Chapter 537 297: Opportunity for Nascent Soul Formation (3)

In this life-or-death crisis, his mind was exceptionally clear.

Lü Zhong could clearly sense his mental state was changing.

'It's not enough!'

"You're too slow!" Lü Zhong said, his gaze fixed on Jia Yujun.

She noticed his gaze, and an inexplicable tremor went through her heart. Jia Yujun knew all too well the meaning behind that fiery look—he clearly wanted to use her as a whetstone.

She recalled the words she had spoken just moments before.

She was both ashamed and furious.

'Since when have I, Jia Yujun, been reduced to a whetstone?'

"Aaargh! Die!"

The two clashed in a single, brutal strike before instantly separating.

CLANG!

Sparks flew in all directions.

Jia Yujun attacked with crazed ferocity, trading blows head-on with Lü Zhong, as if trying to prove she was no one's whetstone.

Across from her, Lü Zhong felt a thrilling surge of adrenaline, his blood boiling with excitement.

It was a feeling he had never experienced before.

The blood rushed to his head, bringing with it an indescribable, exhilarating pleasure.

"I understand now!"

Lü Zhong whispered.

He finally understood what the catalyst for Nascent Soul Formation was. He had always prided himself on his caution, on playing it safe to an extreme, but in doing so, he lacked a dauntless, forward-charging spirit.

An ordinary cultivator would dare attempt Nascent Soul Formation with just a single Nascent Soul Immortal Guide.

But he had been hesitant, indecisive.

Even after mastering the Star Devouring Technique and the Yue Spirit Unification Mantra, he still held back, wanting to master the Evergreen Seal as well just to be safe, to stack the odds of a successful Nascent Soul Formation as high as possible.

Little did he know, this approach was actually the inferior path.

With this single realization, everything else clicked into place.

Lü Zhong felt more liberated and invigorated than ever before.

But to Jia Yujun, it looked as if Lü Zhong's aura was skyrocketing—a common sign just before Nascent Soul Formation. In that instant, despair finally bloomed in her heart.

'Me? How could I possibly be his whetstone?'

A torrent of complex emotions flooded her mind.

'Run!'

'I have to escape!'

Years of training under her master compelled her to make the correct choice.

She shot backward in an instant.

But Lü Zhong was even faster. He transformed into a crimson meteor, intercepted Jia Yujun, and immediately launched a ferocious assault.

'She attacked me first, so she must die!'

There would be no mercy.

Having lost her will to fight, Jia Yujun no longer had any of her sharp edge. She became defensive, her only thought to escape. She fought only to create distance, desperate to break free.

But Lü Zhong wasn't about to let her go, hounding her with a relentless barrage of attacks.

After another dozen breaths of combat, Jia Yujun finally buckled.

SQUELCH!

Lü Zhong lunged, Red Crow Sword blazing in his hand. He viciously thrust it through her golden barrier. A spray of blood erupted as the Flying Sword pierced straight through her left shoulder.

She let out a stifled groan, terror filling her eyes.

Forcing Lü Zhong back with a palm strike, Jia Yujun glared at him with hatred, pulled a Jade Talisman from her robes, and crushed it to dust in her hand.

"You want to kill me? Fine! Just wait for my master to hunt you to the ends of the earth!"

The Jade Talisman she had crushed was spiritually linked to Spiritual Crane True Monarch.

Once he sensed it, he would immediately be alerted, and he would know the identity of her killer, no matter who it was.

Lü Zhong instantly understood her words. Starlight flickered across his body, after which there was no further sign of Spiritual Crane True Monarch's probing.

'Even a Divinity Transformation Grand Venerable can't locate me. What makes you think your Nascent Soul Master can?'

A smile touched his lips as he looked at Jia Yujun and said,

"And?"

"H-how is that possible!" For the first time, Jia Yujun truly despaired.

She had never imagined that someone could resist Spiritual Crane Master's famous divination Secret Skill—a technique renowned throughout Central Earth—and do so with such ease.

It was as effortless as child's play.

Seeing her lose her composure, Lü Zhong saw his chance. 'An opening!'

He immediately launched another furious assault.

In just a few exchanges, Jia Yujun suffered one injury after another. Wounds multiplied across her body until she was soaked in blood. She barely managed to parry a few more strikes before a final blow sent her crashing to the ground.

BAM!

Even a Fake Infant Realm Cultivator couldn't withstand a fall from a thousand feet.

Dizzy and disoriented, Jia Yujun saw Lü Zhong moving away from her and, in a fit of delusion, began to taunt him. "Hahaha, you don't dare kill me! You're just a pathetic barbarian! Even with your sliver of strength, you wouldn't dare offend an Immortal Cultivator from Central Earth. That's right! I am the head disciple of Qingxu Temple's Spiritual Crane True Monarch—"

Before she could finish, a flash of Sword Light shot toward her.

It met with no resistance.

A bloody head rolled across the ground.

Her eyes were wide with disbelief, even in death.

Watching from a distance, Lü Zhong felt nothing. He immediately ordered the Incarnation that had killed Jia Yujun to approach the body and absorb the potential Soul-Chasing Blood Curse.

Sure enough, as the Incarnation drew near, a golden light shot out from the corpse. In a flash, it burrowed into the Incarnation's body and vanished. At that same moment, Lü Zhong's expression changed. He stared at the Incarnation's frozen face as a single thought raced through his mind.

'Possession!'

As the main body, he could sense what was happening.

The golden light was attacking his Incarnation, the process eerily similar to a soul-seizure.

Without a moment's hesitation,

Lü Zhong immediately formed a hand seal for a Technique Mantra.

A massive amount of Spiritual Qi instantly erupted from the Incarnation's body. Influenced by the Technique Mantra, its form collapsed and reverted to its base elements, leaving the golden light with no host to inhabit.

"You insolent whelp! How dare you!"

An aged voice cried out, filled with shock and anger, but it was nothing more than impotent fury.