Chapter 720: Capture Alive

Lü Zhong was keen to test its capabilities and immediately ordered the fortress to open fire.

Instantly, a constant barrage of violent explosions erupted.

The line of fire stretched for miles.

Suspended in mid-air, Zhao Bailin was a mixture of shocked and furious. She hadn’t expected to be met with such an assault the moment she arrived.

The attacks were trivial, of course. She could have stood there and taken the hits for a full day without a scratch, but it was still a blatant provocation against her, the Red Earth Guardian Envoy.

“Hmph. A bunch of ants!”

“Hiding behind this ridiculous metal shell, you actually dare to resist?”

With a cold snort, the Spiritual Qi around her body surged, causing the very clouds to roil. A Red Sword materialized in her hand. She pointed a Jade Finger at the fortress, and the Red Sword instantly shot forth as a streak of crimson light.

In the blink of an eye, it slashed viciously toward the fortress.

The next moment, Zhao Bailin’s expression shifted as she sensed something was wrong.

Almost simultaneously, the hundred-zhang Sword Aura slammed into a protective barrier, shattering into a dissipating stream of light.

“A Tier Four Grand Array!”

True to her reputation as a veteran Nascent Soul cultivator with a millennium of experience, her reaction time was superb. Zhao Bailin realized at once that there was almost certainly a cultivator on the other side.

Recalling the mysterious disappearance of the Daoist Sect’s Nascent Soul cultivator, an ominous feeling crept into her heart, and her guard instantly went up.

Before she could dwell on it, the fortress’s next wave of attacks came.

RUMBLE!

Watching the spectacular fireworks display, Lü Zhong shook his head with a sigh. The fortress was already at maximum firepower, using every method the Red Earth Alliance had at its disposal, yet it still couldn’t harm the Nascent Soul cultivator from the Immortal Sect. It was clear that Red Earth’s technology still wasn’t ready for the main stage.

The only thing it had going for it, perhaps, was its sturdiness.

After all, with its Red Earth Steel shell and the protection of a Tier Four Grand Array, Lü Zhong reckoned that even he would have trouble cracking this “ironclad turtle” if he went all out.

‘It’s barely adequate for now. With future improvements and the installation of powerful offensive measures—like a sufficient number of Primordial Cannons—it might even be able to stand against a Divinity Transformation cultivator,’ Lü Zhong mused. Seeing the Immortal Sect cultivator outside preparing another Sword Technique to probe the fortress’s true strength, he let out a cold sneer in his heart.

‘Since you don’t want to leave, you can just stay here for good.’

With a single thought, Lü Zhong vanished.

He reappeared outside the fortress.

Then, with a flash of lightning, he was a thousand zhang away.

“You’re…” Zhao Bailin’s pupils contracted. She recognized the newcomer.

Star Sun Old Demon, Lü Zhong!

Also known as the foremost expert beneath the Divinity Transformation Realm.

Such a title spoke volumes about his terrifying power.

She, for one, knew that with her own strength, escaping a Divinity Transformation Grand Venerable was impossible. Yet this black-haired young man before her had not only done so but had even escaped his pursuer.

And for that very reason, Zhao Bailin made a decisive choice.

Flee!

Her Sword Light shrieked, streaking several miles in an instant.

Lü Zhong gave chase, showing no intention of letting her go.

Within a hundred breaths, the two streaks of red Escape Light—one pursuing, the other fleeing—had already clashed several times as they reached the skies above the Boundless Sea.

“Fellow Daoist Lü, I swear I’ll keep your secret!”

“Just stop chasing me, and I can completely conceal your presence here!”

“Trust me!”

Zhao Bailin sent via voice transmission, attempting to disrupt Lü Zhong’s pursuit.

But all she received was an icy reply.

“Surrender or die!”

Before Lü Zhong had even finished speaking, another loud CLANG rang out.

After they traded another blow, Lü Zhong used his superior strength to smash Zhao Bailin straight down toward the sea. She hit the water like a cannonball, sending up a water column a hundred zhang high.

