Useless

As the elders rushed Chu Lu, the Heavenly Profound Sect Master smashed through the wall of Heavenly Profound Palace and fled.

The Heavenly Profound Sect Master was no fool. He did not believe those few dozen elders alone could create an opportunity for him.

The Demon Slaying Mirror activated extremely quickly. A single instant of opening was enough for him to strike Luo Qingdie.

Although the Immortal Trapping Absolute Domain Array was primarily meant to trap people and prevent them from escaping the formation, it also had the power to bind enemies and render them unable to move.

Though that ability was relatively weak, if activated at full force, its effects could be amplified a hundredfold. At that point, even someone at the Mahayana Stage could be restrained for an instant.

However, activating it at full force required some time to prepare, and it would also cause the formation to temporarily shut down.

The Heavenly Profound Sect Master had arranged for those few dozen elders for no other reason than to buy that bit of preparation time.

Inside Heavenly Profound Palace, those few dozen elders understood their mission perfectly. Every one of them burned their lives without hesitation in exchange for the utmost limit of power.

Their gazes toward Chu Lu were filled with hatred.

They were all elderly cultivators of the previous generation who had long since retired into secluded cultivation.

The Heavenly Profound Sect Master had dragged them all out, while concealing the fact that he had framed Luo Qingdie with rumors and plotted to kill her. He only told them that Luo Qingdie had fallen to demonic corruption, had not only slaughtered the Inquiry Sword Sect, but was now coming to kill the Heavenly Profound Immortal Sect.

Thus, they hated Chu Lu to the bone.

"Purple Sea Golden Dragon Sword!"

"Northern Profound Netherwind!"

"Great Sun Heavenly Fire!"

Three spells struck from three directions first.

Chu Lu swept his sword in a slash, severing the dragon sword, cleaving apart the demonic wind, and cutting through the heavenly fire, directly bisecting the three men at the waist.

But the moment those three fell, the people behind them charged forward again.

At the very rear of the group stood four people in four separate positions, without advancing.

They were the four with the highest cultivation among them.

Watching their fellow disciples charge one after another, their eyes reddened with tears.

Even Tribulation Stage experts, even those whose mastery of spells had reached unfathomable heights, needed some time to prepare if they wished to unleash their strongest power.

They were no exception. To unleash their most practiced and most powerful spells, they needed at least three breaths of time.

Those fellow disciples were using their lives to win those precious three breaths for them.

Three breaths.

Two breaths.

One breath.

Time was up!

Golden light flashed through the four men's eyes at once.

The cultivator to the south danced both hands through the air and chanted under his breath. In an instant, nine enormous fireballs appeared in the sky, like blazing suns descending upon the world. Under that searing heat, the entire Heavenly Profound Palace melted into mud.

The cultivator to the north formed a seal with one hand, and an arctic chill poured from his palm. In an instant, everyone present felt as though their bodies had frozen solid, their blood had congealed, and all life within them had been extinguished.

The cultivator to the west lightly waved a hand, and ripples immediately spread through the surrounding space. Countless phantoms emerged from thin air—some savage demons, some beautiful immortal maidens, and some deceased family members.

The cultivator to the east drew a deep breath, then fiercely blew out an invisible spirit wind. Though this spirit wind seemed gentle, it could pierce straight through the soul.

The four shouted in unison.

"Nine Yang Sky Burning Art!"

"Mysterious Ice Earth Splitting Art!"

"Illusionary Heart Bewildering Art!"

"Spirit Wind Soul Breaking Method!"

Four incomparably powerful spells simultaneously engulfed Chu Lu and all the cultivators around him.

In an instant, brilliant multicolored radiance exploded with a thunderous crash. Vast spiritual energy collided in chaotic disorder, even slightly warping the surrounding space.

At the center of the spells, where the spiritual energy clashed most violently—

Chu Lu raised his sword and said, "Phoenix Arrives."

Whoosh!

In an instant, all spiritual power was severed at full speed, then exploded and scattered like white smoke in the wind.

The four cultivators froze in unison as a vertical line of blood appeared across each of their faces.

Every one of them died.

Without pausing, Chu Lu flew out of Heavenly Profound Palace. At a glance, he spotted the Heavenly Profound Sect Master not far away and immediately flew after him.

The Heavenly Profound Sect Master was horrified.

How was he so fast?!

