I Slay Gods and Demons in the Deceit Night
Chapter 344 - 240: The Last Visit to Mr. Lu!

Chapter 344: Chapter 240: The Last Visit to Mr. Lu!

Previously, the roots of Liu Venerate attacked.

At the time, Lin Yan’s True Qi within his body numbered only 3,600 strands, and he knew that the might of this slash was not strong, incapable of inflicting harm on the roots of Liu Venerate.

Nonetheless, he did not wish to sit idly by and await death, so he still swung out with his blade!

As the slash was delivered!

He extinguished the god within his heart!

But in his heart, he had no delusion that the slash could sever the roots of Liu Venerate.

However, Mr. Lu’s voice suddenly came through, and it caused the might of this slash to surge tremendously!

At the moment the roots of Liu Venerate were severed, Lin Yan believed that Mr. Lu must have completed his Refining God Skill, to possess such an ability!

Yet unexpectedly, news followed that Mr. Lu’s Qi Mechanism had leaked out, and his momentum in Refining God was on the verge of collapse.

His heart trembled, and his facial expression turned extremely grim.

"Originally, Mr. Lu’s momentum in Refining God was climbing step by step, and it seemed quite smooth until just now..."

Han Commander’s face was complex as he said, "Suddenly, his Qi Mechanism leaked out."

During his closed-door breakthrough, he forcibly exited his retreat to utilize the "Divine Might" and enhance the power of Lin Yan’s slash.

The Commander closed his eyes briefly and sighed, saying, "Originally, given Mr. Lu’s foundation, there was a great chance to complete the final step of Qi Refining and God Transformation! But just now, to assist you with one slash, to sever Liu Venerate’s roots, he overextended himself and cut off his own path..."

He looked in the direction of the south and said, "But in our initial planning, Mr. Lu was supposed to make a move once during his seclusion, and he only had the strength for one strike!"

Lin Yan’s complexion changed, and he spoke in a low voice, "So Mr. Lu’s intervention was already predetermined!"

Upon hearing this, Han Commander’s face showed a slight change as he said, "Does that mean Mr. Lu never intended to advance to the Refining God Realm from the start?"

"No!"

The Commander shook his head and said, "Mr. Lu is not a man to risk everything in one throw, he has other plans."

Lin Yan demanded in a deep voice, "What backup plans?"

The Commander furrowed his brows and said, "According to the original plan, it should have arrived before dawn."

At this moment, the sky was a dull gray.

To the east, a hint of the morning’s first light had begun to emerge.

Daybreak was imminent, and the sky would soon brighten.

But the "item" that was supposed to arrive to assist Mr. Lu in achieving the final step of Refining God had not yet been delivered.

"Old Han, gather the remains of this old friend for me."

The Commander took a deep breath, leaned on his blade, and forced himself to stand up.

Having rested for this brief moment, he had recovered somewhat, but still appeared extremely weakened.

Lin Yan stepped forward to support him.

But the Commander shook his head.

"There’s been a change of plans, the item didn’t arrive, I’ll go to receive it myself!"

The Commander’s complexion was dreadful as he said, "This time, the item was sent from Prefecture City, via the route of the Observatory; it would have been handed over mid-journey and then transferred to High Willow City... Its delay indicates that last night’s chaos must have caused an unexpected incident en route!"

Lin Yan’s expression was solemn as he said, "I’ll accompany you there."

The Commander shook his head and explained, "The Zhao Ye people I personally selected for the handover...

... are elusive, existing in the darkness, embedded in various places, and over time, they have become highly suspicious."

"Their delivery routes are extremely complex, and only I can decipher them."

"Apart from me, they trust no one."

"Your presence would only increase their suspicion and complicate matters unnecessarily."

"Moreover, according to the original plan, the item should have arrived a quarter of an hour ago, to assist Mr. Lu in completing the final step of Refining God!"