But in the next instant, she reappeared behind him like a phantom.

The Red Sword in her hand flared with a platinum-white light, instantly vaporizing the surrounding water droplets. With a savage grin, she thrust viciously, aiming straight for the vital spot of his Dantian.

DING! Zhao Bailin’s smile froze on her face.

The Flood Dragon Spirit Banner had come to his aid once more.

Although she reacted with incredible speed and batted aside the Flood Dragon Spirit Banner’s defense, the opportunity was lost.

Lü Zhong spun around and forced her back with a sword strike, and the two immediately fell into a furious battle.

In just over ten breaths, the clash between the two Great Cultivators had already reshaped the terrain of the shallow sea several times. First, the water evaporated, turning it into a plain. Then, their blows battered it into a chain of reefs. Finally, it was churned into a vast pool of mud.

THUD!

A figure was slammed downward, making the entire sea region tremble and sending mud splashing dozens of zhang into the air.

A squad of Demon Cultivators, drawn by the commotion, arrived in the distance. Witnessing the astonishing battle, a tremor ran through their very Divine Souls. Some of them scrambled to turn and flee, only to be barked at by their leader, a Whale-man Commander:

“What are you running for? Have you no discipline—”

But before he could finish, a stray beam of Sword Light shot past.

In an instant, he was sliced in two, every trace of life force extinguished.

Seeing this, the remaining Demon Cultivators felt their souls about to flee their bodies. If their Commander, an Early-stage Transformation expert, couldn’t even withstand a single stray attack, what chance did a bunch of small-fry like them have? They scattered like birds in every direction.

Naturally, neither Lü Zhong nor Zhao Bailin paid the slightest attention to this little interlude down below.

They exchanged another Sword Technique. Seeing the result, Zhao Bailin’s heart sank. That had been the strongest technique from the Slaying Sword Manual she cultivated, yet it was still not enough to overcome her opponent.

She sighed inwardly. ‘His reputation is well-deserved. The Star Sun Old Demon is no ordinary cultivator. No wonder he could escape the pursuit of a Divinity Transformation expert.’

Zhao Bailin lifted her head to face Lü Zhong, gasping for breath as she spoke.

“Fellow Daoist Lü, we are both Great Cultivators. Why must we fight to the death? You surely aspire to reach the Divinity Transformation Realm. You should know that at our level, even a superficial injury can become a major obstacle to future breakthroughs. We are, after all, still made of flesh and blood…”

Her words trailed off, stopping abruptly.

Just a moment ago, Zhao Bailin had been wondering why Lü Zhong insisted on clashing head-on. He was using a mutually destructive fighting style, trading blow for blow as if his life meant nothing.

Now, she finally understood the reason.

“A Pure Spirit Body… I can’t believe… you possess such a rare fortune!”

Her tone dripped with envy as she spoke. As a cultivator from an Immortal Sect, she knew exactly what this meant.

It meant he had the confidence to attack with all his might, completely unafraid of injury.

Zhao Bailin knew that if she didn’t play her trump card now, she would surely meet her end here today.

A ruthless glint appeared in her eyes as she once again unleashed a beam of Slaying Sword Light.

At the same time, with a flick of her Jade Finger, she covertly sent out a Jade Sword.

This was a Sword Talisman bestowed by a Divinity Transformation expert, containing a full-powered strike from Cangmingzi.

The Jade Sword shattered mid-flight, transforming into a colossal, blazing sword. Its fiery light illuminated half the sky. The moment it appeared, the seawater below began to boil away as its aura locked onto Lü Zhong and slashed down.

Seeing this, Lü Zhong’s eyelids twitched violently.

‘The quiet ones are always the most ruthless!’

But he wasn’t without options. He hastily summoned the Jade Water Fan. In a life-or-death moment like this, he couldn’t afford to worry about keeping trump cards hidden. Survival was all that mattered.

The moment he summoned it, he felt his Magical Power draining away like a river.

In just a few breaths, nearly half of his Magical Power was gone.

