Never Look Inward, A Bountiful Harvest

Outside the temple, beneath the curtain of rain, two figures collided again and again, countless raindrops scattering like hidden weapons.

Lu Li's eyes lit up as he immersed himself in his senses. Within his perception, a unique perspective emerged, allowing him to clearly capture the path of Huang Shang's descending fist seals.

It was as though he could foresee the future...

Huang Ling's hair whipped wildly as he attacked like an enraged savage bear, his offensive crashing down in an unceasing storm.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Lu Li neither retreated nor dodged. He met the attacks head-on with his blade, sparks flying as he blocked every fist seal.

The two fought from outside Rebirth Temple all the way into the temple itself. The watching Profound Guards had long since scattered aside, all of them watching their battle with pounding hearts.

Against a clash of this level, even clad in armor, they had no way to intervene. They would only become obstacles in the way and be casually beaten to death!

"Is that even human?!"

A Profound Guard commander's voice trembled slightly. He too was at the Second Layer of Meridian Opening, but he looked at Lu Li as though he were some monstrous freak.

He compared himself in his mind. If he were the one facing Lu Li, even in armor and carrying an iron shield, he would not last a single breath!

They were both at the Second Layer of Meridian Opening, yet the difference between them was as vast as heaven and earth!

The temple had already become a complete wreck. Gambling tables, railings, and wooden walls exploded into splinters.

"What a pity. I can discern martial arts, but I ultimately lack a foundation in blade techniques. I'm too slow."

In another collision, Lu Li took a heavy punch to the shoulder and arm.

The edges of the knuckle guards instantly pierced through his arm, leaving a bloody wound. He was sent flying backward and only managed to stop after smashing through a wooden wall.

With Intransigent Qi reinforcing him, no blood flowed, nor did he feel any pain. His injury even caused the Erosion Essence Scripture to operate on its own, his inner qi surging in overlapping waves.

His severely depleted inner qi became full once more.

By now, Lu Li had grasped the wonders of the Mind's Eye. His realm was lower than Huang Shang's, and though he wielded Xuandu, he knew no blade techniques or martial arts.

Yet, relying solely on the Mind's Eye's ability to foresee the future, he had forcibly fought Huang Shang to a standstill in terms of combat technique.

Huang Shang had trained in martial arts for many years and possessed abundant experience in killing, while Lu Li had practiced martial arts for less than a month in total.

"Later, I'll need to find a blade technique. Combined with the Heart-Breaking Buddha Body, my strength will surely rise to another level."

As Lu Li considered this, he raised his eyes toward Huang Shang. He knew that with the current stalemate alone, victory was still uncertain.

They had already exchanged over a hundred moves. Huang Shang had trained for many years and was extremely sharp in battle, his experience far beyond that of ordinary people.

"Kid, kneel and beg for mercy now, and I can let you die more easily."

Huang Shang grinned savagely, though a faint unease stirred within him. He looked at the long blade in Lu Li's hand, greed flashing in his eyes.

Only now had he realized that the weapon in his opponent's hand was extraordinary.

Huang Shang knew very well that his knuckle guards had been forged at enormous cost from rare thousand-fold refined mixed iron steel. They were incomparably tough, their quality only slightly beneath that of a treasure weapon.

An ordinary blade should have shattered after taking so many of his punches.

Yet the truth was the opposite. The long blade in his opponent's hand was completely unharmed, while faint, nearly imperceptible cracks had appeared in his knuckle guards.

"Heh..."

Lu Li said nothing. Instead, he stepped forward and brought his blade down in an overhead slash, the Field Domain sweeping out and enveloping them both.

"That strange force again... Hm?"

Huang Shang's expression suddenly changed. His blood and qi churned within him, and he felt faintly dizzy and weak. He instantly realized what had happened.

"When did you poison me?!"

Lu Li answered only with a cold gaze.

Lu Li's face turned slightly pale as his inner qi drained rapidly. The Erosion Essence Scripture circulated, condensing Xiangliu's poisonous qi and layering it within the Field Domain.

At the same time, he activated the Weapon Lord, drawing the durability from Huang Shang's knuckle guards through the air. The Intransigent Qi Field Domain suddenly expanded, rising from a range of three feet to six!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Another rapid succession of weapon clashes followed. Huang Shang discovered that his knuckle guards had become rotten and brittle, dense spiderweb-like cracks appearing across them in an instant.

"Aaaah!"

Sparks flew. In one moment, Lu Li severed the knuckle guards, and Xuandu's blade chopped straight toward Huang Shang's fists, drawing a miserable scream from him.

Huang Shang had never cultivated a body-tempering art. Even if he had, how could flesh and blood withstand the edge of a treasure weapon?

His flesh was gouged open, crimson blood spraying out as all ten finger bones snapped!

