Chapter 70: Lu Kaishan Has Arrived

Meanwhile, on the border of Qizhou, a mighty ten-thousand-strong army was marching along a winding road. Their armor was stained with blood, and their swords were damaged. Having just returned from conquering the Eastern Ling Kingdom, they exuded a formidable aura and palpable killing intent.

Leading them was Lu Kaishan, a powerful cultivator at the Cavern Heaven realm!

At this moment, he held a map, his face grim as blood, and his low voice carried a bloodthirsty killing intent.

"Xu Yang! Azure Cloud Sect, tomorrow will be your day of demise."

A deputy general beside Lu Kaishan looked around curiously and asked, "My Lord, have we taken a wrong turn? If we continue in this direction, we will reach Qizhou, our own territory."

Lu Kaishan put away the map, took a deep breath, and replied, "No mistake. We are indeed heading to Qizhou."

"But His Majesty's order was for us to return to the Imperial Capital," the deputy general asked, puzzled. "What are we doing in Qizhou?"

"To kill someone!"

As soon as he spoke, Lu Kaishan's aura drastically changed; a tangible killing intent swirled around him, becoming suffocating!

The deputy general was startled by the intense killing intent. Even on the battlefield, Lu Kaishan had never exuded such a strong killing aura! He couldn't help but wonder who in Qizhou had offended Lu Kaishan, and how they had done it, to make Lu Kaishan, a Cavern Heaven realm expert, defy the Emperor's will, secretly detour to Qizhou, and specifically come to kill them.

***

The next morning, as Xu Yang had just gotten out of bed, he heard Fang Yan's frantic shouts.

"Ancestor Xu, this is bad! We're surrounded by an army! A massive horde of them! They're attacking our mountain protection array now, and it's about to break!"

"What?!" Xu Yang was startled by the news and quickly got up, rushing towards the mountain gate.

The mountain protection array could withstand the attacks of over a dozen Nascent Soul cultivators, yet now it was on the verge of breaking.

Xu Yang ran to the mountain gate and indeed saw that at the foot of Azure Cloud Sect mountain, it was swarming with armored soldiers, a dense mass of people numbering at least ten thousand. Of course, those men weren't the most important. What truly mattered was that in the sky, there were dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators.

The leader wore a black battle robe, held a long spear, and gazed coldly at the Azure Cloud Sect with hawk-like eyes. He had already reached the Cavern Heaven realm!

Xu Yang, however, felt that this Cavern Heaven realm cultivator looked somewhat familiar. Upon closer inspection, he instantly remembered who he was:

"Lu Kaishan, it's you." Xu Yang said with a smile.

Hearing this, Lu Kaishan also laughed a few times and said, "Hahahaha, I didn't expect you to remember me. Since you remember me, why aren't you running?!"

As Lu Kaishan spoke, he slowly walked towards Xu Yang. With a wave of his hand, a loud boom echoed, and the Azure Cloud Sect's mountain protection array instantly vanished into thin air.

Lu Kaishan walked up to Xu Yang and stared at him, his eyes burning with the fire of revenge!

"If I were you, I would take your Azure Cloud Sect disciples and leave as far away as possible!"

***

Within the Azure Cloud Sect, many disciples were terrified by the scene before them, and the aura emanating from Lu Kaishan made them tremble even more. Although Ling Qingshu also felt a chilling fear, like a mouse targeted by a cat with terror deep in her bones, she still suppressed her fear and comforted the Azure Cloud Sect disciples.

Suddenly, a Core Formation realm elder rushed out, his face devoid of fear, and declared loudly.

"I, Zhang Dong," he proclaimed, "if it weren't for Ancestor, I would probably still be in the Foundation Establishment realm. I believe you all feel the same!"

"The Azure Cloud Sect has been incredibly gracious to us!" he continued. "Now that the sect is in danger, we should clear all obstacles for it! At worst, we'll die with the Azure Cloud Sect!"

"Exactly! What's there to be afraid of? So what if we die?" another shouted. "Who dares cause trouble in our Azure Cloud Sect?! I, Liu Dan, won't stand for it first!"

"You two, why are you being so pessimistic?" another chimed in. "That's our omnipotent Ancestor! What's ten thousand men to him?! Even if a million men come, I'll still trust Ancestor!"

The other Core Formation realm cultivators, whom Xu Yang had elevated, also came forward one after another to calm the emotions of the ordinary Azure Cloud Sect disciples. Soon, the chaotic Azure Cloud Sect quieted down. They had received great kindness from the Azure Cloud Sect, and when the sect was in danger, they united as one! No one fled; they would live and die with the Azure Cloud Sect!

Xu Yang turned his head, looked at the solemn-faced people, and a corner of his mouth twitched.

"Calm down."

Xu Yang's gentle words seemed to possess a magical power; as his words reached the ears of the Azure Cloud Sect disciples, they indeed calmed down.

Xu Yang then turned back to Lu Kaishan, casually took out a fiery red fruit, and began eating it while speaking:

"Run?" he scoffed. "I'm not crazy, why would I run?" Xu Yang glanced at Lu Kaishan again and tutted, "As for you, if I were in your shoes, I would have already fled by now, as far from Qizhou as possible. Yet you came all this way, just to offer your head?"

Seeing Xu Yang's disdainful expression, as if he didn't even register him, Lu Kaishan clenched his fists, and fury burned within him. He let out a cold snort and rapidly plummeted from the sky.

"Hmph, still spouting nonsense even when death is at your doorstep," he snarled. "Today, I will avenge my deceased disciples of the Cloud Mountain Sect!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly raised his muscular right fist high, and a scorching fireball rapidly condensed in his hand. Lu Kaishan's armor turned red from the fireball's extremely high temperature, crackling and popping.

Xu Yang watched Lu Kaishan attack with a cold sneer on his face, and with a slight shift of his body, he easily dodged Lu Kaishan's fireball.

"Hmph, you, a mere Azure Cloud Sect," Lu Kaishan scoffed, "no matter how powerful, how could you be a match for a Cavern Heaven realm cultivator like me?!"

Seeing Xu Yang dodge, Lu Kaishan showed no haste and suddenly drew a long blade wreathed in scorching flames with his other hand. The long blade danced like a tempest, an impenetrable mass of red flames dyeing the entire world crimson. When the flames fell to the ground, half of the Azure Cloud Sect instantly turned into a sea of fire! Even the bluestone slabs on the ground melted into lava from the high temperature.

Xu Yang's brow twitched, and boundless rage ignited in his heart!

"You're asking for death!" Xu Yang roared and took a step forward!

The next second, Xu Yang appeared behind Lu Kaishan.

Boom!

Xu Yang threw a punch, and the sharp whistling sound in the air was like the scream of death!

Lu Kaishan's scalp tingled instantly! The instinct of a Cavern Heaven realm cultivator told him that he was facing a life-or-death crisis! Just as he intended to dodge, at that very moment, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, and his nose caught the scent of blood. He looked down, only to see a large hole ripped through his chest. Blood flowed out, and his life force rapidly drained away.

"This... you're at the Primordial Spirit realm?" Lu Kaishan lowered his head, muttering to himself, his voice growing faint, filled with disbelief.

At this moment, Lu Kaishan was filled with shock! "A tiny Qizhou!" he gasped. "To think there's a Primordial Spirit realm expert here?!" As he spoke, Lu Kaishan's life ceased.