Something's Wrong! How Do You Have a Core Formation Law Treasure?!

In an instant, flames blazed across the sky above the imperial palace. Scarlet fire poured down like the Heavenly River, scorching the curtain of rain into a roiling white mist. Beneath it, Li Zhengjun had nowhere to run.

But Li Zhengjun darted through the sea of fire, moving even faster than Daoist Lu had with his blood escape!

Seeing his Law Technique miss, Daoist Lu's pupils contracted. Only then did he notice that a pair of spirit wings had appeared on the young man's back at some point. Light shimmered over them as they spread, clearly marking them as a fine treasure.

"This presence... this speed... They must be at least a high-grade Qi Refinement Law Artifact!"

Daoist Lu ground his teeth in hatred. At times like this, he always envied the children of Aristocratic Clans.

Why could these Aristocratic Clan descendants match the speed he had sacrificed his lifespan to gain with a mere Law Artifact?!

"Damn it! Take this!"

Daoist Lu grew ever more frenzied, unleashing fire techniques like a raging storm.

Li Zhengjun did not rush to counterattack. He relied on the Law Artifacts he wore to neutralize or dodge each attack in turn.

This was the Lineage's first battle of techniques in the Great Scarlet Realm, the first clash between the Technique Methods of two worlds.

This battle was of great significance. Once it was recorded with an image-recording stone and given to the Lineage for analysis, they could use it to estimate the combat strength of this world and provide a better reference for the next step in expanding their territory.

Thus, Li Zhengjun drew out as much of Daoist Lu's strength as he could for analysis.

At the same time, Li Zhengjun noticed something amiss. The Old Devil's attacks seemed furious, but he was actually stalling, apparently waiting for something.

Jiang Cheng's testimony surfaced in his mind. The soul banner—the old Daoist's true killing weapon-had yet to appear.

Sure enough, a few breaths later, several ghostly figures came silently at him amid the flames.

Li Zhengjun was prepared. He shifted slightly to evade their attack, then struck back with a bright yang technique, blasting them apart.

His move exposed, Daoist Lu snorted coldly and stopped concealing it. He unfurled his soul banner, and dozens of vengeful souls surged out at once, blotting out the sky as they pounced on Li Zhengjun.

Li Zhengjun remained unflustered. With a turn of his hand, he took out an ancient, unadorned Law Seal and cried out:

"Bright yang suppresses the mountain, driving demons and evil away. With the sun as the guiding principle, let ten thousand souls lie subdued and hidden!"

The Law Seal flew from his hand and swelled in the wind, becoming a blazing golden sun suspended above the hall.

Golden light poured down, and the vengeful souls melted inch by inch like lingering snow beneath the sun, their shrill wails filling the air. In the blink of an eye, every last one had been suppressed.

The Mountain-Suppressing Seal was a bright yang spiritual treasure taken from True Person Yuhong's study. Made to counter demons and evil, it was the natural bane of such yin-soul techniques.

Daoist Lu still refused to concede, bringing out everything he had learned in his lifetime, one move after another.

Calm-faced, Li Zhengjun tossed out two more Law Artifacts: a Radiant Yang Ruyi and a Devil-Suppressing Spirit Lock.

He activated all three Law Artifacts at once, neutralizing every one of Daoist Lu's techniques and vengeful souls, giving him no chance to get close.

"How... how many trump cards does this brat have left?!"

Under the combined suppression of the three bright yang Law Artifacts, the soul banner Daoist Lu had nurtured for more than a decade fell completely silent. Even the Devil Cultivators fighting the Li family's disciples in the hall suffered severe damage to their cultivation when they were caught in the Law Artifacts' effects.

Daoist Lu finally froze.

He did not dare gamble any longer. These people had so many Law Artifacts that it was as if Spirit Stones cost them nothing, and their Cultivation Methods were so bizarre he had never heard of anything like them. Every technique faintly countered his Devil Cultivation Method.

This was no chance encounter, but a hunt long in the making!

Now that his identity had been exposed, he had to flee at once!

"Run!"

With that thought, Daoist Lu abandoned the fight without hesitation, forming Hand Seals as he fled.

This time, he did not even bother testing the way. He directly burned his Essence Blood and lifespan, pushing his blood escape to its limit and becoming a streak of blood-red light that shot toward the palace walls.

Yet an instant before he reached the wall, he came to an abrupt halt.

