"They’re actually invading Red Earth..."
This made Lü Zhong realize that something must be hidden behind all this.
But now was not the time to overthink it.
The Red Earth People’s technology was unreliable. It was adequate for dealing with low to mid-tier Sea Beasts, but they could only sigh in helplessness when faced with Transformed Demon Cultivators. Even when using their ultimate weapon—nuclear bombs—they could hardly stop the Sea Beast vanguard. According to the latest news from his Incarnation, the coastal areas had been completely lost.
Under these circumstances, the five great families hoped to deploy the fortress.
’This is a good opportunity. Let’s see just how much it has improved after a century of modifications!’ With this thought, Lü Zhong sent a command to the Incarnation stationed in the fortress, ordering it to command the Floating Fortress to strike immediately. The goal was to intercept the beast tide outside the Central City and prevent Red Earth from being completely ravaged.
It was crucial to understand that the Central City was where the fortress had been built. Almost all the smelting, casting, and supporting facilities for Red Earth Steel were concentrated there.
It absolutely could not be lost!
At the same time, his original body performed a Rainbow Transformation and shot into the sky, speeding toward the Central City.
With Lü Zhong’s Escape Speed, ten thousand li was a journey of mere minutes, and he soon arrived at his destination. But just then, a figure shot over from the distance like a bolt of lightning. It was an unknown monster covered in black scales, crackling with electricity, lunging straight for him with a ferocious expression.
Taking a closer look, Lü Zhong lost interest.
It was just a Tier Three Sea Beast.
He casually formed a Palm Thunder and blasted it to smithereens.
Afterward, Lü Zhong turned his gaze to the distance. The Red Earth Alliance’s Central City was only a thousand li from the coast, so in the short time it took him to travel, the Floating Fortress had already engaged the beast tide. The Primordial Cannons and Magnetic Rail Cannons opened fire in unison, madly reaping lives.
In just a few breaths, they had taken the lives of nearly ten thousand Sea Beasts.
"Heh, not bad at all!" Lü Zhong chuckled.
To have improved to this extent in a hundred years was already remarkable.
Only after learning more did he realize how horribly skewed the Red Earth Alliance’s technology was. Influenced by a mix of archaeology and self-developed research, and further compounded by deliberate restrictions from the Central Earth Immortal Sects, the Red Earth People’s weapons technology was remarkably backward, despite having mastered nuclear fusion.
That was precisely why Lü Zhong had given them the Magnetic Rail Cannon technology.
Judging from the current results, this move was undoubtedly the right one.
’It’s a pity the overall modifications aren’t complete, otherwise...’
Just then, Lü Zhong’s gaze sharpened. He looked toward a spot in the dense, dark beast tide where two figures were standing. From the Demon Qi that soared to the heavens, he could confirm they were both Late-stage Transformation Demon Cultivators.
One was a burly, middle-aged man in a purple robe and green boots, looking strong and powerful, with a few scales still visible on his face. The other was a strange man with a diamond-shaped hard shell on his back; though he was stooped and leaning on a cane, his face was that of a Child, and he had an extra pair of arms growing from his ribs.
The two of them seemed to be watching a show, completely indifferent to the death and injury of the Sea Beasts.
Lü Zhong’s gaze was unconcealed, and they quickly noticed him. Seeing that only one person had arrived, the Demon Cultivators shot him a vicious glare. The strange man with the hard shell even let out a sinister cackle, licking his sickly green lips with the expression of someone who had just spotted a delicious meal.
"So you’re the so-called Guardian Envoy? To be honest, this big Iron Ball is quite impressive. But I’m more interested in something else. I heard from the Flood Dragon Race of the Water Palace that the Nascent Soul of a cultivator is quite delicious. For us of the Water Race, it’s a rare and powerful tonic. Eating one can save hundreds of years of bitter cultivation. I was just thinking of devouring one to see what it tastes like."
The other Purple-clothed Demon Cultivator also wore a malicious expression.
Evidently, they believed that with two against one, their victory was already assured.
Seeing that the Demon Cultivators were unaware of his true identity and had mistaken him for the Red Earth Guardian Envoy, Lü Zhong actually laughed. However, he didn’t immediately move to finish them off. Instead, he asked their reason for the invasion.
"Reason? HAHAHA, just culling the excess trash in the sea! That’s all the reason you need! Stop wasting my time with this nonsense! You, the black-haired cultivator over there, just accept your death!" With a furious roar, the Purple-clothed Demon Cultivator’s body swelled, instantly transforming into a ten-zhang-tall humanoid figure as he tore through the air to kill his opponent.
