"Um?"
Seeing that his sword energy had actually been blocked, Lu Qing raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
He looked in the direction from which the sword energy had come and saw a white figure that had appeared on a rooftop not far away.
It was a young-looking person dressed in white with snow-white hair.
He stood with his hands behind his back, yet his aura was very restrained, just like an ordinary person.
But no one dared to treat him as an ordinary person. To be able to conceal his aura to such an extent, to deceive the senses of all the powerful people, and to silently ascend to the roof, he could not possibly be an ordinary person.
Even more astonishingly, upon recognizing the man in white, some exclaimed in surprise, "The Third Holy Lord!"
"What? This is the Holy Lord?"
"Sure enough, I knew it. With such a commotion in the city, how could the three Holy Lords not be alarmed?"
"It seems that Master Xuanming is going to escape this calamity."
"With the Third Holy Lord making a move, and given his consistent hatred of evil, this young man is likely to be in trouble."
Among the powerful onlookers, many had met the three Holy Lords on the Holy Mountain before, and they immediately recognized him.
In the shadowy corner, the figure felt another jolt, a look of surprise and uncertainty in his eyes: "This guy is one of the three Holy Lords, but something seems off about him?"
"Why has the Third Holy Lord come?"
High up in the tower, the Lord of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion was equally astonished when he saw the white figure.
At the same time, a worry arose in his heart: "Among the three Holy Lords, the Third Holy Lord acts more forcefully. Young Master Lu should not offend him."
Even with his worries, the Master of Tianji Tower dared not send a telepathic message to Lu Qing.
Although he was at the Great Perfection of the Innate Realm, he was only one step away from the Perfect Realm, and he had considerable experience in cultivating the power of the soul.
However, even within the Holy City, which is suppressed by an invisible force, it is still beyond their capabilities to transmit their divine soul across a hundred feet.
Moreover, the three holy masters possessed unfathomable levels of attainment, and each time he met them, he felt he could hardly catch up with them.
Even if he uses telepathy, it will not escape the notice of the Third Holy Lord.
"Holy Lord?" Upon hearing this, Lu Qing's heart stirred slightly.
Is this one of the three mysterious and unpredictable Holy Lords on the Holy Mountain?
At that moment, golden supernatural light emanated from the white-clad man in his field of vision, and several notes slowly appeared.
【Bai Qingfeng: The third Holy Lord of the Holy Mountain, with a strong and assertive personality.】
【Cultivation Level: Peak Foundation Establishment. Due to a fortuitous encounter, he gained the approval of the Holy Mountain's will, greatly increasing his strength within the Holy Mountain's territory, making him comparable to a Golden Core cultivator.】
【The person before me is not my true self, but a puppet avatar possessed by my soul, capable of unleashing the power of a perfected Innate Realm cultivator.】
【The three Holy Lords of the Holy Mountain, though recognized by the will of the Holy Mountain and blessed with great fortune, are also bound by constraints; before attaining enlightenment and ascending to immortality, their physical forms are unable to leave the Holy Mountain region.】
...
"Puppet Dharma Body?"
After reading the note in his field of vision, Lu Qing understood.
No wonder even he didn't notice the white-robed man's arrival immediately; it turned out that the person in front of him was not a living person, but a puppet avatar.
Given the opponent's peak Foundation Establishment stage soul realm, concealing their aura would be effortless.
Lu Qing also had some understanding of the puppet avatar.
There are relevant records in the lineage of the Li Huo Sect.
In the previous era of cultivation, there was a sect called the Heavenly Puppet Sect, which was most skilled in this art.
It is said that the puppet bodies they meticulously crafted were not only indistinguishable from real people, but the highest-level ones could even cultivate on their own, which was truly miraculous.
However, a puppet avatar capable of autonomous cultivation is extremely precious, even rarer than a spiritual artifact.
Even the Heavenly Puppet Sect back then could only forge one.
Moreover, it is said that the puppet body was accidentally created by the Heavenly Puppet Sect by chance.
Later, they devoted all their efforts and tried every possible means to refine it again, but they never succeeded.
The puppet avatar that the Third Holy Lord has taken over is clearly not the highest-level masterpiece of the Heavenly Puppet Sect, but rather some kind of standardized puppet avatar.
"Greetings, Third Holy Lord!"
After confirming that the visitor was indeed the Holy Lord, all the innate powerhouses bowed in respect.
The surviving monks of the Hanging Mountain shouted even louder: "Your Majesty, this man is a demon! Kill him at once!"
However, the Third Holy Lord ignored everyone's greetings and disregarded the shouts of the monks from Suspended Mountain, instead looking at Lu Qing.
