Your Ashes Will Be Scattered

People come?

I've only heard of swords coming; what is this "people come" supposed to mean?

And what are you doing raising your foot?

What does "people come" have to do with raising a foot?

The seven members of the Black Lotus clutched their wounds, faces blank, utterly unable to grasp the logic of Lu Ya.

Ning Zhongzi's willow-leaf brows furrowed slightly.

You don't mean to—

Liu Xuanye calmed her internal energy, slowly opening her picturesque eyes. She looked up toward the direction where Yunzhongzi had fled, her calm, sword-like pupils reflecting the starlight.

It was as if she were measuring the heavens and earth; the shadows of the firmament retreated before her, and the stars dimmed in her presence.

Three hundred miles away.

Yunzhongzi, his body wreathed in golden light, burned his Immortal Platform spiritual power continuously, streaking through the night sky like a trail of sparks and lightning.

He was currently mapping out a perfect ten-year plan for revenge!

He thought to himself: though this brat is strong, he only caught me off guard. Once I am fully prepared, with ninety-nine traps and three hundred contingencies in place, revenge will be no difficult task.

Bamboo Spring Sect cannot escape.

Liu Xuanye cannot escape.

And Liu Xuanye's mortal partner—no, that old Immortal Venerable thief disguised as a mortal—cannot escape!

The shame of today, in ten years—no, in a hundred years—I, Yunzhongzi, will pay it back tenfold!

Thinking this, his flight speed increased by another notch.

Suddenly—

A terrifying force pursued him from behind, instantly seizing every muscle, bone, tendon, internal organ, and even his Immortal Platform.

It dragged him backward through the air!

He could not struggle free, no matter what!

What kind of hellish power is this?

Just like that, Yunzhongzi was dragged backward by an irresistible, terrifying force, flying all the way back toward the Bamboo Spring Sect at a speed many times faster than before.

On a nearby floating mountain, a few immortal commoners watched the golden light returning through the sky and muttered to themselves:

"Which immortal sect forgot to bring their spatial ring while traveling?"

Yunzhongzi's eyes split with rage; he pulled out a Field-Exploding Pill and shouted three times:

"Infinite Immortal Release!"

"Immortal Platform Shell Shedding!"

"Three-Part Dismemberment!"

He exhausted every trick in his arsenal, but in a single instant—

His head was already beneath the sole of Lu Ya's foot.

To the onlookers on the Sword Terrace, it had taken only a few breaths for Lu Ya to snatch Yunzhongzi from hundreds of miles away and pin him underfoot.

To stomp a Half-Step Immortal Sect expert from hundreds of miles away in an instant...

Only by witnessing this scene with one's own eyes could one truly feel the shock of such a miracle unfolding before them.

The dazzling golden light illuminated the entire mountaintop.

At the center of the golden radiance, the crowd could not see Lu Ya's face, only a towering silhouette.

Just how much strength has this guy been hiding?

Why can't we feel even a shred of spiritual pressure from him?

Lu Ya was once a man as cautious as Yunzhongzi, grinding his cultivation day and night, eating instant noodles to save money for microtransactions, which is how he forged the first full-level, all-class title in history.

But now that he was invincible, he no longer needed to maintain such effort or caution.

He didn't need to over-display his power, nor did he need to deliberately hide his strength.

At this moment, he felt Yunzhongzi's golden light was too blinding and his immortal projection too massive, so he pressed down with his toe, extinguishing Yunzhongzi's Immortal Release mode just like crushing the ember of a cigarette.

Only then was Yunzhongzi's true form revealed.

He wore a grey martial robe, stood nearly two meters tall, possessed a robust physique, and had a large, hard head.

He looked like a master of physical arts, and his Half-Step Immortal Sect cultivation wasn't bad either; he should have been a tough nut to crack...

So why had he resorted to such cowardly depths?

"This golden body mode of yours is actually pretty decent."

Yunzhongzi was exploding with rage, his heart filled with terror. Just how terrifying was the strength this brat had been hiding?

He sighed with regret; having roamed the world for thousands of years, this was the first time he had been forced to cower beneath someone's foot. The fury of a thousand words converged into a single sentence—

"It's... it's alright."

You're quite composed.

Lu Ya asked again:

"Your friend said you have quite a few valuable treasures on you, so I invited you back for a chat."

My friend...

Yunzhongzi cursed inwardly, but his voice remained unexpectedly calm.

"The few things I have are worth nothing to a master like you, Senior."

"Oh, then let's slaughter you."