With a muffled BOOM, the Purple-clothed Demon Cultivator froze. He hadn’t expected this person’s strength to be in no way inferior to his own. But a savage grin quickly returned to his face. His fist was no simple weapon; it was saturated with Purple Sunflower Celestial Poison, the innate secret toxin of his Purple Sunflower race, and it was incredibly potent and vicious.
At this moment, Lü Zhong noticed it as well.
Looking at his left hand, which now showed a hint of purple, he couldn’t help but reveal a flicker of surprise.
It seemed his luck had once again taken a nosedive. What a coincidence to encounter a poison that countered his Pure Spirit Body. It wasn’t difficult to expel, but if too much of it accumulated, he would have no choice but to abandon that part of his body.
"HAHAHA, it’s your bad luck to run into Uncle Zi! I’d advise you to stop resisting. If you continue to channel your Magical Power, your Nascent Soul will eventually be corroded by the poison. Not only will your death be miserable, but you’ll also suffer needlessly. Why not surrender now and let me give you a quick end!" the Purple-clothed Demon Cultivator roared with laughter upon seeing this.
The other strange man also split his mouth into a wide grin and began to laugh wildly.
"Is that so? It seems my luck really is bad!" Lü Zhong slowly raised his left hand. A Purple Flame ignited upon it, incinerating all the poison in an instant. Only then did he look up at the two demons opposite him, his face filled with mockery. "But from where I’m standing, the ones with the truly bad luck are you!"
He had just been worrying about how to find a Spirit Vein for the Floating Fortress, and now two replacements had delivered themselves to his doorstep.
With the Creation Secret Array, he could completely convert Demon Qi into Spiritual Qi. Two Late-stage Transformation Great Demons combined would surely be equivalent to a Spirit Vein—a large Tier Four Spirit Vein, at that. With two such ’Power Sources,’ the operating costs of the fortress could be greatly reduced.
Seeing the look in Lü Zhong’s eyes, the two demons felt a shiver run through them for some unknown reason.
And just then, with a flash of lightning, Lü Zhong reappeared in front of the strange man. With a cold snort, he flicked out the Thunder-Attracting Needle, which instantly transformed into a streak of golden light and shot toward the Demon Cultivator before him. At the same time, he raised his right hand and produced a Jia Yuan Heavenly Talisman.
He murmured an incantation, forming a purple Thunder Spear.
By now, the two demons had reacted. The Purple-clothed Demon Cultivator rushed forward to provide support but was unexpectedly blocked by layers of Mirror Light. When he saw the lightning that Lü Zhong had condensed, he was instantly terrified, trembling from the depths of his Divine Soul as if he had encountered a natural predator.
Though he didn’t know its origin, the astonishing lightning contained within the Thunder Spear alone told him it was no small matter.
"Be careful!"
Hearing the warning, the strange man’s expression turned grave.
He spat out a yellow light from his mouth, deflecting the incoming Flying Sword. Then, he spun in place and abruptly transformed into a giant, grotesque Human-faced Turtle. Retracting his head and limbs, he made it clear he intended to tank the attack with his Turtle Shell.
Almost at the same instant, the purple Thunder Spear arrived.
The moment it struck the Turtle Shell, it exploded into a purple Thunder Ball.
Lightning flashed and intertwined.
In that instant, the world was filled with an endless purple glow!
To Lü Zhong’s surprise, the damned turtle actually blocked it. His Thunder Spear was no simple attack. Although it only used a fraction of the Little Purple Sky Thunder Skill, it was also infused with the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi from the Spirit Talisman. In terms of power, it was no less than one of his full-strength strikes. For this demon to take it head-on, its strength was clearly extraordinary.
But he didn’t know that the old turtle opposite him was also terrified.
His true form was that of a Human-faced Turtle, the only one of its kind in the world.
The Turtle Shell he bore was born with natural Spirit Patterns and came with a Body Refining Technique that could strengthen it through cultivation. Now, at the Late-stage of Transformation, his Turtle Shell had become incomparably tough; even his companion, the Purple-clothed Demon Cultivator, could hardly scratch it.
Yet now, a single strike from the Thunder Spear had burned a pinhole-sized opening in it.
This left the Human-faced Turtle utterly shocked.
Just as the old turtle hesitated, a bloodcurdling scream suddenly came from ahead. Lü Zhong had switched targets and grievously wounded the Purple-clothed Demon Cultivator with his Thunder Spear, leaving him on the brink of death with a single blow.
"This is disastrous!"
All traces of arrogance vanished from the old turtle. He hastily spat out a yellow light to envelop himself, intending to flee.
There was no other choice; that Thunder Spear was simply too sharp.
For them, the Water Race, it was a terror on par with the Transformation Tribulation Thunder. The moment they fought against it, a good portion of their courage would already be drained away.