Chapter 74: The Ultimate Move of Pictographic Boxing

"Things are looking a bit troublesome," Lu Yang clicked his tongue, sensing that something was amiss.

The others from the Yanjiang Branch had already departed, rushing off in haste to commit their misdeeds, leaving only the three of them behind.

Left completely unchecked, if the three of them were to cut loose and stir up trouble, they could turn the entire Feixian City completely upside down.

Regrettably, their inherent nature forbade it; they had come to this demonic sect as undercover agents, surrounded by many genuine cultivators of the demonic path.

"No wonder I've never heard of anyone successfully infiltrating the Immortal Sect as a spy. It turns out there is such a trial," Meng Jingzhou also found the situation exceptionally thorny.

"What is the worst misdeed you two most desire to commit?" Lu Yang inquired.

Meng Jingzhou pondered for a long while before offering uncertainly, "Would visiting a brothel count?"

Since his youth, his clan had strictly forbidden him from entering places like brothels, and those uncles who had frequented them always warned that a brothel was a terrifying place where children must never venture.

Having witnessed the wretched sight of his uncles returning home to kneel on washboards, Meng Jingzhou truly believed that a brothel was indeed a dreadful place.

Now, as a bachelor... or rather, possessing the Pure Yang Spiritual Root, it was even more impossible for him to go.

To Meng Jingzhou, a rebellious act like visiting a brothel was the absolute worst misdeed imaginable.

Man Gu could not even begin to conceive of anything at all.

"Never mind, we still have a day left anyway, so let's go to a brothel to relax," Lu Yang suggested, an idea already forming in his mind. What a joke, as if a rule like this could actually constrain him?

It was still early, so there was no need to act just yet. After all, opportunities like this were rare, so they might as well satisfy Meng Jingzhou's wish first.

Meng Jingzhou's eyes lit up. Right, this wasn't his true body, so there was no harm in paying a visit.

"Let's go, let's go," Meng Jingzhou urged the other two to accompany him.

He felt too guilty to venture into such a place entirely on his own.

Unable to sway Meng Jingzhou, the two had no choice but to go along with him.

The brothel was situated in a highly conspicuous location, making it very easy for the trio to find.

Gaudily dressed courtesans stood at the entrance, beckoning patrons with their handkerchiefs. With a single beckon of their slender hands, the souls of the passersby were practically drawn right inside.

Upon reaching the brothel gates, Man Gu began to beat a retreat, stepping backward repeatedly. "I am a scholar. This is no place for a scholar to frequent."

"The sages say that beautiful women are but skeletons in disguise, and those who can topple cities and empires will ultimately turn to white bones. I cannot commit such an error."

The two spent a long time trying to persuade him, exhausting their speech, but they could not move him in the slightest and were forced to give up.

Lu Yang displayed considerable loyalty to his friend. "Since you are unwilling to enter the brothel, I shall go in your stead."

Man Gu breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that Brother Lu was indeed dependable.

Then, he watched with wide eyes as Lu Yang executed a series of pictographic boxing forms, transforming into Man Gu's exact likeness.

Man Gu was utterly stunned.

Lu Yang patted the dazed Man Gu on the shoulder, gesturing for him to set his mind at ease. "I am heading in."

Man Gu hurriedly pulled back his alter ego. "You cannot go! And even if you do, you cannot take my form!"

"I am doing this out of the goodness of my heart to represent you. What a pity it would be if you missed out," Lu Yang spoke with utmost sincerity.

Man Gu adamantly refused to agree.

"Don't be so shy," Lu Yang urged.

In truth, Lu Yang was also incredibly nervous. He had never been to such a place before. What if something went wrong? He would be ridiculed by Meng Jingzhou for the rest of his life. Naturally, Lu Yang thought that by assuming Man Gu's appearance, any embarrassment suffered would not be his own.

Such intentions naturally could not be voiced aloud.

Just as the three were bickering, a thunderous crash erupted from within the brothel, followed by the shrill screams of women and the arrogant laughter of men.

The three whipped their heads around, discovering more than a dozen cultivators acting with utter impunity inside the brothel, some holding innocent women they had plundered from who knows where in their arms.

These cultivators did not even bother to conceal their cultivation bases, all of them being in the Foundation Establishment stage, and the aura of two or three among them was no weaker than that of the previous tiger demon.

