Chapter 316: Chapter 316 The Battle Ends
"What!"
The Western Divine Envoy’s pupils shrank abruptly, and then he saw Lu Zheng appear beside him, while his own body froze, unable to move.
...
Theoretically, no matter how mystical the invisibility technique is, if one gets close enough, the Abnormal People’s sixth sense will alert them to something amiss and prompt them to investigate the surrounding environment and discover the invisibility user.
Moreover, the cultivation of these Four Directions Divine Envoys is not weak enough to allow Lu Zheng to approach directly.
But the problem was that they were just engaging with Shen Ying and the Eighteen Celestial Maidens, while also distracted by maneuvering the Four Extremes God-locking Order. Spells flew everywhere in Taohua Village, and the disordered aura and chaos were distracting them, leaving no room to sense if there was a Daoist skilled in invisibility techniques approaching.
So, the Northern Divine Envoy fell into the trap, with Lu Zheng closing in and beheading him with one stroke, offering dozens of strands of the Light of Fortune.
Then, due to their dread of Lu Zheng, the remaining three divine envoys each utilized their strategies, with the Southern Divine Envoy taking the lead in attack, while the Eastern and Western Divine Envoys also contributed their share of power.
From their viewpoint, with Southern Divine Envoy’s assault, Lu Zheng was already being stalled.
Next, they thought it was just a matter of continuing to hold him off, and then using the Four Extremes God-locking Order to capture Shen Ying’s divine soul, then leaving without the old peach tree controlling the scene, effectively ending the battle.
In their mind, Lu Zheng surely wouldn’t dare to kill anymore voluntarily, because murder again might seem like regaining the upper hand, but Shen Ying would certainly not be able to hold up.
Therefore, victory was assuredly theirs.
However, contrary to their expectations, Lu Zheng unhesitatingly let the Eighteen Celestial Maidens form a formation and then joined Shen Ying in besieging the Eastern Divine Envoy!
Are you insane?
Even if one more of us dies, your partner will be doomed!
We prepared for possibly losing one more, but not so quickly!
The Eastern Divine Envoy was mercilessly slaughtered by Shen Ying and the Eighteen Celestial Maidens, leaving the Western and Southern Divine Envoys shocked, angry, yet somewhat relieved.
Shocked because the enemy didn’t play by the rules.
Angry because another comrade was killed.
Relieved because the war was nearing its end, and they didn’t have to die.
But in the next moment, before the Southern Divine Envoy could finish celebrating, Lu Zheng deployed a tactic of exchanging life for life.
But I’m faster than you!
The Southern Divine Envoy reacted swiftly, a sinister grin appeared on his face, mistakenly thinking he could eliminate Lu Zheng, only to end up sacrificing his own life, dying without understanding why Lu Zheng’s body had no Divine Soul True Spirit, dying with regrets.
Things changed too rapidly, and the Western Divine Envoy mistakenly assumed the Southern Divine Envoy and Lu Zheng perished together.
Just as this concept turned in his mind, he was immobilized, and another Lu Zheng suddenly appeared beside him.
"What!"
"Crack!"
One slash to decapitate, blood splattering everywhere!
Lu Zheng didn’t understand what was going on with himself; facing an immobilized opponent, he had a penchant for horizontally slashing at the neck with a blade.
Do I have some kind of peculiar habit?
Alright, now is not the time to think about this!
As the Western Divine Envoy’s head flew up, Lu Zheng moved his divine thought at the moment when the Four Extremes God-locking Order had just finished absorbing the Eastern Divine Envoy and was about to turn to absorb the Southern Divine Envoy. He activated the technique from the "Golden Palace Secret Technique", reached out and grabbed, extracting the Western Divine Envoy’s divine soul, then applied three accompanying Soul-Banning Curse Seals to thoroughly seal the Western Divine Envoy’s divine soul, leaving no trace of aura.
"Buzz!"
In the next moment, with the absorption of the Southern Divine Envoy’s divine soul, the spiritual power within the wooden token surged remarkably.
However...
Lacking the Western Divine Envoy’s manipulation and guidance, the token hovered idle in the air, no longer pulling Shen Ying’s divine soul.
...
"It’s done!"
Lu Zheng sighed in relief; it was just as he had anticipated.
The ancient Peach Tree Spirit was too far away; although it could reinforce the token with magical power, it couldn’t remotely control it.
