Chapter 206: Battle Atop the Peak
Before long, several hundred cultivators had gathered atop the peak.
It was just that most of them were affected by the laws within the inheritance ground and couldn't draw on their cultivation.
Only those among them who possessed special physiques still retained any physical strength to speak of.
Though his eyes were shut tight, the situation outside was entirely within Lu Xiaoyao's grasp.
Sensing the numbers steadily growing, Lu Xiaoyao did not open his eyes.
He was still waiting — waiting for more people, and then more still.
Perhaps because the golden pearls had grown more numerous, Lu Xiaoyao could sense that there were four others atop this peak who carried golden pearls.
He was still waiting — waiting for the final two pearls to arrive, and then he would make his move and snatch them.
But things would not unfold quite the way Lu Xiaoyao had anticipated.
A young man in red robes stepped forward, spear in hand, and charged at Lu Xiaoyao to kill.
The moment they saw the young man in red, the cultivators sitting by and watching quickly recognized his identity.
"Hsss— that's Lu Chuantian, ranked sixth on the Prodigy Rankings!"
"Rumor has it he possesses the Ancient Dao Spear Body — so long as he grips a spear, his power far surpasses that of cultivators at the same realm."
"With Lu Chuantian making his move, it looks like these four golden pearls are about to fall into his hands."
"Tch, not necessarily. Didn't you see that fellow hasn't reacted at all? Maybe he's got it all figured out."
"And what if he just hasn't realized what's happening?"
Just as everyone watched on, and just as Lu Chuantian believed the four golden pearls were as good as his, Lu Xiaoyao let out a sigh and opened his eyes.
The next moment, Lu Xiaoyao caught the spear barehanded, then yanked hard, dragging Lu Chuantian in close before blowing his head apart with a single punch.
This sudden turn of events left everyone present too stunned to react.
When they finally came to their senses, their expressions turned solemn one after another as they looked toward Lu Xiaoyao.
Lu Xiaoyao rose to his feet, flicked his hand to shake off the blood, and only then looked at them.
"All of you — This Venerable One has no wish to make things difficult for you. Hand over your golden pearls and you may leave."
Lu Xiaoyao stood there, gripping the spear one-handed, and spoke to them in a flat tone.
The wind stirred Lu Xiaoyao's robes, lending him an overwhelmingly commanding air.
As Lu Xiaoyao's words faded, the scene fell utterly silent — clearly, no one had expected him to make such a brazen claim.
"Hahaha, the golden pearl is right here in my hand. If you've got the ability, then come take it from me."
A cultivator stepped forward, a golden pearl clutched in his hand.
But what he hadn't expected was that, before Lu Xiaoyao could even act, the cultivator standing beside him struck in a sneak attack.
"Haha, the golden pearl is mine now."
The cultivator snatched the golden pearl and promptly burst into laughter.
But his elation was short-lived — the moment the surrounding cultivators saw the golden pearl, every one of them flew into a melee without another word.
Watching this unfold, an expression of vindication crossed Lu Xiaoyao's face.
It was all going according to his calculations.
It was just that more cultivators charged at Lu Xiaoyao — after all, he carried even more pearls, a full four of them.
"Courting death."
Seeing them charge in, Lu Xiaoyao gave a cold snort, then the spear in his hands lashed out at blinding speed.
With every thrust of the spear, a head burst open.
As Lu Xiaoyao slew dozens of cultivators in one go, he instantly cowed the cultivators around him, and no one dared draw near again.
Seeing that no one dared approach, Lu Xiaoyao at last looked toward the four golden pearls not far off, still being snatched back and forth.
The next moment, Lu Xiaoyao charged first at one of the pearls.
That pearl happened to be in the hand of a female cultivator.
Seeing Lu Xiaoyao charging at her, her pupils contracted.
But before she could get a word out, Lu Xiaoyao ran her clean through with a single thrust of his spear.
And at the same time, he claimed the golden pearl.
The other three cultivators holding golden pearls all changed color as well, then exchanged a glance.
"Deal with him first — otherwise, we'll never hold on to our golden pearls!"
Their strength was about even, so naturally they could all see that Lu Xiaoyao's strength far outstripped their own.
If they didn't band together, they'd likely be killed off by Lu Xiaoyao one after another.
But it was all in vain.
Before long, all three golden pearls had fallen into Lu Xiaoyao's hands.
By this point, a full eight of the ten golden pearls had fallen into Lu Xiaoyao's hands.
And having obtained eight golden pearls, Lu Xiaoyao could clearly sense the remaining two.
"On their way here, are they?"
Lu Xiaoyao knit his brows and looked toward the foot of the mountain.
Before long, he saw Li Daoyi hurrying over with two golden pearls.
Upon seeing that the last two golden pearls were in Li Daoyi's hands, every cultivator present, without exception, wore a look of shock, and then, one and all, began to anticipate.
They had naturally witnessed Lu Xiaoyao's formidable strength, and they had all heard of the terrifying strength of Li Daoyi, ranked first on the Prodigy Rankings.
They all knew, too, that the Immortal Venerable Inheritance was likely beyond their reach.
But they were all eager to see whose strength was greater — Lu Xiaoyao's or Li Daoyi's.
When Li Daoyi saw Lu Xiaoyao, his expression turned solemn at once.
He could sense a thick, looming threat from Lu Xiaoyao.
And so he was certain that the man before him was no weaker than himself.
But even so, he showed not the slightest fear. He stepped up before Lu Xiaoyao and openly displayed the two golden pearls.
"Fellow Daoist, might I ask your name? There doesn't seem to be anyone like you on the Prodigy Rankings."
As the words left him, Li Daoyi pondered quietly to himself — could it be that Lu Xiaoyao was an Immortal Stage cultivator over ten thousand years old?
Lu Xiaoyao swept his spear out.
"I've never hidden my name nor disowned my surname — I am Lu Xiaoyao, Holy Son of the Primordial Sect!"
Since he was the Holy Son of the Primordial Sect, naturally Lu Xiaoyao wanted to build the Primordial Sect into an overlord-tier force of the Immortal Realm.
And to build the Primordial Sect into an overlord-tier force, the first step was to make a name for it.
As Lu Xiaoyao threw out his name, the cultivators present grew rather puzzled.
Was there really a force in the Immortal Realm called the Primordial Sect?
It wasn't really their fault — after all, the Primordial Sect was, at present, merely a small force with only an Immortal Monarch presiding over it.
And every one of them came from an overlord-tier force, so naturally they would never bother to learn about a small force with only an Immortal Venerable presiding over it.
Li Daoyi was momentarily taken aback as well, then laughed heartily.
"Haha, in that case, allow me to test the strength of Fellow Daoist Lu!"
"Defeat me, and the two golden pearls are yours!"
Li Daoyi put away the pearls, then drew two long swords and fixed a solemn gaze on Lu Xiaoyao.
Seeing Li Daoyi turn serious, Lu Xiaoyao braced himself fully as well.
After all, the man was, when all was said and done, the being ranked first on the Prodigy Rankings, so naturally he had to be careful.
As the two faced off, the scene fell silent — one could almost hear every heartbeat in the crowd.
The next moment, Li Daoyi struck first, his form turning into an afterimage as he closed the distance to Lu Xiaoyao in an instant.
Seeing how fast Li Daoyi moved, the cultivators present were all frozen in shock on the spot.
Hadn't the inheritance ground suppressed everyone's realm down to that of mortals?
Was this really a speed a mortal could possess?