Strike First to Gain the Upper Hand

Lord Bai the Fourteenth clearly hadn't expected to be caught talking badly behind someone's back, and could only cover his embarrassment with a smile.

Fortunately, Chang Shengtian did not dwell on this detail. He gave a brief reprimand and then turned his attention to Lu Bai and Miss Hu Jiu.

"Can anyone tell me what happened here?"

"Well... that's a long story."

Lord Bai the Fourteenth didn't know where to begin, so he turned to look at Miss Hu Jiu, hoping she could give him a proper explanation.

However, at this moment, Miss Hu Jiu was looking up and didn't pay any attention to them at all.

In fact, Chang Shengtian did not come alone.

Shortly after it landed, a brown fox, ten meters long including its tail, walked through the air and hovered above the crowd.

Upon seeing the figure overhead, Miss Hu Jiu was overjoyed and called out in a pitiful voice, "Sixth Brother."

The brown fox transformed into human form and landed steadily on the ground.

This Mr. Hu Liu is handsome and has a strong scholarly air about him; his appearance makes one feel as if they can smell the fragrance of ink from him.

It noticed the Great Serpent Phantom created by Lu Bai and became wary.

It didn't approach, but stood at a distance, probing calmly, "You actually managed to capture Ninth Sister."

"Heh, you old sixth brother, you really dared to chase me all the way here."

Chang Shengtian's expression was somewhat ferocious, and he ignored the other party's probing.

Lu Bai glanced at the System Panel and confirmed that the "Node" was not on the two new immortals, but judging from the displayed location, the "Node" seemed to be moving towards them.

Judging by their speed, they'll be there in a while.

Since there was no rush, he simply turned to the side and gave Chang Shengtian a concise explanation of the current situation.

"In short, a group of immortals from the Four Great Sects united to overthrow the Incense Sect system, and this series of events was basically orchestrated by this group of immortals."

Chang Shengtian was not far from being completely confused at this moment.

If it hadn't noticed that Master Hu Liu was watching it, it would probably still be fast asleep in the Qinggang Forest.

Before Chang Shengtian could fully process the information Lu Bai had given him, the scholar-like Master Hu Liu calmly retorted.

"Young brother, you are mistaken. We do not intend to overthrow the Incense Sect system; we are merely following the trend of the times..."

"Whatever you call this is fine."

Lu Bai interrupted Master Hu Liu's high-sounding words and suddenly changed the subject, "Do you know about the Reincarnated Demon?"

After all, Miss Hu Jiu was still under Lu Bai's control, and there were also Lord Bai the Fourteenth and Chang Shengtian present.

Under these circumstances, even though Lu Bai's behavior was not very polite, Master Hu Liu did not dare to turn against him easily.

It nodded with feigned modesty. "I've heard a little about it."

Lu Bai pressed further, "Then do you know where all the Reincarnated Demon who were captured are?"

Master Hu Liu exchanged a glance with Miss Hu Jiu before replying, "I don't know much about it; my second brother is in charge of that."

Lu Bai was not satisfied with this answer, and then turned to look at Chang Shengtian and Lord Bai the Fourteenth.

"What do you guys think about taking this guy down first?"

Faced with this suggestion, Lord Bai the Fourteenth hesitated slightly.

However, based on Lu Bai's understanding of this hedgehog immortal, if things really came to a fight, it would definitely lend a hand.

Chang Shengtian, standing to the side, rolled up his sleeves and grinned menacingly at Master Hu Liu.

Lu Bai summarized the cause and effect very well, and it roughly understood the current situation.

It's holed up alone in the woods, clearly having no interest in overthrowing the Incense Sect system; all it wants now is to teach that old man Hu Liu a lesson for daring to monitor it.

"That's a good idea."

As soon as it finished speaking, it spat out a solid ball of Mana towards Master Hu Liu.

Due to its extremely high speed, it appeared almost elliptical.

Master Hu Liu hadn't expected Chang Shengtian to be so ruthless when he got going, but luckily he wasn't completely unprepared.

With a single hand raised, a thick wall of earth instantly rose from the ground.

Bang!

The black Mana ball slammed into the earthen wall, splashing mud everywhere.

Seeing that the two sides had started fighting without a word, Lord Bai the Fourteenth's face was filled with great distress as he conjured a milky white spike and controlled it to attack Master Hu Liu behind the wall from the side.

Sensing danger, a huge fox tail appeared behind Master Hu Liu and flicked the spike away.

The scene looked quite lively, but Lu Bai didn't join in the fighting.

He also kept some attention on the System Panel, since he didn't need to worry about the outcome of this battle.

Although both Chang Shengtian and Master Hu Liu are powerful immortals with the ability to Establish Prefecture and Build Temple, the outcome of a real fight is still uncertain.

However, if we add a celestial being like Lord Bai the Fourteenth, who is "half a step away from building a temple," the balance of the battle tilts significantly.

Unless there are actors involved, there's no other possible outcome.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Chang Shengtian's Mana orbs were spraying out like they were free.

During this time, Lord Bai the Fourteenth would occasionally throw in a sarcastic remark.

In this situation, Master Hu Liu had absolutely no chance to retaliate and could only be suppressed and beaten throughout the entire process.

Moreover, it dared not let its guard down in the slightest, after all, these were two powerful immortals, whose attack frequency was high and whose destructive power was exceptionally exaggerated.

Each collision of Mana would create a violent shockwave beneath the large crater.

Violent shockwaves kept sweeping past, making it difficult for Lu Bai to concentrate on observing the location of the "Node".

Boom!

Ultimately, prolonged defense inevitably leads to defeat.

Master Hu Liu held out for a while, but he made a mistake and was hit squarely by a black Mana bullet.

Its half-fox-like body flew backward and crashed onto the slope of the crater.

Having taken such a severe blow, its aura noticeably weakened, and it could no longer maintain its refined scholarly demeanor.

Chang Shengtian gave Master Hu Liu no chance to catch his breath, and spat out several more Mana bullets to finish him off.

When it felt the time was right, it revealed its true form as a giant serpent and wrapped its tail around it.

It grinned maliciously, manipulating its tail to lift Master Hu Liu in front of it. "Heh, trash, you dare to provoke your Grandpa Chang."

"Aren't you being a little too harsh on him by saying that?"

Lu Bai shifted his attention to the dying Master Hu Liu.

"Well?"

Chang Shengtian was taken aback, not understanding why Lu Bai would speak up for this fox.

Even if the victory is dishonorable, it's still a victory.

Lord Bai the Fourteenth also smiled, preparing to say something.

Suddenly, its expression changed drastically, and it turned to look in the direction of the city gate.

Over there, a thick plume of smoke rose, accompanied by a series of loud and eerie clanging sounds from a wooden clapper.

The rhythm of the tapping doesn't cause discomfort; instead, it's filled with an indescribable sense of harmonious beauty.