Given this, simultaneously eliminating the divine envoy responsible for controlling the token would break the spell on the Four Extremes God-locking Order.
In the ancient Peach Tree Spirit’s view, its Four Directions Divine Envoys weren’t lacking in Dao practice, so it was inconceivable that they’d be wiped out all at once.
As long as one remained, the power increased by the token could still capture Shen Ying, then escape using techniques like Peach Wood Substitute or Peach Wood Escape, without issue.
Therefore, it was foolproof!
But unfortunately, it didn’t anticipate Lu Zheng, who was proficient in invisibility and puppet spirit attachment curse.
...
"Lu Lang~" Shen Ying floated over to Lu Zheng’s side.
"Are you alright?" Lu Zheng grasped Shen Ying’s hand.
"I’m fine." Shen Ying softly shook her head, "Thanks to Lu Lang’s aid."
Lu Zheng chuckled, "You and I are one as husband and wife; such words seem distant."
"Buzz buzz buzz!"
The Mind Jade Seal began to incessantly receive flows of the Light of Fortune, and Lu Zheng couldn’t discern which were contributed by the three opponents, and whether Shen Ying and the Eighteen Celestial Maidens had contributed.
Including what the Northern Divine Envoy provided earlier, a total of 218 strands of Light of Fortune replenished Lu Zheng’s reserves for the last few months.
Satisfaction!
The Eighteen Celestial Maidens landed one after another: one holding a porcelain bottle, another cradling six flying swords, another possessing some wooden tokens, and yet another carrying a tree branch.
These were the Four Directions Divine Envoys’ Dharma Artifacts.
From the backyard, Xiaocui hurried over with Zhi Ma in her arms, her strength too weak to intervene.
Peach Core looked somewhat apprehensively towards the wooden token suspended in the center of the front courtyard, asking, "Fairy, Young Master Lu, what should we do with this token?"
Though the token lost its guidance and target, it emanated powerful spiritual fluctuations itself, which could trigger severe backlash if mishandled.
Lu Zheng glanced at Shen Ying, "Shall I assist you in refining it?"
Shen Ying shook her head, "No, we mustn’t keep this token; within it lies the Peach Tree Spirit’s spirit seal, which surely has hidden tricks. It’s a Thousand-Year-old Great Demon and must be cautioned against."
"Then let’s destroy it!"
Lu Zheng nodded, then the Earth Puppet Lu Zheng, pierced twice by the Southern Divine Envoy’s swords, rose.
"Is this puppet technique and spirit attachment curse indeed mystical? If Lu Lang hadn’t revealed it, I wouldn’t have discerned," Shen Ying marveled.
The Eighteen Celestial Maidens were also amazed at the Earth Puppet Lu Zheng, identical to Lu Zheng.
"The technique bestowed by the sect’s ancestor is indeed extraordinary," Lu Zheng remarked, "Besides the limitation on distance, it has virtually no flaws."
"Everyone move back."
Lu Zheng instructed, then together with Shen Ying, led the Eighteen Celestial Maidens and Xiaocui to retreat to the backyard.
Then the Earth Puppet Lu Zheng approached the Four Extremes God-locking Order.
Once there, the Earth Puppet Lu Zheng harnessed all of his True Qi and executed a Powerful Slash of Hua Mountain, cutting downward.
"Crack!" The token shattered.
"Boom!" The spiritual backlash directly impacted reality, and the Brocade Spring Saber and Earth Puppet Lu Zheng were torn apart into fragments by sheer spiritual power!
"Damn!"
Lu Zheng’s true form trembled, feeling a jolt in his mind.
"Lu Lang!" Shen Ying anxiously grabbed Lu Zheng.
"It’s fine, just felt dizzy." Lu Zheng patted Shen Ying’s hand, "The Spirit Attachment Curse is mystical; it doesn’t affect me."
The fierce spiritual wave shattered the Earth Puppet Lu Zheng, then transformed into waves of spiritual impact, spreading around.
Due to their distance, the group collectively resisted it, thus remaining unharmed.
Indeed, a spell seal flickering with mysterious patterns hovered momentarily in the air, ultimately vanishing as the spiritual impact dissipated.
"Damn it, there was a hidden trick all along; Thousand-Year-old Great Demons are each old foxes," Lu Zheng grumbled.
Shen Ying pinched Lu Zheng’s arm angrily, implying he had insulted both her and Liu Qingyan.