Chapter 565: How Can Mortals Cut Down Immortals… Lüqiu Jinyuan’s Last Road

At the same time.

On the southern border of the Donghua Demon Kingdom, above the glittering blue sea, waves of Nascent Soul–level battle aftermath shook the heavens.

One of the fighters was Elder Guang, the one who had called for Lüqiu Jinyuan’s aid.

At this moment, his body no longer showed any signs of age. Muscles bulged across his frame, his eyes shone with a chilling brilliance, and blood-red feathers sprouted densely along his limbs. He radiated terrifying pressure, standing revealed in the half-demonic form of a true spirit clan.

Facing him stood another figure.

This man wore a bamboo hat and a green robe, his true face hidden.

But from the way his counterattacks against Elder Guang’s fierce assault grew slower and slower, it was clear he was under heavy strain and far from relaxed.

Their battle spread across hundreds of li.

Secret arts, divine abilities, and treasures clashed violently, collapsing space and reversing the flow of seawater, bringing scenes of annihilation to life.

"Wei Tu?"

Not long after, Lüqiu Jinyuan arrived on the battlefield. His eyes flashed as he activated the bloodline vision of the Lüqiu clan, instantly seeing through to Wei Tu’s identity.

"Wei Tu?"

Elder Guang was startled as well. In disbelief, he glanced at his opponent—this man fighting him evenly as a mid Nascent Soul cultivator was actually the same “newly advanced Nascent Soul” who had once thrown his lot in with Lüqiu Qingfeng more than a hundred years ago?

Though they were both at the Nascent Soul stage, everyone knew the abyssal gap between a newly advanced Nascent Soul and one at mid-stage.

"So this is the subordinate Lüqiu Qingfeng carefully nurtured. His talent is indeed remarkable."

With Jinyuan present, Elder Guang no longer pressed for victory or defeat. His light flashed, and he drew to Jinyuan’s side, speaking with praise.

—With Lüqiu Jinyuan here, unless Wei Tu had somehow reached late Nascent Soul, escape was impossible.

This was his faith in his qilin son.

Everyone of a true spirit clan knew the terror of the “pureblood heirs.”

All the more so, the Lüqiu bloodline ranked first among all true spirit clans in the Donghua Demon Kingdom.

"Did Lüqiu Qingfeng steal my Soul-Devouring Wood and give it to you?"

Unlike Elder Guang’s thoughts, Lüqiu Jinyuan instead felt wariness toward Wei Tu. According to his deduction, the one who took the Soul-Devouring Wood should have been a stranger at mid Nascent Soul.

Wei Tu had only been early Nascent Soul a century ago, clearly not matching his expectations.

A flaw meant danger.

But that didn’t mean he would back away.

Caution was not the same as cowardice.

Still, before striking, Jinyuan didn’t mind probing for more with a few words.

Wei Tu had the same idea—dragging for time until the Second Mountain Lord and others arrived outside the battlefield.

So he shook his head slowly and said, "No."

"Lüqiu Prince’s clone, Wu Fang, was slain by Wei more than a hundred years ago. The Soul-Devouring Wood in Wu Fang’s hands fell to me then."

Wei Tu added this calmly, his tone cold.

"Wu Fang was killed by you?"

Jinyuan frowned, unwilling to believe it. Wu Fang had possessed quasi mid Nascent Soul strength, not something any ordinary early Nascent Soul could overcome.

But when he thought carefully, he realized it wasn’t impossible. In fact, it was very likely.

The man before him was far from ordinary.

Now Wei Tu stood at this level. Back then, killing Wu Fang while still early Nascent Soul wasn’t unimaginable.

And it might not have been the Soul-Devouring Wood that let him advance so quickly.

After all, once a cultivator refined the Soul-Devouring Wood, gifting it to another would cause heavy damage to their foundation.

And according to intelligence, the current holder of the Soul-Devouring Wood was not Wei Tu, but another early Nascent Soul cultivator.

In short order, Jinyuan pieced together the possible chain of events.

His eyes flickered as he asked:

"You killed Holy Son Faguang, took the Ghost-Eyed Demon Spider from him, and because of this, my clone Wu Fang turned to chase you down…"

With the Ghost-Eyed Demon Spider, Holy Son Faguang shouldn’t have fallen. He wouldn’t have dared to provoke someone far above his realm.

Which meant the only way he died was by offending someone exactly at his own level.

And Wei Tu fit that perfectly.

Once he realized this, Wu Fang’s pursuit and death at Wei Tu’s hands, and the loss of the Soul-Devouring Wood, all became clear.

"So, just because of this grudge, you set up such an elaborate trap today to deal with this prince?"

Jinyuan swept his gaze around and frowned.

He had already sensed the approach of the Second Mountain Lord, Cao Mi, Fu Zhizhou, and the others.

