Chapter 169: Overturning Heaven and Earth

The words of the figure in the black robe were laced with extreme arrogance. His reply clearly likened himself to the heavens while reducing Lu Xin and his companion to mere ants. Perhaps, had he not yet figured out the other party's identity, Lu Xin's temperament would have kept him from acting rashly. But given Cao Fu's personality—proud, self-important, and burdened with the heavy duty of restoring the Cao Wei dynasty—how could he possibly endure such an insult?

The moment Cao Fu moved, three talismans instantly suspended themselves above his head. Water, fire, and wind swirled in unison, hurtling straight toward the black robe's face. Not stopping there, a furious Cao Fu also summoned his Halberd of Heavenly Halberds. Pumping strength into both hands, he whipped up a sky-full of crimson radiance. The distance between them was roughly two hundred meters, and every action of Cao Fu's was entirely within the black-robed figure's view. Yet the latter remained exceptionally calm, only extending his right hand from his wide sleeve when Cao Fu had closed within ten steps.

With his five fingers outspread, he made a slight twisting motion. Cao Fu, charging forward with surging magical power, was instantly lifted off the ground and began to spin three meters up in mid-air, as if gravity had abandoned him in a split second.

"This power... It is not Daoist magic. Just who on earth are you?"

Shocked and enraged, Cao Fu found himself unable even to grip his Halberd of Heavenly Halberds. Everything on his person, including the three talismans, had entered a state of weightlessness. The black-robed figure, on the other hand, paid him no mind whatsoever, lifting his feet and walking toward Lu Xin in the distance. Only when he was ten paces away did Cao Fu's ears catch the figure's unusually hoarse voice.

"Cao family boy, this is the power of heaven and earth, transcending the Five Elements. With your current level of cultivation, how could you possibly understand?"

The words had barely fallen when Cao Fu plummeted from mid-air, landing flat on his face, utterly paralyzed and unable to move. Seeing this, Lu Xin's pupils contracted sharply, and he could not help but draw in a sharp breath of cold air.

"Be careful! He is Nai Hetian, the leader of the four ancient ghost kings, and one of the supreme powerhouses of that era."

"Uncle Jiu? How do you know it's him?"

The voice suddenly ringing in his mind caused Lu Xin's expression to shift once more. He had heard the name Nai Hetian no less than ten times. From Chang'an to Fengdu City, and all the way into this Fengdu Ghost Domain, the root of everything was precisely this ancient ghost king. The reason the Nine Stars Hall had spent a fortune enlisting Lu Xin's help was precisely to find Nai Hetian's magical artifact, the Longevity Astral Disc.

At this moment, hearing the Earth-bound Spirit declare that the black-robed figure before them was Nai Hetian, Lu Xin was shaken to his core, yet still reluctant to believe it. Such a formidable entity—if he had truly survived from antiquity down to the present day—would surely be capable of ruling the entire world with a mere flick of his finger.

"I cannot see his appearance, but his aura is unmistakably correct. Nai Hetian is the very first ghost born into existence, perfectly fusing the bloodline of the Great Sorcerers with that of the Divine Beasts, making him immensely powerful. Furthermore, his cultivation level was exceedingly rare even across the entire ancient era. However, you need not be afraid; to survive that cataclysm, any entity must pay a corresponding price. I can sense that his power is not currently at its peak."

"Uncle Jiu, are you trying to comfort me or terrify me? If he really is Nai Hetian, I couldn't beat him even if I risked my life. You saw Cao Fu just now—he couldn't block a single move."

"Hmph, the ghost race's tricks of reversing heaven and earth are nothing special. In ancient times, they were only good for bluffing people. Do not be afraid; steady your breath and concentrate your mind. As long as you are within ten steps of him and hold your breath, he cannot control you."

The Earth-bound Spirit's voice trailed off into silence here, and by now, Nai Hetian had approached within a hundred paces. Lu Xin hurriedly condensed the Wandering Immortal Sword into a golden light, gripping it tightly in his palm.

"I know who you are, Nai Hetian. You should have perished long ago in antiquity. Yet you have survived—hardly a blessing for the living."

"Oh? You actually managed to recognize who I am? Hahahaha... Guo Pu's successor is indeed extraordinary."

Hearing Lu Xin's words, Nai Hetian abruptly halted his steps. After two breaths of silence, he lowered his head and burst into unrestrained laughter. His body, shrouded beneath the black robe, shuddered continuously as black qi began to seep out from around him, as though he were walking out of a traditional ink-wash painting.

After laughing for a moment, Nai Hetian resumed his stride, speaking in a voice as soft as a buzzing mosquito as he walked: "The tribulation of heaven and earth is the tribulation of all living beings. Just as living beings experience reincarnation, so too does heaven and earth. The reason I have survived to this day is precisely to return this realm to the ancient era. Boy, put down the Yin-Yang Wandering Immortal Sword, and I will let you leave. Otherwise, your body and soul shall be pulverized to dust!"

"Very well, I'll hand it to you right now—let's see if you have the guts to catch it!"

With a cold laugh, the youth lunged forward, hurtling toward Nai Hetian at blistering speed. The distance between them shrank drastically until, twenty paces away, Lu Xin hurled the Wandering Immortal Sword. The blinding golden light tore through the air like a ball of intensely compressed flame. Yet the figure shrouded in the black robe remained entirely unconcerned, only stretching out his five fingers when the golden light was halfway across.

Hummmmm...

The space surrounding Nai Hetian seemed to freeze in an instant, halting even the golden light transformed by the Wandering Immortal Sword about five paces in front of him. Immediately afterward, the brilliance of the Wandering Immortal Sword rapidly faded, bit by bit reverting to the appearance of a three-foot-long sword. Lu Xin quickly realized that he had lost control over the Wandering Immortal Sword. Nonetheless, his momentum did not stop as he continued his charge toward Nai Hetian.

