Chapter 504: The Three of Us

The Imperial Preceptor was thoroughly perplexed; the temporary space had been constructed by him and the Immortal Cultivator, yet apart from himself as its master, no one should have been able to breach its boundaries and escape.

The reality before him, however, was that without his consent, the Immortal Cultivator had held him tight and dragged them both out of that realm.

Was this the capability of the embryonic Dao Fruit?

At present, there was no other explanation.

The Black and White Venerable was somewhat dazed, sensing that the figure who had suddenly materialized resembled the Imperial Preceptor, yet this swollen, bruised, and heavily scarred face differed vastly from his memory of the man.

The moment the Immortal Cultivator beheld the trio of Lu Yang, the Immortal Fairy, and the Eldest Senior Sister, an intense familiarity struck him, causing his very soul to throb and react.

Yet he quickly recalled that he was now among his own kind, and the Imperial Preceptor was the one receiving the beating.

"First Boss, Second Boss, you've finally come to save me!"

The Immortal Cultivator wept bitter tears; for these past ten days, he had been utterly helpless, detonating himself against the Imperial Preceptor day after day, a truly miserable existence that had left his embryonic Immortal Dao Fruit withered and his soul significantly dimmed, struggling to recover.

By all accounts, as long as the Sect Master and the others discovered his disappearance and called upon his honorary title and true name facing his statue, he should have been able to leave that temporary space.

He had waited ten days without hearing them call.

He guessed that since the Imperial Preceptor could make him forget the Preceptor's own existence, the man could just as easily make the Sect Master and the others forget his.

"Look how disgraceful you are, unable to win even after ten days," the Immortal Fairy said with disdain, eyeing the weeping Third Boss and keeping him three paces away.

With a casual flick of her finger, the Immortal Fairy restored the Third Boss's dimmed soul, making it as vibrant as if it had received new life.

Even the withered embryonic Immortal Dao Fruit swelled with renewed vitality.

"Go back and practice properly. How could my Dao Fruit have so little utility that you only know how to blow yourself up?"

Rich in the experience of self-detonation, the Immortal Fairy needed only a single glance at the wretched states of the Third Boss and the Imperial Preceptor to know this was the result of consecutive explosions.

"Yes!"

"That is more like it. Fine, go hide in the back."

The Third Boss slunk away, taking refuge behind the First Boss and the Second Boss.

Behind the Immortal Fairy and Lu Yang stood the Black and White Venerable, bound tightly to a pillar.

"Brother, what offense did you commit to be beaten so terribly?" the Immortal Cultivator asked curiously, his face filled with gossip, now possessing boundless energy.

The Black and White Venerable: "..."

The Imperial Preceptor’s eyes sharpened like a hawk's upon hearing the Immortal Cultivator address the Immortal Fairy and Lu Yang as "First Boss" and "Second Boss."

Did this mean that of the three members of the Immortal lineage he spoke of, he ranked only third?

And Lu Yang, the target of their current expedition, ranked second?

He felt the depths of this Immortal lineage were terrifyingly profound; this place was not to be trifled with, and he needed to flee immediately.

If the Third Boss was already this difficult to handle, with the Second Boss and First Boss both present, how could he possibly survive a true clash?

Decisive in his actions, he did not hesitate for a second, immediately invoking his embryonic Fruit of Karma to erase his own presence.

With so many people around, his opponent surely wouldn't dare recklessly detonate themselves again and harm the innocent!

A smile curled at the corner of his mouth as he walked openly past the Immortal Fairy; though their plot at the Asking Dao Sect had failed, as long as he and his Master remained, the Great Yu could still be restored!

Smack—

The Immortal Fairy watched the Imperial Preceptor walk past her with a lunatic smile, completely disregarding her presence.

Subconsciously, she raised her hand and delivered a sharp slap across his face.

The Imperial Preceptor spun half a turn in the air, his head hitting the ground with a loud thud as he collapsed.

"Is the Imperial Preceptor an idiot?" the Immortal Fairy wondered aloud, noting that even for an escape, this was absurd.

Was this the level of the Imperial Preceptor, lauded by the Great Yu cultivators as a man of unmatched intellect?

By comparison, she was indeed much smarter.

"He probably is an idiot," Lu Yang nodded in deep agreement, concluding that anyone who devised a plan to infiltrate the Asking Dao Sect couldn't possess a particularly high IQ.

