Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 172 - 128: Gathering to Slay the Immortal

Immortal Meng hadn’t done anything questionable.

But because she trusted Lu Chang’sheng, she still decided to help pass the message on to the others.

As for whether they’d be on guard or not, that was up to them.

"By the way, the other day I heard sounds coming from your courtyard..."

Xu Zhuqing had always been curious about Lu Chang’sheng’s progress in cultivation, and now that he’d finished speaking, she couldn’t help but ask.

"Did you have some new insight into the Elephant Armor Skill?"

Facing Xu Zhuqing’s look of eager anticipation, Lu Chang’sheng nodded, "Yes, I did gain some new insights."

Lu Chang’sheng wasn’t one to keep things to himself.

Martial arts are the foundation for any martial artist, and with Xu Zhuqing’s level of talent, even if he shared everything he knew, she wouldn’t reach entry level in just a few short years.

By then, his own abilities would have improved by several more levels.

Looking at her delicate features, Lu Chang’sheng couldn’t help but reflect.

He wondered if, decades from now, she’d still be able to walk this path alongside him.

Cultivation is a lonely pursuit.

For the first time, Lu Chang’sheng felt this saying carried new meaning.

Soon enough, his worries were spread to the rest.

Many True Qi Realm martial artists suddenly grew wary.

Anyone able to reach the True Qi Realm was certainly no simple figure; outside of cultivating, many couldn’t help but wonder just what they’d do if Immortal Meng ever did harbor ill intentions—how could they possibly bring him down?

Nobody knew the full extent of Immortal Meng’s strength, only that he’d taken down the newly-advanced Innate Sun Wu in a single move.

Too fast, too brief—hardly much to go on.

So, the only thing they could do was prepare for the worst-case scenario.

As top-level True Qi Realm experts, their connections were naturally extensive.

Quite a few even held official status, so they quietly had people fetch powerful crossbows, positioning them in front of each courtyard.

A couple even managed to get their hands on bed crossbows.

Those things are military weapons—just drawing the bow takes more than a dozen pile skill-trained armored soldiers working together.

Luckily, those who dared to bring in bed crossbows were all top True Qi Realm martial artists who were incredibly strong. If they put in everything they had, they could just barely pull them back three to five times.

To make sure nothing went wrong, they used Lu Chang’sheng as a hypothetical enemy and took some time to scheme together, polishing their plan as much as possible.

When Lu Chang’sheng found out, his back broke out in a cold sweat.

He instantly felt grateful for having kept such a low profile and for being so friendly with everyone.

Regular crossbows he didn’t fear, but the larger ones—their very purpose was to counter those unstoppable Innate Martial Artists on the battlefield.

Some even used specialized armor-piercing arrows meant to break True Qi. Paired with the giant crossbows, if you really got hit, not even an Innate Martial Artist could take it.

Fortunately, due to technical and material limits, there weren’t many of these left. Even within the army, they’re a rarity.

Otherwise, Lu Chang’sheng wouldn’t feel safe at all.

"These guys really do have some serious connections. They’ve actually gotten several of those machines in here."

At this point, Lu Chang’sheng didn’t even want to leave his room—no telling if one of those "crazy bastards" would lose their mind and try him out as target practice.

Now, the surrounding courtyards had made the central courtyard into a death trap.

Even someone as strong as Lu Chang’sheng wouldn’t dare say he could step in there and leave unscathed.

Back then, he hadn’t wanted to make enemies of Great Yuan for exactly this kind of reason.

Of course, so long as he didn’t stumble into some carefully-laid trap like this, even if he ran into those crossbows out in the open, the odds of them hitting him were still slim.

"Honestly, I’m starting to hope that Immortal Meng really is up to no good," Lu Chang’sheng thought to himself.

Then, he couldn’t help but laugh wryly inside.

He realized it was just greed—for a moment he’d gotten interested in the other man’s leftovers.

But that’s not good.

"If possible, it’s best not to face such a powerful enemy. Living a long, peaceful life cultivating steadily would be a blessing in itself."

Lu Chang’sheng knew it was worry for Nangua’s situation in the Spirit Realm that had made him a little impatient lately.

The more impatient you are, the easier it is to make mistakes.

So he quickly got his mind back in order, restoring his calm.

He hadn’t expected, not long after, that he wouldn’t be able to keep it up.

Because—Immortal Meng had arrived!

And what’s more, he wasn’t hiding his murderous intent in the slightest.