Huang Shang staggered backward. The intense pain overwhelmed the fury of his hatred. Regaining his senses, he roared:

"Come help me, you useless trash!"

Seeing the situation turn one-sided in an instant, the Profound Guards could no longer sit still. If Huang Shang died, how could they possibly survive?

More than thirty Profound Guards charged into the temple with blades, swords, and iron shields in hand.

They were the elite forces the Huang Household had accumulated over the years. Every one of them was a First Layer of Meridian Opening martial artist, while their leader was at the Second Layer of Meridian Opening.

Seeing this, Lu Li first continued with another slash. Though Huang Shang desperately tried to evade it, half his body was still cut open, his muscles writhing and even his organs visible.

Pfft! Pfft!

Huang Shang's black robe was dyed red with blood, and he too was sent flying backward.

By then, the Profound Guards had arrived and surrounded Lu Li.

"A bunch of worthless rabble..."

Lu Li cast them an indifferent glance and remained standing where he was. Qi surged around him, sending ripples through the air that faintly glimmered with deep, poisonous light.

The Profound Guards advanced in orderly formation with their iron shields raised, but the moment they entered within six feet of him, they abruptly felt their bodies grow heavy.

Ignoring their horrified expressions, Lu Li strolled forward as though taking a leisurely walk. Facing the nearest iron shield, he swung his blade down like a club.

Boom!

With one strike, the iron shield exploded on the spot. The Profound Guard behind it was cleaved in half as well, his severed corpse falling with a thud.

The Weapon Lord drained their durability, while Xiangliu's poisonous qi layered with Xuandu's God-Devouring Blade Qi. These Profound Guards could not even move, much less fight back.

Some of them began to sway faintly the moment they entered the Field Domain, able only to watch helplessly as Lu Li cut down their comrades one after another as though harvesting wheat.

His methods were bloody and violent. Severed limbs covered the ground, blood rising over his ankles and gathering into a trickling stream.

As the final commander was beheaded with a single slash, Huang Shang collapsed to the ground and watched the figure slowly emerge from the pile of corpses.

The qi of Lu Li's Heart-Breaking Buddha Body protected him, leaving his clothes spotless and unstained by blood. Yet a pungent stench of blood filled the air.

"Hehe..."

Blood filled Huang Shang's mouth as he gave a miserable smile, knowing there was no turning things around.

"You really are a monster!"

Huang Shang looked at the gruesome scene around him and fell silent. "Killing only requires a nod of the head. Why must your methods be so bloody?"

Lu Li walked up to him and lowered his gaze. Hearing that, he shook his head with a laugh.

"Compared to the methods of people like you, mine are a hundred times gentler."

"If you knew this day would come, why did you commit evil in the first place?"

Hearing this, Huang Shang seemed to hear something hilarious and burst into wild laughter.

"There are as many villains like me in this world as the sands of the Ganges. And there are no doubt countless others far worse than me!"

"What use are your chivalry and righteous fervor? This world is filthy by nature. Evil can never be eradicated. Good and evil in a person's heart are separated by but a single thought..."

Huang Shang laughed so hard he nearly choked. Blood filled his mouth as he panted and coughed, then finally stared at Lu Li and smiled.

"Let me ask you: if someone spent the first half of his life committing every evil imaginable, harming countless people, but later came to his senses and devoted himself to good deeds, even willingly dying to save others..."

"How would you deal with such a person?"

"If someone suffered endless bullying yet still sincerely did good, but then committed an evil deed that harmed innocent lives in order to protect his family..."

"How would you deal with such a person?"

Seeing Lu Li fall silent, Huang Shang revealed a mocking expression. "The Xue Household stands behind me. If you want to save more people, go to the Xue Household!"

"Someone like you will surely meet a bad end. You'll die on the path of chivalry, hahaha..."

As his words fell, a silver line flashed. Huang Shang's head dropped to the ground, and Lu Li sheathed his blade without expression.

He glanced at the lingering smile on Huang Shang's face, seeming to speak to himself, yet also seeming to answer him.

"How would I deal with them?"

"Of course I'd kill them all. Who cares whether good and evil are hard to distinguish? If people who have committed evil don't die, should a purely good person like me die instead?"

Lu Li shook his head, entirely unmoved by Huang Shang's words. He never dwelled on things.

He had never been someone who cared for the world or pitied all living beings. He understood the complexity of people. A person could never be judged solely by good or evil.

So long as they did not commit atrocities as horrifying as the Myriad Life Sect's practice of mutilating the living, disgusting him to the point of revulsion, Lu Li could not be bothered to care whether someone was good or bad.

Of course, if they provoked him or even became his enemy, then even if they were saints who had done good their entire lives, Lu Li would not show mercy.

Lu Li did not hesitate where he stood for long. Looking at the blood and corpses covering the ground, he revealed a smile.

"What a bountiful harvest..."