Chapter 1222: They Are All Very Familiar

The Thief King finally ended his inner struggle and decided to go against his conscience to help Lu Yang.

"I'll help you..." Before he could finish speaking, a thunderous roar erupted behind him, unleashing a monstrous wave of air that sent him flying and struggling to stay on his feet.

The Thief King turned his head and saw two terrifying figures confronting each other, with a landscape of ruins beneath their feet. It didn't stop there. As the terrifying aura of the two figures intensified, it rapidly expanded outwards from their position. As far as the eye could see, Zhongshan County was reduced to rubble.

The Thief King stood dumbfounded, letting the cold wind sweep over him, his heart filled with despair. What was the point of him forming a rudimentary Speed Dao Fruit?

"The Central Heavenly Emperor?" "The Qilin Immortal?" Lu Yang and Divine Lord Si Heng exclaimed in surprise. They tacitly stopped their own fight, and Divine Lord Si Heng's Yin-Yang body merged back into one.

Lu Yang was completely baffled by the fight between the two immortals. The Central Heavenly Emperor's presence was somewhat understandable; after all, it could be explained by his cautious nature, sending Divine Lord Si Heng to probe while he waited outside for good news. But the real question was, where did the Qilin Immortal come from, and how did those two start fighting each other?

In the spiritual space, Immortal Fairy was lying on her bed, legs casually swinging, advising Lu Yang on how to fight Divine Lord Si Heng. "Little Yangzi, you should fight like this... Huh, why is the Qilin Immortal here?" she wondered.

Upon seeing the Qilin Immortal engaged in battle, Immortal Fairy scrambled up from her bed, perked up, and intently observed the two immortals fighting.

"This isn't right! Why are they defending at a time like this? They should be trading blows! Little Yangzi, go tell him how to fight!"

Lu Yang looked towards the center of the battlefield, which had been reduced to a void, and silently withdrew his gaze. "Fairy, please give me a break."

"You're Lu Yang, aren't you?" Divine Lord Si Shi flew over, or rather, was carried over by the battle's air currents.

"My name is Divine Lord Si Shi Survivor," Divine Lord Si Shi introduced himself in a remarkably casual manner. "If you find that troublesome, you can just call me Divine Lord Si Shi."

Having captured so many Daqian captives, Lu Yang naturally recognized Divine Lord Si Shi.

"What are you doing here!" Lu Yang eyed Divine Lord Si Shi warily. Daqian Divine Lords were supposed to be his enemies, so why did this attitude feel so odd?

"My teacher said that if he and the Emperor started fighting, he told me to stand next to you. If you're lucky, you might save your life."

"Who is your teacher?" Lu Yang was baffled, though it might have been due to Immortal Fairy's incessant chattering in the spiritual space affecting his ability to think.

"Si Shi, why are you standing with the enemy!" Divine Lord Si Heng angrily demanded.

Divine Lord Si Shi spread his hands. "Isn't it obvious? I've defected."

"You!" Divine Lord Si Heng was so dumbfounded he couldn't speak.

"I advise you to come over here too; it's safe here," Divine Lord Si Shi kindly offered his former colleague. Watching two immortals fight at close range was an extremely dangerous matter.

Divine Lord Si Heng might have been uneducated, but he wasn't stupid. He sneered, seeing through Divine Lord Si Shi's intentions. "Do you think I'd believe a traitor? I've already seen through your scheme. You definitely want to trick me into coming over, then team up with Lu Yang to capture me and use me as a token of surrender!"

Just then, Lu Yang unexpectedly moved two steps to the side, and Divine Lord Si Shi quickly followed.

Puzzled, Divine Lord Si Heng watched. Suddenly, an attack flew from the center of the immortals' battle, passing right through where Lu Yang had just been, and struck Divine Lord Si Heng, instantly blasting him and leaving him covered in wounds.

"Cough, cough, cough—" Divine Lord Si Heng's body quickly recovered. All living beings are composed of Yin and Yang; as long as the internal Yin and Yang of the body remain balanced, they can be free from all illnesses and wounds will heal themselves.

