Chapter 165 Return to Crimson Mountain

It was a day filled with death.

In mere hours, the demon forces reaped away tens of thousands of human lives, if not more.

It was not just a purge of the human race, but also revenge for the rising demon star of their Scarlet Moon Kingdom.

After the confrontation at the main square of the Officials District, Lu Tianzi no longer stayed within the city.

Even though he had no love for the human populace of Ivory Rock City, he did not enjoy watching them die in droves either.

As for following General Nanbai Zhaoyu to the City Lord Manor so as to access the treasure stores, Lu Tianzi decided against it as well.

It was simply too risky a move.

Lu Tianzi knew for a fact that General Nanbai Zhaoyu was raiding Ivory Rock City in search of the high ranked beast core.

If he followed General Nanbai Zhaoyu in storming the City Lord Manor, it would only add to suspicions that he might have found the beast core in some hidden corner and failed to report it. After all, he was not a member of Shadowfront Fortress, and had no reason to be loyal to General Nanbai Zhaoyu.

This was also why General Nanbai Zhaoyu had not asked any members of the reinforcement force from Bluenight City to accompany him in searching the City Lord Manor.

Regarding the treasures and Essence Stones that might have been stored in the City Lord Manor, Lu Tianzi decisively chose to give up on them.

Compared to the high ranked beast core, there was absolutely no way that anything in the possession of Ivory Rock City could be of equivalent value!

Why would he put himself at risk for items of such low rank?

Since Lu Tianzi had chosen to leave Ivory Rock City, Elder Diansheng naturally came along.

In the first place, the main reason why he came was to accompany Lu Tianzi, ensuring his safety.

On top of that, he had given up on the high ranked beast core the moment he failed to reach Hu Yuanbo before General Nanbai Zhaoyu did.

While Elder Diansheng felt that it was a pity, he did not feel too bad about it either.

From the looks of it, the high ranked beast core had probably not been in the hands of the human leader anymore. Otherwise, General Nanbai Zhaoyu's expression would not have been this poor, and he would not have gone on to search the City Lord Manor immediately after checking the spatial ring either.

But what were the odds of the human leader choosing to store the beast core in the City Lord Manor instead of keeping it with him?

People were always like this.

They would feel bitter if they failed to obtain some sort of benefit. But as long as they saw that no one else managed to obtain that same benefit in the end, the indignation in their hearts would immediately be relieved by a great deal.

"Shall we head back to Bluenight City then?" Elder Diansheng asked.

Lu Tianzi hesitated a little before replying, "Elder Diansheng, pardon me for asking this, but is it possible for me to go somewhere alone?"

"You want to go somewhere else?" Elder Diansheng frowned. "I heard that there are beasts in this region that have strength that rivalled Origin Core realm martial artists. Why don't I accompany you there? In any case, I am not in a hurry to return."

"Elder Diansheng doesn't have to worry about me," Lu Tianzi shook his head. "As long as I am slightly more careful, I should be able to avoid encountering any Origin Core realm beasts. Apart from that, it is not too convenient for Elder Diansheng to accompany me this time."

"Not too convenient?" Elder Diansheng pondered for a while before his eyes lit up in realisation. "Could it be that you are intending to return to your master's place?"

If that was the case, considering how his master was a reclusive person, it would truly be inconvenient for Elder Diansheng to visit without giving prior notice. After all, the reclusive expert might not be too willing to reveal his place of residence to others.

Lu Tianzi did not reply, merely smiling in response.

"I understand," Elder Diansheng finally nodded. "But it is not too appropriate for me to just leave you be as well. Just in case, I will stay at Shadowfront Fortress for the time being. If you need any help, do contact me immediately. I will rush over as soon as possible!"

"Thank you for the understanding, Elder Diansheng!" Lu Tianzi nodded.

Now that he no longer had to hide from the human sentries, Elder Diansheng directly soared into the sky, heading straight for Shadowfront Fortress.

Lu Tianzi sent the Elder off with his eyes before continuing on his way.

Indeed, just as Elder Diansheng had guessed, Lu Tianzi was intending to look for his master Xihuang Yuanfeng.

Unfortunately, he was not an Origin Core realm martial artist, and had no choice but to make his journey on foot.

When Lu Tianzi first left the cave chamber for Bluenight City, he had imagined that it would be a long time before he ever returned.

But now that he was in the vicinity, Lu Tianzi did not see any reason not to pay his master a visit.

Honestly, just thinking about it filled his heart with excitement.

Back then, due to the fact that he did not have a spear in his possession, his master had refused to impart to him any spear techniques.

Now that he had finally acquired the Star Reaper Spear, he could finally ask his master to teach him some spear techniques.

After all, no matter how exquisite and profound the Eternal Wraith Sword Art was, the sword just seemed to be a little lacking as compared to the spear.

Only with the spear could one truly exhibit an air of dominance!

Crimson Mountain was nearer to Shadowfront Fortress than to Ivory Rock City. Even with Lu Tianzi's current cultivation level, it still took him almost a full day before he finally arrived.

