Martial Saint!

The man was dressed in golden scale armor radiating precious light, a bald old man, hailing from the Shaolin Temple, four hundred years old this year, surrounded by intense Buddhist light, and with an evident aura of a high monk.

Master Golden Light, entered the Heavenly King last year.

Lu Chenzhou's predecessor on the Heavenly Person List, known as "Master Golden Cicada," was his senior brother. Both were elders surviving from the old era, seizing the golden age for one last effort. Master Golden Light successfully broke through the sixth realm, while Master Golden Cicada failed but managed to save a life with his self-created life-saving secret skill, the "Golden Cicada Sheds Shell Divine Skill," miraculously advancing further, his strength unrivaled among Great Grandmasters.

Plum Blossom Immortal, dressed in a red training outfit, with bright eyes and white teeth, and an extraordinary aura, was an old genius of Hua Mountain. At 112 years old, she entered the Heavenly King. Those who broke through the sixth realm at around a hundred years old, with the resources of today and proper preparation, had high hopes of reaching the Absolute Peak. Their combat power was also extraordinary. Thus, both having newly entered the Heavenly King, she ranked 550, while the old monk ranked 568.

According to the Wanbang Council's regulations, all Heavenly King powerhouses could join the Elder Council but needed to complete respective trial tasks. The task for these two was to help Lu Chenzhou find a way to capture the Blood Hidden Tower expert Heart Piercing Needle·Carter Hill alive to extract more information about the Blood Hidden Tower, aiming to eliminate this scourge once and for all.

Prior Qianye Jingsan was just a Heavenly Sequence, but this was one of the supreme "Blood Hidden Five Elders" of the Blood Hidden Tower, with the first of the five elders being the master, Beichen Ghost Sword.

Plum Blossom Immortal scrutinized Lu Chenzhou.

"Mr. Lu, what is the level of your spiritual power?"

Lu Chenzhou released an invisible telekinesis.

Plum Blossom Immortal nodded slightly.

"Nearly twenty thousand wisdom, a Spiritual Great Grandmaster. It seems adequate. Against spiritual Dao experts, if the spiritual power is too weak, it can easily destroy the soul through cunning means."

Master Golden Light's eyes were calm.

"Twenty thousand? No wonder you're Mr. Lu!"

Lu Chenzhou confidently smiled, "Rest assured, even though I'm not a Heavenly King, I'm sure I won't be a hindrance."

In reality, his spiritual power had reached thirty thousand wisdom, at the level of a Middle Realm Great Grandmaster, simply concealed with the "Hidden Essence Technique" he had just recently learned.

Upon leaving the small realm, the Northern Guardian King reminded Lu Chenzhou that, aside from the Lamp Holders and the Absolute Peak of Da Xia, other Heavenly Kings of the Wanbang Council might risk being corrupted by the Evil God, and he should not be defenseless. As a focal subject of the Evil God's attention, Lu Chenzhou must learn to conceal his strength in daily life.

Therefore, after clearing the tower, he spent 1000 mid-grade primordial stones to receive instilling and learning of the "Hidden Essence Technique" from his senior brother, and after half a year, he successfully practiced up to the second layer. Observing now, the effect was quite good.

Although in terms of quality, the "Hidden Essence Technique" belonged to the supreme level, it could only be considered a small path, much easier compared to true supreme divine skills.

This secret technique consisted of six layers; reaching the second layer allowed the concealment of aura, change of disguise, and sufficient falsehood to make it difficult for ordinary Heavenly Kings to detect. The further practice improved its effectiveness, and when reaching Perfection, it could disrupt heavenly mysteries, evading most seventh-realm sorceries and tricks involving tracking and calculation.

Master Golden Light laughed:

"Let's set off. Heart Piercing Needle, being a spiritual expert, has extremely sensitive perception. This humble monk will use secret techniques upon arrival at the task location to first conceal myself and restrain him. Fellow Daoists, reveal yourselves swiftly and rendezvous with me."

The three transformed into fleeing light and vanished.

On the way, Plum Blossom Immortal telepathically communicated with Lu Chenzhou.

"Have you heard of Jade Fan Immortal Ling Susu?"

