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Chapter 1003: Chapter 1003: The Second Duel with Zilu

Inside the Yan Luo Hall, King Yan Luo silently cheered, while the others could only doubt Zhong Shan\'s chances.

An Ancestor Immortal—such a being was the pinnacle beneath a Saint. Zhong Shan might have defeated an Ancient Immortal, but before an Ancestor Immortal, it would be nothing short of a death wish. Zhong Shan was doomed.

"If that\'s the case, then come on. Let\'s see if you, Zilu, have what it takes! And when I cut you down, I wonder if an even older sage from the Confucian Sect will come to avenge you!" Zhong Shan\'s cold voice echoed from the distant hall.

Upon hearing Zhong Shan\'s words, not only Zilu, but all the surrounding cultivators were left in stunned silence.

"What did Zhong Shan just say? I must not have heard that correctly!" King Yan Luo muttered in disbelief.

"Zhong Shan said he\'s going to kill Zilu!" Judge Lu eagerly echoed.

"Has Zhong Shan lost his mind?"

Everyone thought Zhong Shan\'s words were laughable, yet no one dared to laugh out loud at that moment.

"Boom!"

With a loud crash, the doors of the hall where Zhong Shan was located were forcefully flung open. Slowly, Zhong Shan and his group emerged.

There was no escaping this fight. Since that was the case, they might as well give it everything they had.

"What, you really want to fight me? Didn\'t you learn your lesson from the battle at Lingxiao Heavenly Court?" Zilu sneered.

Zhong Shan walked out, his followers behind him. Though they stood below, their aura of pride made the surrounding cultivators feel as if Zhong Shan embodied an indomitable force.

Zhong Shan looked at Zilu and said, "I don\'t have a deep grudge against the Confucian Sect, but your ignorance has repeatedly deepened our enmity. Remember, if I destroy the Confucian Sect one day, all the blame will fall on you!"

Zhong Shan\'s voice was not loud, but it carried a chilling coldness.

The surroundings fell silent. King Yan Luo and the others had their mouths agape.

"Is Zhong Shan insane? He said he would destroy the Confucian Sect?" King Yan Luo exclaimed in disbelief.

"He did say that! But with Confucius still in the world, who could destroy the Confucian Sect?" Judge Lu marveled.

"Zhong Shan is far too arrogant!"

Zilu coldly stared at Zhong Shan, and for some reason, a strange sense of foreboding stirred within him as he heard Zhong Shan\'s words.

"Ignorant fool!" Zilu snapped.

With that, Zilu raised his hand and struck out at Zhong Shan.

In the void, a massive white palm print manifested!

The white palm print whistled as it descended upon Zhong Shan.

Aside from King Yan Luo, who had a cold smile on his face, the others all shook their heads, clearly thinking that Zhong Shan was as good as dead.

"Roar—!"

Suddenly, a strange dragon\'s roar erupted from Zhong Shan\'s body.

With the roar, the aura around Zhong Shan surged dramatically. He raised his hand, sending a palm strike towards the sky—the Heaven-Opening Palm, unstoppable and all-conquering!

"Boom!"

A tremendous explosion followed as the two enormous palm prints collided in mid-air. The space trembled violently once again, but Zhong Shan\'s Heaven-Opening Palm completely neutralized Zilu\'s attack.

Zilu\'s eyelid twitched.

"This isn\'t right. The Wind Burial Territory is so far from the Four Great Continents—you shouldn\'t be able to harness the power of the Great Zheng World from here. How did you do it?" Zilu asked, disbelief evident in his voice.

At this moment, a massive golden divine dragon coiled protectively around Zhong Shan, embodying the true dragon\'s aura as he channeled the power of the Great Zheng Empire. Although the vast distance should have prevented him from drawing on the power of his empire, Zhong Shan was no ordinary ruler—his safety was paramount, especially in the Four Great Continents, where countless powerful beings roamed.

The Great Zheng Empire\'s fate was somewhat unique compared to other sacred courts. It was guarded by two nineteen-clawed golden dragons. One dragon remained in the Lingxiao Heavenly Court, gathering and safeguarding the empire\'s fate, while the other imbued Zhong Shan with boundless strength. These two dragons complemented each other perfectly; as long as the golden dragon in Lingxiao Heavenly Court thrived, the one within Zhong Shan would never run dry.

"Do you want to test your luck?" Zhong Shan taunted with a cold smile.

As he spoke, he launched himself towards Zilu. Zilu\'s expression changed slightly, but his curiosity was piqued beyond measure. It wasn\'t unheard of to leave a life-bound treasure in the clouds of fate, allowing one to draw upon their empire\'s power from a distance—but this typically worked only across one or two territories at most. Yet Zhong Shan had done so from much farther away!

Extending his hand, Zilu met Zhong Shan\'s palm directly, choosing to probe his strength. This time, Zilu didn\'t unleash a massive palm strike but instead allowed his palm to meet Zhong Shan\'s. Upon contact, Zilu seemed to immediately gauge Zhong Shan\'s capabilities.

"Is that all?" Zilu sneered.

In that instant, Zilu understood the situation and assessed Zhong Shan\'s strength. Despite the protection of the true dragon, Zhong Shan\'s power barely matched that of someone who had just entered the Ancestor Immortal realm—far below Zilu\'s own level.

"Is that so?" Zhong Shan retorted with a cold smile.

Suddenly, a massive cloud of peach-colored mist appeared in the sky, enveloping both combatants in the blink of an eye.

Zilu was momentarily surprised, then his expression darkened as he realized that the peach-colored energy was extremely aggressive, bizarrely penetrating his defenses and invading his body.

"You\'re courting death!" Zilu snarled.

With a surge of strength, he attempted to fling Zhong Shan away.

