My disciples are all villains.

Liu Ge's voice was now hoarse. He laughed maniacally before he said, "These talismans were left behind by the mysterious elite. I'm like an immortal… When the talismans' effects are gone, I… will die as well."

Lu Zhou looked at the talismans that seemed to have melted into Liu Ge's body and shook his head. "I was expecting some treasure, but instead, it's just some arcane art."

"This is enough," Liu Ge retorted. "Brother Ji… Seems like you know the Nine-leaf stage is evil. Otherwise, why did you seal your memories away?" Liu Ge said.

"You know about my memory crystal?"

"I won't allow anyone to attain the Nine-leaf stage… It matters not that you're my old friend. If I can dissuade you, I'll naturally try to dissuade you. However, since you can't be dissuaded, I'll kill you." As soon as Liu Ge finished speaking, he moved at lightning speed, leaving only a red streak in his wake. Amidst the the shouts from the Evil Sky Pavilion's members, he charged straight at Lu Zhou.

'How fast!'

The others thought the battle would be a difficult one.

Lu Zhou suddenly raised his hand, pointing five fingers ahead. His hand shone with a blue light before a huge blue palm seal flew out and landed on Liu Ge.

Crack!

Lu Zhou clenched his fingers, holding Liu Ge in a firm grip. He could sense that Liu Ge had indeed grown stronger, but he could also feel the extraordinary power's endurance had increased. The palm seal consumed a quarter of his extraordinary power.

"Immortal?" Lu Zhou raised his hand and looked at the mummified Liu Ge. He could see talisman had melted on Liu Ge's face, making it seem as though some barbaric runes had been carved branded on him. It was a truly strange sight.

"You-you can't kill me."

"I'll try."

The five fingers tightened their grip!

The popping sound of dislocated joints rang in the air. It was a rather jarring noise.

The people of the Evil Sky Pavilion did not expect Lu Zhou to suddenly clench his hand. It was a ruthless and cold move, but it was satisfying and direct at the same time. They were moved by this. Nobody truly knew how strong a Nine-leaf cultivator was, after all. However, after witnessing Lu Zhou's technique, they were reminded again that Nine-leaf cultivators were really unimaginably powerful. Whenever they made a move, it seemed as though they were capable of destroying heaven and earth.

When the five fingers tightened into a fist, it felt as though a biscuit had been crushed. Through the palm seal, Lu Zhou could clearly feel that the Fiend Monk's Hand Seal, released through the power of past lives, had crushed Liu Ge's internal organs and ground his bones together. However, he did not receive the system notification.

Soon enough, the palm seal faded away.

Liu Ge dropped from the skies and crashed onto the ground with a boom.

'He's not dead?' Lu Zhou dove. 'Should I use a Deadly Strike Card? Doesn't seem to be worth it, though.'

Currently, Lu Zhou had about a quarter of extraordinary power left.

All of a sudden, Liu Ge's body shone with a crimson light. His bones shifted back into their positions. His body wriggled as his organs began to heal.

Above the Evil Sky Pavilion, Mingshi Yin's jaws dropped when he saw this. "What kind of f*cking arcane art is that?"

The others nodded, agreeing with Mingshi Yin's words.

"That's gross!"

"The people of Great Yan have never cultivated evil arts that bring people back from the dead. Even if it's an arcane art, I've only heard of something like a human controlling a puppet through Formation veins. I've never heard of anyone being granted immortality even if it's just for a short time."

"Those veins are the same as the ones on the coffin brought by the Roulian. Could this be an arcane art of the Other Tribes?"

"Unlikely. If the Other Tribes have such arcane arts, they would've used it a long time ago in a large scale and attacked Great Yan."

Liu Ge's trump card and technique had truly exceeded their expectations.

Lu Zhou looked down at the 'mummy' that was returning to life.

Liu Ge flipped over and spat out a mouthful of blood; his breathing was labored. However, he did not seem to be in pain. Instead, a smile could be seen on his face The talismans worked! He was invincible, an immortal! This only further proved that the mysterious elite's words were true. He looked at the skies and chuckled as he said, "I… can't die."

Lu Zhou had been thinking about Liu Ge's weakness. The coffin's occupant had said that nobody could live forever. He looked down at Liu Ge and said, "It's clear you trust the elite's warning... I'm sure he must have told you nobody can live forever."

Liu Ge felt as though he was struck by a bolt of lightning. His eyes widened as he looked up. "You've met him?!"

Lu Zhou saw the crimson light shining from the veins on Liu Ge's body. He raised a hand; Unnamed appeared in his hand.