Daoist Lu forced himself to stop, and only then did he see that the entire imperial palace was shrouded in a light barrier covered in lightning patterns.

The barrier faintly resonated with the thunderclouds overhead. Whenever thunder rumbled, the barrier flashed in response.

"What?! When was this formation set up?!"

Daoist Lu was utterly dumbfounded. This formation was far more intricate than the great Thunder Method formation he had seen before.

But that great Thunder Method formation had been used against Foundation Establishment cultivators. He was only a Qi Refinement cultivator—what had he done to deserve such an honor?!

"I only ate a few mortals! Why are you acting as though I violated the laws of heaven?!"

Just then, Li Zhengjun's voice rang out behind him.

"Devil Cultivator, take this!"

The seals between Li Zhengjun's fingers shifted, and dawnlight surged from every part of his body like a tide.

The Double Radiance Bright Yang Wheel-Nurturing Scripture revealed its edge for the first time. Bright Yang Qi became countless invisible sword edges, pouring down on Daoist Lu from every direction wherever his fingertips pointed.

The rain of light wove a seamless net, forcing Daoist Lu to scramble in every direction. He was in a sorry state, his Daoist robe already riddled with holes.

"Is this really a technique someone at the Qi Refinement Seventh Layer should have?!"

As Daoist Lu dodged in panic, his thoughts raced. Suddenly, an idea struck his chaotic sea of consciousness like lightning.

Since we began fighting, this boy has brought out an endless succession of talismans, Law Artifacts, and Law Techniques, but every one of them attacks from afar or defends up close. He never lets me within three zhang. Could his body be weak, unable to withstand a close-range blow?

Most of the Aristocratic Clan descendants he had seen were like that. Raised in comfort and luxury, which of them would be willing to follow the body-refinement path, with its slow, grinding labor?

Daoist Lu sneered inwardly, as though he had seized the last straw that could save his life.

It seems it's time to use my Secret Method! Even if this boy has some protective Law Artifact, it surely won't withstand my Devil Cultivation Method!

A trace of resolve flashed in Daoist Lu's eyes. He knew he could wait no longer.

"You forced me to do this!"

He was a body cultivator, after all. His body was his greatest asset!

To glimpse the Foundation Establishment realm with the Devil Cultivation Method he practiced, he had to refine his body until it was as powerful as a Demon Beast's. The creature he had chosen to visualize back then was a giant forest deer, which was also how he had come by the name Daoist Lu.

Yet powerful as this Devil Cultivation Method was, it came at a deadly price. Once he activated its transformation, it could indeed grant him a brief surge in strength, but after the method's effects faded, he would be weaker than a mortal, and the damage to his lifespan would add frost to snow.

His foundation had long since been damaged, and what little lifespan he had left could not withstand such waste.

But this was no time to dwell on that. He had to survive first!

Daoist Lu circulated his Devil Cultivation Method to its fullest and threw back his head, letting out a long howl that was neither human nor beast.

His body twisted violently amid sharp cracks like popping beans. Before long, a giant reddish-brown elk burst through the dissipating green flames and stood proudly before the Pill Furnace.

Its antlers were as large as a canopy, wind rose beneath its hooves, and its blood-red eyes locked tightly onto Li Zhengjun.

"Junior! You forced me to do this!"

Since his opponent wanted him dead, Daoist Lu would never sit and wait for death. He had already made enemies of the righteous path anyway, so he did not mind killing another Aristocratic Clan descendant!

As long as he killed this brat, he could flee overseas. So long as the green hills remained, he would never lack firewood!

The giant deer stamped with all four hooves and moved as swiftly as a ghost, leaving only an afterimage in the hall.

Before the spirit wings on Li Zhengjun's back could beat, those fearsome antlers were already crashing toward the center of his back with immense force.

The Radiant Yang Ruyi and Devil-Suppressing Spirit Lock hummed at the same time, weaving together into a barrier of light that collided thunderously with the antlers.

The barrier shook violently, barely blocking the blow, and used the force of the impact to move him to another position.

Li Zhengjun steadied himself and brought out Law Artifacts and thunder talismans, using offense as defense.

"He's finally getting serious! Just as Jiang Cheng said, that body really is formidable!"

Li Zhengjun narrowed his eyes slightly, never ceasing his Law Techniques.

