Chapter 130: Brother Hua Gives You Everything, Brother Hua Takes You to Roam the Ends of the Earth

The Void-Breaking Hammer appeared in his grasp. With his body-refining cultivation at the Fourth Pole Realm, he could shatter mountains and rivers with a mere flick of his finger. Paired with the heavy hammer, his ferocity was unparalleled.

With a single swing, a thunderous sonic boom erupted in the air.

The Holy Mother of the Black Lotus dared not be careless and hastily unleashed a defensive spell. Layers of black lotus petals materialized to block the path of Cao Chengyu’s hammer, only to shatter upon contact, offering no resistance whatsoever. She cried out in shock, "This makes no sense!"

"No sense? A Golden Core stage cultivator using nothing but mid-grade spells? You’re awfully poor, aren't you?" Cao Chengyu sneered. "What’s wrong? Is your husband incapable? Too stingy to give you better arts?"

Cao Chengyu followed up with a backhand strike. He compressed the air into a tangible force, launching a long-range attack akin to an air cannon. The Holy Mother of the Black Lotus dodged, gritting her silver teeth. A black lotus artifact manifested beneath her, its petals unfurling to envelop her before she vanished into thin air. It was a technique for concealment.

A fierce glint flashed in Cao Chengyu’s eyes. His formidable soul power surged like a tide, crashing against the surrounding space layer by layer. "Found you!"

The Yin Talisman Sword materialized beneath his feet, carrying him away in an instant as he smashed the Void-Breaking Hammer into empty space.

*Boom!*

A muffled thud echoed; the black lotus petals shattered, and the Holy Mother of the Black Lotus was sent flying like a football. Cao Chengyu swung his hammer again, unleashing a barrage of clearly defined air cannons that struck her repeatedly. Her black lotus artifact was actually a low-grade fourth-tier item, but it was an auxiliary tool for stealth rather than a primary combat weapon. Against the high-grade third-tier Void-Breaking Hammer, it offered no defense at all.

However, these blows had thoroughly offended the Holy Mother of the Black Lotus. Although her standard spells were low-grade, she was a Golden Core cultivator; she surely possessed at least one ultimate supernatural ability born from a manifestation. During his last battle with a Golden Core cultivator, he had lost precisely because he lacked such an ability. Of course, his lack of mana was also a weakness.

Spitting blood from the corner of her mouth, the Holy Mother of the Black Lotus surged with rage. "I don't care if you're an elder of the Heavenly Star Sect! Today, I’ll show you the true power of a Golden Core cultivator! Die here!"

"Turbid Yin Lotus bloom! All things perish into nothingness!"

"Turbid Yin Lotus! Go!"

Cao Chengyu cautiously retreated a few steps. Two divine wheels, one black and one white, manifested behind him, surrounding five distinct flames. It resembled the golden halos behind deities and Buddhas, but his were a dual-colored Yin-Yang wheel containing five different fires.

As the manifestation appeared, Cao Chengyu felt the change; it was the power of a supernatural ability! The wheels rotated in opposition, and the five-elemental flames shifted their positions accordingly.

"Yin-Yang Divine Wheel, Five Elements in Flow."

Utilizing the power of the Yin-Extreme Yang-Fire, he could preemptively trigger the Yin-Yang attribute of this ability! Facing the incoming Turbid Yin Lotus, the Yin-Yang rotation suddenly halted, and an invisible ripple swept across the area. Everything in Cao Chengyu’s vision froze—including the Holy Mother of the Black Lotus herself!

"Time stop?" he thought. "Impossible. At this level, there’s no way to master such power."

He quickly dismissed the thought. Sensing his mana draining rapidly, he took immediate action. Ignoring the Turbid Yin Lotus, he walked straight up to the Holy Mother. He lifted her drooping head, only to see an expression of shame and indignation in her eyes.