The force was immense, and Zhong Shan was indeed thrown back.

But in that split second, Zilu caught a glimpse of Zhong Shan\'s eye turning blue.

The Deadly Heavenly Eye—Activated!

A beam of blue light shot directly into Zilu\'s body.

"Boom!"

Zhong Shan was sent flying by the impact.

With a flick of his sleeve, the peach-colored mist dissipated. But by then, Zilu\'s expression had grown extremely grim.

Zilu realized he had made a critical error—never allow an enemy to get close. But his curiosity had led him to forget this vital principle, and now it seemed he had fallen into Zhong Shan\'s trap.

Fortunately, he wasn\'t injured.

Though unhurt, Zilu\'s mood was now thoroughly foul.

Below, King Yan Luo and the others hadn\'t noticed anything out of the ordinary, but Zilu knew better. He was all too familiar with that blue light—the infamous eye technique of Zhong Shan, known as the Deadly Heavenly Eye, which had a fearsome reputation even back in the Fengzhong Territory.

It seemed that Zilu had indeed been affected by Zhong Shan\'s eye technique. And what was that peach-colored energy?

With a wave of his hand, Zilu\'s figure shifted, ready to enter the realm of the Heavenly Dao, intending to use its power to expel the negative effects now plaguing him.

But just as Zilu was about to merge with the Heavenly Dao, his mind suddenly wavered, and he failed to achieve the connection!

It had arrived—the misfortune?

Zilu suddenly felt a surge of unbearable heat within him.

What was this? Heat?

At first, Zilu assumed it was a negative effect from Zhong Shan\'s Deadly Heavenly Eye, but something didn\'t add up. Years ago, Ancestor Xue Mei had also been affected by the Deadly Heavenly Eye, yet he had managed to merge with the Heavenly Dao afterward.

Why couldn\'t he calm his mind? Without inner calm, how could he attune to the Heavenly Dao and merge with it?

"He can\'t enter the Heavenly Dao!" Zhong Shan shouted as he landed.

"Open!" Nian Youyou suddenly commanded, her gaze locked on Zilu.

A hum echoed through the air as a golden light swept over Zilu, turning his garments into a golden robe. At the same time, a strange energy began to frantically invade his body.

This is bad!

Panicking, Zilu quickly reached for his Spring and Autumn Tome.

As soon as the tome appeared, countless words materialized in the air, enveloping and protecting Zilu.

Zilu was determined to expel the negative energy within him.

"Shoot!"

Luo Xingchen pulled back on his bow and released a blood-red arrow straight at Zilu!

"Boom!"

The blood-red arrow tore through a multitude of words, ultimately striking the Spring and Autumn Tome.

"An Ancestor Immortal artifact?" Zilu\'s face darkened.

Finally, Zilu realized he had made a grave mistake—he had grossly underestimated this group of so-called "insignificant figures."

By now, Zhong Shan had launched himself into the air once more, his hands shaped like an axe as he descended upon Zilu.

"First Stance of Heaven-Opening!"

With a thunderous roar, a colossal axe materialized in the sky, slashing down toward Zilu with unparalleled ferocity.

The air trembled violently as the giant axe created thin black cracks in the fabric of space.

Zilu\'s hands turned golden as he focused on expelling the negative effects inside him, leaving him unable to dodge. The Spring and Autumn Tome unfurled in front of him to block the attack.

"Boom!"

The powerful spatial ripples that had been generated during the Ksitigarbha King\'s earlier battle reappeared.

The sky rippled with numerous distortions, and the ensuing explosion reduced Yan Luo City to rubble, sparing only a few structures around the Yan Luo Hall.

King Yan Luo shrank back in fear. Was Zhong Shan some kind of monster?

All around, cultivators held their breath, retreating as far as possible.

"Boom!" The Spring and Autumn Tome bore the brunt of the attack, but Zilu felt the impact reverberate through his body, causing his blood to churn violently. The negative effects from the Deadly Heavenly Eye exacerbated the turmoil within him, nearly causing him to vomit blood. He barely managed to contain the chaotic energy, but the heat in his body only grew more intense.

"Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!"

Luo Xingchen\'s blood-red arrows continued to fly, each one further frustrating Zilu.

"Roar!"

Zilu was furious—he never imagined that these "ants" could push him to such a state.

His eyes flashed with murderous intent as he glared at Luo Xingchen.

"First Stance of Heaven-Opening!"

Zhong Shan\'s axe came crashing down again. But Zilu, his eyes filled with hatred, ignored the incoming strike. He was determined to eliminate Zhong Shan\'s subordinates first, then deal with Zhong Shan himself.

The Spring and Autumn Tome blocked the Heaven-Opening strike, while Zilu sped towards Luo Xingchen and the others in an instant, intent on wiping them out.

"Shoot!"

Luo Xingchen unleashed his ultimate technique, Nine Stars in a Row, firing nine consecutive arrows in a straight line at Zilu.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Each arrow struck with tremendous force, and the ninth arrow finally broke through Zilu\'s defenses, leaving a deep gash on his shoulder.

"Skybane Chess Formation!" Nangong Sheng stomped the ground, causing thousands of giant stones to rise up, forming a defensive array around the group.

But Zilu was far too powerful—how could the stone formation stop him?

In the blink of an eye, Zilu broke through the stone defenses and appeared before them.

By this time, Nian Youyou had already collapsed from the strain of using the Golden Eye technique. Under the pressure of Zilu\'s overwhelming aura, she was powerless to resist.

Luo Xingchen, too, had lost the advantage of long-range attacks with his Xuanyuan Bow. The specter of doom loomed over them.

To read the manga version, please click the YouTube link https://youtu.be/GnU613H6xm8