"Elder Zhong, did he succeed?" Zhou Qianqian asked, her face full of worry, looking at Zhong Li beside her.
"He succeeded, in a way. However, his life force is rapidly draining. In this situation, only a Life-Taking Pill, a first-grade medicine, can save him. It's a pity the Star Sect doesn't have such a pill," Zhong Li sighed with regret.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Qianqian's face instantly turned pale. She looked at the charred figure in the deep pit, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
There was self-blame, regret, and, even more, admiration.
More than a dozen genius disciples of the Hua Xia Sect had all died here. As soon as she thought of this, Zhou Qianqian's heart began to ache faintly.
Every disciple was an exceptional talent, and even the Star Sect couldn't find geniuses comparable to them.
And now, these people were dead; how could one not feel regret?
Just as everyone thought that Zhao Shijie, a proud talent of his generation, had met his end, a figure emerged from the lightning pool in the sky.
The figure was extremely blurry, and no one could clearly see its appearance.
"Innate Being!" Everyone gasped in shock, kneeling on the ground, not daring to look up directly.
The figure bathed in lightning, stood in the void, then raised an arm. A small purple lightning bolt separated from its palm and entered Zhao Shijie's body.
After doing this, it retreated back into the lightning pool.
As the lightning pool was about to disappear, a rainbow light suddenly streaked across the sky, heading straight for the lightning pool.
"Slash!"
A roar came from the air. Everyone looked up in disbelief, their eyes wide as they stared at the figure.
They never expected that someone would dare to challenge an Innate Being with a sword. It was simply insane, a death wish.
What surprised them even more was that a drop of liquid was actually cut from the lightning pool.
"It's Tribulation Liquid!" Someone roared loudly.
Hearing this, everyone present instantly had red eyes, staring intently at the figure above.
As the lightning tribulation dispersed, the crowd finally saw the true appearance of the newcomer.
"Chu Huaian!!!"
Everyone's pupils suddenly constricted. They couldn't believe their eyes.
Chu Huaian, who had been missing for three years, had actually appeared, and his cultivation had already recovered to the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Chu Huaian, once the number one genius in the southern region, who had suppressed the younger generation to the point where they couldn't raise their heads.
He had arrived!
The heavens of Jizhou were about to change!
"Elder Zhong, he is the Sect Master of the Hua Xia Sect, and also the master of Zhao Shijie and the others," Zhou Qianqian whispered beside her.
"What?! Zhao Shijie is his disciple?" Zhong Li's face changed drastically, and she cried out in surprise.
"No wonder Zhao Shijie's actions are so similar to Chu Huaian's. So he's his disciple," Zhong Li murmured to herself.
Back then, Chu Huaian's name was like the midday sun, a nightmare for all geniuses. If it weren't for that incident, Chu Huaian would definitely have been able to leave Jizhou and go to the broader Central State to compete with those monstrous talents.
It was just a pity that Chu Huaian had too many enemies, which not only harmed his entire sect but also himself.
Now that he had reappeared before the world, his demeanor was even more remarkable than back then.
Among these dozen or so people, at least half of them had participated in that sect-destroying battle. Upon seeing Chu Huaian, these people couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts.
Without any unnecessary words, seven figures shot into the sky, wanting to eliminate Chu Huaian at the first opportunity.
Facing seven Golden Core Stage cultivators, Chu Huaian remained unmoved, silently swallowing the Tribulation Liquid.
At the same time, Zhao Shijie struggled to his feet in the deep pit, about to rush up to help, but Chu Huaian stopped him, saying, "This is not your battlefield. Go back."
"Xian Ge, I might be dying. Just let me fight to my heart's content," Zhao Shijie stood up, showing a pleading look.
"Don't worry, with me here, you won't die," Chu Huaian gave him a reassuring look.
Zhao Shijie smiled bitterly and shook his head. The death he spoke of was not the same as what Chu Huaian meant. Since Chu Huaian didn't want him to participate, he wouldn't force it.
