In an instant, nine powerhouses locked down the space around Lan Xiaobu and Zhuo Xuantian. The combined domains of nine Ninth Turn Sages faintly enveloped Lan Xiaobu.
At that moment, Lan Xiaobu had just finished setting up all his array flags, bringing Jiu Shuo Void City’s entire array system under his control. He saw clearly that the city housed sixteen Ninth Turn Sages, yet only nine had come, meaning seven weren’t from here.
Of course, that wasn’t certain, perhaps some of those seven felt nine were enough to handle him and didn’t bother showing up.
“Tell us, which planet are you from?” a yellow-robed powerhouse asked. He was fair-faced and beardless, his aura refined, his strength no less than Shan Bu’ang’s.
Seeing nine Ninth Turn Sages surround them, Zhuo Xuantian actually felt relieved. He’d witnessed Lan Xiaobu’s power, his main worry now was the city’s entrapment array. If Lan Xiaobu could break it, they’d face little danger today.
His earlier thinking had been off. Jiu Shuo Void City’s full might, when combined, was indeed seven or eight times Da Mo Void Star’s. But no one here would think dealing with him and Lan Xiaobu warranted calling in every allied planet, right? If Lan Xiaobu took out these nine before reinforcements arrived, they might seize the upper hand.
Lan Xiaobu had crushed Yong Ye Sage with ease, and back then his array wasn’t even active. Now, with Jiu Shuo Void City’s top figure, Ji Yige, absent, an activated array might just handle these nine.
As for whether Lan Xiaobu had set up an array here, Zhuo Xuantian trusted his read of the man, he’d definitely done it. If Zhuo Xuantian could sense it, it wouldn’t deserve to be called an array.
The yellow-robed man questioned Lan Xiaobu to trace his origins. Whatever happened next, this wouldn’t end with just killing Lan Xiaobu. If anyone could break the rules here and get off with a simple execution, what would become of Jiu Shuo Void City’s authority?
It wasn’t like strong cultivators hadn’t killed here before, but their planets were always obliterated. For the past ten thousand years, no one dared defy the city’s rules.
Lan Xiaobu said calmly, “I wonder why you’re all after me. Is it just might makes right? That’d be fine by me.”
“You killed two deacons in Jiu Shuo Void City and dare ask why? Heh,” a black-robed elder stepped forward with a cold snort, his tone thick with killing intent.
“Oh, so if your deacons try to kill me, I can’t fight back?” Lan Xiaobu’s voice remained even.
He was puzzled, shouldn’t they just attack? Why all this chatter? If they didn’t move soon, he’d strike first. He’d already prepped his Rift Rule Wheel Pattern, ready to reap one or two the moment they acted.
“You killed a shopkeeper here, and we can’t kill you for that?” the black-robed elder’s tone grew harsher.
Lan Xiaobu turned to Zhuo Xuantian, “Sect Master Zhuo, something’s off. Don’t they usually attack right away? Why so much talk?”
Zhuo Xuantian transmitted, “That’s Xing Mopo, said to cultivate the Lesser Karma Path.”
As realization hit Lan Xiaobu, a short, stout man behind Xing Mopo grumbled, “Mopo, enough already. Don’t waste our time for your sake. Ninth Turn Sages aren’t just here, plenty elsewhere to kill.”
His tone suggested Xing Mopo aimed to perfect her Karma Path by killing a Ninth Turn Sage.
Lan Xiaobu said coolly, “That shopkeeper tried to seize my friend with murderous intent. Should I have let my friend die without acting? Besides, I’m not the only one who’s killed here. I saw someone else kill a cultivator unwilling to sell his technique. Was that cultivator just supposed to die?”
This guy wanted to pin a karmic cause on him? Keep dreaming.
“Haha…” Xing Mopo laughed, “In Jiu Shuo Void City, anyone with a city travel token can kill one tokenless cultivator every century without reason, that’s our rule.”
Lan Xiaobu was stunned, such shameless rules? Clearly, it encouraged outsiders to earn a token, likely through means benefiting the city. He didn’t need to ask how.
“Anything else to say?” Seeing Lan Xiaobu silenced, Xing Mopo’s killing momentum surged.
Lan Xiaobu sighed, “I’ve seen shamelessness, but you lot take it to a new level. I, Lan Xiaobu, declare a rule: from now on, anyone attacking Jiu Shuo Void City’s lord mansion won’t face the entrapment array. As for you, die…”
With that, he threw a punch without hesitation, his Longevity Domain roaring out as his entrapment divine array activated.
This was a life-or-death battle, Lan Xiaobu unleashed his Rift Rule Wheel Pattern from the start.
Boom! Under the Rift Rule Wheel Pattern and his Longevity Domain, Xing Mopo’s domain shattered instantly. Though hers overlapped with the other eight Ninth Turn Sages’, Lan Xiaobu’s strike tore hers alone, leaving the others untouched.
“Attack…” Seeing Lan Xiaobu strike first, the Jiu Shuo Void City Sages’ rage erupted. When had an outsider dared such arrogance here?
“Pfft! Pfft!” Blood sprayed, a suffocating aura filling the city.
Zhuo Xuantian trembled, he saw it clearly, the blood mist wasn’t from the city’s Ninth Turn powerhouses but from onlookers. Lan Xiaobu’s entrapment array struck indiscriminately, heedless of affiliation.
Perhaps others thought it was the city’s array, but Zhuo Xuantian knew it was Lan Xiaobu’s, its subtle, oppressive death aura familiar, he’d hijacked the city’s entire system.
“Jiu Shuo Void City’s out to kill us all…” A Second Turn Sage, chest slashed by a spatial blade, flew back with a shrill cry, unaware Lan Xiaobu triggered it.
Lan Xiaobu had restraint, he only wounded non-city folk, sparing their lives. His targets were the city lord’s mansion powerhouses, elders, and deacons.
“Kill them…” As people realized no hiding spot was safe from the array’s relentless assault, death was just a matter of time. Better to fight and break even.
Boom! After his Rift Rule Wheel Pattern ripped Xing Mopo’s domain, she couldn’t even unleash her strongest technique before being torn apart, her world plundered by Lan Xiaobu.
Meanwhile, the other eight Ninth Turn Sages’ attacks breached Lan Xiaobu’s Longevity Domain, sending him reeling, his consciousness throbbing. But they hadn’t gone all out, merely breaking his domain without harming him.
As Lan Xiaobu looted Xing Mopo’s world, a towering Ninth Turn powerhouse roared, “This guy’s half-step Eternal Realm! All out, no one…”
Before “one” finished, a terrifying shredding blade struck, forcing him to stop and counter. He found its rules elusive, unable to devise a solid defense in that breath.
“Everyone, attack! Only targeting Jiu Shuo Void City folk stops the array…” Someone finally cracked the trick, strike the city’s people, and the array became a decoration.
If no mansion targets were near, just charge the lord’s mansion with killing intent, same result.
Now, they grasped Lan Xiaobu’s earlier “rule.”
The eight Ninth Turn Sages unleashed their treasures on Lan Xiaobu. Though he’d caught them off guard and killed one, facing eight simultaneous attacks spiked his pressure.
Lan Xiaobu knew he had to lean on the array. Earlier, he’d aimed its brunt at the city’s lesser forces, now, with everyone realizing attacking the city negated its threat, he could redirect its killing force here. Take out these eight, and razing Jiu Shuo Void City would be a breeze.