"Where is Scholar Lu?"

Meng Ping was, after all, a cultivator. In the Spirit Realm, you could never be too careful, but here, after figuring out the local average level of power and stabilizing what he saw as the only troublesome force—the army—any lingering concerns faded away.

His attitude gradually loosened up. He openly scorned the mortals who’d used his martial arts to train themselves.

Totally like a cat toying with a mouse.

He wasn’t at all worried about anyone bolting.

See, when he met them, he’d left unique marks on each of their bodies. Within half a year, as long as they didn’t leave the territory of Great Yuan, he could track them down and kill them anytime he wanted.

Cards on the table—he wasn’t playing nice anymore.

"Remember, I’m an evil cultivator. Evil cultivators don’t play by the rules."

The gatekeeper was some Black Mountain Prefecture True Qi Realm disciple. Even though he could sense Immortal Meng’s mood was off, he still let him in.

Following his teacher’s orders, he brought him straight to the central courtyard.

Meng Ping could feel dozens of marks with his spiritual sense, and it pleased him.

This way, he wouldn’t have to run all over the place searching. That was great.

He told the disciple to summon everyone, saying there was business to discuss.

Thinking: Once everyone’s here, I can start my slaughter.

Thirty-four True Qi Realm experts—if he killed them one by one, someone might catch on, maybe even call attention from outside, which would be troublesome.

Still, Meng Ping maintained just a bit of caution—mainly because if word of his actions got out, it’d ruin his reputation and make it hard to use the same tactic at the next prefecture city.

What a pity.

The disciple hurried to set people in motion, spreading the word to all the True Qi Realm martial artists.

Unexpectedly, this caused a big stir.

"What! Immortal Meng is here?"

The man teaching that gatekeeping disciple was named Guo Da, a True Qi Realm martial artist. If it had been a few days earlier, he’d have rushed over at the news without a second thought, eager to greet Immortal Meng.

But now, he hesitated.

"Did Immortal Meng seem off to you?" Guo Da suddenly asked.

The disciple didn’t understand the meaning behind his teacher’s question, just replied instinctively, "He seemed kind of...weird."

He didn’t dare say too much.

After all, the compound wasn’t very big. It had once been the high-class residence area for Xingtai Restaurant, organized with the central courtyard at its heart, the rest in a ring around it. Most were small, only a few were any bigger.

At that distance, speak too loudly and you worried Immortal Meng might overhear.

They all had a healthy fear of the mysterious, terrifying Immortal Meng.

Weird?

Guo Da immediately understood his disciple’s point.

After a moment’s thought, he said, "Release the pigeons."

"Yes, teacher."

Though a little confused, the disciple walked to the yard and released the pigeons his teacher had raised with special care.

The pigeons flew up, circled the compound several times, then landed in a prominent spot atop the central courtyard.

"Guo Da’s signal."

"Seems like there’s a problem."

"Do we make a move? If we’re wrong, we’ll have to face an Immortal’s wrath."

"But if we hesitate, and he survives, that’ll be an even bigger disaster."

······

One after another, the True Qi Realm martial artists didn’t hesitate any further. They’d already discussed what to do in planning sessions before, so they went to the courtyards where the crossbows were hidden, shifted the modified courtyard walls aside, and aimed at the central courtyard.

The crossbows were set up just for this—under a hundred meters from the central courtyard.

Even the weakest bow had a range of a hundred fifty meters, and some could reach two or three hundred.

So, nobody worried that range would be a problem.

"Forty-something crossbows... could they kill an Immortal?"

Lu Chang’sheng also saw the homing pigeons circling above.

Guo Da’s pigeons had been bred for years—they were more than just any ordinary pigeon and could follow commands to do some pretty miraculous things.

Guo Da was actually the linchpin in the whole plan.

He’d direct over forty bows at the central courtyard pavilion, orchestrating an unprecedented siege on Immortal Meng.

Lu Chang’sheng gripped his bow.

It was custom made, sturdy enough to require eight piculs of force—too much even for top-level True Qi Realm martial artists to pull to full draw.

He took out an arrow, stepped out of his room, always ready to fire.

When facing an Immortal, the best-case is to kill him in one shot—otherwise, you’ll be in for a mess.

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, the white pigeon perching on the roof flared its wings, taking off with a cry.

At that exact moment, all the crossbows were drawn to their limits—a terrifying volley of arrows shot straight at the central courtyard.