Chapter 974: Share Blessings and Sufferings Together

After seeing off Immortal Ying Tian, whose artifact-refining skills were distinctly mediocre, Lu Yang returned to his proper course and immersed himself in meditative cultivation.

Half an hour later, a treacherous villain stirred up trouble, disrupting Lu Yang’s cultivation plans entirely.

“Old Lu, I heard you paid a visit to the Immortal Palace?”

“What do you think, envious?” Lu Yang scoffed with a boastful smirk, making Meng Jingzhou’s teeth itch with irritation.

Ever since the power of pure yang had intensified within him, he grew increasingly fearful of approaching women, making a place like the Laurel Immortal Palace practically forbidden territory.

Meng Jingzhou had not expected Lu Yang to vanish into thin air earlier, only to find out upon inquiry that his friend had abandoned him to go indulge in pleasure at the Immortal Palace.

Unable to bear seeing Lu Yang fall into such degradation, Meng Jingzhou rebuked him harshly, trying to wake his straying friend: “Envious my foot! As cultivators of our generation, we ought to focus wholeheartedly on cultivation. Wandering around all day and loafing about like you do will only lead to utter failure in the end!”

“And did you cultivate during this past month?”

“More or less. In the month you were gone, I visited a mystic realm that opens only once every three hundred years. By chance, I crossed paths with Long Huo. Through subtle clues, I deduced that the spirit of the realm was actually its master and thwarted his attempt at body-snatching. I fought him, and although his realm was higher than mine, my nature inherently counters soul entities. After fighting above my rank, I teamed up with Long Huo to capture him.”

“Afterward, I handed the soul over to the local government. While waiting for their commendation, I noticed the local officials seemed highly efficient but desperately wanted me gone. Following a covert investigation, I discovered they were embezzling funds and colluding with the Heartless Sect. Tracing it further up, I found the source was the prefectural governor himself.”

“Seeing that the plot was exposed, the governor fled in panic under the cover of night. A torrential rain was pouring down then, and I pursued him for thousands of miles through the rainy night, slaughtering several death guards he sent along the way. I ignored the honey trap his men deployed, giving chase until dawn, and finally pinned him down at a city gate.”

“When I looked up, I realized that without even knowing it, I had chased the governor all the way to the Imperial City. Once the governor’s matter was settled, I stopped by my family home for a meal on the way back, and upon returning, I heard you had also come back from the Immortal Palace.”

“...When exactly did you cultivate during this past month?”

Meng Jingzhou replied righteously, “At the very least, I always held the intention to cultivate. I was merely entangled in mundane affairs and lacked the opportunity.”

“So did I!” Lu Yang barked in fury, as if anyone wasn't equally entangled in mundane affairs.

“You have a hammer’s worth of intention.”

“Old Meng, let me tell you, you’d better speak to me with some respect. It's not too late to flatter me now; in the future, you won't even get the chance.”

Meng Jingzhou sneered at Lu Yang’s claim. “Flatter you? Keep dreaming.”

“You wouldn't know, but this time at the Immortal Palace, I didn't just meet cultivators of the Great Gan. I even met Immortal Ying Tian. When he saw me, he was deeply grateful, patted my shoulder, and encouraged me to cultivate well, promising he would take good care of me when I face my Heavenly Tribulation.”

“What?!” Meng Jingzhou was utterly shocked. To think that while he was away, Lu Yang had stumbled upon such a fortuitous encounter.

What cultivators feared most was encountering the Heavenly Tribulation. Even someone as powerful as Qin Haoran had still perished under it and reincarnated as Junior Brother Li. With Lu Yang holding this connection to Immortal Ying Tian, wouldn't his greatest obstacle be cleared, allowing his cultivation to soar to the heavens?

Meng Jingzhou attentively massaged Lu Yang’s shoulders and head, his voice turning gentle: “Old Lu—ah no, Senior Brother Lu, I was a bit brash just now, please bear with me. Look at the relationship between the two of us...”

Lu Yang was a man of status now, the second-in-command of the Great Soy Dynasty; how could he lower himself to Meng Jingzhou's level? “No need to say more about our bond. We've always shared blessings and burdens alike. Rest assured, when I see Senior Immortal Ying Tian again, I'll definitely ask him to look after you too.”

