Chapter 680: I’m Weak Here

The middle-aged man did not expect this unpresentable old man to be capable of piercing his armor and dealing such a heavy blow.

“How did you reach this land?”

“From the Endless Ocean in the north,” the middle-aged man replied tonelessly.

“What’s your name?” Lu Zhou asked.

“Gu Ming of the Sky Martial Court.” Gu Ming adjusted his position and looked up as he said, “A month ago, I came on the transporter across the sea. I’ve been laying low in this forest when I encountered the manman. Then, I used the talismans to harass them and made them attack the city.”

“Since you’re from the red lotus domain, why do you want to attack a human settlement?” Lu Zhou found this weak Eight-leaf cultivator audacious. Even the Nine-leaf Jiang Wenxu, who was here several centuries ago, was not as audacious as Gu Ming who attacked a human city as soon as he arrived. He was vicious.

Gu Ming said, “We want to know how powerful you are as a whole. The strength of a Nine-leaf cultivator is needed to kill the manmans. Only when we’re sure... that...” He stopped talking abruptly.

“Only then you’ll invade, right?” Lu Zhou finished the middle-aged man’s words.

Gu Ming looked away.

Lu Zhou said, “Of the grand cultivators here, I’m considered weak.”

Gu Ming frowned deeply. He looked at this old man as tides of fears surged in his heart. He had confirmed that Lu Zhou was a Nine-leaf cultivator. If this the old man’s words were true, then... the red lotus domain would be in danger! His heart thumped wildly against his ribcage. In the end, he said, “I don’t believe you. Before you showed up, nobody was able to stop the manmans. My comrades are...”

“So, you have comrades here.”

Gu Ming realized he said the wrong thing, but it was already too late. In the end, he said, “I don’t even know where they are...”

“What is Sky Martial Court?” Lu Zhou asked.

Gu Ming did not answer the question immediately. He could tell the old man was trying to understand the red lotus domain. If a Nine-leaf cultivator was considered weak here, he would become a great sinner cursed for generations if he were to give out too much information about the red lotus world and brought a devastating calamity to his homeland.

When Lu Zhou saw Gu Ming keeping quiet, he said, “Is Jiang Wenxu from the Sky Martial Court?”

Gu Ming was shocked and frightened. The old man knew more than he expected. “He’s from the Flying Star House, not the Sky Martial Court.”

“Flying Star House...” Lu Zhou repeated the name.

“There are two Nine-leaf cultivators in the Flying Star House. Jiang Wenxu is one of them.”

“Who’s the other one?” Lu Zhou asked.

Perhaps, it was because of Jiang Wenxu, but Lu Zhou did not have a good impression of the Flying Star house. They would certainly have a conflict if they were to meet in the future. It would be good for him to understand more about them now.

Gu Ming replied, “Grand Elder Ye Zhen.”

Ye Zhen.

Lu Zhou made an effort to remember the name. Then, he asked again, “What’s the red lotus domain’s intention of coming here and studying the transporters?” He needed to obtain much information. His understanding of the red lotus domain was superficial and insufficient.

Gu Ming lowered his head and said, “Old mister, I’ve answered many of your questions. Can I go now?”

Lu Zhou shook his head. He turned around and faced Gu Ming with his back. He looked at the pair of manmans and said, “You may leave if you tell me everything about the red lotus domain in detail. Otherwise, you’ll end up like the manmans.”

Swoosh!

“Die!” Gu Ming moved like a fired arrow. He unleashed all of his Primal Qi and charged forward with a red lotus. The remaining veins on his armor and the red lotus complemented each other’s lights dazzlingly.

Lu Zhou sensed the danger coming at him from behind. He knew he had no time to turn around so he did not hold back and unleashed the power of muting.

The blue lotus blossomed under his feet.

Like light and shadow, permeating everywhere while staying still in samadhi.

Bam!

Gu Ming rammed into the blue energy shield with his red lotus. He had pretended to be submissive so he could wait for an opportunity to kill Lu Zhou. However, he did not expect his attack would be deflected. His heart sank to his feet as he exclaimed, “Blue?!”

All of a sudden, Gu Ming felt the golden lotus domain was far more complicated and terrifying than he had imagined. Men had always had a healthy fear of the unknown. To him, Lu Zhou was an unknown person whom he feared.

Lu Zhou turned around slowly. He said coldly, “Futile.”

The blue lotus spun as a blue lotus shot out and landed on Gu Ming. His expression was unsightly as his chest caved in and his limbs were severed. He was sent flying by the blue energy.

The plants in an area of ten meters were instantly crushed. The trees in a 100-meter area fell. Everything in a 1,000-meter area was affected.

After the blue lotus energy ran its course, a dismembered and disfigured Gu Ming fell out of the skies.

“Ding! Killed a target. Reward: 1,500 merit points. Domain extra: 1,000 merit points.”

“Ding! Killed a male manman. Reward: 4,000 merit points.”

“Hm?”

‘The manman is dead as well?’

Lu Zhou no longer paid any attention to Gu Ming. He looked at the manmans.

The heavily injured male manman was killed by the Heavenly Writing power.

After being hit by the Heavenly Writing power, the female manman was also gravely injured.

“I’ve used too much out of carelessness.” Lu Zhou felt helpless.

Gu Ming was protected by his armor and the red runes. Moreover, he could not tell if Gu Ming was armed with any other weapons. After all, his understanding of the red lotus was too shallow. TO be safe, he had used one-third of his extraordinary power to deal with Gu Ming.

Half of the extraordinary power could kill Chi Yao. One-third could kill the male manman, but not the female manman.

The manman’s reward was only 4,000 merit points. Clearly, it was weaker than Chi Yao.

From this, Lu Zhou could infer that it was safer to use half of his extraordinary power if he wanted to kill a huge beast.

The gravely injured female manman flew back and crashed into a few trees. It struggled to get up.

Lu Zhou did not do anything. He saw the female manman removed the remains from the trees from its own body with difficulty and flapped its wings. It flew for a few meters before crashing down. It was not running away. Instead, it was trying to make its way toward the male manman. Blood drenched its talons and feathers.

The female manman struggled for a long time as it moved toward the male manman. It spent a long time dragging itself forward, leaving a bloody trail in its wake. When it finally reached the male manman, it rested its head on the male manman’s body and looked at Lu Zhou. There was no hatred or hostility in its eyes. Instead, it seemed relieved. It crooned in a low voice.

Lu Zhou saw the red runes on its talons, and he waved his arm.

The runes fell to the ground and disappeared.

The female manman withdrew its wings. It blinked again before closing its eyes as though it was tired.

“Ding! Killed the female manman. Reward: 4,000 merit points.”

There are birds on Chongwu Mountain that resemble mallards with one wing and one eye. They fly in pairs and were known as manmans.

Lu Zhou sighed. All creatures had intelligence. Sometimes, men could not even compare to birds.

He continued to study the manmans. He wondered if they would drop unique items just like Chi Yao did. However, there was nothing.

He did not stay long before leaving in the air.

...

An hour later after Lu Zhou left...

Two armored cultivators with red bandanas on their heads flew forward.

“Over here!”

The two of them hurried over with talismans made from red runes. When they saw the scene before their eyes, a shocked expression appeared on their faces.

“Gu Ming!”

They were greatly shaken when they saw the disfigured and dismembered limbs.

“There’s an elite!” The duo’s expressions turned grim.