482: Chapter 498 This will make me look really stupid!

"Just a Mid-stage Golden Core, what are you pretending for..."

Lu Ming clapped his hands and continued forward.

But after only walking a few steps, the sound of churning black mist came from behind him again.

He looked back and saw three figures condensing simultaneously.

Three Asura Clan members, all at the Mid-stage Golden Core.

"Again? Fine, consider it a warm-up."

The three figures coordinated perfectly, balanced in offense and defense, making them much more troublesome than a single one.

But Lu Ming's combat experience was extremely rich, and with his strength added to the mix, the battle was resolved in just a few punches.

However, this was like stirring up a hornet's nest.

When the black mist rose again, nine figures appeared this time, and all of them were at the Late Golden Core Stage!

Lu Ming's expression turned a bit sour.

This is never-ending, isn't it!

Nine Late Golden Core Stage cultivators—this was no joke.

Although he wasn't afraid at all, it would be quite annoying if this continued.

So he took a deep breath and stopped holding back.

He fully activated the Tiangang Law, and golden light flowed over the surface of his body like a layer of armor.

With the support of the Xun Wind Law, he wove through the nine figures, striking back.

With every punch thrown, a figure was knocked back.

With every palm strike, a figure was shattered.

But the Asura Clan's fighting style was incredibly fierce; they didn't dodge or flinch, trading injuries for injuries and lives for lives.

Those dark red rays of light constantly corroded Lu Ming's protective spiritual light, causing his mana to be consumed very quickly.

However, Lu Ming didn't care about this; the opponent was stubborn, but his fists were harder.

By the time he defeated the last figure, he only had a few scattered wounds on his body.

However, the flesh at those wounds took on a strange grayish-black color—the traces of erosion from the Asura Clan's Evil Qi.

He casually sent out a burst of mana, wanting to dispel the Evil Qi, only to find that he actually couldn't do it.

"Eh?"

Lu Ming didn't expect this Evil Qi to be like maggots on a bone, actually quite stubborn.

But that was all.

Lu Ming wanted to use the Yin-Yang Law to grind away the Evil Qi, but on second thought, he switched to circulating his Cultivation Technique.

He tried to circulate the 'Asura Tribulation Prison Scripture' to devour the Evil Qi.

As expected, the Evil Qi reacted as if it had found its mother, scrambling to drill into his Dantian.

Without the interference of the Evil Qi, Lu Ming's wounds healed back to their original state almost in the blink of an eye.

"As expected, using the original soup to digest the original food is best."

A faint smile played at the corners of Lu Ming's mouth, but it froze on his face before it could fully spread.

"Is there no end to this?"

Lu Ming looked at the black mist rising again in front of him and cursed through gritted teeth.

This time, there were a full twenty-seven figures!

And they were all freaking Late Golden Core Stage!

Twenty-seven Late Golden Core Stage cultivators!

If placed outside, this would be enough to sweep through an entire Region.

One could even say they would have no rivals below a Blessed Land!

Lu Ming looked around; those twenty-seven crimson eyes stared intently at him, like hungry wolves eyeing their prey.

His mouth twitched, and he couldn't help but curse, "F***, is this trying to play me to death?"

Lu Ming wasn't afraid of a 27-on-1.

Although the number was a bit high, he was, after all, at Golden Core Perfection.

Under the suppression of his higher Realm, he could still handle it calmly.

He just didn't know if these ghostly things would double again next time after he shattered them.

According to the pattern: one becomes three, three becomes nine, nine becomes twenty-seven...

The next one would be over a hundred.

"Over a hundred Late Golden Core Stage cultivators?"

Lu Ming's face darkened.

And that was just his estimate; although he could still barely manage a hundred, he was afraid the opponent's strength would also increase.

If it were over a hundred Golden Core Perfection opponents, he could just give up resisting right now.

Normally, he could just run away, but this was a trial; there was no way forward or back, so where could he run!

Lu Ming took a deep breath, knowing that being indecisive now wouldn't change the current situation.

He would only know the subsequent changes after dealing with the guys in front of him.

If it really was the worst-case scenario, he would have to think of another way.

Tiangang, Xun Wind, and Yin-Yang—the three Laws were simultaneously activated at this moment, weaving and merging in Lu Ming's palm, turning into a Four-colored millstone.

"Go!"

Lu Ming threw it out, and the millstone expanded rapidly against the wind, exploding among the twenty-seven figures.

Instantly, seven or eight figures were blown to pieces.

But the remaining figures lunged from all directions, surrounding him completely.

Lu Ming didn't waste words, meeting them head-on with the Tiangang Law.

He crushed the head of one Asura Clan member with a punch and turned to slam another into the ground with a palm strike.