*Is her consciousness still active? So, it’s not a true time stop.*

He glanced down; the members of the Black Emperor Sect on the ground remained unaffected. Lin Yuan was gone, and only Ning Ruolian was standing there, stamping her feet in anxiety while looking up at them. *Is the range limited? It’s more like a localized stasis effect.*

Cao Chengyu smirked, leaning close to the Holy Mother’s delicate face and blowing gently against her earlobe. "Holy Mother, whether it’s your abilities or your spells, you’re not very impressive. Is it the Black Emperor Sect that’s failing, or is your husband just incompetent?"

"Why not defect to me? Ruolian has good potential; I can help you both join the Heavenly Star Sect. You only need to offer a little beauty, and super-grade spells, supernatural abilities, or Nascent Soul cultivation techniques—everything is up for negotiation."

The Holy Mother of the Black Lotus was stunned by his bluntness, her face gradually flushing red. Among Golden Core cultivators, she and the Black Emperor’s envoy were indeed considered destitute, as all their resources had been poured into building the Black Emperor Sect. Having just taken root in the Yan Kingdom, they possessed only a few spiritual mines, which were insufficient to support the cultivation of a Golden Core master.

The Heavenly Star Sect was not something Cao Chengyu had fabricated on the spot; there was indeed such a sect in the Mountain Ridge Domain, with power comparable to the Five Elements Sect—a top-tier force at the Golden Core level. As for whether a man named Hua Wuque existed, of course not. Cao Chengyu was simply here to seduce her. His main experiment was to see if he could obtain a treasure chest by skipping the emotional foundation and going straight for the final step.

She was a cult leader’s wife, after all. She wouldn't mind if he put a "hat" on her husband, would she? If things weren't chaotic, how could it be called a cult?

With this in mind, Cao Chengyu whispered more disparaging remarks about her husband in her ear. He suggested that if he wouldn't even give her high-grade spells, he couldn't possibly love her, and there was no reason to remain chaste for such a man. Wouldn't it be better to roam the world with Brother Hua? Even Ning Ruolian could receive the best resources and have a bright future as a Golden Core cultivator. Everything could be hers at the cost of such a small price.

Cao Chengyu could see the flicker of temptation in the depths of her eyes. However, his mana was running low, so he withdrew first. He didn't expect to succeed in one go; he had planted a seed. Once he disappeared for a while, she would naturally begin to compare and even probe her husband when they were together. Under the guise of testing him, she would inevitably feel a sense of longing, and her judgment would be skewed.

As for the history of the two rising from poverty and supporting each other, for someone like the Holy Mother of the Black Lotus, selective amnesia or ignoring the past was the norm. Her pride had just been trampled under Cao Chengyu’s feet; shame and despair occupied her heart, followed immediately by the rise of ambition—the ambition to surpass him, defeat him, and perhaps even enslave him. If she couldn't reach her goals with a "useless" husband, she might as well trade him for someone else.

...

A long time passed.

The Yin-Yang stasis state dissipated. The Holy Mother of the Black Lotus nearly collapsed to the ground. She pulled Ning Ruolian to her side and barked at everyone present, "What happened today is not to be spoken of! Even if the Black Emperor’s envoy asks, say nothing! Do you understand?"

"Understood!" the cultists replied loudly. For them, it had been an unbelievable day. A Purple Mansion cultivator toying with a Golden Core master was simply absurd. (Mainly because rogue Golden Core cultivators lacked systematic heritage and practiced too many varied, weak techniques.)

Taking her daughter, the Holy Mother of the Black Lotus returned to their nearby temporary palace and began to inquire about the details of their encounter with Cao Chengyu.

On Cao Chengyu’s side, after planting the seed, his face was somewhat pale. The Yin-Yang Stasis ability consumed too much mana, and the power felt remarkably similar to the "Two Ceremonies Stasis Field" from a certain work he remembered. He had only demonstrated a fraction of its power, yet it felt formidable indeed.