Chapter 593 - 326: Nuclear Explosion (2)

But would Lü Zhong let it have its way?

With a raise of his hand, he cast a Thunder Swamp to block its retreat, then shot forward in pursuit.

He caught up in just a few moments.

After a few more rounds of combat...

...Lü Zhong finally managed to slay the beast, viciously venting his frustration!

To facilitate future research, he didn’t waste a single drop of its blood this time. He collected every last bit, storing the Bat-winged King Beast’s complete corpse in his Storage Ring.

Seeing the other cultivators being slaughtered and routed, with countless perishing in the beasts’ maws, Lü Zhong thought for a moment before deciding to bring out his Human-Faced Flood Dragon Banner, preparing to sweep the battlefield with his Fire-Eating Divine Technique.

Even if he did nothing, he wouldn’t suffer a backlash from the Spirit Contract, as the mission’s failure would not be his fault but rather an error on the part of Little Yuan Palace. Still, they were all fellow Immortal Cultivators of the Human Race. As long as he could guarantee his own safety, there was no harm in lending a hand.

Soon, a thin line of fire began to thicken.

It swept violently across the center of the battle line. Any Snow Beast it touched was instantly turned to charcoal, and the number of casualties swelled in an instant.

A hundred-zhang-wide empty zone was suddenly cleared in the middle of the battlefield.

The purpose of this was to halt the beast horde’s advance and give the retreating fleet of Flying Ships a moment to breathe.

At the same time, Lü Zhong popped a Replenishing Qi Pill into his mouth.

His whole body surged with Magical Power, and he became enveloped in a hazy nebula. He had already begun Casting the Star Pulling Skill. As it happened, the starry night had just fallen, and countless rays of starlight rained down. Influenced by this abundant starlight, the amplification from the Star Gathering Skill—a Divine Technique from his Lifebound Treasure Star Mirror—increased sharply by several tenths.

However, few had the leisure to notice such an astonishing phenomenon.

Half a quarter-hour later, having consumed over half of his Magical Power, Lü Zhong felt the Magic Skill had brewed long enough. The Dharma Seal in his hands immediately changed, and he pulled down the Meteor he had summoned.

The once-pitch-black night sky began to brighten, bit by bit.

Then, it became as bright as day!

Because Lü Zhong had deliberately limited the Meteor’s size, the Casting speed of the Star Pulling Skill was extremely fast. The Snow Beasts and cultivators on the field had only just noticed the strange phenomenon when the Meteor had already broken through the clouds.

The next instant, there was a blinding flash of light.

A moment later, a terrifying shockwave swept across the scene. Needless to say, the Snow Beasts at the epicenter were obliterated. Within a ten-li radius of the impact point, any creature left with a complete corpse could be considered lucky.

Before the incredibly powerful Gang Wind, the more distant fleet of cultivator Flying Ships felt as if they were standing on tiny sampans in a raging storm; they were tossed about and blown away in an instant.

Only when a pillar of clouds shot into the sky did a deafening RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE follow.

Gazing at his masterpiece—the crater several li wide—Lü Zhong was also somewhat surprised. He hadn’t expected his Meteor Strike to surpass the power of a Golden Core cultivator’s self-detonation.

’In my past life, this move would probably be in the nuclear explosion category, right?’

he thought with a hint of satisfaction, stroking his chin.

Looking down at the cultivators below, the Meteor’s impact had cut the beast horde in two. Without a constant stream of Snow Beasts charging them, the fleet finally had a chance to regroup.

Under the command of the Golden Core cultivators, they began to reform their ranks. It was clear they believed they now had the upper hand and were preparing to counterattack.

’Should I help them or not?’ Lü Zhong hesitated for a moment.

He glanced over at Huo Yuanhao. He had played some kind of trump card and managed to heavily injure his opponent, gaining the upper hand. Although he couldn’t kill it, he could at least keep that strange King Beast occupied.

The decision now rested in Lü Zhong’s hands.

’Ah, whatever. I might as well see this through to the end,’ Lü Zhong thought with a soft sigh. ’Rather than sit by and watch the mission fail, I should just use my power to reverse the situation, turn the tide, and complete the Spirit Contract.’

With this in mind, he once again cast the Star Pulling Skill.

This time, however, he didn’t cast for long. After only a few breaths, he let another Meteor fall.

With each bombardment, large swathes of Snow Beasts were killed or injured.

Numbering in the hundreds, even thousands.

The might of a Nascent Soul was on full display.

It was no exaggeration to say it was enough to change the outcome of a war.

To be honest, Lü Zhong still couldn’t figure out why Huo Yuanling, who was responsible for protecting the main army, had allowed the fleet to be routed earlier.

