Ten Directions Sword Master

Chapter 77 Fate is Predestined

"Judging from your tone, Brother Wu, you seem to know something about corpse demons?"

Lu Li raised an eyebrow. How could the content of the immortal sect's entrance examination be known to mortal martial artists?

"It seems that Brother Bai is not a martial arts person from Sichuan. Since last year, dozens of people have entered Qingcheng Mountain every month, either voluntarily or involuntarily, and have encountered immortals. Those who were thrown down the mountain before entering the immortal sect have already explained the situation. The immortals' assessment is nothing more than the same few things."

Wu Lianfeng was taken aback at first, then burst into hearty laughter.

"Slaying corpse demons is most advantageous for us. Once, during an assessment, we were supposed to touch jade and observe its aura, and an old woman who was almost sixty years old received a divine destiny. Who can we complain to!"

"In recent years, there have been two zombie outbreaks in Sichuan. My two elder brothers died on the way to exterminate the zombies. The zombies are incredibly strong and impervious to swords and spears. It took us a lot of internal energy to break through their skin."

"The key is that if you are scratched by a corpse demon, the corpse poison will enter your body and invade your heart and lungs within half an hour, rendering medicine ineffective."

.

A flicker of fear flashed in the burly man's eyes; clearly, the power of the ghoul had left a deep impression on him.

It is very difficult to deal with a martial artist who has reached the Foundation Establishment stage, but a few people working together can still kill him. From this perspective, the Corpse Demon's strength is not at the Refinement stage, and should be equivalent to the half-step Refinement stage in the real world.

However, since sword immortals exist in the Qingcheng world, martial arts are limited, and the development of martial arts is certainly not as advanced as in the real world, so it is impossible to draw a conclusion directly.

After considering it for a moment, Lu Li nodded in agreement.

Traveling with complete strangers can be a good option, as long as you are careful to see if the other person has malicious intentions.

"Alright! Let's head towards the Yin Pool. I've assessed this group, and at most four or five of them are qualified to challenge the Corpse Demon—they can't fathom Brother Bai's abilities and definitely can't compete with us!"

Wu Lianfeng was very excited; the burly man was actually carrying a thin willow-leaf sword.

He didn't mention how the so-called karmic merit would be distributed after the slaying of the corpse demon, and Lu Li pretended to have forgotten.

The two men understood each other without saying a word, and the makeshift team moved slowly forward in the eerie atmosphere.

The vegetation grew too lush, and sunlight filtered through the trees, casting dappled shadows. The unidentified grasses underfoot were almost half a person tall.

Who knows if there are any ghouls hiding in the bushes? Naturally, the speed can't be fast.

"what!"

"Run, you ghouls!"

Several piercing screams echoed through the forest. Lu Li and Wu Lianfeng exchanged a glance and silently changed direction.

Dozens of feet away, several people were terrified and fled in a frenzy.

Two dark figures appeared and disappeared in the grass, and each time they appeared, one of them fell down and was dragged into the darkness.

After a few breaths, there was no more movement.

"Wow, that's fast!"

Lu Li was horrified. He had thought it was a slow-moving zombie from a storybook, but the corpse demon was agile and ghostly, no less powerful than a Foundation Establishment martial artist.

Wu Lianfeng didn't mention it at all during his introduction, and his hidden thoughts are obvious.

Among the examinees were many women and children; even martial artists and heroes did not all have the courage and strength to fight against the corpse demons.

In an instant, only one lame beggar remained in the group. Because of his physical limitations, he was left behind and survived.

Only then did the two ghouls fully expose their bodies for the first time, walking like spiders with their hands and feet on the ground.

Its face was like that of a fierce ghost, and its skin was indigo. If it stood upright, it would probably be ten feet tall.

"There are two of them! Brother Bai, let's retreat. Only a Qi cultivator who has mastered immortal techniques can handle this situation!"

Wu Lianfeng's voice trembled, and he took a step back.

Lu Li sighed, pressed down on the cicada's chirping, and tried to make as little noise as possible.

