Chapter 176: Full Bloom, A Sibling Showdown
"Senior! Honored senior, I'm willing to lead the entire Qingfeng Sect in submission to you! I beg you to show mercy and spare my life!"
While struggling to withstand Hua Rouyu's toying, Gu Daoyuan cast a desperate gaze toward Lin Chongtian and pleaded.
He could tell that the woman deferred to Lin Chongtian, so naturally, it was Lin Chongtian he had to beg.
But clearly, a nobody who had only just broken through to the Immortal Monarch Realm was utterly insignificant within his Immortal Court.
The weakest member of the Immortal Court was already at the Immortal Monarch Realm.
Seeing that Lin Chongtian completely ignored his pleas, a spark of fury flared in Gu Daoyuan's eyes.
"If you won't let me live, then we'll go to hell together!"
With those words, Gu Daoyuan gathered every ounce of power in his body. A terrifying aura erupted outward — he was going to self-destruct.
Seeing Gu Daoyuan attempt to self-destruct, Lin Chongtian shook his head.
"Rouyu, finish him off."
"Alright. Since he wants to self-destruct, I suppose we'd better end this quickly."
With Lin Chongtian's word given, Hua Rouyu naturally had no reason to keep playing.
With a wave of her hand, a wondrous sight materialized behind her — iridescent and dazzling, like the birth of a new universe.
This was Hua Rouyu's Innate Divine Ability, awakened after her ascension to the Immortal Monarch Realm — Full Bloom.
As Hua Rouyu's will descended, a torrent of iridescent power erupted outward, crashing down upon Gu Daoyuan before he could complete his detonation.
In an instant, that power engulfed him. And when the onlookers turned to Gu Daoyuan —
Beneath that power's influence, exquisite flowers bloomed across every inch of his body. Before he could even cry out for mercy, the blossoms swallowed him whole.
Moments later, a gentle breeze swept through. Gu Daoyuan dissolved into a sky full of petals, scattering on the wind.
Gu Daoyuan — dead.
Just then, Hu Pogu arrived with the Qingfeng Sect's elders in tow, only to witness their Sect Master dissolve into blossoms and perish before their very eyes.
"No!"
At the sight, Hu Pogu let out an involuntary cry of anguish.
His outburst immediately drew the attention of both Lin Chongtian and Hua Rouyu.
"Allies of his? In that case, off you go."
Lin Chongtian cast a placid glance at Hu Pogu's group, and with a single thought, struck.
In an instant, a horrifying gravitational force bore down on Hu Pogu and the others. Before the Power of Laws at the Immortal Emperor level, they died in utter tranquility — without so much as a chance to react.
"Rouyu, shall I go, or will you handle the remaining Qingfeng Sect remnants?"
Lin Chongtian turned to Hua Rouyu for her input.
"I'll go. You stay here and wait for our master to ascend."
Hua Rouyu claimed the task without hesitation.
She then set off toward the Twenty-Fifth Heaven, where the Qingfeng Sect was located.
Meanwhile.
Inside the Qingfeng Sacred Land on the Tiansheng Continent.
After witnessing the Holy Son's death, Ren Tianfeng could no longer afford to concern himself with anything else and rushed back to the Sacred Land.
What came next would likely be the Sect Master's wrath reducing the entire Tiansheng Continent to rubble. Only hiding within the Sacred Land offered any chance of surviving.
But a long while passed after Gu Daoyuan's furious voice had rung out, and yet not a single thing happened.
This puzzled Ren Tianfeng. Had something gone wrong?
By all rights, whoever descended should have been a powerhouse from the Main Sect — at least an Immortal King.
What on earth could have delayed an existence of that caliber?
Back at Chengtian Mountain.
"The matter's been resolved. The Tiansheng Grand Tournament will continue."
Lu Xunxian's tone was calm. Without sparing another thought for the Immortal Realm, he addressed Ye Wushuang and Gu Feng.
With Lu Xunxian's assurance, the two had no reason to doubt. They hurried off to announce that the Tiansheng Grand Tournament would resume.
At that moment, Feng Qingyu's heart was in utter disarray. She dashed toward the Primordial Sacred Land's grounds.
As the Holy Son of the Primordial Sacred Land, Lu Xiaoyao would certainly be staying within its territory.
Moreover, Luo Qianxue had said she had hurt Lu Xunxian's heart, which meant Lu Xunxian was still alive and most likely inside the Primordial Sacred Land as well.
If she could gain Lu Xunxian's forgiveness, she could remain at his side.
And she certainly couldn't stay at the Qingfeng Sacred Land any longer.
Gu Tiansheng had died at her own son's hands. If she remained in the Qingfeng Sacred Land, her death would be all but certain.
Only by staying close to Lu Xiaoyao and the others did she have any chance of survival.
Elsewhere, upon learning that the tournament was continuing, the proceedings carried on without much disruption from Gu Tiansheng's death.
And at last, the time came for the three of them to face one another.
Looking down at her draw and seeing that her opponent was Lu Xiaoyao, Lu Qingyun's face broke into a coy pout.
"Brother, my dear, sweet brother — any chance you could go easy on me?"
In the past, this tactic had never failed her.
But clearly, Lu Xiaoyao's Dao Heart was unshakable now.
"Absolutely not. There's no room for sentiment in the tournament. Going easy on you would only hurt you."
"So I'm sorry, little sister — you're on your own."
Lu Xiaoyao spoke with righteous conviction, as though he held the moral high ground.
Lu Qingyun's face scrunched with annoyance. She hammered him with several punches before finally letting it go.
Nearby, Luo Qianxue overheard their exchange and quickly formed an idea. She pulled Lu Qingyun aside and the two began whispering conspiratorially.
Before long, Lu Xiaoyao noticed his sister shooting him a decidedly mischievous look.
A powerful sense of unease welled up inside him.
Sister Qianxue wouldn't have given his sister some underhanded scheme, would she?
He shook his head vigorously. This was just a straightforward match. All he needed to do was claim the champion's title. That was it.
His sister wouldn't resort to any dirty tricks... right?
The more he thought about it, the more anxious he became, and the feeling persisted all the way until their match.
Staring at his sister across the arena — that mischievous glint unmistakable on her face — Lu Xiaoyao pushed aside his unease and summoned his spear.
"Sister, weapons don't have eyes. Your brother strongly advises you to surrender while you still can."
Lu Xiaoyao offered one last good-natured warning, but Lu Qingyun was utterly unmoved.
"Go ahead, brother."
Lu Qingyun summoned her sword and charged at Lu Xiaoyao first.
Seeing this, Lu Xiaoyao had no choice but to set aside his reservations and counter.
He thrust his spear at Lu Qingyun.
By Lu Xiaoyao's estimation, she should have been able to block it, so he didn't think much of it.
What he never expected was that Lu Qingyun wouldn't even try to dodge — she charged straight in.
The sight nearly gave Lu Xiaoyao a heart attack. He barely managed to pull his strike in time, and by the moment he regained his bearings, Lu Qingyun's sword was already resting against his throat.
"Well, brother, looks like you've lost."