Chapter 933: Shadow Immortal Plays the Five Heroes

As the light tower descended, the ground trembled, and a look of undeniable relief spread across the faces of Lu Hai and the other three.

"This Zhou Yuan is truly foolish!" one of the dark horses sneered.

Lu Hai chuckled, "He's not foolish; he's just overly confident. He never considered the consequences of being trapped inside the Five Spirit Cosmic Pagoda. This pagoda has five layers of seals. Once inside, with the five seals activated, half of his Genesis Qi reserves will immediately be sealed away!"

"Although we're missing one person, preventing the seal from being perfectly effective, it's still enough to turn Zhou Yuan from a tiger into a house cat."

The other three also burst into laughter. The Five Spirit Cosmic Pagoda was their strongest trump card for this encounter. This technique, let alone against Zhou Yuan, would leave even super talents like Xu Ming and Yuan Kun in a highly vulnerable state if they were to fall into it carelessly.

It could be said that the moment Zhou Yuan entered the pagoda, the outcome of the battle was decided.

"Zhou Yuan does have some skill. This killing move was originally intended for use against the super talents from the other eight regions after entering the Abyssal Falling Star. We never expected to be forced to use it here," Lu Hai said flatly.

Recalling Zhou Yuan's power in instantly defeating the dark horse from Dragon Gu Palace, a chill couldn't help but creep into Lu Hai's heart. This guy had truly hidden his strength well. The talents from the Nine Regions were indeed formidable; even the declining Tianyuan Region still possessed such an individual.

Fortunately, Zhou Yuan had still fallen into their trap.

Meanwhile, both sides battling in the mountain range witnessed this scene. Lu Xiao, Mu Liu, Ye Bingling, and others felt their hearts sink. Although they didn't know what the light tower was, they could deduce it was undoubtedly Lu Hai's ultimate trump card.

And with Zhou Yuan trapped inside, the situation was likely grim!

"Go help him!" Ye Bingling signaled to Lu Xiao and the others.

Lu Xiao's face was grim. His eyes flickered, and he eventually let out a low curse through gritted teeth before shooting forward, heading towards the mountaintop.

On the mountaintop, Lu Hai noticed Lu Xiao's movement but paid it no mind. His gaze shifted to the light tower, and he suddenly frowned slightly, muttering with a hint of doubt, "Why is it so quiet inside the light tower?"

The other three were startled upon hearing this. Based on their experience, once someone entered the light tower, it should have been brimming with Genesis Qi, activating its seals. Yet, it was eerily quiet.

Lu Hai's eyes flickered, a sense of unease growing within him. He immediately formed hand seals.

The light tower in the distance rippled and began to faintly turn transparent, revealing the scene within to them completely.

However, what they saw sent a sudden chill down their spines.

They saw no one inside the light tower!

"Zhou Yuan wasn't suppressed inside!" Lu Hai's scalp tingled, and his voice became sharper.

The other three's expressions also drastically changed. They had clearly watched Zhou Yuan being suppressed inside, so how could he be gone now? If he wasn't in the pagoda, then where was he?!

"Be on guard!"

Lu Hai roared, the unease in his heart threatening to overwhelm him.

However, just as his voice faded, at the very moment Genesis Qi surged within the four of them...

A shadow behind Lu Hai suddenly rippled, and a figure quietly, ghost-like, floated up. Four streaks of sword light condensed, then gently settled at the back of the heads of Lu Hai and the other three.

The sword lights retracted, showing no sharpness, yet Lu Hai and the others instantly stiffened, daring not to move even slightly.

They felt a faint pricking sensation at the back of their heads, and an aura of death enveloped them. This made them realize that the slightest movement of Genesis Qi within them would cause the sword lights to instantly sever their heads without hesitation.

Cold sweat beaded on Lu Hai's forehead. He glanced back and saw Zhou Yuan smiling faintly, staring at them.

"Zh-Zhou Yuan!" Lu Hai's brow twitched. He said bitterly, "How are you here?"

Clearly, Zhou Yuan had escaped the very instant the light tower descended. Moreover, his movement technique was incredibly elusive; he had approached them silently from behind without Lu Hai and the others even noticing.

Such speed, such a movement technique — it was terrifying!

