Cultivation of Immortality: Start by Improving Spiritual Root Qualifications

Chapter 1014 The mantis stalks the cicada, but the oriole follows behind
Lingfeng Island is located millions of miles northwest of Xingyuan Island.
It is a fourth-tier spirit island under the control of the Lu family, brimming with spiritual energy.

The island is rich in several unique low-grade spirit ores, which are guarded and managed by a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator named Lu Qingyun.

On this day, the sky was clear and the sea breeze was gentle.

A figure in cyan appeared without warning above Lingfeng Island, its aura obscure, as if it were one with the surrounding world.

His gaze swept indifferently over the fourth-order protective array that enveloped the entire island.

With fingers pointing like a sword, he casually slashed at the light screen below!
"laugh--!"

A highly refined purple sword aura appeared out of thin air, slicing through the butter like a hot knife through butter.

It easily tore apart the mountain-protecting array that was considered incredibly sturdy by Nascent Soul cultivators!
The light curtain fluctuated violently.

It let out a mournful cry of unbearable burden, then shattered with a crash, dissipating into a sky full of spiritual light!
"Enemy attack!!"

"The mountain-protecting formation has been broken!"

"what happened?!"

The entire Lu family on Lingfeng Island was instantly plunged into a huge panic, with shouts and screams rising and falling.

Lu Qingyun, who was guarding the island, was meditating in his cave when he sensed the formation shatter. He abruptly opened his eyes, both shocked and furious, and shouted:

"Who dares to be so bold as to invade my Lu Clan's Spirit Island?!"

Then, it transformed into a streak of light and shot out of the cave, arriving above the island.

However, when he clearly saw the blue figure hovering in mid-air,
When they sensed the terrifying spiritual pressure emanating from the other party, as vast as an abyss and far exceeding the Nascent Soul level,

The rage in his heart was instantly extinguished by a bucket of ice water, turning into a bone-chilling cold and fear!

"Transformation... Transformation God Heavenly Lord?!"

Lu Qingyun's face turned deathly pale, and he was terrified. He immediately prostrated himself on the ground, his voice trembling:

"This junior, Lu Qingyun, was unaware of the Heavenly Emperor's arrival and has offended him. Please forgive me!"

The person who came was naturally Zhou Xun.

He glanced indifferently at Lu Qingyun, who was lying on the ground, and said nothing. With a flick of his sleeve, an invisible force enveloped Lu Qingyun.

Lu Qingyun felt a blur before his eyes, and the next moment, he was already in his familiar cave.

And that terrifying Nascent Soul Celestial Lord stood before him with his hands behind his back.

Cold sweat instantly soaked Lu Qingyun's back. He lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to raise his head, and asked in a trembling voice:
"No... I didn't know you were here, senior. What brings you here? I would gladly die for you if there is anything I can do to help!"

Zhou Xun remained expressionless, extended his right hand, and with a flash of spiritual light between his five fingers, he swiftly struck Lu Qingyun's vital points in his dantian several times!

"Ugh!"

Lu Qingyun felt a tearing pain in his dantian, as if countless tiny bolts of lightning were drilling into it.

His magical power was sealed away in an instant.

Furthermore, a destructive force lurks within, waiting to be unleashed!
"I have planted the 'Purple Heaven Thunder Seal' in your dantian."

Zhou Xun's voice was cold and devoid of any emotion.

"This is my unique restriction. Unless a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator intervenes to break it, the restriction will erupt within half a month, and you will be annihilated, body and soul!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Qingyun was terrified and immediately examined his dantian.

Sure enough, his nascent soul was entangled by a net of purple lightning, emanating a terrifying aura of destruction, as if it might explode at any moment!

"Senior, spare me! Senior, spare me!" He kowtowed repeatedly, tears streaming down his face.

"Whatever you ask of me, senior, I will do! I only ask that you be lenient and lift the restriction afterwards!"

"Very good." Zhou Xun nodded slightly.
"I need you to do something. Take these items and go to Xingyuan Island immediately to personally deliver them to your Lu family's ancestor—Lu Xinghe."