As he fled, he roared, his voice spreading throughout the Heavenly Profound Immortal Sect.

"Wang Mingren! Song Ruozhao! He Shigu! Where are you people? Get the hell out here! Don't think you can hide and be safe. If I don't survive, all of you will die too!"

At these words, the elders who had originally been hiding among the various mountain ranges could only fly out with gritted teeth.

They were all people who had discussed how to deal with Chu Lu with the Heavenly Profound Sect Master. They had thought that once the sword formation was arranged, their task was complete, and all that remained was to wait for good news from their sect master.

Yet they had never expected to see their sect master fleeing in such a sorry state.

They did not want to step forward and block Chu Lu, since that was no different from throwing away their lives. But what the sect master said was not wrong either. After hesitating again and again, they could only charge forward with gritted teeth.

Only, each of them moved slower than the last, all terrified of reaching the front first.

Seeing this, the Heavenly Profound Sect Master ground his teeth in fury. He charged straight at them, seized the nearest elder, and hurled him toward Chu Lu. "You, stop him!"

The elder cried out in alarm and was helplessly flung before Chu Lu. Before he could say a word, Chu Lu cut him down with a single stroke.

"And you! You too! You as well!!" The Heavenly Profound Sect Master continuously threw elders at him.

The remaining elders watched this scene with terror on their faces.

"Will you go over yourselves, or do you want me to throw you over there?!" the Heavenly Profound Sect Master roared savagely.

Hearing this, a trace of resentful anger surfaced in the elders' eyes as they looked at the Heavenly Profound Sect Master. They gritted their teeth and charged toward Chu Lu.

Naturally, the Heavenly Profound Sect Master knew these people had already come to resent him, but it did not matter. As long as he survived, as long as he won, he would still be the great hero of the Heavenly Profound Immortal Sect, the great hero of the Righteous Path!

As elder after elder charged forward with gritted teeth, only to lose their heads and fall from the sky, the formation finally had enough preparation time.

The Heavenly Profound Sect Master's body trembled with excitement. Looking at Chu Lu, who was displaying divine might ahead of him, he thought viciously, At last, it's my turn!

"Luo Qingdie!" the Heavenly Profound Sect Master roared.

Chu Lu looked at him.

The Heavenly Profound Sect Master pointed at Chu Lu with imposing grandeur. "Your day of death has come!"

The instant his words fell, Chu Lu's entire body stiffened. That heavy burden from before suddenly multiplied more than a hundredfold, leaving him unable to move for the moment.

Seizing this chance, the Heavenly Profound Sect Master raised the Demon Slaying Mirror and shouted, "I ask the treasured mirror to execute this demon!"

Power continuously poured into it, and a beam of white light shot from the mirror's surface.

The instant that light appeared, the cultivators present all felt an intense sense of powerlessness, as though the cultivation and magical power they had gained through countless years of training had been stripped away, reducing them to ordinary mortals once more.

They watched as the white light surged forth like a mighty flood, swallowing Chu Lu in an instant.

And Chu Lu was unable to put up any struggle.

Watching this scene, the Heavenly Profound Sect Master's lips slowly curved upward, and then he burst into wild laughter.

"Hahahaha!"

His laughter echoed throughout Golden Summit Peak.

"Did you see that? Did you see that?!" he shouted at the surviving elders. "I won! I killed Luo Qingdie!"

"Hahahahahaha!"

The elders wore varying expressions. Although Luo Qingdie was dead, their sect master's earlier conduct had chilled their hearts, leaving them unable to celebrate along with him.

Naturally, the Heavenly Profound Sect Master noticed the strange emotions among the elders, but he did not care. He even thought he might as well kill them too. The Heavenly Profound Immortal Sect had already lost enough people; a few more dead elders made no difference, and he could conveniently cover up his earlier loss of composure.

Thus, his gaze upon the elders turned sinister. "How strange. Luo Qingdie is dead, so why aren't you happy?"

The elders all shuddered. Sensing their sect master's killing intent, they instinctively forced stiff, ingratiating smiles onto their faces, intending to celebrate with him. But in the next instant, their smiles vanished, and they instead stared ahead in horror.

The Heavenly Profound Sect Master frowned. Following their gazes in confusion, he immediately stood there as if struck by lightning.

Ahead, as the Demon Slaying Mirror's radiance gradually receded, Chu Lu's figure slowly emerged.

He was completely unharmed.