Using the Xun Wind Law to dodge and launch surprise attacks, his figure was like a ghost, weaving through the gaps between the Asura Clan members, making all their attacks miss.

The Yin-Yang Law neutralized the corrosion. When those dark red rays of Evil Qi touched his protective spiritual light, they were forcibly decomposed by the power of Yin and Yang, unable to cause him any substantial harm.

Kill! Kill! Kill!

By the time he defeated the last figure, Lu Ming couldn't help but catch his breath.

A few new wounds had been added to his body, but he couldn't afford to deal with them right now, staring intently at the ground, waiting for the next wave of black mist.

However, the expected black mist did not rise.

Instead, a thicker, grayish-white mist slowly rose from the corridor.

Amidst the churning mist, a humanoid silhouette was vaguely visible.

Lu Ming was stunned for a moment.

"Not over a hundred? Just one?"

"Could it be that this time it's just one Golden Core Perfection?"

Lu Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

That's fine, that's fine—he could still handle a single Golden Core Perfection!

In any case, he didn't want to fight over a hundred; he wasn't Ip Man.

Even with Realm suppression, a swarm of ants really could bite an elephant to death.

But despite his thoughts, Lu Ming did not lower his guard.

Anything the trial arranged to appear at this time would definitely not be easy to deal with.

Just then, the mist dissipated.

A person walked out of the mist.

The person wore a black robe and had an ordinary face with nothing special about it.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze calm, and a faint curve at the corner of his mouth.

But when Lu Ming saw the person's appearance clearly, his pupils suddenly contracted.

"It's him!"

"That Black-robed Man!!!"

The moment he saw this person appear, Lu Ming felt the hair all over his body stand on end.

He subconsciously took half a step back, mana condensing in his palm, ready for action.

At the same time, his mind raced with all sorts of conspiracy theories.

"Why would this person appear here? Could it be that those Asura Clan members just now were his doing?"

However, Lu Ming soon noticed something was wrong.

Although the Black-robed Man's expression was vivid and he wore that signature playful smile, there was no aura fluctuation around him, no mana flow, and no signs of life.

It was just like... an exquisite Puppet.

No, not a Puppet; it was more like an illusion!

To confirm his thoughts, Lu Ming even used the Divine Ability 'Wuwang True Vision' and sensed carefully with his Divine Sense.

Yes, it was confirmed; this was indeed not the real person.

Lu Ming immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as he didn't have to fight over a hundred Asura Clan members at once!

He still had confidence in dealing with one person.

Although he felt this person would be difficult to handle, how much stronger could he be if they were both at Golden Core Perfection?

He, Lu Ming, was invincible among his peers!

He had only lost his composure earlier because the Black-robed Man's sudden appearance had caught him off guard.

Now that he had figured out the situation, he relaxed quite a bit.

In short, the advantage was his.

Seeing that the opponent didn't take the initiative to attack, Lu Ming didn't stand on ceremony either.

With a wave of his hand, a purple-black flame roared out from his palm—it was the Peak Third Tier demonic fire, the Nether Profound Yin Fire!

As soon as the flame appeared, it transformed into a hundred-zhang-long fire dragon with complete scales and claws, carrying a terrifyingly high temperature capable of incinerating all things as it swept towards the Black-robed Man.

Wherever the fire dragon passed, the Void Realm distorted, and the air emitted a piercing explosion from being scorched.

However, facing this strike, the Black-robed Man just stood with his hands behind his back, looking at everything indifferently, as if he had no intention of defending at all.

Just as the fire dragon was about to touch him and incinerate him into nothingness, the Black-robed Man moved.

Without any unnecessary movements, he just lifted his foot and stomped hard on the ground.

Boom!

In an instant, the surrounding scenery changed abruptly.

The deep corridor disappeared, replaced by a vast and boundless dark space.

Everything around was a void, with Chaos above, below, left, and right, as if they were in the Void Realm at the end of the Universe.

The Black-robed Man still stood in his original place.

The hundred-zhang fire dragon lunged in front of him, but it was as if they were separated by a whole world.

Although it was clearly right in front of him, it simply couldn't touch the corner of the Black-robed Man's clothes.

It churned, bit, and roared frantically three feet in front of him, yet it could never cross that invisible chasm, as if separated by a Wall of Sighs.

Eventually, the fire dragon dissipated unwillingly as its mana was exhausted, turning into sparks that vanished into the void.

"Ah?"

Seeing this scene, Lu Ming's face was full of question marks, but he soon reacted.

"Is this... is this freaking Space Law?"

Having reached Golden Core Perfection, he was no stranger to this, but Lu Ming was surprised that this person's control over the Space Dao had actually reached such an exquisite level.

