"Interesting, interesting, absolutely fascinating!" A man sitting in the spectator stands cried out like a madman.
Had everyone in the stands not been cheering and celebrating, they would probably have taken him for a fool.
Faint traces of fluorescence gleamed in the man's eyes as he watched everything unfolding in the demon beast arena.
Just moments earlier, while the mist spat out by the demon beast obscured everyone's vision, Lu Shang had unleashed a strike with Core Formation strength and slain the beast.
Although Lu Shang's slash at the demon beast's rear had killed it in an instant, one person in the stands had seen it all clearly.
"Heh, a human junior!"
Down in the arena, Lu Shang suddenly felt a faint unease.
This heart-pounding feeling...
I've never felt it since coming here.
Lu Shang raised his head slightly and glanced toward the stands.
There's no mistaking it. This feeling of being watched-it must be Feng Xi.
Lu Shang was certain that Feng Xi was the only person present who could make him feel this way.
After a few words, the Six-Link Hall placed the spirit stones in a box and passed it to the participants in the arena.
After receiving his spirit stones, Lu Shang stepped down, leaving the others to whatever might happen.
Sure enough, moments after Lu Shang stepped down, a commotion suddenly broke out.
Has it begun?
Those inside the stone chamber barely reacted to the disturbance outside; the sounds reaching them were simply too faint.
Lu Shang entered the stone chamber and sat down, quietly waiting for the situation outside to worsen.
Only moments after the disturbance began near the platform, cries of people fleeing for their lives rang out.
Only then did the Six-Link Hall cultivators inside realize something was wrong and prepare to run out.
A moment later, several Extreme Yin Island cultivators entered. Seeing only Lu Shang, they intended to leave three or four men behind while the rest pursued the others down the passage.
"You've got guts, brat. You saw us and still didn't run!"
Lu Shang smiled and let out a contemptuous chuckle.
"Heh!"
"What are you laughing at?" All three men looked furious.
"Mere ants!"
As Lu Shang spoke, six blades of sword qi appeared around him.
In an instant, all three fell.
It's about time to find Fellow Daoist Wen.
Lu Shang slowly rose and walked into the passage.
Extreme Yin Island cultivators kept appearing along the way, and Lu Shang easily killed them all with sword qi.
Just then, a dazzling flash suddenly erupted several yards ahead of Lu Shang, blocking his vision.
When the light dispersed, a little girl fell from above.
Lu Shang extended two fingers toward her, and a surge of spiritual power instantly caught her and lowered her gently to the ground.
Lu Shang walked over and examined her, his brows drawing together. "Are you all right?"
Wang Ling had been somewhat panicked when things first went wrong, but seeing the man she had met yesterday inexplicably eased her tension a little.
"I'm fine, but..."
Tears welled in Wang Ling's eyes as she spoke, and she could say no more.
Just then, several more Extreme Yin Island cultivators caught up to them.
Seeing their pursuers approach, Lu Shang did not want to expose his cultivation, so he said to Wang Ling, "Let's go!"
With that, he took Wang Ling's hand and continued running toward the formation's core.
As they ran through the passage, Lu Shang held Wang Ling with one hand, but his other hand did not remain idle.
He placed his free hand behind his back and flicked several streaks of sword qi behind them.
After a short while, Lu Shang brought Wang Ling to the stone door outside the formation's core.
Unlike Wang Ling, Lu Shang was not well versed in formations. He knew only a few simple methods of pill concoction and artifact refinement.
When he first arrived in this world, Lu Shang had spent a considerable amount of time learning to recognize the writing of the Heavenly South.
Even so, this formation could hardly stop Lu Shang, but since he was concealing his cultivation, a forceful attack was not suitable.
Besides, someone well versed in formations was right here. Opening this door would be a piece of cake.
Wang Ling approached the stone wall and examined it carefully for a moment before beginning to work through it in a methodical sequence.
As several more cultivators caught up, Lu Shang was about to flick out more sword qi to delay them briefly, but just then, a voice came from the stone wall.
"Senior, come in!" Wang Ling called from behind him.
Lu Shang immediately turned and entered with Wang Ling.
Once the two entered, the stone wall closed again.
