Emperor Fuyuan no longer had the mood to heed Lan Xiaobu’s words. The ninth-level trapping and killing immortal array had been activated, and even though he was adept in array techniques, he had to focus entirely on dealing with it. Skilled as he was, he could only set up seventh-level immortal arrays; ninth-level arrays were still far beyond his reach.
This ninth-level trapping and killing immortal array was clearly no ordinary one. Waves of killing intent surged towards him, one after another, making Emperor Fuyuan feel helpless as he couldn’t locate his opponent to strike back.
If Lan Xiaobu weren’t controlling this ninth-level trapping array from the side, Fuyuan could have found the safest position and slowly broken the array. Now, he had no chance to find a safe spot to dismantle it. Lan Xiaobu, manipulating the array to attack him, simply wouldn’t allow it.
His injuries continued to worsen, eventually cutting deep into muscle and bone. Emperor Fuyuan knew he had truly capsized this time; he had to escape.
“You’re called Lan Xiaobu, right? Rest assured, once I leave this place, I, Fuyuan, will raze your immortal domain to the ground, I swear not a single ant will be left…” He swallowed his next words as a blade of light sliced across his waist, bringing forth a spray of blood.
“You think you can escape after entering your Grandpa Bu’s array? Are you used to daydreaming in broad daylight?” Lan Xiaobu mocked.
Fuyuan, as if he hadn’t heard, activated a talisman. A burst of blood-red light enveloped him, and in an instant, he vanished.
But it was only for a moment. The next second, Fuyuan tumbled back from the void, reappearing in the trapping and killing immortal array.
“A seventh-level void immortal array…” Fuyuan’s face paled. A void array pattern, and a seventh-level one at that, was beyond his divine sense’s detection.
This guy could actually escape from his ninth-level array? Lan Xiaobu was shocked. Fortunately, he had added a seventh-level void immortal array, or this guy might have truly gotten away.
Lan Xiaobu didn’t dare to drag things out with Emperor Fuyuan. He pushed the ninth-level trapping and killing array to its limit, and with his Seven-Tone Halberd conjuring waves of halberd light, he charged into the array.
He could afford to get injured, but he absolutely couldn’t let Emperor Fuyuan escape.
Trapped again by the array, Emperor Fuyuan was frantic. Lan Xiaobu feared he’d escape again, but Fuyuan knew he’d only had that one chance. That opportunity was thwarted by Lan Xiaobu’s seventh-level void array, leaving him no further chances to flee. If Lan Xiaobu stayed outside the array, Fuyuan would only be slowly worn down to death.
Seeing Lan Xiaobu enter the array, clearly worried about another escape, Fuyuan no longer cared about the severity of his injuries. He charged madly at Lan Xiaobu.
Several blades of light from the ninth-level array crisscrossed, shredding one of Fuyuan’s legs. Yet, as if oblivious, he swung his Nine Heavens Quicksand Blade, locking onto Lan Xiaobu and slashing down.
Lan Xiaobu knew this was a fight to the death. He threw down an array flag, causing the space around Fuyuan to freeze instantly. Though the Nine Heavens Quicksand Blade carried a chilling killing intent, its trajectory was no longer traceless, now marked by clear blade traces.
Lan Xiaobu didn’t dodge. His Seven-Tone Halberd unleashed waves of rule-based aura, blasting towards Fuyuan. Seeing the terrifying killing intent of the halberd, Fuyuan was certain Lan Xiaobu was merely an Immortal King, not even an Immortal Venerable.
Moreover, he was sure that although his blade’s killing intent was suppressed by the ninth-level array, it could still strike Lan Xiaobu first. If he killed Lan Xiaobu, even if heavily injured, he could slowly break the array.
Something was wrong. Fuyuan was horrified to find that Lan Xiaobu’s thrust, which had been several zhang away, hadn’t even advanced a few inches before his blade, yet it was now right in front of him.
“Pfft!” A burst of blood exploded from his chest, tearing his dantian apart.
Emperor Fuyuan’s Nine Heavens Quicksand Blade halted. He stared blankly at Lan Xiaobu as the ninth-level killing array’s blades tore through his body.
He couldn’t comprehend how Lan Xiaobu had grasped a trace of spatial laws. That halberd clearly carried hints of spatial divine abilities.
No, that halberd must have used space to simulate the aura of spatial rules…
Fuyuan desperately wished time would pause, letting him figure this out. But a sharp arrow pierced his brow, shattering his sea of consciousness.
