The Battle Comes to an End

Wu Youdao and his two companions finally understood that the person before them was an invincible opponent. Not only could they not defeat her, but from the start of the battle until now, they couldn't even scratch her.

The Supreme Heavenly Venerable of the Heavenly Court is terrifying beyond measure.

"Escape!"

The three had come to terms with the facts: since they couldn't win, they would run away and wait for a chance to rise again!

Physical movement is far slower than spiritual movement. All three were seasoned fighters, and they immediately made the right choice—their souls left their bodies, and they fled in different directions!

"Fortunately, the opponent is merely a thought of an immortal, unable to pursue the three of us simultaneously. Moreover, the power of national destiny cannot be easily moved. If she wants to pursue us, she must abandon the power of national destiny. However, if she abandons the power of national destiny, her strength will weaken, and even if she catches up, she will not be able to defeat us!"

The three were relieved and transformed into streaks of light to escape.

The Immortal Fairy watched the three leave before withdrawing her gaze.

When Governor Lü arrived at the scene after the battle was over, only three corpses and the power of national destiny, now unclaimed, remained.

Upon seeing this, he quickly used the Great Seal of the Desolate State to reclaim the power of the nation's destiny.

Qiu Jin'an turned his head and clasped his hands in thanks. "Thank you for your help earlier, fellow Daoist. I haven't had a chance to ask about your background yet?"

There was no one beside Qiu Jinan; the man in the white paper hat had already fled.

"That's quite a feat of escape. Did he leave, or did he flee?" Qiu Jin'an muttered to himself, his eyes narrowed. The moves the man in the white paper hat had used during the battle gave him some clues.

However, since they had offered assistance, it wouldn't be appropriate to turn against them on the spot.

Elder Gai and the others rushed back to the Corpse Driving Sect. Upon seeing the Sect Master's body, they wailed and wept uncontrollably.

"Sect Master, you died a terrible death!"

"We will definitely avenge you!"

The disciples' eyes were all red, and they were all crying. For a moment, the entire Corpse Driving Sect was filled with a sorrowful atmosphere.

Lu Yang and the others also rushed to the Corpse Driving Sect. They saw three corpses of the Tribulation Transcendence stage lying on the ground, and the people of the Corpse Driving Sect crying uncontrollably, their fists clenched and veins bulging.

As the Grand Elder, with the Sect Master absent, Elder Gai had to assume the Sect Master's responsibilities. He turned to comfort the grieving crowd, saying, "Old Lu was an optimistic and cheerful person. If he were alive, he wouldn't want to see you all like this. Smile, and consider it a final farewell."

"Don't worry, Lao Lu, we will definitely carry on your legacy and strengthen the Corpse Driving Sect!"

Elder Gai chuckled softly, "Mourning Lu Baqian."

"You bastard, Old Gai! I'm dead and you're still letting them laugh!"

Sect Master Lu straightened up and glared at Elder Gai.

This unexpected turn of events caught everyone present off guard. Governor Lü was alarmed, thinking that Sect Master Lu had risen from the dead, and once again mobilized the power of the nation's destiny.

"Die my ass! Don't think I don't know you're still alive!" Elder Gai laughed and cursed.

"What exactly is going on?" Governor Lü was confused. Judging from Elder Gai's reaction, he didn't seem surprised by Sect Master's resurrection.

Sect Master Lu explained, "This must be the newly appointed governor. This is our first formal meeting. I am Lu Baqian, Sect Master of the Corpse Driving Sect."

Governor Lü responded politely, still not understanding what was going on.

"Governor Lü may not know, but our Corpse Driving Sect and the Ask Dao Sect have always had a friendly relationship. Although there is an exception, the Silent Daoist, our two sects generally have a very good relationship."

"The Corpse Driving Sect has a tradition that, to demonstrate friendly relations, its higher-ups will make two Soul Lamps, one to stay within the Corpse Driving Sect and the other to be entrusted to the Ask Dao Sect, precisely to prevent something like today from happening."

