Infiltrating the righteous path? Just another place to be a sycophant.

"So, some people just don't realize it. They've already cut ties with you completely, and you're going your separate ways, but some people still cling to them. It's ridiculous!"

"You..." Zhao Mengyuan was so angry that she wanted to say something, but Lu An spoke up instead.

"Sect Master Yu, you are the same."

"Me...?" Yu Wanqing was stunned. Why were they talking about her?

Judging from what Lu An just said, she should be one of our own, so why is he still talking about her?

“My cultivation has reached a bottleneck. I need to focus on breaking through and cannot indulge in romantic feelings, so…” Lu An drawled out his words and said in a low voice, “Sect Master Yu, you need to resolve your own affairs. I cannot casually talk about emotions, lest my Dao heart become unstable and I be unable to break through.”

"Elder Lu, that's not what I meant... I was..." Yu Wanqing quickly explained.

"Don't say more. Let bygones be bygones, and don't talk about it anymore!" Lu An raised his hand, indicating that he didn't need to say more. "I understand your thoughts, but a cultivator should have a great heart! If you are attached to appearances, that is putting the cart before the horse. In the end, you will lose yourself, lose your Dao heart, and be replaced by your inner demons!"

Lu An thought for a moment, wondering what he had just said. He couldn't quite understand what he had said.

The moment after hearing what Lu An said, Yu Wanqing felt ashamed, and Lu An's image in her heart became taller and more imposing.

Although I don't quite understand what it means, it sounds like it makes a lot of sense.

Yes, what am I doing?! My actions—my insistence on seeking someone for dual cultivation to resolve my internal problems—how am I any different from those of demonic cultivators?!

That's ego! That's a demon in your heart! That's a terrifying demon in your heart! You mustn't succumb to it! You mustn't fall into it!

Yu Wanqing frantically criticized herself, and had no idea how many more rules she had added to her own moral standards.

Lu An sensed his own cultivation level and said without blushing or skipping a beat.

Well, after slacking off these past few days, I should be breaking through to the second level of the Nascent Soul stage soon.

"Losing the Daoist heart, replaced by inner demons..."

After hearing what Lu An said, Zhao Mengyuan kept muttering to herself, as if she was thinking about something.

Isn't this talking about myself? That voice, that jealousy, that dissatisfaction with the status quo and the urgent desire to make changes—aren't they all driven by inner demons?

I know perfectly well that it's a demon in my heart, yet I still let it run rampant. It's just... just too depraved!

A feeling of shame welled up inside him, and the inner demon that had been emanating wisps of black energy from his body slowly dissipated at that moment.

The hostility emanating from the two women seemed to gradually disappear.

However, they became even more depressed, looking like two little girls who had made a mistake.

"Humph!"

"Humph!"

However, when they saw each other, they raised their heads, pointed their chins at each other, and then turned their heads away, not forgetting to snort coldly as to intimidate the other side.

"The atmosphere's a bit off, brother. Shouldn't we change the music? These two female cultivators seem to be losing focus too!"

"We should find something happier, but not too happier, so that their attention remains continuously diverted!"

The music changed the next moment; it was a bit more vibrant, yet still seemed to evoke a sense of melancholy and wistfulness.

Lu An was also dumbfounded. These two uncles and grandfathers even brought music to the transition. Were they professional street performers before?

Those with money, please support us financially; those without, please support us with your presence!

"I believe my words have given you much to think about. I hope this matter ends here and should not be mentioned again, understand?"

Seeing that the two women had quieted down, Lu An quickly spoke up to continue comforting them.

"I see……"

"I see……"

Although it's unclear how they were tricked, Zhao Mengyuan and Yu Wanqing have genuinely started to admit their mistakes.

Lu An also became smug.

Finally, those two women have been calmed down. Things should be a bit easier now, right?

The music stopped, and then a violent aura suddenly appeared, startling the three of them so much that they immediately looked up.