The Jade Water Fan now blazed with brilliant light, its aura so potent that even Lü Zhong was alarmed. The radiance it emitted also illuminated half the sky. Accompanied by a clear cry, the fan moved on its own, placing itself before the giant sword.

At the same time, countless streams of water converged upon it.

In a clash of water against fire, the two attacks collided.

In an instant, a blinding light consumed everything.

Lü Zhong couldn’t see what had happened before the shockwave sent him flying. By the time he stabilized himself in mid-air, he discovered he’d been blasted dozens of miles away, with barely any of his Protective Gang Qi left.

Looking back into the distance, the once-placid shallow sea had become a basin hundreds of zhang deep. The seawater had been pushed so far away that, for the moment, it was dry land.

‘So this is the might of a clash at the Divinity Transformation level?’

‘It seems the ‘heaven-shattering, earth-sundering’ power described in the ancient texts isn’t just an exaggeration!’

As Lü Zhong witnessed this, he felt a sense of awe, but also a burgeoning desire for such power.

But first, he had to deal with his enemy.

His gaze fell upon a certain spot, where an equally battered Zhao Bailin was located. Her Protective Gang Qi was completely gone, and she was coughing uncontrollably, having clearly suffered a heavy blow in the blast.

Just then, Zhao Bailin noticed Lü Zhong’s gaze on her, but her own eyes couldn’t help but drift toward the glowing fan on the ground. An irrepressible greed, an undisguised desire for possession, filled her expression.

‘That’s definitely a Spirit Treasure!’

Zhao Bailin’s body trembled, and her eyes instantly regained their clarity. She knew what she had to do. Immediately, her Sword Light performed a Rainbow Transformation, shooting off into the distance.

Lü Zhong saw this and sighed inwardly with regret.

‘If she had succumbed to the temptation of the Spirit Treasure and let greed cloud her judgment, things would have been much simpler.’

Alas…

He then beckoned with his hand, retrieving the Jade Water Fan.

Lü Zhong gave it a quick glance and saw that the Jade Water Fan was completely unharmed, but its aura had been inevitably diminished. It would clearly need a period of nurturing to restore its former power.

He breathed a sigh of relief and then looked toward the enemy, now just a small speck of light in the distance. A cold smile touched his lips.

With a flash from the Star Mirror above his head, he vanished in a streak of lightning.

After repeating this maneuver several times, the distance between them closed once more.

Sensing Lü Zhong catching up, Zhao Bailin’s heart clenched. After their series of exchanges, how could she not understand his objective? He clearly intended to capture her alive.

His purpose was obvious: to keep his presence a secret from the Central Earth.

The position of Guardian Envoy rotated every five hundred years. As long as contact wasn’t lost—meaning, as long as her Soul Token didn’t shatter—it would be another five hundred years before anyone in the Central Earth realized something was wrong.

By then, it would be meaningless even if a Divinity Transformation expert came in person.

Putting herself in his shoes, Zhao Bailin knew she could expect no mercy if she fell into Lü Zhong’s hands. A sense of urgency gripped her, and she began to burn her Lifebound Infant Qi without hesitation to increase her Escape Speed.

But a hundred breaths later, a Sword Slash from Lü Zhong sent Zhao Bailin tumbling from the sky, a spray of blood arcing through the air.

Gazing at the unconscious figure on the surface of the sea, Lü Zhong gave her a cold glance before telekinetically lifting her and tossing her into the Mountain and River Map. Shuini would take care of her inside.

After another look around, he turned back toward Red Earth.

On the way, he encountered the tsunami his battle had created. Gazing at the giant waves, hundreds of zhang high and stretching for countless miles, Lü Zhong gained a new appreciation for the idea that Divinity Transformation cultivators were akin to natural disasters.

If this tsunami were to hit Red Earth, it would likely wipe out the entire coastal cluster of cities, causing an incalculable number of casualties.

He had no choice but to summon the Jade Water Fan once more and, after some effort, finally managed to quell the wave.