The threat posed by the Corpse Demon far exceeded that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivator; he could be regarded as a martial artist with innate divine strength who also cultivated external martial arts.

Although it lacks the spiritual power of a half-step Refined Spirit, its physical advantages and fearlessness in the face of pain make it a different kind of challenge to deal with.

The two ghouls kicked out simultaneously, so fast that they left black afterimages, but there was no scream as expected, no flesh and blood torn apart.

The broken bowl held in the lame man's hand emitted a soft white light, conveying a profound sense of Zen.

With a sweep in front of him, the two corpse demons vanished into thin air, leaving only two faint silver rays that fell into the broken bowl.

It's like a thin layer of moonlight accumulating at the bottom of a bowl.

"Nine generations of good deeds, this bowl of porridge has saved countless lives; the merit bestowed upon us is immense—you are worthy of becoming a disciple of Qingcheng!"

The voice of the middle-aged Taoist priest from Qingcheng boomed loudly, seemingly coming from nowhere.

A rainbow bridge descended from the clouds and came to rest right at the feet of the lame man.

This man had been paralyzed for half his life, begging for a living and suffering endless humiliation, but now his limbs had miraculously recovered, and he stood up.

At the same time, his eyes were clear and bright, showing no sign of being foolish or stupid.

Holding the broken bowl, I stood on the Rainbow Bridge, but the bridge receded, and I returned to the gate of Qingcheng Mountain.

What's going on here?

There were a total of three spots for joining the sect, and one spot was inexplicably taken away.

They said the test would be based on slaying corpse demons and demonstrating profound virtue, so why did this "nine-life virtuous person" suddenly appear?

This is clearly pre-arranged!

Lu Li stared in disbelief, realizing that the rules governing this world were different from all the previous compass worlds.

"Here we go again!"

Wu Lianfeng cursed fiercely, clearly familiar with the situation.

"Last time, that old woman had a karmic connection with an elder of the sect across three lifetimes, and the ten-year-old child before that was the reincarnation of a wandering immortal from Southern Guangdong—so what use is it for us to cultivate to the limit of martial arts, risking our lives to come to Qingcheng Mountain?"

He lost control of his emotions, acted like a madman, and was filled with resentment.

"Fate is predetermined. Why is it that after all my efforts, I'm still inferior to a beggar who's lived a muddled life? Why can't I enter the immortal realm?!"

Lu Li ignored it. One of the three spots for Qingcheng disciples had been reduced, making the competition even more intense.

The key point is that if recruiting disciples is based on past life karma and accumulated fortune, then a transmigrator who was thrown in by the Nebula Compass is destined to lose.

Even if you kill a lot of ghouls, you still can't compete with the pre-selected disciple.

The background information clearly states that he needs to recruit a chosen one, yet he overlooked this point.

The Taibai Sword Sect in the Floating Island World was only rejected because their aptitude didn't meet the requirements, but they still left a way out: to consume the Treasure Fish and defy fate.

In the world of Qingcheng, personal effort is minimized; without good fortune, one cannot enter the immortal realm.

"Brother Bai, lend me a hand and give me all the good karma from slaying the corpse demon—you're still young, you'll have plenty of opportunities in the future, I'm already over forty!"

Wu Lianfeng suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, as if he were about to make a desperate gamble.

"I own three mansions, seven shops, and thousands of taels of gold in Sichuan, all of which are yours! I also have two opera troupes, three newly acquired concubines, and more than ten martial arts manuals—what more could you want? As long as it can help me ascend to immortality, it's all yours!"

"I, Wu, swear to the heavens that after becoming a disciple of Qingcheng, I will do everything in my power to help you ascend to immortality!"

Lu Li remained noncommittal, saying, "There are still two disciple spots available, Brother Wu, why are you in such a hurry?"

Wu Lianfeng's voice was hoarse and his words were incoherent: "That guy surnamed Shen is going around Yizhou City bragging that his ancestors were Emei sword immortals, and that Wang Qianya is the top of the Eight Swords of Shu—not enough, there aren't enough spots to go around!"

