Chapter 20: Power of Peak Body Tempering Realm
The moment Lu Yang’s final words fell, the surrounding forest strangely became silent for an instant.
The three people opposite him subconsciously frowned slightly.
Cheat?
They naturally could not understand the meaning behind such strange words.
However, before any of them could react further, the expression of the least injured Ninth Stage Body Tempering Realm servant suddenly froze completely.
A terrifying chill exploded throughout his entire body.
His pupils violently contracted downward instinctively.
There, protruding from his chest, was a dry withered hand.
The hand pierced through his body from behind as though passing through fragile paper.
Within that hand, a still beating heart was tightly grasped.
The servant’s mind instantly descended into blankness.
*Splatter!*
Before he could even scream, the heart exploded directly into pieces.
Fresh blood sprayed outward beneath the moonlight as the servant’s life aura rapidly receded.
Only then did the withered hand slowly withdraw from his body.
The corpse collapsed heavily onto the ground afterward.
The remaining servant and the female maid both revealed horrified expressions instantly.
Neither of them had noticed when another person appeared behind them, not even slightly.
Plus, such brutal methods...
Slowly, an old figure stepped out from the darkness.
He possessed a tall and straight frame despite his aged appearance.
Wearing a black robe, his face was weathered and withered, filled with countless traces left behind by time.
Yet his eyes were incomparably bright at this moment, as if a dying old man had caught a last straw of hope.
The moment Lu Yang saw that figure clearly, even his own breathing faintly stagnated.
He recognized this version of himself too well.
This was not merely the old man upon the Character Card; this was the strongest version of Lu Yang from his previous life.
The same Lu Yang who once stood among the top ten outer disciples of the Azure Spirit Sect, whose cultivation path had already reached its limit, yet who spent decades tempering martial techniques and combat arts to terrifying levels.
A genuine peak Ninth Stage Body Tempering Realm cultivator standing at the absolute limit before Spirit Awakening Realm.
The old Lu Yang quietly glanced toward the young Lu Yang, faint emotion slowly surfacing within those calm eyes.
"So..."
His hoarse voice sounded extremely old.
"There truly is a chance... a chance to turn everything around..."
Then, his gaze shifted toward the remaining two enemies.
*Boom!*
An incomparably terrifying Blood Qi pressure erupted instantly!
The entire forest seemed to tremble violently, the falling leaves being scattered into dust just by coming into contact with that crimson Blood Qi!
The expressions of the servant and maid changes drastically.
This pressure...
This was absolutely not an ordinary Ninth Stage Body Tempering Realm cultivator!
Even among veteran Ninth Stage Body Tempering Realm experts, such terrifying Blood Qi density was nearly unimaginable.
The old Lu Yang just stood there calmly, yet the pressure radiating from his body resembled a slumbering ancient beast.
This was the accumulation of decades.
Although he never stepped into Spirit Awakening Realm in his previous life due to talent and resource limitations, his combat ability had already become frighteningly monstrous after countless sect missions and life and death battles.
He had personally killed numerous late stage Body Tempering Realm cultivators before.
Even within the Azure Spirit Sect, whose heritage vastly surpassed the Marquis Manor behind the Twin Stars’ mother, he was still considered one of the strongest outer disciples of his generation.
Had it not been for a sneak attack from a cultivator on the same level as him who cultivated ambush based techniques combined with possibly having stronger talent and greater resources than himself, he might not have necessarily died so miserably in his past life.
The surviving Ninth Stage Body Tempering Realm servant’s face instantly turned pale from that overwhelming pressure.
Without hesitation, he directly erupted with full strength, dense Blood Qi exploding violently as he charged toward the old Lu Yang desperately.
At the same moment, the female maid suddenly turned toward the young Lu Yang instead, her eyes filled with viciousness.
She understood immediately.
Against this terrifying old monster, they no longer possessed any chance of victory.
The only possibility remaining was killing Lu Yang before escaping!
*Swish!*
Her figure instantly shot toward Lu Yang explosively.
At the same time, the old Lu Yang calmly stepped forward.
*Boom!*
The ground beneath his feet shattered into pieces, his figure directly appearing before the Ninth Stage Body Tempering Realm servant like a ghost.
An unknown yet overwhelmingly powerful palm technique descended like a surging river.
The servant roared furiously while unleashing his own martial technique desperately.
