When Indra turned toward Zuo Ruotong, golden flames still burned in his eyes.
Zuo Ruotong had lost the will to live and wanted to die, yet his instinct for survival stirred.
His body activated Reverse Birth Triple Layer on its own, once more entering a Qi-transformed state.
Indra's gaze swept past Zuo Ruotong and took in their surroundings.
The Japanese soldiers, ninjas, and monks from earlier had been only a vanguard.
Their ambush had never been meant for an unknown nobody like Indra. Their target was Zuo Ruotong, the Great Fullness Immortal.
The squad of thirty-odd Japanese had been there to hold Zuo Ruotong in place.
The main force followed close behind.
A full company of Japanese soldiers closed in from every direction, completely surrounding the area.
They were heavily armed, with heavy machine guns and mortars at the ready.
But when they saw Indra standing in midair, horror spread across their faces.
Someone who could fly had clearly gone beyond the bounds of being human!
"He's just an innate ability user!"
"But aren't innate ability users supposed to have only one power?"
"Who cares? Open fire! Kill him!!"
The Japanese officer screamed, drawing his blade and pointing it straight at Indra.
At the order, the soldiers forgot about Zuo Ruotong on the ground and trained their guns on Indra.
"Heh."
Indra chuckled. With a light tap of his toes, he activated the Rabbit Talisman and the Rooster Talisman together.
He sped through the air, raised his right leg high, and let gravity pull him down.
"Reverse Rebirth First Layer: Heavenly Kick of Pain!"
As the flesh of his body turned to Qi, Indra gathered Chakra in his right leg and released it all at once!
The two forces combined in that single kick!
His leg came down like a battle-axe, striking the shouting officer on the crown of his head before the eyes of every soldier.
Splat—BOOM!!!
The officer's body burst into a cloud of blood.
The violent force slammed into the earth, and the ground for dozens of meters around caved in!
Rumble!!
Shattered stones sprayed outward like machine-gun fire, cracking skulls and caving in the bodies of dozens of nearby soldiers!
Dense cracks spread like a spiderweb across an area half the size of a sports field.
The remaining soldiers stared in shock, their legs trembling. That terrifying destructive power surpassed even their most advanced shells!
And they called this an ability user?
He was nothing like the ability users they'd killed!!
As Indra flew out of the dust, the Bihu Mountain Ninja Group members hidden among the troops could no longer stand by.
"Attack!"
"If we don't act now, it'll be too late!"
They exchanged glances and struck without hesitation.
By then, Indra had also gained the Horse Talisman and the Dog Talisman.
He had not used the Ox Talisman in that all-out strike. He had relied entirely on his own strength.
If he had simply stomped the ground and channeled Chakra through his leg, the blow would not have injured him.
But to maximize its force, he had dived from the sky.
Had Reverse Rebirth First Layer not transformed his flesh into Qi and absorbed most of the impact, his right leg would have done more than fracture. It would have burst apart on the spot.
None of that was a problem, though. The Horse Talisman kept him from injury.
Indra turned his attention to the remaining soldiers.
"Mind Snake Curse!"
One of the ninjas raised his hand, and a transparent serpent shot from his wrist.
He had fed this "mind snake" with his own blood and Qi. It could kill without leaving a trace.
Seeing their comrade act, the other Bihu Mountain Ninja Group members hidden in the ranks immediately unleashed their secret arts.
The soldiers wasted no time either, aiming their heavy machine guns and mortars at Indra.
"You dare show off those paltry tricks before me? Take my Dragon Explosion!"
Indra raised his left hand, and fire poured from the Dragon Talisman embedded in his palm.
A fierce, searing column of flame erupted. The mind snake hurtling toward him merely grazed it before turning to ash.
BOOM!!!
Fire surged skyward. Several heavy machine guns, the mortars, and more than thirty Japanese soldiers all turned to ash.
The Bihu Mountain Ninja Group members froze, staring in disbelief at the crater before them.
Never before had they seen an instantly cast technique wield such power!
That made no sense!!!
Indra answered them by unleashing everything he had.
Lightning flashed from his eyes, and dragonfire roared from his palm.
Japanese bullets flew at him, and the Bihu Mountain Ninja Group members unleashed their secret arts, but none could harm him in the slightest.
Under Zuo Ruotong's gaze, less than a minute passed before the entire company of Japanese soldiers and all twenty Bihu Mountain Ninja Group members perished in the sea of fire.
The sight shattered Zuo Ruotong's understanding of the world.
With power like that, calling Indra an "immortal" was no exaggeration!
Indra then drifted over and landed before Zuo Ruotong.
"Master, you don't need to be so tense."
The golden flames in Indra's eyes went out, and his clear gaze met Zuo Ruotong's.
Zuo Ruotong relaxed, and his Qi-transformed body returned to normal.
He asked softly, "Are you still Indra?"
Indra shook his head, then nodded.
"He is me, but I am not him."
"..."
Zuo Ruotong fell silent as countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
He had heard old tales of immortals reincarnating, then returning to their ranks once they had fulfilled their purpose.
The Indra standing before him did bear some resemblance to those legends.
Seeing Zuo Ruotong's uncertainty, Indra clasped his hands and bowed respectfully. "No matter what, you will always be my master!"
"Good child. Hearing you call me Master is more than enough!!"
Zuo Ruotong gazed at the young Jo Luo before him, his face full of satisfaction.
How could he not be delighted to have a disciple who might be an immortal reincarnated?
He had devoted decades to seeking the Dao, only to fail. Worse, he had uprooted the Three One Sect's foundations by revealing to the world that Reverse Birth Triple Layer could not lead to heaven.
But now, in Indra, he saw a real future—or rather, hope of reaching heaven!
Zuo Ruotong could not help asking, "The Six Treasury Immortal Thieves you told me about before—is it a path to immortality?"
He had thought Indra had invented the technique to give him a reason to live.
But after what he had just witnessed, Zuo Ruotong realized that might not be the case.
Jo Luo shook his head. "Immortality may be far beyond reach, but gaining eternal life is easy enough."
He added, "If eternal life makes one an immortal, then yes, this technique can do that."
Zuo Ruotong froze, confusion entering his eyes.
If eternal life didn't make someone an immortal, what did?
Jo Luo did not explain further. There was no point.
To him, eternal life alone fell far short of making someone an "immortal."
Jo Luo strode forward and gently patted Zuo Ruotong's shoulder.
The next moment, the Horse Talisman's magic flowed through Zuo Ruotong's body, healing every hidden injury he carried.
"What is this!?"
Sensing the change in his body, Zuo Ruotong stopped using Reverse Birth Triple Layer.
His otherworldly appearance vanished in an instant, leaving a white-haired old man in its place.
Yet his face was youthful beneath that white hair. The deathly air that had once hung over him was gone.
Before you continue