"I have."

"She wants to become Daoist couple with you."

"..."

"What do you think? Is it suitable? If it is, you can get married on a chosen day. Oh, by the way, she has a child."

"This... is not suitable."

"Then forget it, I thought it wouldn't work either. She insisted I ask anyway, just don't mind. I'm called Ling Qiaoqiao, by the way, Jade Fan Immortal is my sister... "

...

Huangshan.

Ling Susu's face turned gloomy.

"Well, it's not happening."

"Phew..."

Li Kongkong breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's all your fault. Mr. Lu must have felt you're his friend and didn't want to hurt you, so he harbored misgivings, which is why he politely declined me. There was hope, you know."

Ling Susu turned and left.

Li Kongkong was at a loss for words.

...

Eye of Truth headquarters.

"Lu Chenzhou has already set off."

"The Initial Realm King is not worrisome. Let the Blood Hidden Tower be prepared. If within ten breaths they can't kill Lu Chenzhou, retreat to minimize losses to avoid being caught by the Council's contingencies."

The hierarchs' eyes were filled with murderous intent.

"Those Council members think they've secretly isolated the Eye of Truth from snooping through supreme treasures, unknown to them. Yet, Lord Witch has sensed it nonetheless, and since it has been exposed, why not take advantage of the situation, haha..."

"If Lu Chenzhou remained in Base City, guarded by those Peak Heavenly Kings, it indeed would be difficult to kill him. But since he's headed for the wilderness himself, don't blame us."

"Heaven does not disappoint those who persist."

...

Yun Meng Lake.

A Water Mansion ruins.

An elder with skin wrinkled like tree bark opened his dim eyes; his body was shriveled like a bag of bones as he sat on the ground in a peculiar yoga pose, hands clasped together. Vast spiritual power spread like a web, covering a hundred li, perceiving even the finest details.

Heart Piercing Needle.

The last of the Blood Hidden Tower's Five Elders.

"Have they come to kill me? Two hundred thousand Prajna spiritual power; if it were before I acquired that treasure, it'd be difficult to kill this boy. But now, I can destroy with just a thought!"

Ten years ago, Heart Piercing Needle unintentionally discovered this Water Mansion ruins in Yun Meng Lake, finding it belonged to the Heart Cultivation Sect under the Heavenly Heart Sect from the Great Wilderness period.

For ten years, he broke through countless mechanisms, successfully obtaining the lineage of the sect master [Shocking Heart Hermit], refining a Heavenly Grade treasure, and advancing to the Sixth Realm. He also acquired a Seventh Rank Heaven-reaching Spirit Weapon named: [Shocking Heart Needle].

This was his greatest secret, even the Blood Hidden Building Master wasn't aware. Once he counter-kills Lu Chenzhou and the others, he could bring their heads to the Eye of Truth in exchange for a reward. If the Witch God Sect Hierarch were pleased, the position of building master would be his!

Absolute Peak is not a dream either!

Buzz—within the void,

a silver embroidery needle, thin as an ox's hair and scarcely an inch long, rippled and strange phenomena appeared around it. Upon closer inspection, this embroidery needle seemed to be only half left.

"Shocking Heart Needle, crafted from the venomous fang of a Seventh Realm [Nightmare Snake], a Heart Cultivation Spirit Weapon, containing an extremely rare [Nightmare Poison] capable of corroding the mind and even the soul's essence.

This was the famous treasure Shocking Heart Hermit used to traverse the Great Wilderness. Although it was shattered in the Divine War and could now only be called a pseudo spirit weapon, it's more than capable of killing Lu Chenzhou and others.

Without over fifty thousand Prajna spiritual power, one would die within minutes after being struck! Although Lu Chenzhou practices dual cultivation, his spiritual cultivation is far weaker than fifty thousand, surely he can't withstand it!"

...

All Nations Council, the Daoist Master of Hua Mountain · Yue Pingsheng, Shaolin leader Hui Fa Abbott, and Wanxiang Dao's Li Jin, four Heavenly King powerhouses, were also convening in a small meeting room.