Suddenly, another aftershock flew towards them. Divine Lord Si Heng couldn't dodge in time and was blasted beyond recognition. In contrast, Lu Yang seemed to possess foresight, able to predict exactly where the aftershocks would appear and avoid them in advance.

Divine Lord Si Heng chose to trust the traitor's words and cautiously approached Lu Yang step by step. Seeing that Lu Yang and Divine Lord Si Shi showed no intention of attacking him, he finally felt a little relieved. It was Immortal Fairy who had anticipated the incoming attack and told Lu Yang to move aside.

"How did you all get together?" After the Thief King recovered his senses, he saw Lu Yang standing with two Daqian Divine Lords, chatting and laughing. Feeling like he had missed something, he curiously flew over.

"Senior Thief King," Lu Yang politely greeted him.

The Thief King waved his hands repeatedly. "No, no, don't call me senior; you're the true senior here." The several palms Lu Yang struck at Divine Lord Si Heng just now had nearly scared him to death; he had been secretly praying that Divine Lord Si Heng would hold out. Fortunately, Divine Lord Si Heng proved quite resilient. However, seeing the current situation, Divine Lord Si Heng's resilience seemed pointless.

As they were talking, a black vortex from the Emperor flew past, grazing by. Although no one was injured, it still made all four of them tremble. Where the black vortex landed, only a massive pit remained; buildings and land had all vanished. The Devouring Dao Fruit, devouring all things.

"My teacher was right," Divine Lord Si Shi chuckled. "Staying with fellow Daoist Lu Yang truly saves lives." He knew that if he had been by himself, he would have been severely injured long ago.

"You are Lu Yang?" the Thief King asked, surprised.

"Yes, what's wrong?" Lu Yang replied, wiping his face and reverting to his original appearance. Since entering the Fengdu space, he had been using the face of Young Cult Master Lu, and before that, when he was a constable, he used yet another face, so it was perfectly normal for the Thief King not to recognize him.

The Thief King's expression grew even stranger. "My master is the Ancestor of Thieves," he said. The Thief King had become the Ancestor of Thieves' disciple only after being captured by him, and the essentials for forming a rudimentary Speed Dao Fruit were also learned from the Ancestor. However, when it came to the final step, the Ancestor stopped teaching, telling him to figure it out himself.

"Your master is the Ancestor of Thieves?" Lu Yang understood the Thief King's hidden meaning; the Ancestor of Thieves and Daoist Bu Yu were close friends despite their age difference, meaning they were essentially peers.

The Thief King nodded, pretending to make conversation to gather information. "By the way," he said, "I heard from Lord Man that Zhongshan County bought insurance. Do you know about this?"

"Yes, I do," Lu Yang replied. "It was my suggestion for Junior Brother Man to buy it."

The Thief King racked his brain, recalling all the large contracts the chamber of commerce had signed. In his memory, Zhongshan County had never bought insurance. "When did you buy the insurance?" he pressed.

"Seven days ago."

The Thief King was speechless. So, it turns out you arrested me and then immediately insured Zhongshan County?! If Lu Yang hadn't claimed not to know the Central Heavenly Emperor and the Qilin Immortal, the Thief King would have suspected Lu Yang was in cahoots with them. Wait a minute, didn't that Daqian Divine Lord just call Lu Yang "fellow Daoist"? What exactly was Lu Yang's relationship with the Daqian forces?

"Who is this teacher you keep talking about?" Lu Yang turned to ask Divine Lord Si Shi.

"The Qilin Immortal, of course," came the reply. "My teacher said you knew him."

Lu Yang nodded. He, of course, knew the Qilin Immortal; though they had never met in person, he was still very familiar with him. "What else did Senior Qilin Immortal say?" he asked.

"He said you should be very familiar with the master's wives as well."

Lu Yang's face turned pale.

The Thief King, listening nearby, felt increasingly that Lu Yang was far from simple.