Staring at the familiar waterfall before him, Lu Tianzi could not help but let out a nostalgic smile.

Along with the change in seasons, the scenery around the waterfall had transformed as well.

Beautiful flowers bloomed along the banks of the river that emerged from the plunge pool, giving it a picturesque feel that had not been present during winter. Even the thunderous roar of the hundred metres waterfall only seemed to add to the splendour of nature.

This was the first time he realised just how magnificent this place could be.

With a single leap, Lu Tianzi passed straight under the waterfall and entered the small cave hidden behind.

Step by step, he walked on, until he finally passed through the long tunnel.

"Back so soon?" a familiar voice sounded out in his mind when Lu Tianzi entered the huge cave chamber at the end of the tunnel.

Before his eyes was the exact same view from months ago.

Contrary to the exterior of the cave, absolutely nothing had changed within the cave chamber.

Everything was left untouched, and Xihuang Yuanfeng was still dressed in the same loose and dirty looking long robe, sitting cross legged on the bed with his eyes closed.

"Disciple greets Master!" Lu Tianzi clasped his fist towards Xihuang Yuanfeng in a respectful bow.

"Enough of that crap. Why have you returned?" Xihuang Yuanfeng asked. "The Essence Condensation realm is still far from enough to break me out of here, and you should know that as well. As expected, you got beaten up by the people of Scarlet Moon Kingdom and decided to come back crying, didn't you?"

"Contrary to what Master thinks, disciple is currently quite an influential figure in the Scarlet Moon Kingdom!" Lu Tianzi chuckled.

"Yeah, sure," Xihuang Yuanfeng shrugged indifferently.

It was not as though he was unaware of just how shameless this disciple of his could be at times. He would have to be a fool to believe in his baseless bragging!

Lu Tianzi was speechless.

Was his master serious?

Could his master possibly have any less confidence in him?

"All right, say it. What are you really here for?" Xihuang Yuanfeng completely ignored the look of indignation on Lu Tianzi's face and asked yet again.

"I was in the area, and so I came over to pay you a visit!" Lu Tianzi retorted in indignation.

"Do you not need anything from me then?" Xihuang Yuanfeng opened his eyes, casting a doubtful gaze upon him.

"Well," Lu Tianzi scratched his face in an embarassed manner. "I happened to obtain something nice recently…"

With a swipe of his spatial ring, the pure silver Star Reaper Spear appeared in his hands.

"And?" Xihuang Yuanfeng asked, obviously unimpressed.

"Previously, Master made me practise the sword instead of the spear because I did not possess a spear of my own. Now that I have one, I am hoping that Master will pass me some profound spear techniques so that I will be able to put it to good use!" Lu Tianzi admitted.

"You want to learn spear techniques?" Xihuang Yuanfeng contemplated for a moment before continuing. "It is not as if that is impossible…"

"Really?" Lu TIanzi's eyes lit up immediately at the unexpectedly positive reaction.

Lu Tianzi had initially prepared himself to spend a good amount of time convincing his master, but things turned out much better than he thought!

"Naturally," Xihuang Yuanfeng nodded. "But before that, let me take a look at how far you have practised the Eternal Wraith Sword Art!"

"Yes, Master!" Lu Tianzi answered with vigour.

Since his master was considering imparting spear techniques to him, it was only natural that Lu Tianzi would listen to his every instruction. Now was certainly not the time to be acting rebellious!

In any case, it was only natural that his master would be curious about his current progress.

Lu Tianzi obediently put away the Star Reaper Spear and drew out the Sword of Ivory Rock.

Not needing further instructions, Lu Tianzi stomped his foot onto the ground, causing a small piece of loose rock to fly into the air.

Just as this piece of rock reached its highest point at around Lu Tianzi's eye level, Lu Tianzi struck.

Even while bearing the weight of the sword, his right hand moved so fast that it would have appeared as nothing but a complete blur in the eyes of mere mortals.

Howling Wraith Sword!

The Sword of Ivory Rock pierced forward, cutting right through the air and towards the small piece of rock with pinpoint accuracy.

Right before hitting the rock, the tip of the sword came to an abrupt stop.

However, the sheer power behind the sword thrust stirred the air in the surrounding, creating a shockwave that slammed forth along with the howling of the wind.

Bang-!

Impacted by the shockwave, the piece of rock directly shattered into dust!

Lu Tianzi grinned in satisfaction upon seeing the result of his sword strike.

After comprehending the Law of Origin, Lu Tianzi had gained further insights into each of his techniques, and the same went for the Eternal Wraith Sword Art.

Thus, this Howling Wraith Sword was also significantly stronger than the many times he had done so before.

It had already touched upon the realm of perfection!

With such a display, no matter how petty his master was, there would no longer be anything left for him to pick on!

As expected, Xihuang Yuanfeng opened his eyes in surprise before nodding with a pleased smile. "Not bad, your Howling Wraith Sword has improved by leaps and bounds in this short period of time. Now, let me see your Returning Wraith Sword."

"Eh?" Lu Tianzi's expression froze.

The Returning Wraith Sword…?