"Wait, Senior—"

In Yunzhongzi's eyes, although Lu Ya possessed immense cultivation, he was clearly only in his early twenties. His temperament was as impulsive as a child's, and his power likely stemmed from a fortuitous encounter or some exotic treasure.

As long as he remained unswayed by favor or humiliation, balanced grace with authority, and used both soft and hard tactics, he would surely be able to suppress this brat!

He spoke slowly:

"My master is Yun Zhonghe, the former sect leader of the White Lotus Sect. He is the one who possesses the treasures you desire, Senior."

"If you spare me this time, he will surely be deeply grateful and reward you with precious artifacts."

"Conversely, if you kill me today, you will offend a Nine-Star Immortal Venerable."

Offend a Nine-Star Immortal Venerable?

Kill the small one, and the old one comes out?

Isn't this just harvesting leeks wave after wave?

Lu Ya suddenly became interested.

"So you mean if I kill you, he will definitely come for revenge?"

"That's right."

"Wonderful!"

"My master's divine abilities are vast; he will surely avenge me—"

Before Yunzhongzi could finish, Lu Ya stomped down.

With a squelch, Lu Ya crushed Yunzhongzi into smithereens as if he were stepping on a cockroach.

With a look of shock, confusion, and grievance, Yunzhongzi turned into dust in the blink of an eye, vanishing into thin air.

Even his ashes were scattered...

In the game Ancient Immortal Court, to comply with national regulations and avoid gore, there is no blood when killing; when a person or beast immortal is killed, they immediately turn into fly ash and dissipate, with only spirit beasts leaving behind corpses for consumption.

This has led players to re-evaluate the traditional term "ash-level player."

This world is the same; immortals live for thousands of years, their physical bodies long since becoming castles in the air, light as willow catkins, surviving primarily on the spiritual energy of their Immortal Platforms. When a person dies and their spirit is extinguished, they are simply scattered to the winds.

Lu Ya raised his hand and clenched it, grabbing Yunzhongzi's spatial ring from the swirling ashes without even looking, tucking it directly into his waistband.

The Sword Terrace was deathly silent.

Ning Zhongzi finally reacted, waving her sleeve to sweep Yunzhongzi's scattered ashes into an urn.

Lu Ya was somewhat surprised.

"What are you doing?"

Ning Zhongzi replied:

"Using this to claim the bounty at the Ancient Immortal Court."

"..."

The seven members of Black Lotus felt a chill run down their spines and hurriedly removed their spatial rings, immortal swords, protective jades, and other valuables, placing them neatly in front of them.

Ning Zhongzi flicked her sleeve, collecting all these items, and incidentally gathered the spatial rings and belongings dropped by the other four who had died earlier.

Finally, she asked Lu Ya:

"What about these people?"

"These people were defeated by you; you decide."

No sooner had Lu Ya finished speaking than seven streaks of green sword light descended from the sky, instantly turning the seven of them into ash.

Liu Xuanye had not hesitated in the slightest, saying only with indifference:

"If we leave them alive, any Tom, Dick, or Harry will dare to come and provoke the Bamboo Spring Sect in the future."

After leaving these words, Liu Xuanye, having exerted herself to kill, felt her wounds worsen and her strength fail. A wave of dizziness washed over her, and her body suddenly collapsed.

In an instant, space distorted.

Ning Zhongzi rushed over, but she lunged at empty air; Liu Xuanye was already gone.

She looked back.

Lu Ya caught Liu Xuanye in a bridal carry.

Ning Zhongzi's eyes turned red.

To think that in this lifetime, I would actually see the Sect Master acting like an ordinary woman, collapsing into a man's arms...

At the same time.

An invisible giant sword, carrying the sorrow of the ancient primordial wilderness, pierced straight down from the crown of Lu Ya's head into his skull.

It didn't hurt or itch.

A minor scene.

However, Liu Xuanye in his arms had her meridians severed, and her internal organs were completely pierced through.

Her face was pale, her lips bloodless, and fresh blood slowly soaked through the green gauze on her chest, as if she were wearing a beautiful red dress.

Lu Ya thought to himself, this woman's body had long since reached its limit, yet for the sake of the sect's dignity, she had disregarded her injuries to slay the enemy with her own hands; she truly possessed the spirit of a hero.

At this moment, Liu Xuanye, lying in Lu Ya's arms, was breathtakingly beautiful and chillingly cold, yet her body was unexpectedly soft...

She is a woman after all!

Back when he was controlling the Lotus Pattern Sword, Lu Ya had already secretly acted to slightly suppress the power within her Immortal Platform—only then did she have the chance to fight to her heart's content.