He said calmly, "Give me some face and let Xuanming and the others off this time, how about it?"
Everyone immediately looked at Lu Qing.
The Third Holy Lord himself pleaded for mercy; it remains to be seen how this young man will respond.
A hint of joy appeared in Xuanming's eyes.
"Is the Holy Lord going to interfere in my feud with Suspended Mountain?"
It is said that the sacred mountain only cares about the general trend of the world and never inquires about other people's personal grudges.
Could this just be empty talk?
Lu Qing did not answer immediately, but instead asked a question.
Everyone stared at Lu Qing in astonishment, seemingly surprised that he would dare to question the Third Holy Lord in public.
"broken!"
Upon hearing Lu Qing's words, the master of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, who was atop the tower, immediately became anxious.
The Third Holy Lord is strong-willed and always keeps his word.
Lu Qing's questioning of him in this way will surely provoke his resentment.
Just as the Master of Tianji Tower was getting anxious.
He noticed that the Third Holy Lord remained silent for a moment in the face of Lu Qing's questioning.
He then said, “I once owed a favor to the abbot of Xuankong Mountain. I can’t bear to see Xuanming die here. If you can give me this face, I will consider this favor as something I owe you.”
The Third Holy Lord's attitude surprised not only the warriors.
This greatly surprised even someone like the Master of Tianji Tower who knew his personality so well.
When did this person become so easy to talk to?
Is this still the same Third Holy Lord they know, the one with the upright and unyielding temperament?
All eyes turned to Lu Qing once again.
They had all witnessed Lu Qing's domineering and arrogant behavior.
The Third Holy Lord is now adopting such a humble posture.
They wanted to see if this young man would actually give them the face they were looking for.
Despite the gazes of numerous powerful figures, Lu Qing remained unmoved.
"It seems that the Holy Lord is determined to intervene in the feud between me and Suspended Mountain?"
"I'm doing this for your own good. Although your talent is amazing, the depth of the Suspended Mountain is beyond your imagination."
If you make them your mortal enemies, you will definitely regret it in the future.
The Third Holy Lord offered his advice.
However, Lu Qing laughed upon hearing this: "What, does the Holy Lord think that the enmity I have formed with Suspended Mountain is not yet deadly?"
The Third Holy Lord glanced at the corpses of the elders from the Suspended Mountain around him and paused for a moment.
Looking at the smile on Lu Qing's face, he understood: "So, there's no room for discussion?"
“I respect the Holy Lord, but I also hope that the Holy Lord can uphold the Holy Mountain’s position and not interfere in the grievances between me and Suspended Mountain,” Lu Qing said earnestly.
The surrounding experts at the Innate Realm all stared blankly at Lu Qing.
Although I was surprised by his answer, it also felt strangely expected.
Given Lu Qing's consistently tough stance, it would seem abnormal for him to compromise.
The Third Holy Lord looked at Lu Qing quietly, his expression finally turning cold: "What if I insist on taking them away?"
"Then this junior is not very talented, so I can only ask to learn from the Holy Lord's high skills."
Lu Qing gently waved his hand, and his true energy surged out, the air currents swirling and drawing the battle blade stuck in the ground towards him.
"This junior is also eager to see just how powerful a master of the Innate Perfection realm truly is."
With the long sword in hand, an incomparably powerful aura immediately emanated from Lu Qing.
The chilling blade intent caused all the innate experts to feel a stinging pain on their skin and a chill in their hearts.
They were shocked and terrified.
It seems that Lu Qing's aura is much stronger than before.
"As expected, it has come to this."
The Master of Heavenly Mystery sighed; his premonition had indeed come true.
The Third Holy Lord was a strong-willed person, but in his view, Lu Qing's personality was also extremely stubborn.
It's no wonder these two clash when they get together.
"Senior, that man in white seems quite formidable. Will Brother Lu Qing be at a disadvantage?"
"I can't believe it," Magu asked anxiously.
The others also looked worried.
"Don't worry, although the Third Holy Lord has a strong personality, he is upright. At most, he will only make Young Master Lu suffer a little, but he won't harm his life."
The Master of Tianji Tower comforted them.
"You want to fight me?" The Third Holy Lord was somewhat surprised.
"I would be grateful for your guidance, senior."
The Third Holy Lord sensed the fighting spirit emanating from Lu Qing and remained silent for a moment.
He then said, "Very well, it seems I can't take the person away without fighting you."
However, I'm not used to bullying the weak. How about this, I'll spar with you for three moves.
If you can force me to take even half a step back within three moves, I will no longer concern myself with this matter.
