Chapter 469 - 438: Lu Wanli Arrives

Chapter 469: Chapter 438: Lu Wanli Arrives

To a Cultivator, Celestial Beam Mountain wasn’t large.

But to mortals, the mountain was truly majestic and imposing. This was to be expected. After all, it was the sacred ground where the Emperors of the Mortal World performed their rites; it couldn’t just be some common hill.

FLUTTER—

The Little Chick flapped its wings and landed on Chen Che’s shoulder, lowering its head to chirp a few words to him.

"News?"

Xiao Chan asked.

Chen Che turned his head.

"Yes. A few Golden Core Cultivators from the Yu Clan have come to help bolster our presence. They were all traveling abroad, so they’re posing as business partners to welcome us back. They’ll arrive in an hour at the most."

"The Yu Clan."

Xiao Chan frowned, muttering the name to himself before suddenly remembering something.

"I remember, don’t they also have several hundred Foundation Establishment Cultivators? Isn’t that too large of a display? How are so many people going to get here?"

"Doesn’t Jinyun Valley have a Spiritual Boat...?"

As they chatted, they reached the summit of the mountain.

On the summit stood a Cyan Jade altar, about twenty zhang in diameter. It was engraved with various exotic flowers, birds, fish, and insects, clearly used by the Royal Family for praying to the heavens. In the eyes of the Royal Family, it was an object of extravagant prestige.

Although Li Cang had told them that it had taken the entire power of a Dynasty and thirty years to build this altar.

But in Chen Che’s eyes, it looked like nothing more than a child’s building blocks.

He sized it up for a moment but found nothing special about it.

The Cyan Jade itself was moderately interesting, but it was merely a Tier One Low Grade material, and full of impurities. It was utterly beneath his notice.

Xiao Chan stood guard nearby. He was about to speak when he suddenly saw Chen Che raise his head and narrow his eyes, gazing into the distance. Not having sensed anything himself, he turned to look but saw nothing, so he asked in confusion:

"What are you looking at? Is the Spiritual Boat coming from that direction?"

"We have a guest!"

Chen Che straightened his posture.

Xiao Chan narrowed his eyes. "Who is it? Don’t tell me it’s someone from the Hu Family again. I already warned him. He still dares to show his face?"

"No, this one is even more powerful. Their Cultivation Realm is leagues beyond Hu Anyu’s. They’re even far stronger than Yu Zhen, Fan Sulan, and Guang Hui were..."

!?

’Could it be Duobao?’

Just as Xiao Chan was filled with doubt, his pupils suddenly contracted, for he had felt it too. It wasn’t just him. On the mountain, Li Cang and the numerous disciples of Jinyun Valley all turned to look in unison.

But...

It wasn’t that their senses were particularly sharp. Rather, the other party had also discovered the group on Celestial Beam Mountain. They had instantly swept over them with their Divine Sense while simultaneously releasing their aura, locking onto every single one of them.

...

Meanwhile, several hundred li away from Celestial Beam Mountain, Lu Wanli and his two companions had been in pursuit. Seeing Lu Wanli lock onto the mountain with his Divine Sense, both Zhao Ming and Sun Ye couldn’t help but smile.

"We caught them! But what are they doing there?"

"Whatever they’re doing... we’ve found them at last."

The corner of Lu Wanli’s mouth curled into a smirk.

He could even feel a gaze from atop Celestial Beam Mountain looking down at him. He took a step forward.

BOOM—

An imposing figure radiating Spiritual Light suddenly rose from the ground. With wide, fluttering sleeves and unbound hair, it was incomparably majestic, like a lion or tiger descending a mountain, possessed of an indescribable, domineering air.

At the same time, an unprecedented pressure weighed upon everyone’s hearts. In that moment, the mortals felt a suffocating and oppressive sensation, like the calm before a violent storm.

"This aura is so powerful! Could it be that Golden Core Powerhouses are about to fight...?"

In the city, Hu Anyu came to an abrupt halt and whipped his head around, looking toward the source of the aura.

It wasn’t just in the White Lion Dynasty.

Cultivators within a thousand-li radius quickly recovered from their initial shock. Almost as one, they all began rushing toward the source of the powerful aura. Then, a stunning scene unfolded under the night sky:

A hundred-zhang-tall phantom strode across the land, moving between mountains and rivers like a Divine Spirit from mythology. Its voice boomed down as if from the heavens:

"Valley Master Chen, I have been looking for you for a very long time."

"Lu Wanli?"

Chen Che watched the approaching figure, which looked like an ancient Divine Spirit, crossing several li with a single stride. The moment the man had appeared, Xiao Chan had informed him of his identity—the Vice Alliance Leader of the Loose Cultivator Alliance.

There were many alliances in this world, most of them loose organizations. Lu Wanli’s was called the ’Hong Alliance,’ an organization where Loose Cultivators banded together and Golden Core members shared resources and information.