Deeply moved, Meng Jingzhou exclaimed, “Good brother, so loyal!”

“By the way, on my way back, I also heard rumors that during your visit to the Immortal Palace, several high-ranking members and disciples became pregnant. People are saying you did it. Do you know about this?”

“Bullshit!” Lu Yang snapped, his eyes wide. This was pure slander. Did this have anything to do with him? Their pregnancies were from drinking from the Twin Rivers. What did he do? He had merely offered a suggestion to the Immortal Palace.

“...Wait, come to think of it, this really does have something to do with me.”

Hearing this, Meng Jingzhou’s hands, which were massaging Lu Yang’s shoulders, instantly shifted into a tight grip. He threw Lu Yang flying with a single toss, glaring at him with blazing eyes.

“Alright, Old Lu, I never thought I’d misjudge you so completely. To think you could commit such filthy deeds. Draw your weapon; today I must teach you a proper lesson!”

“No, wait, I meant I only suggested they drink from the Twin Rivers...”

A golden fist imprint bore down, ten chang in size. Lu Yang used his finger as a sword to slice the imprint apart. “Holy crap, Old Meng, you're intentionally pretending not to hear me, aren't you...”

“Take this, you scoundrel!”

“It is the perfect time to show you the Supreme Pure Yang Dharma Idol I learned from my ancestor!”

Slowly rising behind Meng Jingzhou was a golden dharma idol that ascended like a blazing sun. It stood a hundred chang tall, its face blurred, its every movement radiating a primordial aura. It held a shield in one hand and a halberd in the other.

“Supreme Pure Yang Dharma Idol?” Lu Yang had heard of the Pure Yang Dharma Idol, which could only be possessed by those with the Pure Yang Immortal Body. Looking at this, it was likely that Meng Junzi had custom-tailored a form even more extreme than the standard Pure Yang Dharma Idol for Meng Jingzhou.

Boom!

One of the idol's arms slammed down, knocking Lu Yang off his feet.

Lu Yang was certain now; this was definitely an idol far more powerful than the standard Pure Yang version. Immortal Immortal had described the power of the Pure Yang Dharma Idol, and it wasn't this massive.

“As if I'm afraid of you!” Lu Yang drew his Cyan Blade Sword, activating the Immortal-Destroying Sword Array, pointing the blade directly at Meng Jingzhou.

Meng Jingzhou had long anticipated this move and launched an offensive, lunging toward Lu Yang.

This way, even if he ended up kneeling, he could use the dharma idol to pin Lu Yang down.

Lu Yang silently cursed Meng Jingzhou’s insidious tactic as his sword stance shifted: “Ten Thousand Swords Returning to the Ancestor!”

The Chengying Sword, Seven Stars Sword, and Cyan Blade Sword fused together, causing the sword qi to surge violently. The Supreme Pure Yang Dharma Idol used its shield to block while its other hand swung the halberd at Lu Yang.

“Universe within the Palm!”

A giant hand descended, clamping down on the Supreme Pure Yang Dharma Idol. Seeing this, Meng Jingzhou manifested three heads and six arms, and the idol transformed to match.

Six hands of the idol overlapped upwards, blocking that terrifyingly immense palm strike.

“Is this all you've got?”

“It’s more than enough to deal with you!”

The two tangled in a fierce brawl, their sword moves, spells, and dharma idols flashing in a dizzying display.

Not far away, Yun Mengmeng sat on a tree branch, swinging her long legs, evidently in a splendid mood as she occasionally pinched a dried potato slice from a paper bag, munching with a crisp crunch.

Pointing a finger covered in potato crumbs at the battling Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, she asked, “Shouldn't we stop them when they're fighting like that?”

Yun Zhi sat beside Yun Mengmeng, also picking up a dried potato slice and savoring it slowly in her mouth. “No need to stop them. They are always like this.”

Yun Mengmeng turned to ask Gan Tian, who sat on her left, “Would you like some dried potato slices?”

“No, thank you. Seeing them like this inspires me to play the zither to add to their excitement.”

Gan Tian placed the ancient zither across her lap, and a rousing melody resounded across the summit of Heaven Gate Peak, causing Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou to fight with even greater fervor.

Seeing that Gan Tian’s hands were occupied, Yun Mengmeng would occasionally feed her a dried potato slice.