Qiu Jinan nodded secretly. He had also heard about this matter, so he had never suspected that there was a problem with the higher-ups of the Corpse Driving Sect.

This is a common practice among sects with friendly relations; their Five Elements Sect also possesses the soul lamps of high-ranking members from other sects.

Lu Baqian continued, "I just didn't expect that these ancient cultivators had some methods that we didn't know, which allowed them to possess my body without destroying my soul."

"After that sorcerer possessed my body, he was afraid that the Ask Dao Sect would find out, so he didn't dare to destroy my soul. He just completely separated my soul from my body and sealed my soul. That's how I managed to survive until now."

"At the same time, he cannot obtain my memories, and frequent communication with Lao Gai and the others would give him away. After possessing me, he has always claimed to be in seclusion, only showing his face once when making the Soul-Dispelling Talisman."

Sect Master felt a wave of fear wash over him; if it weren't for Venerable Wuji's fear of the Ask Dao Sect, he would have truly died.

"So you're Tribulation Transcendence cultivator now?" Governor Lu recalled something else.

"It's a blessing in disguise, but not entirely. My body is at the Tribulation Transcendence stage, but the Tribulation Transcendence performed the Tribulation Transcendence for me. My soul is still at its original level. I'm only at the half- Tribulation Transcendence stage now. It will only be considered a complete Tribulation Transcendence stage when my soul level improves in the future."

"But no matter what, I'm the first among my generation to break through to the Tribulation Transcendence stage, right?" Sect Master Lu looked at Qiu Jin'an and remembered that his current realm was the highest among his peers.

"Have you no shame?" Qiu Jin'an looked at Sect Master with disdain. No wonder he could be on good terms with the Ask Dao Sect.

"Forget about shamelessness, just tell me, haven't I gone through life and death, narrowly escaped death, and become Tribulation Transcendence cultivator?" Sect Master said confidently, without the slightest embarrassment.

Qiu Jin'an was speechless; what Lu Baqian said seemed to make sense.

Just as Lu Yang was watching the Body Integration Realm and Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivators argue with great interest, the Immortal Fairy returned to her spiritual space.

"Phew, I'm exhausted! How was it? Was I handsome just now?" The Immortal Fairy gave a thumbs up, her lips curving upwards into a radiant smile.

"Very handsome, Fairy is reliable... But I want to ask you, what's the deal with these three people behind you?" Lu Yang focused his gaze on the Immortal Fairy's back.

There stood three soul entities, all of whom looked familiar; I had just met them: Wu Youdao, Venerable Cang Lei, and Venerable Wuji.

The three cultivators at the Tribulation Transcendence stage were ashen-faced. They never imagined that the power controlling the nation's destiny was not a mere divine thought of the immortal, but the complete divine soul of the immortal.

They had no way to escape from the divine soul of the immortals!

What happened to the promise that it was just a divine thought?

"These three are spoils of war. As a guest elder of the Ask Dao Sect, it's perfectly reasonable for me to capture a few people for the Ask Dao Sect and exchange them for contribution points, isn't it?" The Immortal Fairy counted on her fingers, her little calculations making perfect sense.

Last time, she caught an ancient Body Integration Realm and exchanged it for a three-day Sect Master experience voucher. This time, she caught three cultivators at the Tribulation Transcendence Stage. How many good things can she exchange for?

Lu Yang's face darkened, as it stirred up some not-so-pleasant memories.

The three Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivators were shocked upon hearing their conversation. Such a powerful immortal was merely a guest elder of the Ask Dao Sect? Just how deep were the waters of this Ask Dao Sect?

The Imperial Advisor underestimated the fighting strength of the Ask Dao Sect!

And why is this Supreme Celestial Venerable behaving so differently now compared to during the battle?

Lu Yang was also puzzled and asked the three questions that someone at the Tribulation Transcendence stage would normally ask.

The Immortal Fairy revealed another High Antiquity secret.

"As Ying Tianxian said, maintaining an air of superiority is an essential skill for immortals."