Chapter 77: Night Moon Celestial Canopy Technique

"Night Emperor!"

Upon witnessing this scene, Lu Wanshan’s expression changed as he recalled the name he had recently heard from Si Mingyue—

In this world, apart from the known Void Ascendants like the Venerable Lingxu, only this suspected Void Ascendant possessed the strength to silently approach him and unleash such a strange phenomenon within a domain.

Thus, the moment Lu Wanshan detected the anomaly, he summoned the Mountain and River Seal, pressing it down toward the descending moon—

He hoped that with the Mountain and River Seal’s ability to suppress the power of heaven and earth, he could break through the opponent's domain!

Yet, to his surprise, the target was neither himself nor the sixth-grade snow lotus—

It was the soul of King Snowhawk and the bone sword infused with the White Emperor’s sword intent.

"Nightmoon Canopy!"

"This is no domain; it is the innate art of the Nightmoon Sparrow—"

"This beast’s descendant also has the power to devour souls!"

King Snowhawk’s soul trembled violently, radiating a message of terror.

This scene, where the evening falls, the stars dim, and the moon hangs low, was not the anomaly of a domain as Lu Wanshan suspected, but rather a natural ability of the Nightmoon Sparrow—

It relied far less on the power of heaven and earth than a domain did.

Moreover, according to King Snowhawk’s inherited knowledge, this divine beast’s descendant possessed a soul-devouring ability that was the most formidable—

To King Snowhawk, at this moment, it was a dire threat to his very existence!

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"Return!"

Sensing that the enemy wielded the Nightmoon Sparrow’s innate power, King Snowhawk, gripped by panic, tried to withdraw the bone sword and the soul force within.

But by the time the moon had descended, it was already too late—

From within the hanging moon, a massive, pitch-black bird suddenly appeared, opening its beak wide to swallow the bone sword whole.

Nor did it stop there. With its maw agape, the great bird followed the soul force link within the bone sword, continuing to devour toward King Snowhawk, who was hiding his soul within the sixth-grade snow lotus—

It seemed determined to consume King Snowhawk’s entire soul!

"This is bad!"

Feeling the Nightmoon Sparrow’s pull on his soul, King Snowhawk cried out in alarm, aware that he now faced a mortal crisis—

Already, a portion of his soul force had been devoured along with the bone sword, leaving a vulnerability.

Added to that, after fusing the snow lotus’s essence into Murong Yu’s body, the power of heaven and earth he could command was being suppressed by Lu Wanshan’s Mountain and River Seal—

At this moment, his soul’s defenses were at their lowest!

Thus, under the Nightmoon Sparrow’s powerful soul-devouring ability, King Snowhawk instantly felt—

His soul force was dissipating!

Because of this, King Snowhawk could no longer bother bargaining with Lu Wanshan and immediately attempted to transfer his soul force into the newly born life within Murong Yu:

"Lu Wanshan, if you help me this time, I shall do as you wish—"

"I will become a descendant of your Lu Clan!"

He knew that, bearing the legacy of Emperor Jing, Lu Wanshan must have far more means than these—

Clearly, his actions were meant to use the Nightmoon Sparrow to force King Snowhawk’s submission!

Indeed, King Snowhawk even suspected that the Nightmoon Sparrow and Lu Wanshan might be in league—

But with his life at stake, such suspicion could only be buried deep within his heart!

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"Very well!"

As expected, upon hearing King Snowhawk’s promise, Lu Wanshan cried out in satisfaction, and atop the Mountain and River Seal, a dragon soul began to emerge.

This dragon soul was once the soul of King Whitesnake. After being nourished by the will of the people and the fortune of the realm, Lu Wanshan reforged it, fusing it with the spirit of the Mountain and River Seal.

Thus, the soul of a serpent was transformed into the soul of a dragon.

"Nightmoon Sparrow, you claim mastery over soul devouring—"

"But can you devour the soul of a true dragon?"

"Let me see your power!"