Hui Fa Abbott asked:

"Is it too risky to have Lu Chenzhou participate in the hunt for the Heavenly King? After all, Golden Light and Plum Blossom aren't seasoned Heavenly Kings, and aren't steady enough to handle unexpected situations."

Li Jin smiled:

"The sharpness of a sword comes from honing; our Wanxiang Dao disciples are all tempered in this way. Abbott needn't worry, this action, Lu Chenzhou surely won't fall behind."

He knew, Abbott seemed worried about Lu Chenzhou, but in truth, he was concerned about his own newly appointed Heavenly King. Though Shaolin was a dominator of the old era, it had only 9 Heavenly King powerhouses.

No match for Wanxiang Dao.

Yue Pingsheng was also quite confident, saying: "Daoist master Ling, though newly initiated as a Heavenly King, she began practicing the supreme divine skill 'Heavenly Chopping Nine Swords' from the Grandmaster level, unparalleled in battle. In this mission, as long as Golden Light and Mr. Lu can keep Heart Piercing Needle in check, the rest will be left to her."

...

Though Lu Chenzhou still couldn't fly using the power of magnetism, he could control the sword with telekinesis as a spiritual Grandmaster. However, his speed was a bit slower, mainly because he didn't want to reveal too many cards in front of unfamiliar people.

Over the years, he had been assassinated many times.

Being cautious is never excessive.

Half a day later, the three arrived at the mission site ten li away, and after Golden Light Master hinted with his gaze, his qi mechanism retracted, like a deadwood flowing with the water.

Lu Chenzhou and Plum Blossom Fairy awaited in place.

Boom— Visit My Virtual Library Empire (MV-LEMP-YR) for more.

The water transformed into a tornado, soaring a thousand zhang into the sky, drawing waves into heaps, as a headless giant Buddha dharma form emitting golden light stood on the lake surface, across from it, a withered elder with a grim, angry expression floated in the void, surrounded by an illusory spiritual barrier, densely lined with fine cracks.

"Who are you, why assault my being?"

"Heh, Heart Piercing Needle, hiding deep indeed, fifth elder of Blood Clothes Tower... did I not say it correctly?"

The elder's expression was unchanged.

"Adding crime unjustly, why fear no words? You attack me not just to incite conflict with Po Suo Heart Cultivation, right? Obviously, this is Da Xia's ambition."

Even at this moment, he was still arguing.

Swish!

A red light streaked across the lake surface, reaching ten li in an instant; Plum Blossom Fairy focused her gaze, with a clang, raised the sword and slashed; the sword light soared, like a Grey Dragon crossing the realm, shattering the spiritual barrier with a sound.

"No less than 'Heavenly Chopping Nine Swords', second only to the 'Heavenly Swapping Saber' of the Eternal Immortal, to dispatch two Heavenly Kings just to deal with me." Heart Piercing Needle had already transformed into void, hiding in the [Spirit Realm Dimension], which only the Po Suo Heart Cultivation of the Sixth Realms could reach, avoiding this strike.

The sword light may be strong but was temporarily unable to affect him. His spiritual perception swept around, probing the surroundings. He was waiting for Lu Chenzhou to appear. With his current strength, using [Shocking Heart Needle] only had one chance; killing an ordinary Heavenly King would never be as profitable as killing Lu Chenzhou.

Sword light, Buddhist law, spiritual handprint, and other offensives intertwined together; Lu Chenzhou took a deep breath and quietly snuck into the Shadow Realm, using Hidden Essence Technique to restrain his qi mechanism, stealthily reaching the withered elder's behind. His arms bulged with muscles, tendons resembling entwining dragons, four mountain shadows emerged behind him, and the spear tip diffused with penetrating Dao essence!

Dripping Water Can Penetrate Stone!

Inside Canglang Song, Qiang Erniang hummed cheerfully. After so many years, she finally was put to use!

[Battle, rejuvenating!]

The dormant battle intent ignited, leveraging the advantage of the spirit weapon and Lu Chenzhou's strange power; even without divine effects, the spear tip was unstoppable, penetrating Heart Piercing Needle's spiritual barrier a second time, and piercing through his dry body in one go!