"After such a delay, waiting for the item’s return could be dangerous if Mr. Lu cannot hold on..."

Pausing, the Commander continued, "At this point, Mr. Lu must have a lot to tell you. Go and see him for possibly the last time..."

He opened his mouth as if to speak further but ultimately refrained.

Despite feeling this might be the last time he would see Mr. Lu, the words "the last time" were simply too inauspicious to voice.

Lin Yan sighed and asked, "Can you hold on by yourself?"

"If I didn’t die from that earlier hit, as long as I breathe, I won’t die."

The Commander sheathed his sword and said, "Observatory Tower has not signaled an alert, and the Zhao Ye people haven’t lit beacon smoke; it’s unlikely they’ve encountered a powerful enemy. Your going would be of no use..."

——

Outside Mr. Lu’s courtyard.

Lv Tang placed the deadly weapon beside himself.

He stood guard at the doorway, like a statue, silent and unmoving for a long while.

Inside, there was no sound, yet he was aware that Mr. Lu’s Refining God momentum was gradually becoming unsustainable.

On reflecting, he realized he had followed Mr. Lu for over a decade.

In his twenties, he reached the peak of the inner strength realm, full of vigor, unable to tolerate even the slightest injustice in the world, and would angrily kill in the streets.

If not for Mr. Lu’s protection, he would very likely have died in prison.

Having served by Mr. Lu’s side, he achieved the Refining Essence Realm nine years ago and has since entered the Qi Refining Realm.

He had thought to spend another decade or so with Mr. Lu, but he had not anticipated that Mr. Lu’s current seclusion would turn out to be a final farewell.

Lv Tang picked up the long halberd, gazed at the doorway of the courtyard, and muttered in a low voice, "Always so mysterious, to those unaware, they’d think you were capable of planning for every contingency. But in the end, you miscalculated this last step and lost your life..."

Gripping the halberd tightly, he said solemnly, "Nevertheless, as your guardian, no matter who’s involved behind this matter, I will kill them all to avenge you!"

"Good!"

At that moment, Lin Yan’s voice rang out as he said firmly, "When it’s time to take lives, I’ll join you!"

Lv Tang turned his head to look.

But he saw that besides Lin Yan, there was another person.

It was Lin Lei, the second brother of the Lin Family.

He was also the Closed-door Disciple publicly announced by Mr. Lu.

"Coming?"

Lv Tang sighed.

"It’s my lack of ability that’s dragged Mr. Lu down."

Lin Yan looked around the courtyard and said, "If I hadn’t forcibly ended seclusion, offering words to bolster him, Mr. Lu wouldn’t have depleted his foundation and ended up like this."

"It’s because you’re too capable."

Lv Tang slowly said, "Even the Vice Sect Hierarch of Tribulation Ash couldn’t stop you... But if you were just a bit stronger, how great would that be!"

He looked at the courtyard, his voice low, and said, "But you can’t be blamed for this, Mr. Lu had anticipated it and was prepared to take action."

"So, he had a backup plan already; it’s just unfortunate that something unexpected happened."

"As things stand now, without the delivery, it’s highly likely Mr. Lu is not going to make it."

—

Liu Zun Temple.

The Great Temple Priest and others had already removed the chains and stepped out of the Forbidden Land.

"It’s done, that corrupt root of Liu Venerate has been cut off." The Great City Guard came forward with a solemn expression, "After paying such a heavy price, how long can it last? Sixty more years?"

"It won’t hold!"

The Great Temple Priest shook his head and said, "Liu Venerate’s current state is different from sixty years ago, and our conditions are different from sixty years ago as well... However, we can maintain it for at least another five years."

The Great City Guard shook his head and said, "That’s too little."

The Great Temple Priest laughed at himself, "To maintain it for more than five years, we need Mr. Lu’s help."

He looked towards Linjiang Square, speaking in a low voice, "But now it seems Mr. Lu won’t last through this ordeal, I’m afraid five years is too much to hope for."