Having failed to succeed with one blow, the giant deer grew even more frenzied. Only one thought filled his mind: end the fight quickly. He had to finish this battle before his Devil Cultivation Method drained him dry.

After several exchanges, Li Zhengjun, who was no body cultivator after all, finally left an opening in his Movement Method.

Daoist Lu seized the opportunity, drawing on every ounce of essence in his body and burning five years of his lifespan to push his strength to a peak he had never reached before!

A layer of dark red devil light, mingled with blood flames and vengeful souls, wreathed his antlers.

This blow was his strongest, combining body techniques, Law Techniques, and soul techniques into one!

Even a cultivator at Qi Refinement Great Perfection would perish on the spot!

Daoist Lu could no longer avoid the attacks. He chose to withstand them head-on in exchange for Li Zhengjun's death!

The giant deer became a dark red meteor, trailing billowing blood flames as he charged fiercely at Li Zhengjun.

Bang!

The muffled impact made the hall hum. The Li family disciples and Devil Cultivators fighting inside were caught in the shock and stopped.

Yet the sight of blood splattering on the spot that Daoist Lu had anticipated never appeared. The blood flames abruptly froze when they came within a foot of Li Zhengjun!

That tremendous force, enough to split mountains and shatter stone, vanished without a trace, like a clay ox sinking into the sea!

A gentle yet irresistible force pinned Daoist Lu's enormous body in midair. His limbs hung limp, unable to move an inch.

He looked up in horror. Dawnlight blazed around Li Zhengjun, and a suit of precious armor emerged over his body. Its gilded scales were as fine and close-set as a dragon's, and a piece of warm jade at its heart slowly drew in and released the radiance of the great sun.

The light was extraordinarily gentle, yet it carried a majestic presence that brooked no violation.

Before that light, the Devil Cultivation Method Daoist Lu had practiced all his life, the power gained by burning his lifespan, and the dark red devil light mingled with blood flames and vengeful souls all seemed utterly feeble and laughable.

Every trace of evil, every shred of resentment, every hint of killing intent was silently washed away by the dawnlight.

"This... this is a Foundation Establishment Law Artifact!"

"No!"

Daoist Lu's whole body began to tremble violently. This presence reminded him of a Core Formation True Person he had once seen. The pressure that True Person had emitted was exactly like that of the precious armor before him!

"It's a Core Formation Law Treasure!"

His desperate will to turn the tables crumbled completely in that instant, leaving only a chill that pierced him to the bone. He even forgot to struggle, slumping inside the light barrier like a clay figure drained of all its strength.

Li Zhengjun looked down at the face filled with fear and despair, his gaze as calm as water, without pity or mockery.

He slowly raised his hand, and a Law Sword, black as ebony from end to end and lustrous as jade, formed inch by inch above his palm.

The sword was named Luminous Brightness. It emerged from its sheath without a sound.

Its light traced an utterly simple, pristine arc. The next moment, Daoist Lu's head parted from his body.

His body did not immediately fall apart. Instead, starting at the severed neck, its flesh peeled away and crumbled inch by inch like grains of sand, spinning and twisting silently in the air before finally exploding into a blood mist that filled the sky.

"You did well to force out the Bright Radiance Evil-Suppressing Mystic Light Armor."

Li Zhengjun watched in silence. With the Double Radiance Bright Yang Wheel-Nurturing Scripture empowering him, his eyes turned gold, and he saw something ordinary cultivators could never perceive.

Several platinum threads emerged as Daoist Lu's body disintegrated after his death.

Some of these threads were drawn into Luminous Brightness, adding a little more brilliance to its treasured glow.

Others rolled through the air, drawing in the surrounding bright yang Spiritual Qi before flowing into Li Zhengjun's body.

"Daoist Lu stole the Ning Kingdom's authority and held it for nearly twenty years. Though he wasn't its true ruler, he still accumulated a little destiny."

Those platinum threads just now had been destiny, and they had drawn in a full twenty strands of Bright Yang Qi.

"But the Ning Kingdom is only a corner of mortal land, after all. Its destiny is limited, and there was too little of it in the end."

Li Zhengjun glanced at the three Innate Thunder Sha Evil-Slaying Talismans in his sleeve that he had not used, and shook his head with a laugh.

His grandfather and the clan elders had been a little too cautious after all. With all this equipment, it was as though he had come to hunt a fearsome Foundation Establishment beast, only to deal with an old mountain deer that had barely learned to take human form.