Lu Wanshan thrust the dragon soul before the Nightmoon Sparrow, severing its pull on King Snowhawk's spirit, his tone brimming with confidence.

"A dragon soul?"

"Is that the soul of a true dragon?"

Sensing the suction cut off by the dragon soul, the Nightmoon Sparrow—appearing so suddenly—finally spoke.

Unlike King Snowhawk and Lu Wanshan, who communicated in soul messages, and unlike King Whitehawk’s screech-like speech, the Nightmoon Sparrow’s voice sounded uncannily human.

"Manifestation!"

"So, you are human after all!"

The Nightmoon Sparrow’s words quickly confirmed Lu Wanshan’s judgment—

This Nightmoon Sparrow was not a bird, but a human with the Nightmoon Sparrow’s bloodline, who had cultivated the beast’s manifestation and transformed into its form.

"Those who cultivate bloodlines, once the blood is fully awakened, their divine abilities and command of heaven and earth are equivalent to entering mastery of the Void;

"With further progress, refining the beast’s genetic heritage into a manifestation, they gain the power of a Refiner of the Void;

"And as with this Nightmoon Sparrow, one who can fully control the manifestation and merge their body into it, transforming entirely into its form, is the equal of a Void Ascendant—"

"This Nightmoon Sparrow truly lives up to the title of ‘Night Emperor’!"

Though Lu Wanshan did not believe this person possessed the ultimate strength of a supreme grandmaster, nor was he worthy of the title ‘Night Emperor’—

Yet, a being on par with a Void Ascendant and possessing innate bloodline abilities was enough to command his full attention!

"Nightmoon Sparrow, it seems you are the so-called ‘Night Emperor’—skulking in the shadows, what are your intentions?"

As he questioned the Nightmoon Sparrow, Lu Wanshan sent a secret message to King Snowhawk, urging him to reincarnate into Murong Yu’s body as soon as possible.

Confident in himself, and with the dragon soul within the Mountain and River Seal, Lu Wanshan still dared not take this ‘Night Emperor’ lightly—

For one of such cultivation, who dared claim the title ‘Night Emperor’, surely possessed some abilities belonging to the supreme grandmasters!

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"Night Emperor?"

"Lu Wanshan, so you already know my name—"

"Si Mingyue must have told you, I suppose?"

"Let me guess, did you anticipate my arrival here?"

The Nightmoon Sparrow—or rather, the Night Emperor—quickly deduced the truth from Lu Wanshan’s words.

His title, ‘Night Emperor’, was known only to a select few. As he saw it, apart from Si Mingyue, who was close to Ning Qingyu, none would ever leak this information!

Without confirming or denying, Lu Wanshan stalled for time, replying to the Night Emperor:

"Indeed, I came to the snowy mountains not just for King Snowhawk’s affair, but also to meet you—"

"To see for myself the identity of the one who calls himself ‘Night Emperor’!"

The matter of the sixth-grade snow lotus was little known in the martial world, but among grandmasters, it was no secret.

In fact, as far as Lu Wanshan knew, there were at least three other grandmasters nearby who remained hidden only out of consideration for him—

With the Night Emperor’s strength, if he had any connections in the martial world, he would surely know of the sixth-grade snow lotus. Such a spiritual herb was enough to tempt anyone.

That was why Lu Wanshan had expended favors to invite Venerable Lingxu, who also possessed the Void Ascendant’s cultivation, to aid in this venture.

Now, this arrangement was finally proving its worth:

"Night Emperor, you've allied yourself with Ning Qingyu of the Azure Cloud Sect—"

"Is it your intent to strike at Great Jing from Qingzhou, or to move north into Jizhou?"

"Since you are here today, you must give us an explanation—"

"Otherwise, don’t blame this old Taoist for being discourteous!"

Far away in the sky, a figure appeared—it was none other than Venerable Lingxu, whom Lu Wanshan had asked to confine the Heart Fox King and to return an old favor.

Now over four hundred years old, Venerable Lingxu was not only the strongest of the Supreme Void Sect, but one of the mightiest in the world today!