Upon hearing this, the Great City Guard also fell silent.

He had learned the details of the events at Linjiang Square from the Observatory Tower, City Defense Army, Observatory, and other parties.

Wu Chang, the Inspection Envoy, was too ruthless in killing enemies!

The Vice Sect Hierarch of Tribulation Ash was no match at all, unable to entangle Wu Chang!

The killing was too swift, the return to the city too early, it disrupted the arrangements!

And the Commander of the Observatory made a mistake in judgment, prematurely using the Spirit Talisman!

In the end, Mr. Lu had to end his seclusion, assisting Wu Chang, cutting off the Willow Venerable Roots.

It was this emergence from seclusion that exhausted his strength, weakened his foundation, unable to break through that final barrier.

"Mr. Lu was about to ascend to the Refining God Realm, yet he severed himself from it for Wu Chang."

The Great City Guard said in a low voice, "Despite the astonishing talent of Wu Chang, trading a soon-to-be Refining God Realm for him might not have been worth it."

"What you’re calculating is gain and loss."

The Great Temple Priest sighed and said, "For Mr. Lu, Wu Chang is already his junior; it’s not about gain or loss anymore."

"..."

The Great City Guard sighed, then bowed slightly, "I’ll be leaving first."

The Great Temple Priest called out, "There are still issues here that haven’t been fully resolved, why the hurry to leave?"

"For High Willow City, Mr. Lu gave a lot, his contributions immense, now that he’s at his final step, it’s only proper, emotionally and logically, to see him off on his last journey."

The Great City Guard exhaled and said, "I wish to pay my respects to him myself."

"Hmm?"

The Great Temple Priest thought for a moment, then pondering, said, "Wait a moment, I’ll tidy up a bit and accompany you there."

Upon hearing this, the Great City Guard shook his head and said, "You are the Great Temple Priest of the Liu Venerate Temple, you can only revere the Liu Venerate itself, even if you go, you won’t be able to pay your respects; better stay behind and clean up the mess."

—

The sky was already bright.

The eastern sunrise was beginning.

Outside Mr. Lu’s small courtyard.

The Spirit Talisman that maintained the sealing force suddenly ran out of Qi.

The door to the courtyard opened with the morning breeze.

Lin Yan, Lin Lei, and Lv Tang one after another walked into the courtyard, coming to Mr. Lu’s room door.

After a moment of silence, Lv Tang pushed open the door.

Inside, there seemed to be a fragrance of wood.

Mr. Lu sat cross-legged, hands folded on his abdomen, his expression peaceful.

His refining God momentum used to soar to the skies, ascending step by step.

But now, with insufficiency in foundation, he had exhausted his strength and was gradually withering, falling back one step at a time.

Mr. Lu’s Qi, along with his vitality, kept diminishing!

In another quarter of an hour, it would dissipate completely!

"..."

Lv Tang stopped in his tracks, his expression mournful.

He glanced at the long halberd in his hand, turned his head, and said, "Lin Lei, as Mr. Lu’s closed-door disciple, it’s up to you to take care of his final affairs."

He turned around and was about to walk out of the courtyard, the killing intent in his eyes no longer containable.

"Wait!"

Lin Lei suddenly grabbed his sleeve, speaking softly, "Although I’m not familiar with the path of martial cultivation, I do understand Mr. Lu’s path of cultivation."

"With the fragrance arising in an empty room, it’s clear Mr. Lu has already transcended the constraints of the mortal flesh."

"You just mentioned that Mr. Lu helped out while he was in seclusion?"

"Speaking to bolster, it’s beyond the procedure of the temple priests."

"Without refining the Primordial Spirit, it’s impossible to have such a method!"

"He’s already attained the Primordial Spirit!"

Lin Lei suddenly realized something, a flash of inspiration striking his mind, he hurriedly said, "What he’s missing is not the help to attain the Primordial Spirit!"