Even in death, Emperor Fuyuan refused to close his eyes. Below Emperor Qi, he was the greatest, even dreaming of one day replacing Qi to become one of the Four Emperors’ Palace masters. Even if he couldn’t replace Qi, it wasn’t impossible for Moxuan South Continent to have a fifth emperor’s palace in the future.
Yet today, he died in such a remote corner, utterly unwilling.
Having killed Fuyuan, Lan Xiaobu breathed a sigh of relief. At least from now on, no one in the Slanted Void Palace would dare to chatter in his presence.
With a wave of his hand, he took Fuyuan’s ring. A ball of flame reduced Fuyuan to ashes.
If he weren’t worried about exposing his Heavenly Change technique, Lan Xiaobu would have disguised himself as Fuyuan and returned to the Slanted Void Palace. Since he’d already made an enemy of Emperor Qi, they were foes regardless.
After slaying Fuyuan, the area was completely shrouded in poisonous mist. Lan Xiaobu didn’t dismantle his ninth-level trapping and killing array or even retrieve the low-grade immortal vein he’d embedded. He planned to stay here for a year, who knew what might happen?
Fuyuan’s ring surely contained a heap of treasures, but Lan Xiaobu had no time to check. He needed to find the Slanted Void Mushroom.
He’d seen the Slanted Void Mushroom in the Slanted Survival Notes. It resembled an ordinary mushroom, shaped like an umbrella but golden in colour.
Lan Xiaobu didn’t know its use, and the notes didn’t elaborate. However, they mentioned that the mushroom only appeared in the poisonous mist.
Without using an antidote immortal pill, Lan Xiaobu operated his Immortality Art, allowing him to survive in the mist. Though his divine sense was strong and specially refined, it was suppressed to a hundred-metre range in the mist. For ordinary cultivators, exceeding twenty metres would be impressive.
The mist corroded his clothes with a crackling sound. Lan Xiaobu could imagine that even with antidote pills, searching for the Slanted Void Mushroom wouldn’t be easy for ordinary cultivators.
After searching for an hour, he finally spotted a glimmer of gold at the edge of his divine sense. He hurried towards it, but soon found that no matter how fast he moved, the gold seemed to drift further away.
That gold was likely the Slanted Void Mushroom, but it was oddly elusive. At this rate, he’d never catch it. There must be a specific way to collect it.
Continuing his search, after another incense stick’s time, he spotted a second Slanted Void Mushroom. With his divine sense suppressed almost to nothing in the mist, he couldn’t lock onto it. This time, he used his Golden Light Escape Technique. The几十-metre distance was negligible under this technique, and he reached out to grab the mushroom.
To his disappointment, he grasped nothing. It wasn’t that the mushroom escaped faster than him; he likely saw a mirage, not the real thing…
If it was a mirage, it was like…
Lan Xiaobu thought of a mirage at sea. Could the Slanted Void Mushroom he sensed be a kind of illusion?
The mist was too heavy and cold, limiting his divine sense’s reach.
When he sensed a third Slanted Void Mushroom, he didn’t rush to grab it. Instead, he took out his Soul-Refining Yin Pot.
This pot was ideal for dealing with yin energy. If he used it to clear the surrounding yin energy, his divine sense could reach further, perhaps even lock onto the golden mushroom.
After deploying the pot, Lan Xiaobu was delighted to find that with a slight thought, it absorbed the endless yin energy in the mist. As the yin energy was cleared, his divine sense strengthened rapidly. He locked onto the third mushroom and easily grabbed it.
Examining the first Slanted Void Mushroom, Lan Xiaobu wondered how it formed, appearing with the poisonous mist outside the Slanted Void Station. Like mushrooms growing after rain, it emerged quickly.
If the mist was its nourishment, could the mushroom be poisonous?
After the first, he soon used the pot to obtain a second mushroom. To his delight, while finding a third, he discovered a purple immortal fruit nearby, which he recognised as a Purple Vein Immortal Fruit.
No wonder many cultivators came here. Though he didn’t yet know the value of the Slanted Void Mushroom, the Purple Vein Immortal Fruit was invaluable. He could use the pot to catch the mushroom; others surely had their methods.
As he prepared to search for a fourth, he noticed a grey bead in the Soul-Refining Yin Pot.
Holding it, a chilling yin aura swept over him. He realised the bead was the condensed yin energy from the mist.
He didn’t know its use, but since the pot refined it, it might be valuable. He decided to keep it for now.