After saying that, his figure disappeared on the rooftop. When he reappeared, he was already blocking the way for Monk Xuanming, only three zhang away from Lu Qing.
"Then please forgive me for offending you!"
Upon seeing the Third Holy Lord land, Lu Qing's eyes narrowed, and his right-hand battle blade suddenly transformed into a ball of white light, unleashing countless strikes in an instant.
A storm of sword energy swept towards the Third Holy Chairman.
Its sword energy was so violent and swift that it made all the experts at the Innate Realm change color.
"Interesting. Your swordsmanship has reached a level where you have truly grasped the essence of 【intention】."
Seeing the storm of sword energy unleashed by Lu Qing, the Third Holy Lord's eyes revealed approval.
"However, such tactics are useless against me."
Faced with the sweeping storm of sword energy, the Third Holy Lord did not even draw his weapon.
He simply extended a finger and gently moved it forward a little.
And as the Third Holy Lord pointed out this, something astonishing happened.
The countless sword energies unleashed by Lu Qing seemed to be frozen in space, unable to advance an inch.
"Disperse!"
After freezing the sword energy, the Third Holy Lord softly uttered a single word.
The next moment, the storm of sword energy that filled the sky was swept away by an invisible wave, quickly dissipated, and finally disappeared completely.
This move immediately astonished everyone present.
All the Innate Realm experts who witnessed this scene widened their eyes, almost unable to believe their eyes.
They never expected that Lu Qing's powerful sword aura storm would be so easily neutralized by the Third Holy Lord.
They couldn't even figure out what methods the Third Saint had used.
Seeing the Third Holy Lord's relaxed demeanor, all the powerful figures couldn't help but feel awe.
This is the Holy Lord, the Lord of the Holy Mountain, whose power has shaken the world for thousands of years and who commands the awe of countless sects!
Only a few people from secret places with extensive knowledge can discern even a trace of its mystery.
"His divine power merges with heaven and earth, and his domain is formed in its own right. Indeed, the cultivation level of the {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Third Holy Lord is beyond the comprehension of gods and demons!"
Yangming Daoist was amazed as he watched the Third Holy Master effortlessly dispel the sword energy unleashed by Lu Qing.
"The cultivation of the Third Holy Lord, who has merged with the heavens and earth, has actually reached such a level?"
No wonder Master always speaks of these three Holy Mountain Lords with admiration.
The senior disciple of the Cloud and Water Secret Realm also looked shocked.
In the shadows, a dark figure trembled slightly: "Divine Fusion of Heaven and Earth, how can this guy's divine soul realm be so high? Isn't it just that his spiritual artifact has just been revived?"
"Domain?"
Lu Qing was not surprised to see his sword energy easily broken by the Third Holy Lord.
In a battle between masters, sword and saber energy are not the most important means of attack.
He never expected that he could force the Third Holy Lord to retreat with just a single sword energy storm.
Instead, he looked at the dissipated sword energy and became thoughtful.
Although the methods used by the other party were profound, he felt a sense of familiarity with them.
This is the feeling I get when my master unleashes his innate domain.
However, the other party's application of the domain is far more skillful than that of his master.
This allowed him to effortlessly and without any trace of hostility completely neutralize his sword energy.
"What, do you want to continue?"
After the Third Holy Lord dispersed Lu Qing's sword energy, he did not continue to attack. Instead, he stood with his hands behind his back and said calmly.
"Of course, it's a rare opportunity to spar with such a top expert as a senior, how could I give up so easily?" Lu Qing said with a smile.
"Then go ahead and make your move, but this time, I won't hold back like this."
Seeing that Lu Qing was still unwilling to give up, the Third Holy Lord finally felt a little impatient.
"Senior, please make your move. I am quite skilled at self-preservation."
Lu Qing, however, paid no attention and lightly twirled the long sword in his hand.
The next moment, he had already shattered the earth, his figure like a bolt of lightning, rushing towards the Third Holy Lord.
A chilling aura emanated from him, soaring into the sky, and the battle blade in his hand slashed towards the Third Holy Lord like a bolt of lightning.
Faced with Lu Qing's swift and fierce strike, the Third Holy Lord's expression finally changed slightly.
He could sense that the power of Lu Qing's strike was no less than that of a true master at the peak of the Innate Realm.
With just that one move, it would be difficult to easily block this strike again.
After all, the spiritual power he poured into this puppet body was limited.
Even if they could use the Divine Fusion of Heaven and Earth technique, their spiritual power was insufficient, making it difficult to restrain Lu Qing.
Realizing this, the Third Holy Lord's gaze became more serious.
A long sword suddenly appeared in his hand.