*Bang!*
However, with a horrifying explosion, the servant’s defensive Blood Qi directly shattered.
Fresh blood sprayed wildly from his mouth as his entire body was blasted backward uncontrollably.
Absolute suppression!
On the other side, the maid had already arrived before Lu Yang.
Her injured shoulder continuously dripped blood, yet her attacks became even more ruthless.
Lu Yang immediately activated Gentle Breeze Steps to its limit.
His figure rapidly retreated throughout the forest while barely avoiding her attacks repeatedly, yet despite this, the difference between the Sixth Stage and Eighth Stage Body Tempering Realm remained too enormous.
*Bang!*
A palm strike slammed heavily against Lu Yang’s ribs, the sound of cracking bones instantly echoing outward.
Lu Yang coughed blood violently as his body flew backward several meters.
However, before the maid could continue attacking, Qi-Breaking Finger erupted directly toward her injured shoulder again.
The woman’s expression changed slightly before forcefully blocking.
*Swish!*
Blood splattered outward once more.
Although Lu Yang could not truly contend head on, his combat awareness and ruthlessness still caused the maid’s expression to grow increasingly ugly.
This youth...
Even now, he still remained incomparably calm!
Moreover, every attack specifically targeted weaknesses and injuries.
The more she fought, the greater the killing intent within her heart became.
If this child survived tonight, disaster would inevitably arrive in the future.
At that exact moment, her expression suddenly froze completely.
She sensed a terrifying presence behind her.
The old Lu Yang had already killed the other servant.
The Ninth Stage Body Tempering Realm expert who previously suppressed Xu He together with another person had now become a mangled corpse lying silently within the forest.
The old Lu Yang calmly walked toward them, his robes stained with blood, but his expression remained unchanged from beginning to end.
The maid’s pupils instantly contracted to the limit as immense fear surfaced within her eyes.
Without hesitation, she directly abandoned Lu Yang and attempted escaping desperately.
"Too slow."
The old Lu Yang calmly appeared before her in a single step.
Then, he raised one hand casually.
*Boom!*
A palm descended, and the maid’s back was struck hard, her internal organs collapsing instantly under the assault of the Blood Qi and bones creaking from the pressure of the blow.
Her corpse collapsed heavily afterward.
Silence gradually returned once more, with only Lu Yang’s rough breathing echoing faintly.
At this moment, his body was already covered in injuries.
Several bones within his ribs had cracked, and blood continuously flowed from the corner of his mouth.
But his gaze remained fixed upon the old version of himself silently.
The old Lu Yang quietly looked back at him, faint emotion slowly surfacing within those ancient eyes.
Then, without speaking further, he calmly walked toward Lu Yang before directly lifting him onto his shoulder.
Afterward, he gathered the corpses one by one.
Even carrying Xu He’s corpse and Guard Zhou’s body simultaneously barely affected his movements.
For a peak Ninth Stage Body Tempering Realm cultivator, such weight meant almost nothing.
The forest gradually blurred as the old Lu Yang rapidly traveled beneath the moonlight.
The young Lu Yang silently remained upon his shoulder.
He understood clearly, had those three enemies not already been injured from battling Xu He and Guard Zhou, even this peak version of himself would’ve needed considerable effort to kill them all, especially within just fifteen minutes.
Eventually, the old Lu Yang arrived at a small abandoned hunter’s hut hidden deep within the forest.
He quietly placed the bodies down afterward.
At this moment, the cracks on his body had already begun spreading faintly.
The Character Card’s duration was nearing its limit.
The old Lu Yang silently looked at the young Lu Yang one final time.
Then, he slowly spoke.
"You must achieve that step in this lifetime."
His voice carried faint unwillingness, as if countless regrets from the previous life still lingered deeply within his heart.
Before Lu Yang could reply, the old figure gradually dissolved into countless golden fragments before disappearing completely.
Just then, the wooden door suddenly opened from outside.
A travel worn young man around eighteen or nineteen years old stepped inside cautiously.
The moment he saw the bloody scene within the hut, his expression instantly changed.
Seeing that Lu Yang was still alive, without hesitation whatsoever, he directly rushed forward before taking out medicine bottles from his robes.
"Don’t move."
His voice carried urgency.
"Your injuries are serious."
Lu Yang quietly stared at him vigilantly, but his exhausted body had already reached its limit.
Soon afterward, darkness gradually consumed his consciousness completely.