"Hmph, mortals are mostly stubborn and incorrigible. I offered you a chance at life, yet you deliberately choose death."

Nai Hetian stood motionless, quietly watching the youth charge directly at him. When only ten paces remained, he pushed out a single palm. Having held his breath well in advance, Lu Xin felt countless currents of air sweep across his entire body, but encountered no resistance or force whatsoever. Overjoyed, he struck out with both palms in rapid succession, the Sanskrit light of the Buddhist Great Handprint instantly blanketing a vast expanse of space directly ahead.

"How can this be? You..."

Nai Hetian's figure abruptly blurred, and the voice issuing from within the black robe lasted only a fraction of a second before vanishing completely. By the time Lu Xin halted his momentum and steadied himself, Nai Hetian was nowhere to be found. Cao Fu immediately scrambled up from the ground, entirely uninjured, which only made the situation feel all the more bizarre.

"That person vanished so thoroughly, as if he had never existed at all. Leaving in such a manner only breeds suspicion." Pausing for a moment, Cao Fu frowned and looked toward Lu Xin. "Brother Dao, how did you manage to avoid being controlled by him?"

"It's very simple, as long as you..."

Before Lu Xin could finish his reply, a massive surge of magical fluctuations erupted behind them. Dozens of auras continually approached the summit. Lu Xin and Cao Fu's expressions shifted simultaneously as they looked toward the entrance: the Five Elephants Sect, the Hundred Flowers Valley, the Upper Profound Heaven Sect, the Netherworld Dao Sect... Disciples from over a dozen sects were arriving in tandem.

From afar, Lu Xin spotted Wang Qi, who was gripping a saber, his expression darkened to the absolute extreme. At that exact moment, the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron suddenly flew up onto the sacrificial altar. This ancient divine artifact acted as though it were deliberately attempting to lure everyone here.

"Heh, this is getting interesting. Brother Dao, it seems that whoever wants to obtain the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron will first have to slaughter everyone from the major sects. When the time comes, you'd better stand on my side."

"Brother Cao, do you really think items belonging to the ghost race are so easily claimed? I suspect everyone has been played by it."

Lu Xin glanced back at the furnace atop the sacrificial altar, his voice ice-cold. In truth, from the very beginning when the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron had flown toward him, he had sensed a hint of wrongness. Now, with the gathering of the major sects and the appearance of Nai Hetian, Lu Xin was entirely certain that he had been manipulated.

"Regardless of whether the person hiding beneath the black robe is Nai Hetian or not, he is clearly plotting to get his hands on the Wandering Immortal Sword. Perhaps his appearance was merely meant to stall me—to buy enough time for the people of the major sects to reach the peak of the snowy mountain!"

"Hahaha... Brother Lu, what are you pondering so deeply? I never expected us to meet again so soon."

While Lu Xin was deep in thought, Wang Qi took the lead and walked over. The contingent from the Upper Profound Heaven Sect flanked him closely on either side, trailed immediately by disciples from the other major sects who stuck to them like shadows. The wind and snow atop the mountain grew increasingly violent, perhaps influenced by the massive fluctuations of magical energy. Lu Xin could even feel the sacrificial altar behind him vibrating faintly, as though something might burst out from within it at any second.

Facing Wang Qi's provocative demeanor, Lu Xin offered no response, merely tightening his grip on the Wandering Immortal Sword. Seeing the aggressive momentum of the major sects, Cao Fu hastily retreated to the side. He was no fool; it was blindingly obvious at a glance that the vanguard forces ahead were gunning for the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron. As for whatever grudges existed between Lu Xin and the Netherworld Dao Sect, they were trivial matters in the face of a ghost-race divine artifact.

"Brother Dao, let's fall back a step and let them ascend the altar first."

"It's too late!"

Lu Xin's brows tightened instantly as he watched Wang Qi and Huang Yuyi charge toward him simultaneously. The two appeared to have pre-planned the maneuver, flanking him from opposite sides. Together with the remaining disciples of their two sects, they instantly choked off all of Lu Xin's potential escape routes. At the Ninth Layer of the Realm of Contemplating the Void, their magical power was so immense that wrapping it around their physical bodies allowed them to outpace the finest warhorses. Meanwhile, the other sects began surging toward the sacrificial altar from all directions, each desperate to seize the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron with maximum speed.

"Huang Yuyi! Wang Qi! As long as I, Lu Xin, do not die today, the Upper Profound Heaven Sect and the Netherworld Dao Sect shall be eradicated!"

A resonant roar, tinged with a hint of hoarseness, was bellowed with virtually every ounce of the youth's strength. Accompanied by the shout, Lu Xin gripped his sword with both hands and slashed outward ferociously. A golden sword qi, ten zhang in length, instantly plunged into the crowd. The disciples of the two sects rushing head-on scattered in all directions, the terrifying pressure causing every single expression to shift drastically.

Having checked the charging momentum of the two sects' disciples, Lu Xin changed the angle of his attack, hurling separate sword strikes at Wang Qi and Huang Yuyi. The two met the blows head-on, only to find that Lu Xin's sword qi possessed an overwhelming density and a force comparable to the full-strength strike of an Eighth-Layer Contemplating the Void expert. Seized with shock, both men involuntarily slowed their pace.

"Brother Lu Xin, we know you possess an Incarnation Divine Talisman, but you've already tested it—a single talisman alone is not enough to kill both me and Huang Yuyi. Besides, there are far more than just our two sects present in this place."

"What, are you afraid?"

"Heh, the treasure in your hands is fine, but the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron is far more useful. I happen to have a compromise: as long as you use your Incarnation Divine Talisman to help us ambush a specific person, our previous grievances will be wiped clean."