Dai Bufan glanced at Lu Yang, who stood honestly behind.

People from the Ruthless Sect found you first?

So how did you know the Ruthless Sect would come, and even knew to go back to the Sect to call for help?

Dai Bufan moved his body, his bones making creaking sounds. He had been in charge of the Task Hall for years, rarely needing to lift a finger, but that did not mean he had grown weak.

He had taken over the Task Hall from the Grand Elder early on, not only because the Grand Elder was lazy; the most important reason was his strength was sufficient for great responsibilities!

Among his peers, except for Yun Zhi, he had never lost to anyone!

"It’s rare to encounter the Ruthless Sect," Dai Bufan felt somewhat nostalgic. Over the years, the members of the Ruthless Sect he had seen were souls barely clinging to life; a lively Ruthless Sect Elder like this was a first.

"Sky Change!"

Dai Bufan swiftly raised his hand towards the sky, and instantly dark clouds gathered, bringing a torrential rain that had not been seen in Kaihuang City for five hundred years, instantly cooling the city and the surrounding desert.

He was a Water Spirit Root; this was his home field.

Everywhere, the whole world seemed to become a realm of water. The citizens of Kaihuang City, who had lived so long, were seeing this version of Kaihuang City for the first time.

"Rivers in Reverse!"

The rainwater flowed through the street openings like thousands of streams, which, as if alive, turned into little flood dragons attacking the two Elders.

"Black Tortoise Shell!"

"White Bone Flying Boat!"

Elders Bai Li Ting and Wu Shui had not expected Dai Bufan to cast his spells so quickly, and could hardly believe he was also at the Mid Integration Stage.

The Black Tortoise Shell guarded in front of Elder Bai Li Ting, while Elder Wu Shui hid in the White Bone Flying Boat, using the boat’s hull to block.

The little flood dragons were agile and versatile. They hit the Black Tortoise Shell, scattered into droplets, climbed along the shell’s surface, and then reformed into little flood dragons, besieging Bai Li Ting.

Elder Wu Shui took out the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, numerous lost souls wailed, controlling the boat’s cannons to bombard the little flood dragons.

The White Bone Flying Boat drifted and bobbed on the sea like a real ship, as well as crashing into rocks, shattering to pieces.

The little flood dragons, after being dispersed, condensed again as if they had endless life. Whatever magic skill had been imbued in these little flood dragons, they could use their bodies as cages, imprisoning souls within.

Even with ten thousand souls in Elder Wu Shui’s Ten Thousand Soul Banner, it couldn’t withstand such depletion.

Elder Wu Shui’s cultivation techniques were also related to water, which was why he knew how fierce Dai Bufan under such conditions was, and that he must be contained!

"Here, I set the rule: ’Rain shall not fall in Kaihuang City’."

Instantly, Kaihuang City turned into clear skies, and the little flood dragons made of rainwater also disappeared one by one.

A battle in the Body Integration Realm relies on setting up mutual restrictions with each rule established.

But Dai Bufan, faced with the rule set by Elder Wu Shui to disperse the clouds and rain, showed no intention of countering with his own rule.

He took out a red banner emblazoned with auspicious clouds; the moment the Five-colored Auspicious Cloud Banner was unfurled, countless intricate and beautiful characters flew from the banner, branding the void, layering one Array Method upon another.

The Array Method had nine layers, named the Nine-layered Pagoda Formation. Once the Pagoda Formation was activated, the two Elders instantly bent over, unable to stand straight.

"Xuanwu Manifestation!" Elder Bai Li Ting fused his spear with the Black Tortoise Shell, summoning the corpse of Xuan Wu, intending to break through the Great Formation with the weight of Xuan Wu.

But the Xuan Wu corpse collided with the boundary of the Array Method, like hitting mud, unable to exert any strength.

Dai Bufan charged into the Array Method, swinging the Five-colored Auspicious Cloud Banner like waving a club.

"Xuantian Axe!"

"Thunder Fire Red Gold Fist!"

The two Elders each summoned an axe capable of splitting space, and a fist carrying a trace of the power of Heavenly Tribulation.

