Xianzhou Luofu, Scalegorge Waterscape.
In the Xianzhou Luofu, the Scalegorge Waterscape was an area tightly guarded by the vidyadhara, where the roots of the Ambrosial Arbor—one of the Plaguemarks, also known as the Traces of Abundance—were sealed.
As Shuhu forced his way into the Scalegorge Waterscape to seize the Ambrosial Arbor, Dan Feng transformed into a dragon to fight him, but unfortunately, he was still no match and was defeated not long after.
*Whoosh!*
A blazing glaive descended from the sky, burning away the sickly-sweet stench of rot that lingered in the air.
*BOOM!*
A towering man clad in heavy armor, with a giant golden figure formed by lightning looming behind him, crashed into the battlefield like a falling star, roaring as he charged toward the great tree.
Shuhu's tree body blossomed once more like a flower, golden branches rapidly sprouting and wrapping tightly around his foe.
*BOOM!**BOOM!**BOOM!**BOOM!*
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
A man and a tree clashed for a hundred moves.
Every time Shuhu was cut into pieces, he swiftly regenerated as if nothing had happened.
As a result, even though Teng Xiao was already exhausted, Shuhu remained lively and unscathed.
Needless to say, this was what made the Emanators of Abundance terrifying—because they were truly hard to kill.
"Every time I overcome death, it is supreme joy. Just like them, your flesh is worthless, but perhaps your pain can entertain me." Shuhu's branches cackled, every head upon them uttering a word in turn to form a sentence. "Teng Xiao, how do you plan to kill me this time? I am eager to know."
"Kill you?" Teng Xiao glared with disdain. "When you're kneeling and begging for mercy later, I hope you can still act this arrogant."
Originally, he had planned to use the Lightning-Lord's self-destruct mechanism—even if Shuhu did not die by it, he would at least be heavily injured, and others could then finish the job.
However, once he heard Jing Yuan's message that Lucian had arrived, Teng Xiao instantly felt reassured, so he canceled his plan.
He did not know why, but Lucian always gave him a strange sense of security... ridiculous, really.
"Kneel? Me? Hahaha, are you trying to make me die laughing, Teng Xiao?"
At Teng Xiao's ridiculous words, all the heads upon Shuhu's tree spoke one after another, their voices weaving into a chilling laughter.
"I am Shuhu! I am eternal! In this life, I kneel only to Yaoshi!"
Just as Shuhu finished, however, a calm voice rang out abruptly.
"Is that so?"
At this moment, without anyone realizing it, a black-haired young man suddenly appeared beside Teng Xiao.
Standing calmly with his hands behind his back, looking fearless and composed, the young man's harmless appearance should not have inspired fear, yet Shuhu faintly felt a sense of dread and, strangely, a trace of kinship.
However, that kinship was faint and distant.
"You... Wait, you're an Emanator... of Abundance?" Shuhu, sensing the faint aura emitted by the young man, said in a bewildered voice. "Impossible! Your Abundance blessing even surpasses mine?!"
He couldn't help but think this had to be an illusion.
In the first place, within the Path of Abundance, he was sure that he was the only Emanator—so how could there suddenly be another?
Besides, if another truly existed, how could he not have known?
Nonetheless, the truth before him was undeniable—the young man was indeed of the same presence, an Emanator of the Path of Abundance, an Emanator of Yaoshi.
Others might not have noticed, but as one who faithfully followed the Abundance and an Emanator of Abundance himself, Shuhu immediately saw through Lucian's concealment.
"You..." Teng Xiao turned to Lucian, looking confused and speechless. "You're an Emanator of Abundance?"
"Do you believe him?" Lucian smiled lightly.
"...Guhahaha! I'm not stupid. I trust my comrades, not the enemy." Teng Xiao shook his head decisively, laughing heartily. "Well, I don't know about the other generals, but personally—even if you really are an Emanator of Abundance—as long as you stand on our side, I don't give a damn about who you are, brother."
Hearing this straightforward and bold answer, Lucian nodded in satisfaction.
"For those words alone, I shall protect the Luofu."
Right after saying this, Lucian immediately drew a spare sword from Teng Xiao's waist and swung it casually at Shuhu.
Seeing this, Shuhu couldn't help but laugh.
Such a feeble strike clearly was never meant to kill him.
It was said that Emanators of the same Path were like family, so this young man must have been his ally—a comrade of Abundance.
In other words, this young man was clearly acting undercover within the Xianzhou Luofu, waiting for the right moment to seize the Ambrosial Arbor himself.
As expected of the young, this young man was quick-witted and clever.
Perhaps he could even help this young man, and later they could divide the Ambrosial Arbor together?
Shuhu made this assumption within a single second.
"Teng Xiao couldn't kill me. You think you can—"
Shuhu, believing Lucian was just putting on an act, had only just started his own act when suddenly—
*BOOM!*
Shuhu's branches bent forward, his leaves and limbs slapping together like human palms, and right after, his trunk folded down as well, collapsing into a kneeling, human-like form—bent into the shape of the number '2'!
"???"
Shuhu froze, dumbfounded, racking his mind over what had just happened.
He couldn't help it.
What had just happened to him?
Could a tree even kneel?