However, for a man to be trusted by so many Golden Core Cultivators and elected as Vice Alliance Leader, he certainly had to be exceptionally skilled.

’What does he want with me?’

Chen Che said with a smirk:

"I’ve heard of you. People say that you, Lu Wanli, are a man of great principle. As the Vice Alliance Leader of the Hong Alliance, your righteousness is said to pierce the heavens! Surely you didn’t make a special trip here just to see me off, did you?"

"Do you know of Yu Zhen?"

"I do. What of it?"

"Yu Zhen has been missing for many days, and my search for him has been fruitless. A few days ago, I found a Jade Marrow Fragment at the site of a battle, and I followed its trail all the way here. This fragment has your aura on it. Valley Master Chen, where is Fellow Daoist Yu Zhen now? I wonder if you could provide me with an explanation?"

Lu Wanli’s voice was like a thunderclap from the heavens, causing the distant mortals to cover their ears in terror. The Cultivators who had gathered from all directions simply watched the scene from afar.

"Yu Zhen attacked me. Now, both his body and soul have been utterly destroyed."

Chen Che said nonchalantly, flicking his fingers.

"Hahaha!"

Lu Wanli’s expression flickered for a moment before he threw his head back and roared with laughter. When he had finally laughed his fill, he clenched his fists. His already colossal figure of Spiritual Light grew even taller, to the point where even Celestial Beam Mountain itself seemed small by comparison.

"Oh? So Fellow Daoist Lu is unwilling to let this go?"

Chen Che narrowed his eyes.

"Yu Zhen was a great benefactor who guided me. He was both my mentor and my friend. Without him, I, Lu Wanli, would not be who I am today."

The corners of Lu Wanli’s mouth turned down as he let out a long sigh.

"I have no desire to make an enemy of you, Valley Master Chen. But with his death, I cannot simply stand by and do nothing. Since I have come, even if this was Fellow Daoist Yu Zhen’s fault, I must seek justice for him from you."

As soon as he said this, Xiao Chan’s eyes narrowed.

The disciples of Jinyun Valley all quickly formed their Seal Techniques, their gazes cold. It seemed they would swarm forward the moment Chen Che gave the command.

Glancing at them from the corner of his eye, Lu Wanli showed a disdainful expression and continued to stride forward.

"Hermit Fushan, this matter does not concern you. It is a personal grudge between myself and Valley Master Chen. Do not interfere, or you might just get yourself killed..."

Xiao Chan sneered and was about to speak, but Chen Che stopped him and said in a low voice:

"Watch my back!"

Xiao Chan scanned their surroundings, his eyes narrowing.

At some unknown point, more Cultivators had appeared in every direction. There were some in the Qi Refining Realm and some in the Foundation Establishment Realm. Even the Golden Core True Master Hu Anyu, whom they had previously met in the Mortal Dynasty, was present. Their faces showed a mixture of suspicion, shock, and confusion.

Clearly, they had all been attracted by the commotion Lu Wanli had just caused.

Furthermore, as time passed, the commotion would only attract more Cultivators. It was like how a lion after a great battle always draws hyenas and vultures. What’s more, two other Golden Core Cultivators had arrived with Lu Wanli.

Seeing Xiao Chan nod, Chen Che looked away from the crowd and fixed his gaze back on Lu Wanli.

"Fellow Daoist Lu, since you are unwilling to leave, then I can only send you to meet Yu Zhen."

"Haha!"

Lu Wanli let out a wild laugh and took a sudden step forward.

This old man, who carried himself like a Martial Arts Alliance Leader, lunged like a ferocious tiger. With a single step, he crossed dozens of li, as if the very ground shrank beneath his feet, and arrived directly on the summit in front of Chen Che.

Fierce winds filled his sleeves, making them crackle like banners in a gale. He then thrust out his palm.

RUMBLE!

A colossal hand, over a hundred zhang wide, suddenly materialized and lunged for Chen Che. The wind howled through the void. The astonishing scene was like the Giant Spirit God attempting to overturn Sumeru Mountain.

"Get down!"

Facing this colossal, sky-blotting palm, Chen Che showed not a hint of fear.

He swiftly circulated his True Essence, his robes billowing as he shot a palm strike into the air. His attack collided with the palm that seemed capable of suppressing heaven and earth. Chen Che didn’t move an inch, but Lu Wanli was sent flying backward by the force of the blow.

Their exchange was so fast that before most of the onlookers could even react, Lu Wanli was already back where he had started.

"Good! Excellent!"

Lu Wanli retreated several dozen steps, each one cracking the very earth beneath his feet. He looked at his own palm and praised aloud:

"I have long heard that Valley Master Chen is a youthful prodigy. Having seen you in action today, I can confirm that your reputation is well-deserved. It seems your strength far surpasses even your Alchemy Skill. Today, allow me to personally experience the extent of your abilities!"

With that said,

Lu Wanli stomped his right foot, arresting his backward momentum, and reached for his waist...