How is this going?

Lu An looked around and saw that the two people who had just been playing music and acting as the atmosphere group were now emanating extremely violent auras, as if they were about to tear everything apart.

"Hahaha! Morale is gone, what a great opportunity! It's all thanks to your clever feigned retreat!"

"Thank you, young friend! You've given us the opportunity to make our move!"

Chapter 243 Is he really a martial arts practitioner?

Lu An was dumbfounded, having no idea what these two guys were doing.

Does this look like they're about to start a fight?

Lu An had a bad feeling, but he didn't know what to do.

Zhao Mengyuan and Yu Wanqing were also dumbfounded. Why did these two suddenly exude a violent aura?

Judging from this posture, who are they planning to attack?

Aren't these two entertainers hired by Lu An? Why are they fighting?

The two threw out their nine-stringed zither and erhu, then soared into the air, their auras surging once more, and they attacked Yu Wanqing and Zhao Mengyuan directly.

Upon seeing this, the two hurriedly tried to use their internal energy to defend themselves, but because they were too hasty, they were unable to use their energy in time and were directly sent flying.

Lu An was stunned. He hadn't expected these two old performers to be so strong. Even in such a rush, they were still able to send these two women flying.

This is incredible, absolutely incredible!

"These two guys aren't using demonic cultivation techniques!"

"And it's not a legitimate cultivation method either!"

Zhao Mengyuan and Yu Wanqing scrambled to their feet and said through gritted teeth.

The next moment, the two simultaneously drew their swords, then channeled their spiritual power and attacked together.

However, the two street performers summoned back the musical instruments they had just casually tossed away.

The instruments were summoned back into their hands, and then one of them began to play the piano, and the other began to play the erhu. The next moment, waves of sound spread out, causing the grass on the ground to fly up.

The sound waves created visible fluctuations in the air. These fluctuations were described as spiritual energy fluctuations, yet they were not quite spiritual energy fluctuations. However, once they were released, they carried a violent aura.

Bang! Bang!

As the two men raised their swords to parry, a series of crisp sword cries rang out, and their charging steps came to a halt, forcing them to retreat repeatedly.

Whether it was a misperception or not, Lu An actually saw, for a fleeting moment, that the man playing the zither seemed to have six fingers!

Could this be the Six-Fingered Demon of the Lute?! This is incredible! Absolutely incredible!

The two retreated dozens of meters, planting their swords into the ground before they could barely regain their footing.

Although they were enemies before, both of them showed expressions of disbelief after receiving the attacks from these two.

This fluctuation of power seems a bit off.

It's not spiritual energy! Nor is it demonic energy! What on earth is this?!

The two became wary and looked at Lu An with complicated expressions.

What kind of people did this guy hire? Why would he attack them?

Yu Wanqing whispered first, "Something's not right. This power seems to be demonic."

However, Zhao Mengyuan didn't believe it: "How could there be demons here? It's so far from the north! What nonsense are you talking about?"

"I feel like it's a demon. I wouldn't bother to make things up if I didn't have any evidence, but I did feel it... This power feels like pure martial arts, not some kind of spiritual power."

"These are sound waves emitted from plucking the strings of a musical instrument and an erhu. Only demons possess this power. They are naturally more gifted and agile than humans in controlling and utilizing physical strength!"

Yu Wanqing did not change her mind because of Zhao Mengyuan's words, but continued to express her own thoughts.

Zhao Mengyuan felt increasingly uneasy as she listened. Although she and Yu Wanqing did not get along well, Yu Wanqing's words, combined with the move she had just received, seemed to make some sense.

That's right, and what comes next actually makes some sense!

"Boss, why aren't they moving?" Seeing that the two weren't moving, the second brother, who was playing the erhu, asked.

"They've probably been intimidated by us. Now's the time to press our advantage!"

"So that's how it is! As expected of the boss! Charge!"