The moment they entered, they saw a man who seemed to have nothing left to live for slumped at the top.
It was none other than Wen Qiang.
Hearing the movement ahead, he raised his head slightly and saw Lu Shang in the distance.
"Fellow Daoist Wen..." Lu Shang spoke first.
The moment he spoke, Wen Qiang recognized the man of extraordinary bearing before him as Lu Shang, whom he had met more than ten years ago.
Wen Qiang recalled the warning Lu Shang had given him when they parted back then.
Tears instantly streamed down Wen Qiang's face.
Wen Qiang slowly struggled to his feet. "Senior Han, I..."
"So you didn't listen to my advice after all."
Wen Qiang shook his head helplessly.
"On a mere whim, they replaced the third-tier demon beast that was supposed to appear with a fifth-tier one..."
Tears once again brimmed in Wen Qiang's eyes.
Hearing this, Wang Ling also understood how it had all happened.
Learning that the demon beast had been changed on a mere whim struck Wang Ling's young heart like a blow to the head.
Wen Qiang wiped the tears from his face.
"Forget it. What use is there in talking about this now? Neither of you is from Kuixing Island. You shouldn't be dragged into this. There's a teleportation formation here. You two should leave!"
With that, Wen Qiang slumped back onto the stone steps.
Lu Shang looked at him with pity, then led Wang Ling into the teleportation formation.
A moment later, the two appeared on a small island off Kuixing Island.
Standing there, Lu Shang could not clearly make out what was happening on Kuixing Island in the distance.
As a powerful surge of spiritual power appeared in the center of Kuixing Island, an enormous figure emerged.
"The Thunder Roc!"
"Senior, you know of the Thunder Roc?"
"The Thunder Roc, the Demon Beast King from several hundred years ago. I've heard a thing or two about him."
"Go. Someone's coming!"
"Senior, what about you?"
"I have my own way."
With that, Lu Shang patted Wang Ling on the shoulder.
"Take care, Senior. Once I've avenged myself, I'll repay you for saving my life!"
Wang Ling cupped her hands and thanked Lu Shang again before retreating.
A moment later, Lu Shang sent out his divine sense to check on Wang Ling. Only after confirming that she was already far away did he stop concealing his cultivation.
A little while later, two Core Formation Cultivators appeared before Lu Shang.
One exuded an aura of Ji Yin, while the other wore the robes of a Six-Link Hall elder.
"You ran pretty fast, brat. Tell us where that Wang Family girl is!" Wu Chou demanded.
"Young friend, I advise you to tell us the truth. I can still leave you an intact corpse!"
"Heh, a mere early Core Formation cultivator and a middle-stage cultivator think they can take me down!"
With that, Lu Shang stopped concealing his aura, and a surge of demonic qi erupted from him.
Both men were startled.
"C-Core Formation Stage?"
"Elder Gu, you went so far as to betray the Star Palace just to live a few more years, but I really don't want someone like you to get his wish!"
Several enormous Crimson Giant Hands suddenly appeared and seized Elder Gu in an instant.
"Fellow Daoist Wu, what are you waiting for? Save me!" Realizing things had gone wrong, Elder Gu immediately called to Wu Chou beside him for help.
Lu Shang instantly appeared in front of Wu Chou.
With a single kick, he sent Wu Chou flying over a thousand feet away.
Recovering his senses, Wu Chou spat through a mouthful of blood, "I never said I was going to save him! Why the hell did you kick me?"
"Hmph. Junior of Extreme Yin Island, I can't kill you for now, but the next time you see me, you'd better get over a thousand feet away. Otherwise, I know a thing or two about puppet refinement!" Lu Shang threatened.
What? Puppet refinement? Wu Chou was startled.
In the Chaotic Star Sea, Extreme Yin Island was the only place with a complete inheritance of puppet refinement.
If anyone else possessed a complete puppet refinement inheritance, it could only be one other person.
"Scram!"
Lu Shang's shout interrupted Wu Chou's thoughts.
Wu Chou immediately flew away without looking back.
"Fellow Daoist Wu, our deal..."
Before he could finish, Lu Shang easily killed him.
"Nothing but a discarded pawn. Keeping him alive would only waste spiritual energy."
Before you continue