This was no longer just using Space Law to perform a simple tearing of the Void Realm, nor was it a crude spatial lockdown.

It was a profound application akin to 'being worlds apart while right in front of one's eyes.'

Seemingly close at hand, but actually separated by thousands of mountains and rivers.

Seemingly within reach, but actually far beyond it.

Like 'a world in a flower' or 'a bodhi in a leaf,' a Universe was formed within a square inch!

Lu Ming admitted to himself that he couldn't do such a thing.

His understanding of Space Law was still stuck at spatial shifting; usually, besides using it for travel, he used it to run away.

He didn't even dare to imagine having attainments in the Space Dao like the Black-robed Man.

But that's exactly where the problem was!

Who exactly is this guy? How can he have such spatial attainments at the Golden Core stage? Someone who didn't know better would think he's a Nascent Soul True Monarch!!

One must know that although a Golden Core Perfection cultivator can perceive Space Law, it is only a preliminary exploration.

To make progress and study it deeply requires not just Aptitude and talent, but also a long time to contemplate.

And to go a step further in this path, only a Nascent Soul True Monarch can do it.

After all, with Soul Emergence, one can roam the Great Void.

With such a unique advantage, contemplating it yields twice the result with half the effort.

But this guy is only at the Golden Core stage, yet he has such spatial attainments!

He definitely couldn't be an unknown person, but why had he never heard of this person's name?

Lu Ming frowned slightly, somewhat unable to figure it out.

But now was not the time to think about this.

After this test, there was no longer any need to doubt that the opponent's cultivation was at Golden Core Perfection.

He was an expert.

Lu Ming raised his level of importance for this person in his heart, losing his initial carelessness.

But that was all.

Although this person's attainments in the Space Dao were very high, that alone was not enough.

Don't think that those guys who fell by his hand before only provided him with external possessions or were refined into Banner Spirits to provide him with combat power.

In fact, the Cultivation Techniques, secret arts, and insights in their minds were the essence.

It was just that Lu Ming was usually quite lazy and wasn't willing to spend too much time on them.

But that didn't mean he would just shelve these things; a man like Lu Ming was scared of being poor and wouldn't waste things so recklessly.

So he made his dharma body suffer a bit, having him organize the gains whenever he had time and pick some suitable Cultivation Techniques and Divine Abilities to practice.

As the main body, he could occasionally receive the memories and insights from the dharma body's automated cultivation.

So when it came to having a wide variety of methods, Lu Ming believed he was not inferior to anyone.

Therefore, he quickly made a decision, already having an idea of how to deal with this person.

Since your spatial attainments are so impressive, I'll make it so you have nowhere to run!

Lu Ming's hands began to form seals, and he chanted a Spell.

In an instant, an oppressive atmosphere began to envelop the surroundings.

" Boom——"

Deep purple lightning exploded in the void, like ferocious thunder snakes rolling in dark clouds.

The lightning arrived before the sound, illuminating the entire dark space in flickering light.

Immediately afterward, the muffled sound of thunder surged from all directions, making the void tremble.

That was no ordinary lightning, but a destructive power containing the might of a Heavenly Tribulation; every bolt of lightning was enough to heavily injure a Golden Core Perfection cultivator.

As Lu Ming's finger fell, countless thunder snakes descended from the sky like a torrential rain, completely enveloping a hundred-zhang radius around the Black-robed Man.

The lightning wove into a dense, airtight net, blocking all paths of retreat.

This was Lu Ming's goal!

The entire space was filled with thunder, leaving him with nowhere to hide.

However, facing the lightning filled with the aura of destruction, the Black-robed Man still maintained a calm and composed posture.

He just extended his index finger and lightly tapped the void.

A ripple spread from his fingertip like water, quickly expanding with that point as the center.

Subsequently, a deep darkness quickly formed at the center of the ripple.

It was like a vortex, seemingly capable of devouring everything.

Wherever it passed, the void began to distort and collapse, and finally, even the light was swallowed.

And at this very moment, the thunder fell!

" Sizzle——"

Countless thunder snakes carrying the aura of destruction crashed down, striking directly into that deep, dark ripple vortex.

However, the expected world-shattering scene did not appear.

There were no brilliant and eye-catching spiritual lights from Spells; everything seemed so silent.

But that heavenly thunder, which was enough to destroy an ordinary Great True Person of Golden Core Perfection, vanished silently into that darkness the moment it touched the ripple, like a stone sinking into the ocean.

It disappeared completely, as if it had never existed. Not even a single ripple of energy spread out.

Lu Ming's pupils contracted slightly, his heart full of disbelief.

His flashy thunder technique was just gone like that?

Don't be like this; this makes me look very stupid!