"I'm sorry, but I'm determined to join Qingcheng this time."

Lu Li understood the meaning behind the words: there was a descendant of a sword immortal surnamed Shen, and a swordsman named Wang Qianya, whom Wu Lianfeng was not confident in dealing with.

Only by combining the efforts of two people and accumulating their good karma into one person can they have a chance of victory.

If he hasn't joined Qingcheng after more than a month, what awaits him is not the loss of his immortal destiny, but complete annihilation.

Besides, no matter how eloquently such a predestined connection is described, no one would be willing to give it up.

"Bai Wuming, do you think you can defeat them alone? Only by joining forces can we achieve a win-win situation!"

Wu Lianfeng was initially furious, but then his expression returned to one of earnestness and sincerity.

"How about this, let's attribute all the good deeds to me. I'm still young, and perhaps the Immortal Master Qingcheng will think I have more potential and accept me into his sect. Once I become an inner disciple, I can then recruit Brother Wu into the sect. It would be a win-win situation."

Lu Li spoke from the heart. The Qingcheng World was too high-level, unlike the Floating Island World which had thirteen sects and a sword hall.

The mortals and immortals here have no affinity and almost never come into contact.

He was willing to give up all the benefits of being a disciple of the immortals as long as he could join Qingcheng; he truly wasn't planning on coming on his own initiative.

"You're doing great!"

Wu Lianfeng's expression was uncertain, and after much hesitation, he lacked the resolve to fight to the death.

This unfamiliar young man seemed unfathomable to him, and making a hasty move would leave the outcome uncertain.

"I hope to see you leave the Dark Pool alive!"

After uttering those harsh words, Wu Lianfeng cautiously backed away.

The chilling air rippled out in concentric arcs, perfectly controlling the distance.

The ghoul lunged forward, then stepped back, its cicada-like slash cutting through iron like mud, tearing a large gash in the purplish-blue skin.

Faced with this monster, Cicada's Cry finally revealed its sharpness as a mid-grade treasure weapon.

In the past, when he was with Lu Li, he faced enemies whose cultivation was higher than his own, and he would exhaust his strength once he broke through their internal energy.

The ghoul's skin is as hard as iron armor, but without internal energy to protect it, it can instead function like a cicada's song.

-

After dozens of rounds, the ghoul's limbs were covered in sword wounds; a human would have bled to death long ago.

Lu Li retreated five steps, finally stopping the corpse demon's forward lunge. A new surge of power emerged from the acupoints on the soles of his feet, and with a leap, he perfectly dodged the front claws and pierced the eyeball with his sword.

"He actually broke through the Vast Void Step technique in the heat of battle, advancing from the Lesser Completion stage to the Advanced Stage!"

Lu Li chose this movement technique at the same time as the Twenty-Four Solar Terms Sword Technique. Perhaps he didn't put enough effort into it, or perhaps his talent was limited, because he has been stuck at the minor completion level for almost a year.

Including compass time, it's actually close to three years.

After several real battles, he finally broke through and was able to generate power from his feet twice.

Whether it's a burst of speed or a quick maneuver within a small area, it elevates the skill level to a whole new level.

boom!

After a battle that lasted half an hour, the ghoul crashed heavily to the ground, his hands severed at the roots, and one leg hanging by only skin and flesh.

The most serious injury was a sword hole between his eyebrows that went straight to the back of his head.

Lu Li was panting heavily, his body completely unharmed, without even a speck of blood on him, but he was actually extremely exhausted.

This battle may not be as exciting as the duel with the white ape, where the back-and-forth exchanges showcased the full extent of swordsmanship.

But the level of danger was the highest, pushing him to his limit.

The battle lasted an extremely long time, and the nerves were under immense pressure. Even a single mistake, such as a minor scrape, could lead to total defeat.

In the final moments, Lu Li relied purely on his swordsmanship instincts, his mind so exhausted that he could no longer calculate the most reasonable sword move.