The second brother threw down his erhu and then rushed towards Zhao Mengyuan like lightning.

In the blink of an eye, the second brother was already in front of Zhao Mengyuan. Even Zhao Mengyuan, who had already transcended the second level of tribulation, could not react to the erhu street performer who was moving so fast.

The speed was so fast that it looked like it was flying straight at them, but their divine sense couldn't react in time.

For cultivators at a lower level, those in the Tribulation Transcending stage can rely on their divine sense to react quickly and dodge, but Zhao Mengyuan did not, which is very strange!

This indicates that these two people are extremely fast, or perhaps they possess some secret technique that makes them invisible to divine sense!

Zhao Mengyuan gritted her teeth, not knowing what was going on, but still subconsciously retaliated, directly slashing her sword at the person in front of her.

Bang!

As the sound of metal striking metal rang out, brilliant sparks burst forth, like stars blooming in the night sky.

Zhao Mengyuan's hand went numb from the shock. When the longsword struck the man's arm, it felt as if a mortal were hitting an iron or stone with a hammer; her tiger's mouth was about to bleed.

"Is this all there is to it? Nothing special!"

The man gave a wicked smile, then turned his hands into claws and reached straight for Zhao Mengyuan.

Lu An saw that this person's moves were ruthless, each one aimed at Zhao Mengyuan's vital points, such as her neck and chest.

"This man has absolutely no sense of martial ethics!!!"

Zhao Mengyuan kept dodging, her chest heaving, while Lu An watched from the side, his teeth itching with rage. He never expected that this old man who played the zither would be so vicious!

On the other side, things weren't much better. Yu Wanqing's opponent simply stepped on her right foot with his left foot to send her flying, and then kicked her head down.

Yu Wanqing parried with her sword, and the space instantly distorted, creating a terrifying shockwave that swept everything away, leaving Yu Wanqing utterly shocked.

This is the power of martial arts! It's pure physical power! It can even shatter and distort space—what terrifying power is that!?

So Yu Wanqing once again focused her Dao heart, and that powerful force reappeared on the sword.

The sword continuously gathered energy, and everything around it was covered in frost again. Then, a sword aura shaped like a crescent moon was unleashed.

Bang!

As the sword energy was unleashed, everything around it was instantly covered in a layer of frost. However, when it struck this person, it shattered instantly, turning into light fragments that dissipated into the air.

Yu Wanqing was stunned for a moment.

Without seeing any trace of any protective magic weapon being activated, nor activating any cultivation technique, the sword energy was blocked.

Lu An was also stunned. Such powerful physical strength, able to withstand the attack of a Tribulation Transcending stage cultivator, is this guy a human cultivator?

Is it physical cultivation? Some physical cultivators who train their bodies to the extreme? Are there really people who have taken this path and succeeded?

Yu Wanqing thought of some body cultivators who had muscular bodies or potbellies, which were really unsightly. There were even fewer women who became body cultivators, as it was not only painful but also made their bodies look very unattractive!

Yu Wanqing raised her long sword, but the man had already teleported in front of her and kicked out with lightning speed, striking Yu Wanqing directly in the abdomen.

boom! boom! boom!

Yu Wanqing was sent flying backwards until she crashed into several rocks and embedded herself in the rock wall before finally coming to a stop.

Just as Yu Wanqing struggled out of the rock wall, another figure came to her side and was also knocked into the rock wall.

That was Zhao Mengyuan. Although it was satisfying to see her enemy get beaten, Yu Wanqing had no mood to laugh at her at this moment. Instead, her mood became even more solemn.

Are these two guys really that strong?

"Damn it...who are you people...?"

Yu Wanqing wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and asked through gritted teeth.

"Hmm...we're the ones who want your lives..."

Chapter 244 The Older They Get, the More Potential They Have

I thought you two were just here to perform and ask for some tips, but you've been so amazing! I never expected you to be so bold.