Chapter 997 - A Five-Way Battle

At this moment, everyone from the Black Tower Council had an unsightly expression on their faces.

Luo Huan was incredibly flustered by Lu Zhou’s palm strike. Although he managed to dodge it, fear still lingered in his heart.

King Chen of Wu chuckled before he said, “Luo Huan, you need to learn to control your temper.”

Luo Huan bowed in the distance, “I was rash; I hope Senior Lu can forgive me.”

King Chen of Wu and Ye Liuyun remained silent. If the Black Tower Council was not making a fuss about their men being poached, what right did they have to speak?

Ye Liuyun’s mouth twitched. He felt helpless.

At this time, Ning Wanqing smiled and said, “Everyone has their own aspirations. There must be a reason if someone chooses to leave. You shouldn’t blame him for leaving. Moreover, if he were truly a traitorous person, how could Senior Lu accept him?”

Ning Wanqing’s words were laden with ridicule for the Black Tower Council, and at the same time, it could be seen that he wanted to instigate conflict between Lu Zhou and Shen Xi.

Lu Zhou stroked his beard and said, “Don’t play your petty tricks in front of me. I know what I’m doing, and I don’t need you to remind me of Shen Xi’s betrayal…”

An embarrassed expression appeared on Ning Wanqing’s face immediately. “I’m sorry. I’ve misspoken.”

Shen Xi’s heart moved slightly upon hearing Lu Zhou’s words.

Lu Zhou glanced at Shen Xi. ‘Alright, his loyalty has increased by 20%.”

Luo Huan sighed softly. It seemed like after this the Black Tower Council would have to consider rescinding Shen Xi’s arrest warrant.

At this moment, a strange noise rang from the foot of a mountain in the south.

King Chen of Wu shouted, “It’s Ying Zhao! Take it down!”

Dozens of cultivators on the flying carriage rushed towards the source of the noise.

Ye Liuyun’s shadow flickered; he moved faster than anyone else.

“Ying Zhao is here!”

“Ying Zhao has appeared!”

The appearance of Ying Zhao broke the oppressive atmosphere that loomed over the five forces in just an instant.

Many figures could be seen rushing toward the noise in a frenzy.

Some sectless cultivators who were hiding all this time finally made a move as well.

Luo Huan raised his head and looked around. He could not help but feel uneasy that the First Elder had yet to return. However, he could not wait any longer. He ordered, “Put the life hearts away and follow me!”

Following that, the members from the Black Tower Council followed Luo Huan and rushed over as well.

On the other hand, after Ning Wanqing recovered from the shock of Ying Zhao’s sudden appearance, he turned to Lu Zhou and asked, “Old sir, did you also come for Ying Zhao?”

However, as soon as this question left Ning Wanqing’s mouth, he felt his question was really redundant. Was there anyone present who did not come here for Ying Zhao? Moreover, with such a high cultivation base, how could Lu Zhou miss such a great opportunity.

“Aren’t you going over there?”

“I…”Ning Wanqing sighed. He hesitated when he heard the cacophonous sound of battle. The growing sounds of the battle aroused his desire that slowly overshadowed his rationality. In the end, he decided not to care about anything else. He would deal with everything once he had obtained Ying Zhao’s life heart. Therefore, he said, “Old sir, this junior will take his leave now…”

In just a blink of an eye, Ning Wanqing flew away, The White Guards and the other members from the White Tower Council hastily rushed after him as well.

For a time, the four forces surrounded the mountain in the distance and attacked relentlessly.

Meanwhile, Lu Zhou was still not in a hurry to make a move.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Yunhe asked anxiously, “Brother Lu, aren’t you going to make a move now?”

“Ying Zhao is incredibly cunning. It laid two traps earlier. I’m afraid it’s the same this time,” Lu Zhou said.

Humans were superior to all beings, hence, there were some who grew conceited. These people would often forget their mistakes and repeat them endlessly.

Xiao Yunhe nodded after listening to Lu Zhou’s words. “So these fierce beasts were also part of Ying Zhao’s plan?”

Shen Xi said, “It used the dragonhawks as well earlier to lure the people from the Humble White Sect. As for the fierce beasts, they were killed by the First Elders of the Black Tower Council and the White Tower Council. Ying Zhao is really cunning; it took advantage of humans’ greed…”

Yu Zhenghai said, “According to your words, it seems like Ying Zhao’s IQ far surpassed that of a ten-year-old.”

Lu Zhou shook his head and said. “Let’s just watch for now. Perhaps, we’re thinking too much…”

Everyone nodded.

Sometimes it was useless to calculate too much. It was best to observe before making a move.

At this time, thanks to the energies from the First Elders of the Black Tower Council and the White Tower Council sweeping the thick fog away, their visibility had improved tremendously.

Lu Zhou and the others watched as cultivators surrounded two mountains and kept releasing energy seals.

