Chapter 167 - 157: Reverse-Slaying a Foundation Establishment Cultivator
Chapter 167: Chapter 157: Reverse-Slaying a Foundation Establishment Cultivator
「Twenty-seven days later, Luming Mountain Peak.」
The Gang Wind cut like a knife across the exposed, iron-gray rock, letting out a mournful shriek as it passed. Wisps of cloud rolled and churned around the mountainside. The air was filled with a deathly stillness so thick it was almost tangible. A bone-chilling cold was entwined with the sparse Spiritual Qi, and even the vultures that perennially roosted here were nowhere to be found, as if sensing the impending storm.
Lu Zhao stood with his hands clasped behind his back on the widest part of the summit. His robes remained perfectly still in the piercing mountain wind. Only his eyes, as tranquil as an abyss, reflected the roiling sea of clouds below, impossibly deep and unreadable. In one hand, he held a pale-faced youth as if he were a worthless piece of luggage. This was Zheng Fan, the Foundation Establishment Seed the Zheng Family had poured its resources into cultivating. Zheng Fan’s eyes were tightly shut; though his breathing was faint, it was steady. He had clearly been immobilized by one of Lu Zhao’s special techniques.
At Lu Zhao’s side stood a behemoth: a thirty-foot-tall, Dark Gold body with muscles gnarled like coiling dragons. This was the Tier Two Lower Grade Corpse Puppet he had refined from the corpse of a Strong Demon Ape. It stood in silence, monolithic as an ancient mountain, exuding a heart-stopping ferocity and deathly stillness. Its cold, vacant eyes swept across the path ahead, a terrifying sentinel guarding this grim summit.
An hour later, Lu Zhao’s slightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open. His Divine Sense stirred, and his gaze shot like lightning toward the horizon.
A speck of golden light tore through the gray-white clouds at an astonishing speed, streaking through the sky! It was far faster than any ordinary Cultivator. In its wake, the clouds roiled and scattered like boiling water. In the blink of an eye, it drew close, revealing a sleek Flying Shuttle that shimmered with Spirit Light.
Atop the Flying Shuttle stood a stern-faced elder in a Daoist Robe, his hands clasped behind his back. He radiated the immense Spiritual Pressure of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, and his robes whipped and snapped in the Gang Wind created by his sheer speed. This was the Zheng Family Ancestor, Zheng Feng!
The Flying Shuttle came to a steady halt in the air, four hundred zhang from Lu Zhao. Its powerful Spiritual Pressure churned the clouds below into a spinning vortex. The Zheng Family Ancestor’s gaze, sharp as a falcon’s, swept across Lu Zhao and the Corpse Puppet at his side before finally locking onto Zheng Fan in his grasp.
When he saw that Zheng Fan was still breathing, the tension in his face eased almost imperceptibly. Even from a distance, Lu Zhao could see the cold fury that filled Zheng Feng’s eyes.
However, he quickly suppressed his anger. Forcing a somewhat stiff smile, he spoke to Lu Zhao, his voice booming and clear even in the howling Gang Wind:
"Greetings, Fellow Daoist. I am Zheng Feng. May I ask where you hail from? Is there some misunderstanding with my Zheng Family? If we have caused offense, I apologize. Anything can be discussed, so why has it come to this?" He took a remarkably humble stance, his words carefully chosen—announcing his identity for gravitas while simultaneously trying to probe Lu Zhao’s background.
A faint smile touched Lu Zhao’s lips, a smile that looked ice-cold in the grim mountain wind. "Fellow Daoist Zheng, you’re being too serious. This is no misunderstanding. I was simply hired for a job and am seeing it through. Someone made an offer for your great-grandson’s life." He paused, his gaze fixed on Zheng Feng. "However... the price they offered, I feel... is a bit lacking. So, I came here to wait for you and ask: how many Spirit Stones is the Zheng Family willing to pay to buy back the life of this Foundation Establishment Seed?"
The smile on Zheng Feng’s face instantly froze. The shock and anger he’d suppressed resurfaced in his eyes, only to be forced down again and replaced by a deeper wariness and scrutiny. He let out a dry laugh. "You must be joking, Fellow Daoist! The Zheng Family has always striven to be on good terms with everyone. What kind of enemy would we have that could afford to hire someone of your caliber? Besides..."
His tone changed as his gaze swept over the terrifying Dark Gold Corpse Puppet beside Lu Zhao. "For a Cultivator at the Qi Cultivation realm to control a Tier Two Zombie like this... your methods are astounding. You are certainly no nobody. Could it be... you’re a prodigy from a Major Sect of the Demon Dao, from the Hundred Countries of the Southwest? If so, and my Zheng Family has been neglectful in some way, please inform me. I will surely offer compensation!" He clearly didn’t believe Lu Zhao’s claim of being hired, suspecting instead that this was a spur-of-the-moment decision, or perhaps part of some other mission in which the Zheng Family was simply caught in the crossfire.
Lu Zhao simply smiled, not dignifying the probe with an answer. His silence seemed to be both a tacit admission and a sign that he disdained the need to explain.
Seeing this, Zheng Feng’s mind raced. He knew this person wouldn’t reveal his background easily. Taking a deep breath to suppress his roiling emotions, he said in a heavy tone, "Since it’s a misunderstanding, I am willing to offer three thousand Spirit Stones, plus a bottle of the Tier Two Middle-Grade Spirit Water, ’Unsettled True Water,’ in exchange for you showing mercy and sparing my unworthy great-grandson’s life!" With that, he actually gave Lu Zhao a solemn bow, his posture even more deferential.
"Oh? Unsettled True Water?" A faint light flickered in Lu Zhao’s eyes; he seemed intrigued. A playful note entered his voice. "Fellow Daoist Zheng, you’re certainly... more generous than my client." His tone shifted. "How about this: you hand the Spirit Stones and the True Water to my zombie. Once the items are in my possession, I, Lu, will naturally let him go."
Before the words had even left his mouth, a flicker of intent from him caused a fierce red light to flash in the eyes of the Tier Two Strong Demon Ape Corpse Puppet. Breaking its mountain-like silence, it began to lumber step by heavy step toward Zheng Feng.
Zheng Feng watched the terrifying Corpse Puppet lumber toward him. A sharp glint flickered in his eyes, but his face maintained a smile of pleading helplessness. "Fine! We’ll do as you say, Fellow Daoist!" Without hesitation, he retrieved a heavy Spirit Stone Bag and a simple, unadorned Jade Bottle from his Storage Bag.