"Star... Star Origin Island? Hand it over to Ancestor Star River?"

Lu Qingyun nearly fainted upon hearing this name.

That's a Void Refinement stage ancestor! He, a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator, doesn't even have the qualifications to meet him normally.

Now you're going there carrying something unknown?

There must be something extremely detrimental; when the patriarch is enraged, how could he possibly survive?
Zhou Xun seemed to understand his meaning, and a thought flashed through his mind.
Lu Qingyun felt a sharp pain in his dantian.
He couldn't care less about all that.

He immediately knelt down and replied, "Yes...yes! This junior will certainly do it!"

After all, if they don't agree now, they'll lose their lives immediately. As for what happens next, we'll have to talk about that later.

Zhou Xun was very satisfied. With a wave of his hand, six items appeared in front of Lu Qingyun.

Besides a seemingly ordinary jade slip
The other five items were clearly personal tokens belonging to Lu Xiuyuan and the other four members of the Lu clan who had reached the Nascent Soul stage, used to prove their identities.

The letter roughly translates to:

I have captured five Nascent Soul cultivators from your Lu clan. If you want them to live, you must offer them refining spiritual treasures in exchange.

I will only wait for him on Lingfeng Island for half a month. If I miss that time, I will not wait for him. When that time comes, I will be ready to collect the corpses of those five people.

Lu Qingyun didn't dare to ask any more questions and quickly and carefully put away the six items.

"This junior...this junior will set off immediately!"

He dared not delay for a moment, and immediately transformed into a streak of light, rushing towards Star Origin Island with all his might.

After Lu Qingyun left,

Zhou Xun also quickly concealed himself and flew towards Star Origin Island.
His move was not really hoping that Lu Xinghe would offer a Void Refining Spiritual Item in exchange; his real purpose was to lure the tiger away from the mountain!

……

Inside the core council hall of Xingyuan Island.

The atmosphere was so oppressive it felt almost frozen.

Lu Xinghe sat upright in the head seat, his face so gloomy it could drip water, and the low pressure emanating from him made Lu Chihong and the others below dare not even breathe.

Lu Qingyun stood below cautiously, holding the six items in both hands, and repeated Zhou Xun's words verbatim.

Lu Xinghe picked up the jade slip and immersed his consciousness into it.

A moment later, he put down the jade slip. His face showed no emotion, but the cold glint in his eyes betrayed his inner fury.

He handed the jade slip to Lu Chihong, who was standing next to him.

Lu Chihong took the jade slip, quickly glanced at it, and then his expression turned extremely ugly. He then passed the jade slip to Lu Yuanjing, Lu Fengzhao, and Lu Zhiyuan.

"Arrogant! This is outrageous!"

After reading it, Lu Yuanjing slammed his fist on the jade table, furious.

As one of the three late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators of the Lu clan, he has always had a fiery temper.

Lu Xinghe waved his hand, signaling him to calm down, and then slowly spoke as his gaze swept over the people present:
"You've all seen the items. Now, tell me, what do you think we should do?"

Lu Chihong took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and said in a deep voice:
“Ancestor, these five items, after identification, are indeed Xiu Yuan and his companions’ personal belongings, and cannot be faked.”

"So it seems that their previous disappearance was not due to their deaths, but rather because they were captured alive by Zhou Xun this week. No wonder we couldn't find any clues before."

He paused, his brow furrowed, and continued his analysis:

"But Zhou Xun's intentions are all too obvious!"

"The plan is to use this as bait to lure you away from Xingyuan Island! If we really go, he will definitely take the opportunity to attack Xingyuan Island again, and then..."

Lu Fengzhao interjected, his tone heavy:
“Brother Chi Hong is absolutely right. This is an open scheme. But if we don’t go… Xiu Yuan and the other four are five Nascent Soul cultivators!”

"Adding the three who had already fallen, there are now eight Nascent Soul cultivators! This is almost equivalent to half of the Lu Clan's high-end strength!"