"You didn't really think I'd foolishly let you suppress me, did you?" Zhou Yuan chuckled.

What he had just used, of course, was the "Shadow Immortal Art," one of the Seven Arts of Cangxuan. Zhou Yuan had coveted this movement-based Genesis Art for a long time but had never found the time to cultivate it. This time, however, in preparation for the Nine Regions Tournament, he finally seized the opportunity to achieve an initial mastery of it.

And with its initial use, the "Shadow Immortal Art" had achieved great success.

This art was ghost-like; unless one exerted their full sensing abilities immediately, once he had hidden within the shadows, he would be exceedingly difficult to detect.

Lu Hai's face twitched. He gritted his teeth and said unwillingly, "Chief Pavilion Master Zhou Yuan, as the representative of the Tianyuan Region's dignity, surely wouldn't be afraid to accept the challenge we set. To use such a method, almost like a sneak attack, aren't you afraid it's an inglorious victory?"

He had originally thought that Zhou Yuan, to display the Tianyuan Region's strength, would brave it out and take their final strike. But who would have thought... Zhou Yuan had no such intention; instead, he had approached them like a viper the moment they relaxed.

Hearing this, Zhou Yuan couldn't help but let out a scoff, his gaze at Lu Hai as if he were looking at an idiot.

Under Zhou Yuan's gaze, Lu Hai's face burned with embarrassment.

He knew how ridiculous those words sounded.

Zhou Yuan didn't bother to respond to that. He simply looked towards the battling mountain range and said, "Tell them to stop."

"You've already lost this round, so don't force me to be ruthless. After all, casualties are common in such conflicts." A chilling, heart-stopping killing intent permeated his calm voice.

Lu Hai's expression changed. He exchanged glances with the other three, finally lowering his head in dismay.

They hadn't expected to lose so inexplicably.

"Stop fighting."

His low voice echoed through the area.

The battle in the mountain range abruptly halted. Countless gazes turned to the mountaintop, and when they saw Zhou Yuan standing behind Lu Hai and the three others, with the sword lights hovering behind their heads, the forces from the five top factions felt a sudden chill run through them.

Lu Xiao, who had been intending to rush towards the mountaintop, also stopped at that moment, a look of astonishment on his face.

No one had expected that Zhou Yuan, whom they had been worrying about earlier, would now directly achieve such a reversal!

The members of the Four Pavilions, conversely, were elated, with immense joy welling up in their eyes.

Zhou Yuan watched the scene, then suddenly turned his gaze to the light tower in the distance. He said, "This technique is quite interesting. However, I haven't heard of similar methods among your five factions."

The light tower's technique was actually very dangerous; otherwise, Zhou Yuan wouldn't have chosen to evade it.

Hearing Zhou Yuan's words, Lu Hai's heart tightened. He retorted coldly, "Don't underestimate us. While we may not be as strong as your Tianyuan Region, we're certainly not weak in Hunyuan Heaven!"

Zhou Yuan offered no comment. These five individuals clearly came from five different factions, yet they cultivated a combined secret art. He truly didn't believe there wasn't something more to it.

Furthermore, all their preparations were aimed at him and the Tianyuan Region... If there wasn't something fishy going on, Zhou Yuan wouldn't believe it.

However, within Hunyuan Heaven, what kind of power could compel five top factions to act as enforcers?

Zhou Yuan's eyes flickered, but he said no more. "Since this battle is over, withdraw it."

With sword lights hovering behind their heads, Lu Hai and the others, though unwilling, could only comply. With a thought, the light tower in the distance began to crumble, finally transforming into a torrent of Genesis Qi that swept back towards them.

However, just as the torrents of Genesis Qi approached Lu Hai and the other three, Zhou Yuan's eyes flashed, and he suddenly struck. From his palm, countless fine hairs surged out, piercing directly into the four torrents of Genesis Qi and entangling some of the fragmented objects within them.

With a flick of his sleeve, Zhou Yuan caused dozens of glistening fragments to shoot back towards him.

This sudden development happened in a flash, even startling Lu Hai and the others. But in the next instant, they reacted, their expressions drastically changing as Lu Hai roared, "Zhou Yuan, how dare you seize our treasures?!"