Through this battle, he discovered that Liu Xuanye was born as one with the restriction in her body; the soul and the restriction were fused so tightly it was extremely rare. Perhaps Liu Xuanye was merely an auxiliary vessel, and the restriction was the true essence.

Although Lu Ya's medical skills were maxed out, even a clever housewife cannot cook without rice. Removing the restriction empty-handed would inevitably damage her soul. It would require certain medicinal herbs, which was troublesome and not worth the effort.

Unless he used one of his sealed skills, but it wasn't time for that yet!

As for the injuries to Liu Xuanye's body, as long as an immortal's Immortal Platform was stable, physical wounds were easy to recover from. With Ning Zhongzi present, he didn't need to intervene.

An Immortal Master, having successively experienced severe injuries from a restriction triggered by a max-level gaze, breaking out of the mountain-protecting formation, and forcibly killing someone while on the verge of collapse...

To think she could still be alive!

Holding the beauty in his arms, Lu Ya suddenly began to believe in fate as well.

This woman's background was definitely not simple.

However, to Lu Ya, Liu Xuanye's secrets and her husband-killing restriction were secondary. As long as she didn't hinder his life as a salted fish, she was his good wife.

At this moment.

The two young girls by the bamboo forest woke up.

Seeing the Sect Master covered in blood in Lu Ya's arms, they immediately burst into tears.

"Sect Master!"

"Sect Master, wuwuwu..."

"Sect Master, please don't die!"

"..."

Ning Zhongzi hurriedly scolded them:

"What are you shouting about? The Sect Master isn't that easy to kill; she'll be fine after a sleep."

"Is that true?"

"When have I ever lied to you?"

"The Sect Master is still alive!"

"That's great!"

Muyu and Feifei breathed a sigh of relief and looked around. All eleven members of the Black Lotus had vanished, leaving only a pitch-black immortal boat shimmering faintly under the starlight.

"How did the bad guys all die?"

"We haven't even made a move yet!"

"Who exactly drove the bad guys away?"

Taking a closer look, the Sect Master was covered in blood, heavily injured and unconscious; their master was not skilled in combat, and at this moment, her face was pale, her chest heaving, and she was also reaching her limit; only Lu Ya was perfectly fine...

The two of them immediately took their guess as fact.

"Needless to say, it must be Lu Ya!"

"He's even more powerful than us!"

"Who brought back a dao companion for the Sect Master?"

"Who brought back a savior for the Bamboo Spring Sect?"

"Who changed the history of the Bamboo Spring Sect?"

"It was Xiu—"

Before Muyu could finish, Feifei covered her mouth with one hand.

"That's right, it was indeed me!"

They're even putting on a little show...

Lu Ya's eye twitched.

With the little skit finished, the two girls leaped away and ran off to play on the immortal skiff.

Ning Zhongzi shook her head and let out a long sigh of relief.

She checked Liu Xuanye's pulse once more and discovered that her Immortal Platform was stable. Even though the mountain-protecting formation had been shattered, the restrictions within her Immortal Platform had not loosened in the slightest; in fact, they were even more secure than before...

This was something she had failed to achieve despite a thousand years of effort!

She even began to doubt her own knowledge of pharmacology.

Although she hadn't seen Lu Ya cast any spells, she knew it was his doing.

"How did you do it?"

Lu Ya didn't know how to explain it either.

Should he say he just pressed his hand down on her?

He put on a mysterious air and said:

"Perhaps this is destiny."

A glimmer of softness flashed through her delicate eyes. Ning Zhongzi bowed her graceful, immortal form and offered Lu Ya a deep, formal salute.

The formal salute was the highest etiquette in the Immortal Realm, usually reserved only for those one respected most deeply!

"If not for your generous intervention tonight, the Bamboo Spring Sect would no longer exist. Our Sect Master has been proud since childhood and does not speak of gratitude lightly, but she holds no disrespect toward you. On behalf of the Sect Master, I thank you, Senior."

Senior?

Lu Ya glanced at Ning Zhongzi indifferently.

He couldn't help but think of the fairy cakes she had prepared for Muyu Feifei, her dazzling array of self-researched black medicines and superb nursing skills, and the impulse that drove her to step forward and block the sword even when she knew she couldn't save Liu Xuanye...

Looking at the four members of the Bamboo Spring Sect, although Muyu Feifei was mischievous, the two older women were quite interesting.

Thinking this, Lu Ya just smiled leisurely:

"You've made me sound old, Senior Sister."