But with his strength, confident he could retreat at will, he didn’t panic. Instead he paused, then asked Wei Tu this cold question.

—He had to be sure whether Wei Tu’s trap was only personal revenge, or if someone was backing him from the shadows.

If it was the first, there was nothing to fear.

But if it was the second… he had to think carefully about how to respond.

After all, an open spear is easy to block, but a hidden arrow is hard to guard against.

Yet this time Wei Tu didn’t bother to answer patiently like before. With a sharp cry—"Curse Ghost Blood Escape!"—his body blurred into a ghostly shadow and shot straight toward Lüqiu Jinyuan.

The next moment, the Second Mountain Lord and Fu Zhizhou also rushed out, blocking Elder Guang, who was about to come to Jinyuan’s aid.

Two battlefields erupted at once.

"Just you? You’re not enough to stop this prince."

Seeing Wei Tu charge, Jinyuan’s eyes flashed with scorn.

Before the fight he had been cautious of ambush, but that was not out of respect for enemies like Wei Tu.

In his heart, no one at the same realm was his match.

All his caution was for one thing—his own life.

"Crimson Spirit Wings… spread!"

Jinyuan let out a cold snort. Behind him, his cyan wings flushed red.

The instant they spread wide, his figure vanished and reappeared a thousand zhang away, far beyond Wei Tu’s strike.

At the same time, Elder Guang—moments ago trapped by the Second Mountain Lord and the others—appeared in his arms.

In the blink of an eye, Wei Tu’s careful ambush and split-battle plan was broken apart by Jinyuan’s exquisite escape art.

But Wei Tu showed no panic. His face stayed calm, as if this was already within his expectations.

'What gives him that confidence?'

Jinyuan studied him closely, uneasy. Should he keep fighting, or withdraw while he still could?

If it were his usual self, retreat would be the safer choice. But he couldn’t bear to let the Soul-Devouring Wood slip away.

And leaving such a threat alive was also a grave mistake.

If possible, he wanted to end it all here.

But before he could even finish weighing his options, Wei Tu had already lunged at him the instant he reappeared.

His delay was less than a blink.

"Body Refinement, fourth tier, mid stage?"

From Wei Tu’s aura, Jinyuan sensed terrifying physical strength.

That was how Wei Tu’s blood escape speed had caught up with his Crimson Spirit Wings.

And those wings weren’t some ordinary movement art—this was space escape!

In simple terms, it wasn’t just moving from one point to another. It was leaping through space itself.

"Impossible!"

Jinyuan’s eyes widened in shock.

How could a mortal cut down an immortal?

That was exactly the feeling Wei Tu gave him.

It was as if a mortal’s legs had suddenly become faster than a cultivator’s flight.

The Crimson Spirit Wings were an innate divine ability of the Lüqiu clan’s ancestor, the Nine-Feng God.

As a pureblood heir, he had inherited this gift.

The Nine-Feng God might not have been as lofty as true dragons or phoenixes, but it was still a top-ranked true spirit, its innate powers recorded as near to immortal arts.

And yet… even knowing Wei Tu’s power came from the fourth-tier body refinement, the shock he felt in this moment was overwhelming.

"Escape!"

Seeing Wei Tu’s strike closing in, Jinyuan’s will surged. His wings flared, and again he vanished to reappear a thousand zhang away.

He was half-demon. His flesh was stronger than most Nascent Souls. But to clash head-on with a body refiner was sheer folly.

"Withdraw first…"

He looked back at Wei Tu, teeth clenched. He gave up the idea of a prolonged duel.

Body refiners were outliers.

He was near invincible among mid Nascent Souls, but against a dual-cultivator of body and magic like Wei Tu, his odds weren’t good.

And Wei Tu had allies coming.

But—

Just as he resolved to flee, Wei Tu was already upon him. Like a beast, he swung a fist down!

Boom!

Jinyuan’s mana shield cracked and shattered. His body was flung like a severed kite, blood spraying.

'No… his speed, it’s faster than before, by ten percent. He’s closing in even quicker!'

'And that strike… it carried the full weight of a late Nascent Soul’s blow.'

Jinyuan’s heart sank.

The most terrifying foe was the one whose limits you didn’t know.

By his calculation, once he teleported with the Crimson Spirit Wings, Wei Tu would need half a breath to burst forward with blood escape and catch up.

But now Wei Tu had reached him in less than that, landing a devastating strike.

It was deliberate—he had been holding back before, hiding his true speed just to set this up.

'It was Wu Fang. Wu Fang must have exposed my secret!'

The thought raced through Jinyuan’s mind, and he finally understood how Wei Tu could anticipate the flaw of his Crimson Spirit Wings.

Wu Fang, as his split body, couldn’t use the Crimson Spirit Wings to flee. But he could still borrow part of the divine ability’s power to leap through space and kill.

