Lu Shui walked through the forest. Zhen Wu and Zhen Ling were no longer by his side, and he knew that.
Or rather, he had deliberately left them behind.
With their Fourth Tier cultivation, the other party would undoubtedly be on guard.
So, to keep him from escaping, going in alone was the best choice.
It was what the other party wanted, and what Lu Shui wanted too.
This Mystic Array was pretty good, though. It should be a magical treasure—well, probably an Eight Directions Array Diagram. He could take it and have some fun with it.
Soon, Lu Shui stopped. Someone stood not far ahead of him: the man who had earlier claimed to be Liu Huo.
He watched Lu Shui with an amused expression, as though waiting for a comical performance.
Lu Shui looked at him too. All right, got him. This man is dead.
"I know you're scared. No need to look around. Your two followers are already gone. You're all alone now." An Ye stared at Lu Shui, as if everything were under his control.
I'm not panicking or looking around. How did he even reach that conclusion? Lu Shui thought, rather helplessly. Still, he decided to strike up a conversation:
"Why did you lure me here?"
An Ye looked at Lu Shui and asked:
"You're some young master, aren't you?"
Lu Shui nodded.
"I am."
"Then you must be carrying quite a few treasures, right?" An Ye asked again.
Lu Shui thought it over. The most valuable things on him were probably the Heaven and Earth Array Patterns, followed by the Book of Becoming a God. Beyond those, he had his Third Tier Five Elements Yin Yang Power and a few handy magical treasures. All in all, they were just passable.
That was what Lu Shui thought, and that was what he said.
Hearing this, An Ye's expression tightened. After a moment's thought, he said:
"Hand them over, and I'll spare your life."
Lu Shui asked, rather curiously:
"If I don't hand them over, I'll die?"
At that moment, Lu Shui noticed Spirit Insects appearing all around him. It seemed that if he didn't cooperate, they would cover him and devour him completely.
"I hope you're a smart man." An Ye watched Lu Shui, his voice laced with a hint of menace.
Lu Shui nodded to show he understood, then asked:
"By the way, are you really Liu Huo?"
An Ye frowned.
"Are you trying to stall for time? Don't bother. A Fourth Tier cultivator couldn't possibly walk into my Eight Directions Diagram.
"And I'm no Liu Huo. What does the Hidden Heaven Sect amount to?
"I'm one of the candidates to become the future Valley Master of Insect Valley.
"This is a secret, so I trust you'll keep it for me, right?"
An Ye looked at Lu Shui, a trace of cruelty in his eyes.
Lu Shui understood. The dead couldn't leak secrets.
Then Lu Shui started toward An Ye and said calmly:
"Have you ever considered that the one who might die here today isn't me, but you?"
"Me? With you, a Second Tier cultivator? I'm on the verge of reaching Fourth Tier." An Ye said it, but he still grew wary.
He even ordered the Spirit Insects to attack Lu Shui.
Better to end this before anything went wrong.
Lu Shui paid no attention to the Spirit Insects around him. He took out a spirit stone.
An Ye was puzzled when he saw Lu Shui pull out the spirit stone. He then watched Lu Shui toss it toward him.
An Ye had no idea what that was supposed to accomplish. But as the spirit stone neared him, he suddenly sensed a burst of power.
The instant he felt it, An Ye was startled and immediately retreated.
Boom!!!
The spirit stone exploded as he pulled back. The blast wasn't powerful, but it wasn't weak either.
An Ye stumbled away from the explosion, looking rather ragged.
"A magical treasure?"
"No, just a spirit stone. I added a little something to it. You could call it a little toy." Lu Shui's voice came from behind An Ye.
The moment he heard it, An Ye's pupils contracted. When did he get behind me?
An Ye tried to escape, but in that instant, Lu Shui's hand was already pressed against him.
Lu Shui held a spirit stone, which was pressed firmly against An Ye's back.
With a deafening boom, the explosion sent An Ye flying. Lu Shui, however, remained where he was, completely unharmed.
An Ye steadied himself as quickly as he could. Part of his back was scorched, but he had no time to deal with it.
The prey he'd been hunting was turning into the hunter.
An Ye glared furiously at Lu Shui.
"You're not Second Tier."
Even a fool wouldn't believe Lu Shui was some newcomer at Second Tier 1.
"When did I ever say I was Second Tier?" Lu Shui said casually, watching the Spirit Insects gathering around them.
An Ye stretched out both hands and took control of every Spirit Insect in the area. His face twisted into a grimace.
"I don't care whether you're Second Tier or not. You're dying here today."
In the next instant, countless Spirit Insects surged toward Lu Shui. In the blink of an eye, they had completely buried him.
"That's not enough." An Ye pulled out a long spear. He had to kill Lu Shui before he could react.
An Ye quickly raised the spear. He channeled all his power into it, then hurled it with all his strength.
"Die!"
Whoosh!!!
The spear howled through the air, plunging straight into the swarm of Spirit Insects.
Clang!!!
The instant An Ye threw the spear and it disappeared into the swarm, he heard a clang. Something then sliced past his cheek.
It was his spear.
He hadn't even had time to react. Fortunately, the spear had only grazed his cheek.
A moment later, a tiny cut appeared on An Ye's face, and blood trickled from it.
It was a minor wound.
An Ye paid no attention to the cut. Instead, he stared warily into the swarm of Spirit Insects.
His opponent wasn't dead.
"Boring." Lu Shui's voice rang out.
The moment the words left his mouth, flames ignited among the Spirit Insects. They surged forth, unstoppable, scorching everything in their path.
In an instant, countless Spirit Insects were burned to ashes.
At that moment, An Ye saw a man standing with his sword planted in the flames. Fire swirled around him without harming him in the slightest. He was the heart of the flames, the Source of Power.
Looking at him, An Ye felt that he had no chance of winning.
As the flames died down, An Ye saw the other man's sword clearly. It was a sword shimmering with seven colors, with dragon-shaped shadows flickering around it.
The instant he saw it, An Ye froze.
"T-The Seven Scales Dragon Roar Sword? H-How could you have such a peerless magical treasure?"
The Seven Scales Dragon Roar Sword had been forged from scales shed by seven different Ancient Dragons. It was an indestructible spirit sword, and the aura of the Seven Dragons lingered within it.
Its power was extraordinary.
There were few like it in the world.
Lu Shui began to raise the sword in his hand and said calmly:
"A peerless magical treasure?
"It's all right, I suppose. I just grabbed a handy sword from the storehouse.
"It's nothing special."
An Ye could hardly believe what Lu Shui had said.
He blurted out:
"W-Who are you?"
"Me?" Lu Shui's sword was already raised, and scorching flames began to flicker along its blade.
The next moment, Lu Shui moved, charging toward An Ye.
In that instant, An Ye felt that what was coming at him wasn't a person, but a sword—and more than that, a dragon. No, Seven Dragons.
For some reason, the power of the man before him wasn't stronger than his own, yet facing him left An Ye feeling utterly helpless.
At that moment, An Ye was like an ant beneath a giant's feet.
A flash of sword light appeared, and the roar of dragons swept past.
An Ye felt the world fall silent.
Then Lu Shui's voice came from behind him:
"Me? I'm the man you were talking about.
"The Hidden Heaven Sect Young Sect Master, Liu Huo."
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