Chapter 279 - 140: The Stone Stele Appears

The atmosphere instantly grew taut.

Just then, the sound of something tearing through the air rang out once more!

A figure soared through the air and landed, dressed in a light-blue, cloud-patterned Daoist Robe. A "Penglai" Jade Token hung from his waist.

Another disciple from the Penglai Sect had arrived.

The newcomer was a young man of about twenty-one or twenty-two. He was handsome, but his eyes held a hint of arrogance.

He swept his gaze over the scene, his brow furrowed.

"Shi Podang, what’s going on here?"

Shi Podang was just about to speak when Xiao Qingxue cut him off.

Xiao Qingxue suddenly stepped forward. She spoke with extreme speed, yet every word was crystal clear.

"Senior Brother, Senior Brother Shi Podang of your sect has been hunting my Main Courtyard’s Junior Brother Liang Cheng. He chased him all the way from the swamp region to this very spot, intending to silence him for good."

"My fellow senior brothers from the Main Courtyard, Ye Zhiqiu, Lu Zheng, and Leng Feng, rushed here to intervene, but Senior Brother Shi Podang was still determined to attack."

She paused, then turned to Shi Podang. "If I may ask, Senior Brother Shi, Junior Brother Liang is only at the True Essence Realm. What could he have possibly done to offend you, a True Gang Peak prodigy from the Penglai Sect, so much that you would hunt him down without any mercy?"

Her account was perfectly organized, making the cause and effect clear. The implications were self-evident.

After hearing her out, the young man from the Penglai Sect turned his gaze to Shi Podang, his eyes turning cold.

"Shi Podang, you chased a mere True Essence Realm disciple from the Main Courtyard all the way here, and you still haven’t managed to finish the job?"

He shook his head, his tone filled with unconcealed disappointment.

"Utterly useless."

Shi Podang’s face instantly flushed crimson and veins bulged on his forehead, but he clenched his jaw and said nothing.

This man was Ren Jingyu, one of the leaders among the Penglai Sect disciples on this trip. His Cultivation had already reached True Gang Perfection, and he was at the Half-Step Breaking Mortality Realm.

Arrogant as Shi Podang was, he knew he was no match for Ren Jingyu.

Ren Jingyu looked away from him and turned to Lu Zheng, saying coolly, "This is an internal matter for my Penglai Sect. We will handle it according to our own rules. Are you trying to overstep your bounds?"

With these words, he casually dismissed the conflict at hand and even shifted the blame onto Lu Zheng and the other Main Courtyard disciples. It was completely unreasonable and utterly domineering.

Lu Zheng’s expression darkened, and he was about to speak.

"Senior Brother!"

Xiao Qingxue suddenly pointed to a corner of the distant crowd. "Shi Jun is over there! He tried to kill me earlier, violating the Main Courtyard’s iron-clad rule that fellow disciples must not harm each other. I ask you, Senior Brother, to uphold justice!"

The Main Courtyard disciples breathed a collective sigh of relief, silently praising Xiao Qingxue’s cleverness in changing the subject. They all looked in the direction she pointed and saw Shi Jun, his face pale, trying to shrink back into the crowd.

A cold glint flashed in Lu Zheng’s eyes.

’Shi Podang is from the Penglai Sect; I can’t touch him for now. But Shi Jun is a disciple of the Main Courtyard!’

"Seize him!"

Lu Zheng moved like a bolt of lightning, lunging straight for Shi Jun!

Horrified, Shi Jun shot backward, shrieking, "Cousin, save me—!!"

"Insolent!"

Shi Podang roared, drawing his Golden Scale Sword. A blast of Sword Aura shot out, cutting off Lu Zheng’s path!

’He could have chosen not to save Shi Jun, but with everyone watching, if he couldn’t even protect his own cousin, how could he, Shi Podang, ever show his face in the Penglai Sect again?’

Lu Zheng drew his heavy saber, shattering the Sword Aura with a single slash, his momentum unbroken!

Shi Podang’s eyes grew cold. "You’re really going to stick your neck out for him?"

"He is my junior brother."

Lu Zheng’s voice was calm, yet it held an unshakeable resolve.

"Fine!"

Shi Podang was so furious he laughed. "Then I’ll cut you down first before I kill him!"

Despite being at the True Gang Late Stage, Shi Podang showed no fear in the face of Lu Zheng, who was at True Gang Peak. Such was the arrogance of a Penglai Sect disciple.