And Wei Tu, the man who had slain Wu Fang, how could he not be on guard against this very divine art?

'This Wei Tu fights like a seasoned veteran. Before the battle, he deliberately spared Elder Guang—not only to lure me here but also to force me into saving Elder Guang, making me split my focus in combat…'

The thought made Jinyuan’s face darken to the extreme.

Now it was clear—without the full use of the Crimson Spirit Wings, he was no match for Wei Tu.

If he abandoned Elder Guang, his escape speed with the wings would surely increase another level.

The time saved would be small—just a fraction of a moment—but in a clash of experts, that fraction could decide victory and defeat.

But if he refused to abandon Elder Guang…

Taking another blow head-on from this fourth-tier body refiner would leave him grievously wounded.

Then, escaping from this battlefield would not be easy.

'Besides these two paths… there’s one more!'

His eyes flashed cold. Tossing Elder Guang aside, he called out for him to beware of Wei Tu. Then he spread his wings and dove straight toward the Second Mountain Lord and Fu Zhizhou.

Pawn against pawn.

Middle piece against upper piece.

That was his strategy now.

If he could kill the Second Mountain Lord and Fu Zhizhou before Wei Tu killed Elder Guang, then the tide could turn.

Once those two died, he and Elder Guang together could surround and finish Wei Tu, this dual cultivator of body and magic.

Jinyuan believed Elder Guang could hold Wei Tu back for that short span of time.

Even if he failed and everything collapsed, at least he wouldn’t bear the charge of patricide.

But—

Just as he used the Crimson Spirit Wings twice and closed in on the Second Mountain Lord and Fu Zhizhou, his divine sense behind him suddenly caught a shocking scene—Elder Guang’s body torn apart, blood scattering across the sky.

All within a single breath!

"Law of Heaven and Earth?"

Jinyuan stared in horror at the technique Wei Tu had used to cut Elder Guang down.

Wei Tu now loomed like a god or devil, dozens of zhang tall, floating in midair, exuding terrifying mana.

Never had Jinyuan imagined that besides his monstrous body refinement, Wei Tu’s grasp of divine abilities and secret arts was just as profound, far beyond the ordinary.

Alone, the Law of Heaven and Earth might not be enough to kill someone of Elder Guang’s level.

But if backed by such crushing physical power, closing in fast, and then unleashed in a single overwhelming strike—even a late Nascent Soul expert would be hard-pressed to survive it.

How much less a man whose flaws Wei Tu had already laid bare.

"Father!"

Grief stabbed through Jinyuan’s chest. Since childhood he had hated Elder Guang, but he had also longed for his father’s approval.

Now, seeing this closest of kin cut down, his anguish was indescribable.

But Jinyuan knew when to rage and when to retreat with reason.

This battle was lost—he had fallen into Wei Tu’s trap, defeated by hidden strength.

Without Elder Guang at his side, he could not keep fighting.

Yet just then—

The world around him for dozens of li suddenly turned into a sea of ghostly blue fire.

And at his very feet, a frosty lotus quietly began to bloom.

"This range…"

His heart sank. The Crimson Spirit Wings could only carry him ten li at most.

That meant each escape would still leave him trapped within the fire domain, forced to pause twice—losing at least one full breath of time.

At any other time, he wouldn’t have feared the lotus’ binding force. A few strikes would shatter it.

But now was different!

For within this blue fire domain, the Second Mountain Lord and Fu Zhizhou waited like hungry wolves, while beyond the flames, Wei Tu was already closing in.

Neither the Second Mountain Lord, nor Fu Zhizhou, nor even the hidden Cao Mi could stand alone against him.

But when a mighty man falters, even mortals can strike him down. How much more three Nascent Soul cultivators?

If they delayed him even a little, Wei Tu would arrive. And then there would be no escape.

"Fight!"

Grinding his teeth, Jinyuan began to burn his ancestral blood, making his last desperate gamble.

Cry! Cry!

Twin phoenix cries rang out. From the fire domain rose a monstrous bird, its body red and blue, its three heads blazing like a divine phoenix.

"A three-headed Nine-Phoenix God?"

"As expected of a pureblood heir of the Lüqiu clan."

The Second Mountain Lord’s eyes flickered with shock. But as a mid Nascent Soul expert, he felt no fear.

Muttering a spell, he sent more than ten handseals hurtling toward the three-headed beast.

Rustle! Rustle!

Instantly, five ghastly demons appeared around Jinyuan’s transformed body. Each carried a mountain on its shoulders and hurled it down upon him.

The Five-Ghost Mountain-Carrying Art!

This was a profound spell the Second Mountain Lord had cultivated for over a thousand years. Normally, he would never spend the cost to use it.

But now, for the promise of the Longevity Pill offered by Lüqiu Qingfeng, he unleashed it without hesitation.