Black runes swirled around Unnamed.

Were black and red antagonistic?

Lu Zhou remembered the inscriptions inside the Mausoleum of Swords and Emperor Yong Shou's tomb. "Did you stay in the Mausoleum of Sword for a long time?"

Liu Ge stood up and said, "A great deal of Yin and Yang energy is needed to cultivate an immortal body."

"No wonder." Lu Zhou nodded, pleased. The body was the vessel. If a person wanted more power, the vessel would have to be improved. The powers of the tomb's inscriptions seemed to be the same as the powers of the red veins.

Liu Ge spread his arms and said while facing the skies, "The truth here is that I'm now immortal!"

"You've spoken too soon!" Lu Zhou joined his palms together. He channeled the remaining quarter of extraordinary power into Unnamed. Unnamed instantly changed into countless energy swords that rained down from the skies above.

Liu Ge looked up, intending to dodge. Alas, he discovered that he could not escape. The energy swords swiftly rained down on him. He laughed maniacally. "Ji Tiandao, my great limit has already passed. I kept myself alive by absorbing life force with these runes… I've known about the secret of the Golden Lotus absorbing life, 300 years ago, but I chose not to tell you! What can you do about it…"

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Thousands upon thousands of energy swords pierced Liu Ge's chest.

Everything seemed to freeze at this moment.

Unnamed returned to Lu Zhou's hand. He glanced at Unnamed. The black runes were still there even though their numbers were reduced. He looked at Liu Ge who had been stabbed in the chest.

Liu Ge looked at his own chest. Some of the red runes on the red veins on his chest were being erased by the black runes. His wounds were not healing. Fresh blood kept gushing out. He could not believe his eyes. "No…"

Lu Zhou lowered himself slightly and looked down at Liu Ge as he said, "See? There isn't anyone who can't be killed…"

Liu Ge looked around his surroundings. He was at a loss. Everything was slipping away. The rivers, the mountains, his people, everything in this world were rushing past him. His wounds were still not closing. Liu Ge staggered several steps back as though he had seen a cavalry charging at him. His gaze grew hollow as he flailed his arms wildly. He screamed, "Kill… kill… kill!" This was interspersed with panic attacks. "Don't come here! Go away…" His blood stained the ground red. As he flailed and stumbled around, he left trails of blood in his wake.

"I won't die… I really won't die… You lie, you're lying…" Liu Ge continued until his voice turned hoarse. After his final word, he stopped moving abruptly. Blood flowed out of his seven apertures. Tears streamed out of his eyes down his face.

Lu Zhou did not make any move. He only regarded Liu Ge coldly.

As the saying went, 'A person would talk kindly on his deathbed'. Liu Ge suddenly said, "Was I mistaken?"

Lu Zhou did not answer him.

There was a brief moment of silence.

Liu Ge seemed to have thought things through. He chuckled. Then, he placed his hands on his back. With a haughty expression on his face, he looked at Lu Zhou and said, "Brother Ji, can you send me off?"

"Where's the crystal?"

"You should check out Lou Lan's royals…"

"Fine, I'll fulfill your wish!" Lu Zhou struck with his palm.

A huge palm seal descended from the skies.

Liu Ge maintained his posture that was befitting of an emperor. He spread his arms, looked up, and smiled. "I hope that I can be your friend again in the next life!"

Boom!

Lu Zhou pushed down with his fingers. Abandon Wisdom.

Liu Ge was reduced to ashes that scattered in the wind.

"Ding! Killed a target. Reward: 2,000 merit points."

…

Meanwhile.

Huang Shijie and Gu Yiran kept moving westward from the foot of Golden Court Mountain. Nobody knew how long they had been fighting.

Both opponents exchanged blows and were near the limits of their respective Primal Qis.

The two of them stood across each other.

Gu Yiran glared at Huang Shijie and said, "Huang Shijie, you old geezer. I swear I'll kill you today."

Huang Shijie sat on the ground, chuckled, and said, "Ooh, scary…"

"You…" Gu Yiran was straining to keep his body upright. He said coldly, "You're an island master, but you behave like a gangster. What a shame! What an insult!"

"Heh, to tell you the truth, I learned this from my disciple… A man won't live long if he cares about his pride too much. Look at you, aren't you tired standing there? You must be tired… I'm not. I'll be fine after some rest. After that, I'll kill you!"

"You wish!" Gu Yiran stomped his feet and joined his palm together. He released a burst of Expansive Heavenly Energy.