They were both Nascent Soul Cultivators. Logically, she should have been able to do what he was doing, or at least not perform so poorly. How could she let the army collapse at the first sign of contact?

’How strange!’

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.

Lü Zhong continued to summon Meteors to bombard the battlefield.

His intention was simple: to prevent the Snow Beasts from gathering into a horde. Scattered Snow Beasts, regardless of their individual strength, were nothing but target practice for a cultivator army in formation, as long as they hadn’t reached the qualitative leap of Tier Four.

But if the Snow Beasts were allowed to regroup, they could once again charge like a tsunami, becoming exceedingly difficult to handle. Faced with their endless, astonishing numbers, the Snow Beasts would sooner or later break through to the fleet and shatter the cultivators’ formation.

Once their formation was broken, the cultivators would be forced to fight individually and would clearly be no match for the endless Snow Beasts. Even if they fought a bloody battle to the very end, the only result would be to be overwhelmed by the horde.

As time went on, the number of charging Snow Beasts dwindled.

The battle line finally began to advance.

While he still had strength to spare, Lü Zhong gave Huo Yuanhao a hand, helping him slay the strange King Beast. In doing so, he acquired a King Beast’s corpse and freed up another Nascent Soul Cultivator.

Without their King Beast, the horde fell into complete disarray.

What followed was a complete steamroll.

Even so, the great battle continued for a full day and night.

The war, which had left a trail of corpses stretching for thousands of li, finally came to an end when the cultivators pushed to Reversed Sword Pass and sealed off the One-Line Sky Mountain Road, a path nestled between towering cliffs.

Standing on the pass’s walls, Huo Yuanhao couldn’t hide his excitement.

Behind him, Huo Yuanling also wore a joyful expression.

What Lü Zhong didn’t know was that Reversed Sword Pass was extremely important to Little Yuan Palace. The pass was located to the side of Zhongyan Pass, which Little Yuan Palace defended. If the Snow Beast horde entrenched here were to charge toward the undefended side of Zhongyan Pass, the consequences would be unimaginable.

The most optimistic scenario would be the complete fall of the Northern Border.

It was for this very reason that the two of them felt exceptionally grateful to Lü Zhong.

They had witnessed everything Lü Zhong had done. If he hadn’t single-handedly turned the tide and warped the course of the battle, Little Yuan Palace would likely have been defeated, which might have even led to the fall of Zhongyan Pass and a total strategic loss.

Such a great merit...

...could certainly not be repaid with a single White Holy Ice Orchid.

Huo Yuanhao pondered for a moment, and after communicating with Huo Yuanling via voice transmission, he cupped his hands and smiled at Lü Zhong. "This battle’s success was almost entirely thanks to you, Fellow Daoist. This far exceeds the terms of our Spirit Contract... That being the case, I, the Palace Master, must show my gratitude. Please accept this Jade Scroll, Fellow Daoist!"

As he spoke, he took out a white Jade Scroll and offered it with both hands. "I cannot say much about the contents of this Jade Scroll right now, but I am certain it will be of help to you, Fellow Daoist."

"In that case, it would be impolite of me to refuse!" Seeing how mysterious Huo Yuanhao was being, Lü Zhong couldn’t help but feel a little curious. He accepted the kind gesture and took the Jade Scroll.

"Now that this matter is concluded, it is time for me to take my leave!"

Hearing this, Huo Yuanhao and Huo Yuanling exchanged a smile. Huo Yuanhao invited him again, "Fellow Daoist, why be in such a hurry to leave? Why not come be a guest at our Little Yuan Palace? You’ve helped us so greatly this time. It would be utterly improper if we didn’t invite you back and host you properly."

Lü Zhong could tell that Huo Yuanhao’s invitation was sincere this time. Unfortunately, he was eager to return home and had no desire to remain in the Northern Border.

So, with an apologetic expression, he cupped his hands and said, "My apologies, but I truly have urgent matters to attend to and cannot stay any longer in the Northern Border."

Huo Yuanhao was naturally aware of Lü Zhong’s goal. The man had previously asked for the route to the Southern Barbarian lands, suggesting he was most likely a cultivator from there. It was perfectly reasonable for him to be anxious to return, being millions of li away in the Northern Border.

"In that case, I wish you a safe journey, Fellow Daoist!" Huo Yuanhao said, clasping his fist.

"I appreciate the good wishes!" Lü Zhong chuckled softly.

Then, he transformed into a streak of rainbow light and flew toward Jade Yuan Immortal City without a backward glance. After obtaining the route to the Southern Barbarian lands, he immediately set off on his journey home.