Dai Bufan remained unmoved, not even raising an eyebrow, swinging the banner to strike, shattering the Xuantian Axe with a single blow, striking straight at Elder Wu Shui’s face, sending the two Elders scrambling for their teeth. No matter their sky-high abilities or methods to recover from injuries, they were of no use.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou stood in Kaihuang Temple, looking up at the battle. Seeing their usually quiet Elder Brother Dai transformed into a fierce warrior slaughtering all around, they shivered with fear.

"This the first time you’ve seen Elder Brother Dai fight someone."

"He strikes so viciously."

The two of them theoretically were on par with a Mid Integration Stage cultivator, but that was for an ordinary Mid Integration Stage cultivator.

If they encountered a cultivator like Dai Bufan of the Integration Realm, they’d end up no better than these two Elders.

An aged voice echoed throughout Kaihuang City.

"So young yet with such a cultivation level; you are no ordinary junior," he said.

As the aged figure appeared, the Nine-layered Pagoda Formation collapsed on its own, and the two Elders finally found relief and quickly sought protection from the old man.

"Vice Sect Hierarch."

"Lou Nan?" Dai Bufan held the Red Banner, his combat spirit unabated.

Lou Nan, Vice Sect Hierarch of the Ruthless Sect, Early Tribulation Stage.

"All the people in the city have been poisoned, the cultivators are alright since they can detoxify themselves, but the commoners are frail and only I know the cure."

"If the poison in these people isn’t cured, they will die unnatural deaths within ten days."

"If you want the people of this city to live longer, you’d better hand them all over to me."

As he spoke, Lou Nan released the aura of Passing Tribulation, pressing it all onto Dai Bufan alone, forcing him to transform his body into a water form to mitigate the burden.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Quite a smart junior," Lou Nan contemplated whether to simply capture Dai Bufan as well.

The antidote was known only to Lou Nan; neither Bai Liting nor Wu Shui knew it. If Dai Bufan wanted to save everyone in the city, he had to let Lou Nan take them all.

"Why is he insisting on taking the entire city’s people?" Lu Yang wondered, it was the same during the previous reincarnations; Lou Nan had directly teleported Kaihuang City away.

Immortal Fairy guessed casually while lying on the Lotus Platform, "Perhaps he’s trying to condense the outline of a Dao Fruit. By observing the ruthless actions of the entire city for a long time, if he’s lucky enough to have an insight, he might have a chance to condense an outline of a Dao Fruit related to ruthlessness."

"Master Lu, what should we do?" Tang Chuanwu was breaking out in a cold sweat. As Lou Nan appeared, even Dai Bufan, who seemed like a war god, had to struggle to maintain his stance and was powerless to resist. Could it be that they had to initiate the next reincarnation and seek a new method of breakthrough?

Lu Yang smiled at Tang Chuanwu, "Don’t worry, I have plenty of people on my side."

With that, he shot into the sky, standing side by side with Dai Bufan, firmly raising the Green Peak Sword.

"Want to take the entire city’s people? Did you ask my sword?"

"Mid-stage Transforming Spirit," Lou Nan would have laughed if he weren’t in the Merciless State of Mind.

Could a mid-stage Transforming Spirit reverse the heavens?

"Take my sword!"

Lu Yang raised the Green Peak Sword high, the swordsmanship majestic. As the sword fell, a small world opened, and a Great Snow Mountain large enough to cover the entire Kaihuang City floated out from the small world, directly knocking Lou Nan away.

If previously Dai Bufan’s calling of the wind and summoning of the rain had merely cooled down Kaihuang City, the appearance of the Great Snow Mountain turned it cold.

Two silhouettes flew out from the Great Snow Mountain, one tall, one petite.

The tall silhouette sneered at Lou Nan, "Calling everyone ’junior’ so freely, boy, are you that old?"

"The Merciless Poison, is it that hard to cure?" the petite figure scoffed.

When Lou Nan saw the faces of the two, he immediately broke out of his Merciless State of Mind, his earlier strategizing demeanor completely vanished.

"Vast Sea Daoist Lord, Chasing Moon True Person!"

Two Semi-Immortals!

Run!

Lou Nan turned to flee, and just as he was about to take Kaihuang City with him, a door appeared in front of him, teleporting him back to his original position.

"Thinking of running? Did you get my permission?"