“What?”
Yuanjing and the other three stood dumbfounded, staring at Lu Zheng, who hadn’t fully unleashed his cloud techniques to fend off the ghost fire.
“What kind of charm is this?” Guangyue asked, stunned. “Has Brother Lu mastered a new skill?”
“Just a small fire-avoidance technique, nothing worth mentioning,” Lu Zheng said modestly, waving his hand as if it were no big deal.
Liu Qingyan, standing to the side, struggled to suppress a smile.
Lu Zheng had only recently learned this charm from the *Chisongzi Zuo Jie Yushui Dan Jing*, yet he acted as if he had known it for ages.
However…
Liu Qingyan glanced at Lu Zheng’s profile, her eyes sparkling with admiration.
Lu Zheng hadn’t had the scripture for long, yet he could already wield the fire-avoidance technique with such proficiency that even the formidable Jade Phosphor Fire couldn’t touch him.
While Lu Zheng was amazed by Liu Qingyan’s speed in refining elixirs, she was equally astonished by his remarkable talent and rapid progress.
It should be noted that mastering a fire-avoidance technique doesn’t mean one can be completely immune to fire. It depends on the fire’s quality and the skill of the one controlling it.
For instance, in this case, while the white-faced fierce ghost was powerful, it wasn’t overwhelmingly superior to Lu Zheng, and the Jade Phosphor Fire wasn’t of exceptional quality, allowing Lu Zheng to perfectly counter it.
If it were the Three Pure Ones wielding even ordinary flames, they could likely reduce Lu Zheng to ashes.
Back to the matter at hand, Lu Zheng ignored the Jade Phosphor Fire and charged straight into the battlefield, shocking both sides.
With the fire-avoidance technique in hand, Lu Zheng could fight at full strength, making him the most formidable reinforcement on the battlefield.
“By the Supreme Command, Flying Cloud Breaks Evil, Strike!”
“By the Supreme Command, Flowing Cloud Slays Demons, Break!”
Brandishing his peachwood sword with a flourish, Lu Zheng used it as a medium to unleash a barrage of charms: Flying Cloud Breaks Evil, Flowing Cloud Slays Demons, True Cloud Charm, and more, all aimed directly at the fierce ghost.
At the same time, Lu Zheng formed another seal with his hand, casting *Wind and Rain Flying Immortal*.
In the next moment, clouds gathered above the black bamboo forest, enveloping the surroundings, and a light drizzle began to fall.
The power of *Wind and Rain Flying Immortal* lay not in the rainwater, which wasn’t extraordinary, but in Lu Zheng’s true qi mixed within, which had a suppressive effect on the ghost fire.
Though it couldn’t extinguish the Jade Phosphor Fire, it alleviated some of the pressure on Yuanjing and the others.
That was enough…
“Amitabha! Great Sun Illumination!”
“By the Supreme Command, Flying Cloud Breaks Evil, Strike!”
“Open for me, Slash!”
“Ink into Painting, Break! Break! Break!”
A beam of Buddhist light, a wisp of cloud qi, and two streams of incense-infused mana broke through the Jade Phosphor Fire’s encirclement, combining to strike the fierce ghost.
“Die!”
The white-faced fierce ghost roared, its eyes glowing with eerie green light. Its ghostly aura surged, and waves of dark green fire poured out.
In the next moment, a surge of demonic qi rose, weaving through the sea of fire, protecting all five under three hazy white shadows, blocking most of the ghost fire.
“Miss Liu?” Guangyue was astonished, and Yuanjing was equally shocked.
They had thought Liu Qingyan was just an ordinary fox spirit, but today she unleashed her power, proving she was no weaker than them.
While fending off the ghost fire, Liu Qingyan smiled softly, “Qingyan isn’t skilled in combat, but I can provide some protection for everyone.”
“Thank you, Sister-in-law, that’s more than enough!”
Xin Zhanting laughed heartily, his body suddenly swelling. A tiger’s roar echoed through the heavens and earth.
In the next moment, a blade qi sliced through the air, as if a fierce tiger had torn through the void, instantly pouncing before the white-faced fierce ghost.
“Swish!”
The blade qi cut through the ghost mist, tearing a wound in the fierce ghost’s body.
Though the wound healed instantly, everyone clearly saw that it hadn’t blocked Xin Zhanting’s strike and had taken some damage.
“Bold! Seeking death!”
The white-faced fierce ghost glared at Lu Zheng. Its most potent weapon was the Jade Phosphor Fire, but Lu Zheng had neutralised it upon arrival, significantly weakening its advantage against the six.
“I’ll kill you first!”
The fierce ghost roared, reaching out toward Lu Zheng. A bone claw suddenly appeared, lunging at him.
The bone claw, three feet wide, gleamed with green light on its pale bones. Its five fingers spread like hooks, their tips glinting coldly.
The claw burned with phosphor fire and was shrouded in ghost mist, exuding a terrifying aura, as if it could crush Lu Zheng in one strike.
“Lu Lang, be careful!”
Liu Qingyan, startled, swung one of her fox tail shadows to share the burden.
“Perfect timing!”
Lu Zheng waved her off, giving a light shout. His left hand moved, and six red jade swords flew out from his gourd, aligning in a row. Their sword qi stretched seven or eight feet, forming a blood-red line of light that shot toward the bone claw.
“Clang, clang, clang—”
A series of collisions rang out. The red jade swords struck the core of the bone claw but failed to break it, instead being deflected one by one.
However, the bone claw was slowed, its momentum weakened.
In the next moment, Lu Zheng flicked his peachwood sword upward, and a beam of white cloud sword qi shot out, piercing the bone claw.
“Clang!”
With a soft sound, Lu Zheng stepped back three paces, but the bone claw was also repelled, a faint crack appearing at the centre of its palm.
“Hm!?”
The white-faced fierce ghost was taken aback.
When Lu Zheng first appeared, everyone called him “Junior Brother” or “Brother Lu,” and he was accompanied by a woman, looking like a novice cultivator.
The fierce ghost hadn’t taken him seriously at all.
Yet not only had he countered the Jade Phosphor Fire, but he also damaged its bone claw with a single strike?
The fierce ghost turned sharply, glaring at the four others, its face contorted with rage.
Have you all wasted your cultivation? You made me underestimate this young man’s strength!
While Lu Zheng held the fierce ghost’s attention, Yuanjing and Xin Zhanting seized the opportunity to strike.
After Xin Zhanting’s blade, the radiant relic above Guangyue’s head blazed brighter. His hand seals shifted rapidly, and the light soared, forming a swastika rune spanning thirty feet, breaking through the dark clouds and pressing down on the ghost.
The City God official splashed ink, clumps scattering into the air, merging with the drizzling rain to form black mist that surged toward the fierce ghost.
Yuanjing, wielding a long sword and stepping in the Yu Step, unleashed a relentless barrage of white cloud sword qi, like an unending rain of swords, slashing at the fierce ghost.
“Shriek!”
The ghost let out a piercing cry, unleashing a flood of ghost qi and fire. It barely broke through the combined assault and shot upward.
Was it… trying to escape?
“Jade Seal, Ascend!”
“Buzz!”
In the next moment, Lu Zheng stomped his foot, and a white cloud appeared out of nowhere, lifting him into the air. Just as the fierce ghost broke through Guangyue’s swastika light…
A giant white cloud palm, spanning fifteen to twenty feet, appeared out of thin air and slapped the ghost back down.
“White Cloud Great Hand Seal!”