These individuals were all cultivators who had come to partake in the trial.

"Scoundrels!" A raging fury soared from the depths of their hearts, prompting them to step forward and halt these men.

Meng Jingzhou and Man Gu wanted to strike, but Lu Yang held them back.

"Do not act rashly just yet. There are only three of us; it is impossible to defeat them."

"Then what do you propose we do?" Meng Jingzhou asked anxiously.

Lu Yang waved his hand. "I have a method to temporarily boost my combat prowess. You two wait for me."

Meng Jingzhou and Man Gu grew curious. They possessed no Ten-Ox Strength Pills on their persons. Could it be that Lu Yang had mastered some secret technique to temporarily elevate his cultivation?

They watched as Lu Yang took a deep breath. His movements grew graceful and soft, and the animation in his eyes shifted into cold indifference. His face became expressionless, his demeanor lofty and aloof.

Meng Jingzhou narrowed his eyes, which suddenly widened in sheer disbelief.

This demeanor bore an uncanny resemblance to their Eldest Senior Sister, Yun Zhi.

Lu Yang was currently executing the Lu Family Pictographic Boxing, transforming into the likeness of Eldest Senior Sister.

He had joked before, claiming that the Lu Family Pictographic Boxing possessed nine realms, and upon cultivating it to the Ninth Heaven, one could transform into a Tribulation Transmutation stage grandmaster in a single thought.

The reason he said this was because he had discovered that when he transformed into Man Gu, his physical strength became somewhat greater than his true self.

The Lu Family Pictographic Boxing allowed him to acquire a portion of the power belonging to the form he assumed.

This power was certainly limited and could not grow infinitely stronger, yet it was already formidable.

Lu Yang wished to transform into Eldest Senior Sister to see just how much power he could obtain, and whether it would suffice to vanquish these men.

Eldest Senior Sister, I crave your forgiveness.

A woman of breathtaking beauty manifested. Her gaze was radiant yet commanding, and between her brows lay a frost that had remained unmelted for ten thousand years.

Upon seeing this beautiful woman, Meng Jingzhou and Man Gu subconsciously held their breath, their legs trembling uncontrollably.

Lu Yang had successfully transformed into Eldest Senior Sister.

Lu Yang felt a surge of mighty power descend from the heavens, flooding into his body.

...

At the Dao Seeking Sect, Heaven Gate Peak.

Yun Zhi sat cross-legged at the very summit of the mountain. Her eyes snapped open, and she gazed up at the sky, as though she could perceive the boundless sea of stars resting on the distant shore.

Her aura was restrained to the absolute limit; anyone who looked upon her would deem her nothing more than a mortal.

Yet a mortal would not hover at the mountain peak, nor would their eyes be filled with the brilliant tapestry of the galaxy.

"Oh? Who has borrowed my strength?" Yun Zhi retracted her gaze, sensing a wisp of power separating from her body and flying toward an infinitely distant place.

"I shall certainly see who possesses such audacious boldness!"

Yun Zhi had never before encountered a thief so daringly reckless.

She shattered her mortal guise, releasing her aura like a fierce halberd piercing through the clouds, fully displaying the grand demeanor of the Dao Seeking Sect's Eldest Senior Sister.

Yun Zhi's divine soul left her body, turning into a streak of piercing light as it pursued that single wisp of power separated from her physical form.

...

"Cough!" Lu Yang could not withstand even a single wisp of Eldest Senior Sister's power, reverting instantly to his original form.

Meng Jingzhou and Mangu also breathed a sigh of relief, for Lu Yang, when assuming the mantle of their eldest senior sister, exuded a pressure far too overwhelming to bear.

A sharp, splintering crack resounded from high above.

Whether it was the rogue cultivators of the demonic path currently engaged in their ruthless, wicked plundering, or the trio who had been preparing to step forward in righteous defense, everyone froze in their tracks, staring up at the sky in utter bewilderment.

An ominous fissure had suddenly manifested across the once-boundless expanse of space, as though the very heavens had been struck by some colossal force.

Crack, crack, crack...

The fractures splintered outward like the veins of a desiccated riverbed, widening with terrifying speed until, with a deafening crash, the rift tore wide open, leaving a gaping void in the firmament.

In the midst of this shattered chasm, a striking silhouette materialized, her brow slightly furrowed in disapproval.

"This aura... belongs to the demonic sect?"