"Our Lu family really can't afford such a loss!"

Upon hearing this, both Lu Yuanjing and Lu Zhiyuan fell silent.

This is truly a dilemma!

A deathly silence fell over the hall.

After a long silence, a resolute glint flashed in Lu Xinghe's eyes, and he abruptly stood up:
"Go! Must go!"

He said decisively, his gaze sharp as a knife: "And I will go myself!"

"Ancestor, you mustn't!"

Lu Yuanjing hurriedly tried to dissuade him, "Your injuries have not yet healed, how can you take such a risk? Besides, this is clearly a trap!"

Lu Xinghe raised his hand, stopping him from saying anything more, a cold smile playing on his lips:

"Precisely because it's a trap, we must play along!"

"Didn't he want to transfer me away?"

"Alright, then I'll do as he wishes and leave Xingyuan Island! And not only will I leave, but I'll also take Chi Hong and Yuan Jing with me and leave in a grand display!"

"We need to let him know that our Star Origin Island is empty!"

He looked at the puzzled people and continued to explain:

"Once we've gone far enough from Xingyuan Island, Chi Hong and Yuan Jing, you two immediately conceal your presence and secretly return to the vicinity of Xingyuan Island via the seabed to ambush them!"

"If Zhou Xun is truly so 'foolish' as ​​to wait for the deal on Lingfeng Island, even though I am seriously injured, I can still easily take down a mere Nascent Soul cultivator!"

"If his real purpose is to lure the tiger away from the mountain, then it doesn't matter!"

"At that time, you will join forces. We don't aim to kill him, we just need to keep him occupied!"

"I will definitely rush back then!"

As he spoke, Lu Xinghe waved his hand and took out two jade pendants with an ancient design and a spiritual glow.

"This is the 'Mother and Child Thousand Spirit Pendant,' a pair of rare communication and positioning treasures."

"Even if they are separated by thousands of miles, the wearers can sense each other's location."

"And as long as you inject magic power into it, the corresponding spirit pendant will flash as a warning."

He kept the mother pendant for himself and gave the son pendant to Lu Chihong.

"When Zhou Xun appears, Chi Hong, immediately activate Zi Pei."

“I’ve received word that I’ll be back as quickly as possible! With this device’s location tracking, I can find you in a very short time.”

"At that time, with our combined efforts from within and without, we will surely be able to surround and kill this scoundrel here!"

After hearing Lu Xinghe's intricate plan, Lu Chihong and the others' eyes lit up, and the worry on their faces vanished, replaced by excitement and killing intent!
"Ancestor's plan is brilliant!"

"In this way, no matter what schemes Zhou Xun may have, they will not escape the grasp of my Lu family!"

"We must make sure he never returns!"

The plan was quickly agreed upon.

Lu Xinghe, Lu Chihong, and Lu Yuanjing made no attempt to conceal their immense spiritual pressure as they soared into the sky from Xingyuan Island.

They transformed into three astonishingly long rainbows, hurtling towards Lingfeng Island.

They made a huge fuss, as if they wanted everyone to know they had left.

This scene was naturally seen clearly by Zhou Xun, who was hiding in the shadows.

"They did indeed leave... and it was a group of three, with Lu Xinghe personally making the trip."

A knowing glint flashed in Zhou Xun's eyes.
"Are you trying to use a trick to lure me in?"

He raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a meaningful smile.

"Since that's the case, then I'll grant your wish!"

"Moreover, with my current preparations, even if I face Lu Xinghe and his group head-on, I might not be without the ability to fight them."

He hasn't been idle during this time.

I have completely mastered that sixth-grade low-level "Nine Heavens Cloud Yang Grand Array".
Then they set it up in advance.

Meanwhile, the teleportation array, as a backup plan, has also been prepared and can be activated for evacuation at any time should the situation deteriorate.

He waited patiently for half a day.

Without further hesitation, he vanished from the stone chamber in a flash.

Concealing its presence, it darted silently toward Star Origin Island like a swimming fish.

