Qingfan happened.

Liu Ziqing’s body shook and suddenly shrank to about ten times smaller. Then, he turned into a flash of light and escaped through a gap in the large net formed by the "Spirit Sealing Talisman."

As the light flickered, Liu Ziqing’s body returned to its normal size in front of Xu Qingfan, smiling at him, while Xu Qingfan remained in shock.

When the body is made entirely of Original Soul, it can change in countless ways, and all things in the world can be transformed, let alone shrinking the body.

"Taoist Friend Xu, it has been a hundred years since we last met, and your powers have grown so much. I admire you. Right now, we are in a situation where neither of us can do anything to the other. How about we make a deal?"

Xu Qingfan looked at Liu Ziqing before him and felt a hint of regret. When Liu Ziqing was trapped in the giant net formed by the "Spirit Sealing Talisman," he should have sealed him with "Reincarnation." In fact, he was prepared to use "Reincarnation" because he was unsure if the "Spirit Sealing Talisman" could hold Liu Ziqing. He simply did not act because he saw Liu Ziqing was trapped and could not escape.

But if he used it now, given Liu Ziqing’s speed, he had no confidence he could capture him. In reality, the reason Xu Qingfan was able to trap Liu Ziqing with the "Spirit Sealing Talisman" before was more due to luck.

"What kind of deal?"

Xu Qingfan ultimately decided not to act just yet, so he slowly asked.

Just then, as Liu Ziqing was about to speak, both he and Xu Qingfan, as well as Zhang Yi, changed their expressions. Little Black on Xu Qingfan’s shoulder shrank its body in surprise, looking frightened.

Everyone felt a powerful presence, filled with endless danger, quickly approaching their location. Faintly, a wild roar echoed from afar.

Nearly a month had passed, and the monster had finally caught up!

…

Meanwhile, while Xu Qingfan and Liu Ziqing were at a standstill, Dongfang Qingling had already brought Bai Qingfu to "Ronghua Mountain."

Although Bai Qingfu felt a bit awkward, he followed Dongfang Qingling to meet Master of Jiuhua, Zhang Hualing. Upon seeing Zhang Hualing, Dongfang Qingling felt indifferent, but Bai Qingfu was deeply shocked. At first glance, Zhang Hualing seemed normal, but Bai Qingfu, who had been transformed by Zhang Xusheng, sensed a familiar aura—an aura altered by Zhang Xusheng’s secret techniques.

Looking closely at Zhang Hualing, Bai Qingfu noticed that although Zhang Hualing’s mind was clear, there was still a hint of evil that flickered within him. Each time the evil seemed ready to consume his sanity, it was held back by his rational mind, but it was clear that Zhang Hualing could not hold on for much longer.

Although Bai Qingfu was frightened, he knew that in Jiuhua, he could only trust Xu Qingfan, so he decided not to expose anything and would discuss it when Xu Qingfan returned. He slowly shared what he knew about Zhang Xusheng with Zhang Hualing.

After hearing Bai Qingfu’s words, Zhang Hualing immediately understood the importance of this information. Over the years, he had focused on controlling the evil in his mind and had forgotten about Bai Qingfu’s situation.

Without wasting any time, Zhang Hualing quickly sent a message to Qingxu’s sect leader, Qinglingzi, and instructed Li Yuhan to take Bai Qingfu to meet the leaders of the major sects, while he remained in his room and did not meet with the sect leaders.

Over the years, aside from the time the Southern Wasteland demon beast surrounded Ronghua Mountain, Zhang Hualing never left his house again.

After hearing Bai Qingfu repeat the information he knew, the sect leaders, including Qinglingzi, were hesitant to believe him since Bai Qingfu was a traitor of Jiuhua and once worked for Zhang Xusheng. However, the situation was serious, and they were aware of the Shura Clan’s return. They were anxious and did not dare to abandon any hope, so they hurriedly informed the masters who were searching across the Shenzhou Continent about Bai Qingfu’s information.

Although the masters were scattered throughout the Shenzhou Continent, as soon as they learned about Bai Qingfu, they wasted no time and rushed back to Ronghua Mountain swiftly. These masters truly reached the level of exploring the world by day and returning to the mountain by night; in just ten days, they had all returned to Ronghua Mountain.

Even though the highest-ranking masters who arrived earlier had questioned Bai Qingfu countless times, once all the masters gathered back at Ronghua Mountain, they decided to group together again to question Bai Qingfu. This matter was very important; if what Bai Qingfu said was true, then they would have a way and means to stop the Shura Clan’s return. If it were false, they would not only waste precious time but might also fall into a trap set by Zhang Xusheng.

"White Taoist friend, please repeat the information you know."

At that moment, in Qingxu Hall, the masters and sect leaders gathered in great numbers. Immortal Zizhen sat at the head and politely said to Bai Qingfu, who was standing in the middle of the hall. Though Bai Qingfu was a former traitor of Jiuhua, it was still a matter concerning Jiuhua, so Zizhen did not want to show any displeasure towards Bai Qingfu, especially since they were asking for his help.