Before his words had even faded, the glow from his Golden Scale Sword erupted!

"Po Jun!"

He thrust his sword, and the Sword Aura condensed into a golden meteor, tearing through the air straight for Lu Zheng’s throat!

Lu Zheng’s eyes sharpened as his heavy saber left its sheath.

The blade was black and seemingly edgeless, yet it emanated a domineering Mental Realm as heavy as a mountain, capable of sundering anything in its path.

"Kai Mountain!"

He brought the saber down in a simple, unadorned slash, relying on nothing but the purest form of power.

"CLANG—!!!"

Saber and sword met, and the clang of metal exploded like thunder!

A violent shockwave erupted from the point of impact, cracking the ground and sending rubble flying.

The surrounding crowd instinctively fell back several steps. Those with weaker Cultivation felt their Qi Blood churn unpleasantly.

Shi Podang staggered, but Lu Zheng stood firm, saber in hand. The ground beneath him sank three inches, yet he hadn’t retreated a single step.

"A fine Saber Technique."

Shi Podang’s expression was grim. The Golden Scale Sword in his hand vibrated faintly.

’He had put seventy percent of his strength into that last strike, yet his opponent blocked it with a single slash?’

Lu Zheng wasted no time, raising his heavy saber once more!

"Broken River!"

The light of the saber flashed like a bolt of silk, each slash as heavy as a surging river, coming one after another without pause.

Each slash was immensely powerful, forcing Shi Podang to meet every blow with his sword.

"CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!"

The sound of clashing metal was incessant.

Shi Podang’s expression grew increasingly ugly. ’How could he, a proud prodigy of the Penglai Sect, be fighting on even terms with a mere disciple from the Main Courtyard?’

’Even though his opponent was a minor Realm higher—which only made his own ability to match him more incredible—he still couldn’t accept it.’

In that instant, Shi Podang’s aura surged again, and Lu Zheng’s expression changed.

Ten moves later.

Lu Zheng abruptly changed his technique. He raised his heavy saber high overhead as the Gang Qi around him gathered wildly.

"Peerless Peak!"

This slash contained the entirety of his Cultivation.

The saber had yet to fall, but its crushing power was already pressing down!

Shi Podang’s pupils shrank. Not daring to hold anything back, he unleashed the full power of his Golden Scale Sword. Its light flared, and the image of layered scales appeared along the blade.

Just as the two were about to unleash their finishing blows—

"VMMMM—!!!"

At the Secret Realm Center, the pillar of crimson-gold light erupted once more!

This time, the faint phantom of an ancient stone stele appeared within the pillar of light. The inscriptions on it seemed to writhe like dragons and snakes, radiating a boundless, ancient aura as vast as the sea!

Ren Jingyu’s pupils contracted, and a scorching light instantly blazed in his eyes.

’Sect squabbles? Main Courtyard versus Penglai? In the face of a true opportunity from the Secret Realm, none of it mattered!’

’This so-called Half-Step Breaking Mortality is bullshit. As long as I haven’t entered the Core Formation Realm and truly achieved Breaking Mortality, I’m still just an Outer Disciple of the Sect.’

’How many brilliant prodigies had been stopped right before the Core Formation Realm, wasting their entire lives in stagnation?’

"Halt!"

He threw himself between Lu Zheng and Shi Podang, forcefully blocking both their attacks. His Qi Blood churned within him, but he managed to stop them. Then, he spat out a single word.

"Go!"

He acted decisively, his body transforming into a streak of light as he shot toward the center of the pillar!

Shi Podang shot Liang Cheng a venomous glare, grabbed the limp form of Shi Jun, and turned to chase after Ren Jingyu.

In the blink of an eye, they were gone.

Only then did Lu Zheng sheathe his saber and turn to Liang Cheng. "Little Junior Brother, are you alright?"

Liang Cheng shook his head, breathing an inward sigh of relief. ’If that light hadn’t appeared at the center, the situation just now probably wouldn’t have ended peacefully.’

"Thank you, First Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother."

Leng Feng nodded slightly, his reply succinct. "It was our duty."

Ye Zhiqiu laughed. "Alright, we’re all together now. That phantom stele must be the greatest opportunity in this Secret Realm. We have to go!"

Lu Zheng gazed toward the pillar of light, his expression solemn. "Let’s go. We must be careful."

The five of them exchanged nods, then shot into the air, speeding toward the center of the crimson-gold pillar of light.