Lying on the ground, the Imperial Preceptor was stupefied; how was this possible, when he had already activated his embryonic Fruit of Karma, how could he still be detected?

Unless...

"An Immortal?!"

The Imperial Preceptor’s eyes widened as he finally realized the gravity of the situation; the First Boss of the Immortal lineage was an Immortal?!

What kind of joke was this? Throughout the entire course of history, which Immortal had ever been bestowed with the title of "Immortal"?

"Soul-Piercing Needle!"

The Imperial Preceptor drew his final Soul-Piercing Needle, the very tool that had once shattered the Immortal Cultivator's soul into fragments!

Aiming at the Immortal Fairy, the needle shot forth with invisible speed, imbued with the attribute of "Oblivion."

The Immortal Fairy extended two fingers, casually catching the Soul-Piercing Needle, and examined it with curiosity: "What is this toy? Oh, an immortal treasure capable of splitting souls, rather cleverly designed. Let's test its power."

Curious, she pricked herself; the Soul-Piercing Needle shattered, leaving her completely unharmed.

"What? Just this?"

The Immortal Fairy curled her lip; this thing was only effective against half-immortals, completely useless against an Immortal with a soul as powerful as hers.

Seeing this, the Imperial Preceptor’s blood turned entirely cold; the Soul-Piercing Needle he pricked himself with pride upon could not offer even a moment's distraction!

One must know that even his Master, the First Imperial Preceptor, was unwilling to take a single strike from it!

He slowly closed his eyes, engaging in a fierce internal struggle, and when he opened them again, his gaze was manic, like a madman: "Immortal, do not think you have won just because I have fallen into your hands. Today, I shall let you witness that a half-immortal with over ten thousand years of cultivation is not so easily dealt with. Even if I must throw away this life, I will tear a piece of your soul away!"

"I sacrifice my life force to the Great Yu!"

Bleeding from his seven orifices, the Imperial Preceptor offered his primordial lifespan as a sacrifice to exchange for a brief, explosive burst of power—another manifestation of the embryonic Fruit of Karma.

Karma, after all, implied an exchange of equal value.

A half-immortal’s lifespan was at least a hundred thousand years; as the Imperial Preceptor felt his years rapidly draining away, bringing his final days closer by the second, his body grew immensely stronger. If he were to fight the Immortal Cultivator again, he was confident he could withstand the self-detonations and capture him alive!

Regrettably, once this technique was invoked, there was no turning back; after the burst, only a few years of his life would remain.

The space trembled, spiritual energy scattered, and a soul-piercing pain arose, while a great terror of unknown origin seized the hearts of those present.

The expressions of the Immortal Cultivator and the Black and White Venerable changed simultaneously, their hearts leaping as they felt a fatal threat from this move!

"You forced my hand, now witness my ultimate technique..."

Thud.

Seeing that the Imperial Preceptor was continuously gathering his strength, the Eldest Senior Sister simply delivered a kick, sending him crashing straight to the ground.

The power he had just gathered vanished into thin air, dissipating completely.

The sacrificed lifespan dissolved into heaven and earth, never to be returned.

"How is this possible? This technique cannot be interrupted!"

The Imperial Preceptor cried out, his face filled with utter disbelief; during this entire excursion to the Asking Dao Sect, not a single one of his decisions had come to fruition, and now, even his suicidal final move had been cut short!

Lu Yang sighed, stepping in front of the Imperial Preceptor and pointing to himself: "Just surrender quietly. With the three of us here, let alone you, even if the Ying Tian Immortal came, he would have to accept defeat."

The Imperial Preceptor took a deep breath, staring fixedly at Lu Yang; since there was nowhere to flee and no way to fight, he would drag this boy down to the grave with him!

He activated another ability of the embryonic Form of the Dao of Karma—the curse.

"I, Jin Buqun, do hereby swear that in this life you shall suffer the eight miseries of birth, old age, sickness, death, unfulfilled desires, encounters with the hated, separation from the loved, and the blazing of the five aggregates; you shall endure the seven tribulations of fire, water, rakshasas, blades, ghosts, shackles, and bitter enemies; while you live, your cultivation shall never advance another step, and when you die, your soul shall be utterly shattered and dispersed!"

The second update will be around eleven o'clock.

(End of this chapter)