Sure enough, he was discovered as soon as he approached the outer perimeter of Xingyuan Island, which was about ten miles away.

"As expected! He's here!"

Lu Chihong, who had been closely monitoring the surroundings with the island's array, immediately discovered Zhou Xun's whereabouts!

His face instantly lit up with ecstatic joy:
"Fengzhao, Zhiyuan, you two stay and guard the island,"

"Brother Yuanjing, join me in this attack. If we can kill him, all the better! If not, at least keep him occupied and wait for the Ancestor to return!"

"Yes!" Lu Fengzhao and Lu Zhiyuan responded in unison, their expressions grim.

Lu Yuanjing's eyes flashed with murderous intent as he nodded emphatically.

The next moment, Lu Chihong and Lu Yuanjing shot out from Xingyuan Island like two arrows released from a bow, carrying overwhelming killing intent, and rushed straight towards Zhou Xun!

During the flight, Lu Chihong took out the "Mother and Child Thousand Spirit Pendant" without hesitation and frantically poured his magic power into it!

……

Millions of miles away, Lu Xinghe was flying leisurely through the void.

Suddenly, he felt a rapid heat and flashing from the mother pendant at his waist.

He took out the spirit pendant, looked at the constantly flickering light on it, and a cold smile appeared on his face.

"As expected... it was a diversionary tactic!"

"However, you still underestimate me, Lu Xinghe, and the foundation of the Lu family!"

"This time, no matter how powerful you are, you won't be able to escape alive!"

Before he finished speaking, his body surged with spiritual light, and his speed suddenly increased several times, tearing through the sky as he headed towards the direction Zi Pei sensed.
They rushed back at a speed that nearly tore through the void!
A decisive battle targeting Zhou Xun has begun!

……

On the other side, Lu Chihong and his companion were several speeds away.

In a short while, they arrived in front of Zhou Xun.
Lu Chihong was enveloped in raging flames, his killing intent almost tangible, locking onto Zhou Xun with a chilling voice:
"Zhou Xun, the Thunder Prison Heavenly Lord, today is your death day!"

Zhou Xun looked at the two people who had suddenly appeared, his face filled with 'shock,' and exclaimed:
"Lu Chihong! Lu Yuanjing! You...didn't you leave with Lu Xinghe? What are you doing here?"

Lu Chihong sneered upon seeing this:
"Hmph! If it weren't for that, why would you have shown yourself so easily and offered your life!"

Without another word, he roared and slammed out his right fist!

"Burning Heaven Fist!"

In an instant, a gigantic fist imprint formed from pure fire-elemental magic appeared out of thin air.
The air around the fist imprint distorted, and waves of heat rolled in.
It also contains a hint of the essence of fire!
It slammed towards Zhou Xun.

Zhou Xun's expression changed drastically. He formed hand seals and quickly created layers upon layers of azure lightning shields in front of him!
"boom--!!!"

The Heaven-Burning Fist Imprint slammed fiercely into the lightning shield!

The explosion resounded across the sea and sky!
That seemingly sturdy lightning shield,

Faced with the fist imprint containing profound meaning, it was like paper, only lasting for less than half a breath before it shattered and dissipated into a sky full of lightning!

"The power of intent! How is that possible!"

Zhou Xun exclaimed in surprise, and then used the recoil from the shattered lightning shield to retreat rapidly.

Without saying a word, he turned around and fled in the opposite direction from Xingyuan Island at full speed!
"Want to escape? Dreaming!"

"You can't escape today!"

How could Lu Chihong and Lu Yuanjing let him have his way?
With a roar, the two transformed into two streaks of light, one red and one green, giving chase!

Three figures, one in front and two behind, quickly disappeared into the horizon.

All that remained were the gradually calming energy fluctuations and the turbulent waves stirred up on the sea surface.

……

About fifteen minutes after Lu Chihong and his companion left.

Below Xingyuan Island, in that deep sea, a figure slowly rose from the shadows.

It was none other than Zhou Xun's true form!

(End of this chapter)