The Black Tower Council, White Tower Council, the Dark and Light Alliance, and Great Yuan’s royal court’s cultivators attacked together. All of them restrained themselves and avoided getting into a conflict at the crucial moment.

“Ying Zhao should be around there. Strange… Where is it hiding?”

“The beast is so cunning that it even knows how to sow discord. How can it be so easy to find?”

Xiao Yunhe said, “I really want to see what it’ll do next after laying a trap…”

Everyone nodded.

Upon seeing this, Wu Chao said, “Why don’t I use witchcraft and disguise myself as a member of the Black Tower Council to expedite things?”

Xiao Yunhe chided Wu Chao, “Why would you look for trouble with the Black Tower Council?”

“…” Wu Chao lowered his head and did not say anything.

In fact, with this kind of situation, there was no need to act unnecessarily.

Lu Zhou stroked his beard. He was sure Ying Zhao was still nearby. It had yet to achieve its goal so how could it leave it just like that?

…

Meanwhile, Ning Wanqing hovered in the air and listened to the sounds in his surroundings. Although he could not see, he could hear very well.

Upon seeing this, Luo Huan said derisively, “Ning Wanqing, I know you’re blind, but are you a fool as well? Do you really think Ying Zhao is going to make a noise for no reason?”

Ning Wanqing was not bothered. He only said, “Although you can see, it doesn’t mean you’ll be able to catch Ying Zhao…”

On the other hand, King Chen of Wu and Ye Liuyun hovered at the west side of the mountain.

“Stop arguing. Why don’t we put down our grudges aside and look for Ying Zhao first? After that, we can decide on will have Ying Zhao…” King Chen of Wu said.

Ye Liuyun sneered and said mockingly, “King Chen, your royal court’s methods are useless in the cultivation world. Do you think it’s possible for all of us to decide on who to give Ying Zhao to? If you’re so willing to give it away, why don’t you give it to me?”

“Ye Liuyun, why are you venting your anger on me after your Birth Chart has been destroyed by the old senior?” King Chen of Wu asked. How dare this person make a ruckus after losing a Birth Chart?

However, Ye Liuyun was a Nine Chart expert, after all. Although he had lost one Birth Chart, he was still left with eight Birth Charts.

The cultivators from the four forces were looking around in confusion when a familiar cry rang in the air again. When they looked in the direction of the noise, they saw a fierce beast with a long and slender horse face and tiger stripes on its body flapping its wings above a mountain peak.

“Ying Zhao!”

“It’s Ying Zhao!”

Everyone’s eyes lit up in excitement. If only they could teleport next to Ying Zhao and harvest its life heart.

After crying out twice, Ying Zhao suddenly made an astonishing move. It raised its head as its stomach began to gurgle. Soon enough, it spat out a glowing crystal!

Ying Zhao’s life heart!

Xiao Yunhe, who was watching from afar, exclaimed in admiration despite the complex expression on his face, “What a good move!”

Ying Zhao was highly intelligent. It knew that the experts were all fighting over its life heart.

Swoosh!

At this moment, Ying Zhao tossed the life heart toward the crowd.

Upon seeing this, the usually taciturn Yu Shangrong could not help but cried out, “Master!”

“Don’t be anxious. The life heart is like a time bomb now,” Lu Zhou said calmly.

Meanwhile, as the life heart flew toward the sea of cultivators, Ning Wanqing, who was standing closest to the life heart and had the advantage, was the first to leap into the air. He joined his palms together, and scripts shot out one after another. The Yin and Yang’s Eight Trigrams Seal appeared under his feet. As soon as he made a move, he used his strongest technique.

The countless white scripts converged into a sphere before it exploded outward in all directions. The force of the explosion was terrifying!

This Confucian technique was rather impressive; it could choose to be Yin or Yang.

“Damn it, Ning Wanqing!”

Everyone, including those from the White Tower Council, was forced to retreat by this move, the Snowstorm Explosion.

At this moment, a figure flashed toward Ying Zhao’s life heart. Just as his hand was about to close around the life heart, he heard the sound of surging Primal Qi…

Bang!

“Ning Wanqing, get lost!” Ye Liuyun’s speed allowed him to catch up to Ning Wanqing and released a conical energy seal.

Due to the unexpected nature of the attack, Ning Wanqing fell from the sky.

Swoosh!

Ye Liuyun was the first to grab Ying Zhao’s life heart. The vitality energy surging from the life heart was so rich that he fell into a daze as he looked at it excitedly. After a moment, he turned to look at Lu Zhou, who was standing in the distance, and said in a deep voice, “Old man, the Dark and Light Alliance will surely avenge my loss of a Birth Chart sooner or later…”

As soon as Ye Liuyun’s voice fell, King Chen of Wu arrived in front of him along with his avatar. “Ye Liuyun, leave the life heart here.” Following that, his voice thundered in the air as he cried out, “The Hollow Halberd!”