He had planned to feign weakness, wait for Teng Xiao to let his guard down, and then strike—but why was his body suddenly forced to the ground against his will?
He could not even move!
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!" Shuhu's fruit-like heads shrieked toward Lucian.
"Guhahahaha!" Teng Xiao laughed boisterously, his face lit up with joy. "Even an Emanator like you must kneel, huh?! Incredible!"
Lucian's expression, on the other hand, remained calm, utterly unsurprised by the scene before him.
Over the years, he had tested Immortal Kneel countless times already, so he knew that anything that could act as a hand counted as a hand.
Shuhu's branches qualified as hands, so only the 'kneeling' effect was activated, not the 'cutting' effect.
Of course, this was a better outcome—after all, even if he cut Shuhu's body in half, Shuhu would just regenerate.
If only the effect of Immortal Kneel were not just 'cut' but 'cut to death,' that would have been a different story, since only 'death' carried the concept of instant kill.
For those unable to regrow from severed body parts, cutting and killing might have been the same, but not for an Emanator of Abundance like Shuhu.
"Obediently kneel and watch how Teng Xiao makes you spit out everything you swallowed." Lucian said indifferently.
Hearing this, Teng Xiao understood at once and rushed forward, wielding his glaive like a surgeon.
*Pu-chi!*
Teng Xiao sliced open Shuhu's body and swiftly pulled out the people he had swallowed, one after another.
Among those Teng Xiao rescued were the vidyadhara guarding the Scalegorge Waterscape, as well as the Cloud Knights and several judges of the Ten-Lords Commission who had fought alongside him to stop Shuhu, but had ultimately been devoured.
"In such a short time, you have consumed so many already? What a glutton." Lucian remarked casually, maintaining his stance to keep control of Immortal Kneel active.
Shuhu watched helplessly as Teng Xiao dragged out the lives he had devoured, roaring in fury and cursing without pause.
He had thought this second Emanator of Abundance was a brother, that aiding the Xianzhou Luofu and opposing him was just an act—but who would have thought it was not an act at all!
More importantly, the young man's strange power, which left him completely immobile with no chance to resist, was definitely not the power of the Abundance.
In his long life, he had never heard of such an absurd power.
Outrageous!
A few minutes later, Teng Xiao finally saved everyone from inside Shuhu, then gave Lucian a thumbs-up.
*Beep-Beep!*
Lucian's jade abacus suddenly rang—it was a message from Jing Yuan.
[Teacher, we detected a black hole. Not large, but enough to crush Shuhu. I'm sending the coordinates now.]
Lucian glanced at the coordinates Jing Yuan had sent, then grinned.
"Shuhu, I am Lucian! I am eternal!"
Lucian mimicked what Shuhu had said earlier, then tossed the sword in his hand.
Unleashing Absolute Hit while simultaneously locking onto Shuhu with Immortal Kneel—it was a combination technique Lucian had developed by fusing two conceptual abilities.
*Rumble—!*
As the sword Lucian tossed shot off toward the edge of the Xianzhou Luofu, Shuhu's kneeling body was dragged helplessly.
"WHAT DAMN SPELL DID YOU USE?! LUCIAAAN—!!!"
Shuhu's voice grew fainter and fainter until his massive form vanished.
"All of you must go to catch the sword I threw."
Lucian repeated the combination technique before Shuhu's army, once again forcing the fusion of the two conceptual abilities.
In the next moment, the vast army of abominations encircling the Xianzhou Luofu, just like Shuhu, knelt in unison and then followed the flying sword as if bewitched.
Inside the Seat of Divine Foresight, all the high-ranking officials watched the live feed with wide eyes and mouths agape.
"Azure Sword Immortal truly deserves the title! With one strike, millions of abominations were forced to kneel!"
"D-Did they willingly follow the sword into the black hole?"
"Has Shuhu gone mad? Charging into a black hole and dragging his army with him? Unbelievable!"
"Azure Sword Immortal… terrifying..."
All were dumbfounded, shaken to the core because they could not comprehend what Lucian had just done.
Forcing an Emanator to kneel was one thing, but forcing hundreds of thousands of abominations to kneel was another.
But making them willingly chase a sword into a black hole?
How could anyone explain that?
Just like that, Emanator Shuhu, along with his vast army, was utterly annihilated inside the black hole.
One had to admit, it was truly anticlimactic.
[DING! Congratulations on completing the script!]
[In ten seconds, the script will close, and the host will leave the current world.]
"Killing Shuhu is one of the script's completion conditions, huh?" Lucian muttered softly. "Too bad, ten seconds isn't enough to return and find Jingliu... Thankfully, there will be plenty of chances in reality later..."
Calmly glancing at the sky, he stood still, waiting for the ten seconds to pass, but just then—
"Master!"
A familiar woman's cry suddenly rang out from behind him—it was none other than Jingliu's voice.
Lucian turned his head and saw Jingliu and Baiheng, both rushing toward him in desperation.
"Seriously... why now..." Lucian smiled wryly, then sighed in helplessness. "Goodbye..."
Just as his words fell, his body quickly dissolved into particles of light.
Jingliu, watching her master's figure vanish before her eyes, flinched, then froze as if struck by lightning.
"NO! MASTER, I APOLOGIZE! PLEASE DON'T GO!!!"
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[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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