"Xian Ge, take care!"
Zhao Shijie took a deep look at Chu Huaian, then his entire body disappeared without a trace.
"What kind of cultivation technique is this?"
Everyone's eyes widened. They extended their spiritual sense to carefully investigate, but they couldn't detect Zhao Shijie's aura at all.
Zhao Shijie had just entered the Foundation Establishment Stage. To be able to disappear right under their noses was simply a miracle!
What had Chu Huaian been doing all these years?
Zhao Shijie didn't know that merely going offline would add so much mystery to Chu Huaian. If he had known, he would probably be grinning from ear to ear.
Recently, the players' levels had been soaring, and with Zhao Shijie breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, the experience feedback Chu Huaian received was extremely generous, and his cultivation had already broken through to the third layer of the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Among the seven Golden Core Stage cultivators surrounding him, only the Elder from the Falling Cloud Sect was at the third layer of the Golden Core Stage; the other six were all at the first or second layer.
Fighting seven Golden Core Stage cultivators alone as a Foundation Establishment Stage early-stage cultivator was extremely rare in the entire cultivation world.
But no one dared to underestimate Chu Huaian. A man's reputation precedes him. Chu Huaian daring to show up was enough to prove he had the confidence.
The two sides were in a standoff for more than ten seconds, and one person couldn't hold back any longer, controlling a flying sword to go straight for Chu Huaian's head.
This action was like a stone thrown into a lake, creating a thousand ripples.
Chu Huaian pointed one hand to the sky and the other to the ground, then suddenly brought them together, placing them on his chest, "The heart seeds the source of lightning, purple essence boundless, thunder vast, guided by the heart."
"Lightning Spirit, come out!!!"
Sizzle sizzle—
As soon as Chu Huaian finished speaking, a purple lightning bolt emerged from his chest, surrounding him.
Chu Huaian cultivated lightning with his heart, using Tribulation Liquid to nurture a Lightning Spirit. This ancient secret technique was something everyone had only seen in books, and they never expected Chu Huaian to actually succeed.
The conditions for the birth of a Lightning Spirit were extremely harsh. First, one needed to possess a top-grade lightning spirit root as a prerequisite. Second, during the tribulation, one had to trigger the Divine Purple Lightning and capture a purple lightning bolt with vitality. The final step required washing with Tribulation Liquid for the Lightning Spirit to be born.
The few people who were originally just watching the show, not involved, first froze when the Lightning Spirit appeared, then all revealed greedy expressions, staring intently at Chu Huaian.
With the Lightning Spirit attached to his flying sword, Chu Huaian casually swung his sword, cutting off the other person's flying sword, then immediately formed hand seals.
The next second, the sky instantly darkened.
The flying sword shot into the sky, its tip pointing downwards, accompanied by purple divine lightning.
Rumble rumble—
Tens of thousands of lightning bolts surged through the clouds, and a vast pressure enveloped everyone's heads.
Seeing this, the seven people's expressions became solemn. How could they hold back? They all manifested their Dharma Idols and Golden Bodies.
Seven Golden Bodies surrounded Chu Huaian.
"Fall!"
Chu Huaian waved his large hand, and tens of thousands of lightning bolts obeyed his command, descending from the sky.
The seven Golden Bodies bathed in the lightning, radiating dazzling light. The powerful aftermath swept through everything around, turning a hundred-mile radius into ashes, already becoming an ocean of lightning.
"So powerful..." Zhou Qianqian murmured to herself.
She had thought Zhao Shijie and the others were already monstrously talented, but she never expected their Sect Master to be even more exaggerated. Fighting seven Golden Core Stage cultivators alone, he wasn't at a disadvantage at all.
"Still as fierce as three years ago," Zhong Li sighed with emotion.
The others suppressed their restless hearts, their expressions solemn as they watched this great battle.
Whether Chu Huaian could make a strong comeback, this battle was crucial.