Ten days later, the trading fair opened.
At the fair, everyone wore masks to hide their identities.
The trade went smoothly, and the Lu Family got what they wanted by buying the Guiyuan Pill for 25,000 Spirit Stones.
After purchasing the Guiyuan Pill, the three Elders quietly left.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Walking in the mountains, as the three Elders traveled, a flying sword suddenly came at them for an assassination.
The Third Elder, Lu Changping, activated a Magical Treasure, and a golden shield appeared to block the attacking flying sword, but the immense force caused his Qi and Blood to surge and his mind to waver.
At the same moment, the other two Elders were also under attack,
Boom! Boom!
Magical Treasures clashed, and Magic collided, as both sides engaged in battle.
The fight quickly erupted, entering a fierce confrontation phase.
The three Lu Family Elders fell into an ambush, clearly outmatched by the six black-clad rogue cultivators.
In just a dozen breaths, someone was injured.
"Old bastard, go to hell!"
At that moment, a black-clad figure wielded a Spirit Sword, and lights and shadows danced, transforming into thirteen sword shadows that came for an assassination, directly targeting the Third Elder.
"No good, my life ends here. It's a pity the Treasure Pill can't be delivered to the Patriarch!"
The Third Elder despaired.
At that moment, a soft sigh was heard, as if lamenting.
A Spirit Sword appeared, forged with Spirit Wood, with tree-like grain and glistening with green light.
Slash!
The Spirit Sword pierced the black-clad figure, breaking through the True Essence Shield with a single thrust, killing him instantly.
An elder appeared at the front, majestic and emitting a hint of destructive aura; it was indeed the Lu Family Patriarch, Lu Fuming.
This Purple Mansion Patriarch had quietly followed them here.
The remaining black-clad cultivators were terrified and scattered to escape.
A Purple Mansion Cultivator was too powerful, not something Foundation Establishment Cultivators could confront.
Lu Fuming chased in one direction, and the Spirit Sword shimmered, turning into a green Flying Sword for the assassination. The black-clad cultivator dodged, blocking seven sword blades, but at the eighth Sword Qi, he was struck and perished.
Continuously pursuing, another three Foundation Establishment Cultivators fell.
The remaining three black-clad cultivators fled to save their lives.
"Patriarch, why have you come! Acting while still injured will worsen your wounds!"
The Third Elder expressed his concern.
"It's no problem. Though I'm heavily injured, killing a few Foundation Establishment Cultivators is still easy!" Lu Fuming said calmly and nonchalantly.
"Troubling the Patriarch!"
The Third Elder said.
"It's a pity. I intended to fish for bigger prey, but ended up catching only a few small fry!"
Lu Fuming said, feeling a bit regretful.
Sending the three Lu Family Elders to Cyan Lotus Square was meant to lure the enemies out, trimming the adversaries and eliminating threats for the Lu Family. Yet surprisingly, those foes were so forbearing.
Gathering his thoughts, Lu Fuming left with the three Elders.
...
About three hours after the Lu Family Patriarch's departure,
The ground churned as a gray-clad man emerged like a groundhog on the surface.
"Lu Family's old dog, what a skill, what a skill..."
The gray-clad man said: "As expected of an Eighth-Layer Purple Mansion existence, even heavily injured, is not something my Third-Layer cultivation in the Purple Mansion could provoke. If I met him, I might be slain within twenty moves. But ultimately, you're old; even if you recover this time, your lifespan won't exceed twenty years."
"Time is on my side!"
"The moment you pass away will be when I annihilate the Lu Family!"
Speaking, the gray-clad man gnashed his teeth, filled with hatred.
Back then, he was just a Loose Cultivator, who stumbled upon a senior's Cave Mansion and began to rise.
Once, he entered the Lu Family's Marketplace to purchase some items, and his wealth was exposed.
Upon leaving the Marketplace, he was ambushed by Lu Family cultivators.
In a fierce struggle, he killed the Lu Family cultivators.
But this stirred a hornet's nest. Lu Family cultivators pursued him relentlessly, leading to constant fierce battles, in which he killed a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Lu Family.
Enraged, the Lu Family issued a wanted notice.
The gray-clad cultivator had to flee Qingshui Commandery, and during the escape, the Lu Family intercepted him. He narrowly survived but lost his Dao Companion to them.
He swore back then that he wouldn't be human if he didn't destroy the Lu Family.
After a hundred years of arduous cultivation, he returned to Qingshui Commandery, at the Third-Layer in the Purple Mansion, yet still no match for Lu Family Patriarch Lu Fuming.
Fortunately, Heaven had eyes; the Lu Family Patriarch, now old, was gravely injured, with at most twenty years left to live.
This time, urging the rogue cultivators to intercept the three Lu Family Elders was to probe the Lu Family's secrets.
If successful, that would be great;
but even if it failed, it mattered little.
During the attack, although Lu Fuming successfully killed three Foundation Establishment Cultivators, he also exposed his own weakness, unable to last much longer.
"I can wait for twenty years!"
The gray-clad man smirked, disappearing into the distance.
...…
Cough, cough!
Throughout the journey, Lu Fuming maintained his calm composure, as if uninjured, but upon entering his Cave Mansion, he couldn't hold it anymore. He immediately coughed up blood, his aura withered.
Throughout the journey, he forced himself to stay spirited.
Opening the Pill Bottle, he retrieved the Guiyuan Pill.
The Guiyuan Pill, wrapped in a Pill Robe, locks in the medicinal power, reducing its loss.
Without the Pill Robe, the Guiyuan Pill would only last a little over a year before losing potency.
With the Pill Robe, it could be preserved for at least thirty years.
Peeling off the Pill Robe, the elixir exudes a green color, radiating vigorous vitality.
Lu Fuming consumed the elixir, and the medicinal power began to disperse.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Weaving Pill Formula, he refined the medicinal power, as gentle energy began to spread, healing his wounded body.
About ten days later, the medicinal power was fully refined.
But Lu Fuming felt more melancholic than joyful: "The injuries are more severe than imagined, and I have at most ten years left. After ten years, I'll pass away... It is hard to accept, I am unwilling!"
His face contorted, with a tint of darkness lingering above him, exuding an ominous Evil Qi, like a demon from Hell.
"In ten years, if I pass away, the Lu Family will face the assaults of predators... I am unwilling!"
"Without the Beast Tide, I would've had seventy more years of life, enough to reach the Ninth Layer of the Purple Mansion, and perhaps even a chance to break through to the Golden Core... I am unwilling!"
"Ten years, in ten years, I will die, turning into a cold corpse, buried underground, I am unwilling!"
The Lu Family Patriarch roared maniacally, shouting out his unwillingness.
Expressing the anger in his heart.
After a long while, he sat down in dejection, "For now, I only have that choice... I'm sorry..."