After delivering those earthshaking final words, the unnamed Mahayana cultivator of the Mystic Spirit Dao Sect gradually turned to ashes.
At the same time, an immense surge of spiritual energy erupted from his body. As it spread, the spirit flowers and herbs throughout the Mystic Spirit Dao Sect seemed to grow several stages stronger in an instant.
Even the cave dwelling where he had passed away would become a true blessed land, a coveted holy site that countless sects would fight to claim.
And naturally, his final words sent waves through all the major sects.
At the core formation node of the Mystic Spirit Dao Sect—
A cultivator seated in meditation slowly opened his eyes, which were filled with an indescribable weariness of ages.
This man was the Mystic Spirit Dao Sect’s other Mahayana cultivator.
Around him, the projections of numerous figures had already begun to appear.
Among them were fellow cultivators with whom he had once shared wine and laughter; juniors he had once praised; and even many infamous demons reviled by all.
There were Mahayana cultivators among them, as well as Immaculate Realm cultivators awaiting advancement.
Righteous and demonic cultivators had joined forces merely to kill him. It truly was more honor than he deserved.
“Other than my senior brother and myself, the remaining ten fellow Daoists—and all the juniors you favor—have come as well. It seems you truly have no intention of leaving even the slightest chance of survival for our Mystic Spirit Dao Sect.” He sighed. “My senior brother has already fallen. Our Mystic Spirit Dao Sect is willing to surrender its spiritual veins, keeping only the disciples of the main sect and sending them far away. Is even that not enough?”
“He Yong, you should know that once your senior brother dies, there is no way you will be allowed to live,” said one Mahayana cultivator flatly. “The true immortals of our sects would never permit any other Mahayana cultivators to join forces and pose a threat to them. Not even a momentary ability to contend with them can be tolerated.”
In the past, there had been no way around it. For ten thousand years, the Mystic Spirit Dao Sect had always maintained at least three Mahayana cultivators. Whenever one died, an Immaculate Realm cultivator would immediately advance with the aid of the other two Mahayana cultivators, ascending at precisely the right moment and thus preserving the sect’s prosperity for countless years.
But such luck could not last forever.
The Mystic Spirit Dao Sect now had only two Mahayana cultivators left, and among its remaining Immaculate Realm cultivators, none possessed the ability to advance.
This thorn in everyone’s side, this menace that had endured for so many years, could finally be erased.
“Old He, I have no choice either. And don’t expect any aid from elsewhere. The immortals have given their order: your sect’s divine art must never be allowed to reappear. There may even be an avatar of one of them watching us from above,” another Mahayana cultivator said with a sigh. “So long as you are willing to swear a Dao Heart Oath and completely destroy that divine art technique, the immortals have said you may choose any body you wish from among the countless cultivators in this world. They will help you possess it, and from then on, you will have nothing to do with the Mystic Spirit Dao Sect. Wouldn’t that be better? Better than falling alongside your senior brother, only to fail to save your sect in the end.”
“It has been so long since anyone called me by my name. Whenever people see me, all they say is ‘Ancestor, Ancestor.’ I can barely react to it anymore.” He Yong, a Great Ascension cultivator, merely smiled faintly and formed a hand seal. “I, too, was once one of the most outstanding cultivators in this world. Countless cultivators regarded me as mayflies gazing upon the heavens. How could I possibly go on living like an insect, stealing another person’s body?”
“Fellow Daoists, there is no need to say any more.” He Yong slowly rose to his feet, a Dharma Aspect already emerging behind him. “He Yong of the Profound Spirit Dao Sect is here to exchange a few moves with my fellow cultivators.”
Longevity Dao Sect.
“Has he gone mad?”
“Does he think a few grand words can change the state of this world?”
“The Profound Spirit Dao Sect truly cannot be allowed to remain!”
Listening to his junior brothers curse without pause, Gong Changshou found it unbearably noisy.
“If Junior Brother still has the leisure to stand here cursing, then this senior brother will take his leave.” Gong Changshou sneered, then swept his gaze across his fellow disciples. “Other than Eighth Junior Brother and Ninth Junior Sister, who among you would give up such a splendid opportunity once it has fallen into your hands? Eldest Senior Brother has waited years for this chance. Of the two Great Ascension positions left behind by the dead cultivators of the Profound Spirit Dao Sect, one will surely be his. As for the remaining one, we shall each rely on our own abilities.”
Fortunately, his greatest rival, Ning Weixuan, was still recuperating. Otherwise, he would truly have had to worry about how to eliminate Ning Weixuan first.
Who would not wish to behold the sights reserved for Great Ascension cultivators?
Blood Demon Sect.
“The two Great Ascension cultivators of the Profound Spirit Dao Sect do have some backbone. No wonder they managed to contend with the terrestrial immortals for so many years.” The Blood Demon Ancestor’s incarnation reclined lazily against a long chair. Below the platform, every cultivator of the Blood Demon Sect was kneeling on the ground.
Each of those kneeling below was a notorious fiend in the outside world. Yet before the ancestor of all fiends, they did not dare show the slightest hint of defiance.
Bloodstains lay scattered around them, along with piles of shattered bones.
Those had belonged to the disciples whom the ancestor had casually killed moments ago for amusement, claiming that he wished to “test their fortune.” With his eyes closed, he had slaughtered them at random.
The ancestor had said that only demon cultivators blessed with good luck could survive in his hands.
“Have any members of our sect gone to the Profound Spirit Dao Sect?” the Blood Demon Ancestor asked.
“Reporting to Ancestor, several fellow disciples have gone there with their men.” One cultivator bent so low that his head nearly reached his waist. “May this disciple ask what orders Ancestor has?”
“It is nothing much.” The Blood Demon Ancestor thought for a moment, then smiled. “How many Immaculate Realm cultivators remain in our sect?”
“There are eleven in total.”
Only that many?
The Blood Demon Ancestor sighed.
The leeks in the fields truly grew worse with every harvest.
Look at the Dao Sects—they had produced quite a few talented people. That Xu Guan he had seen last time was rather promising.
But compared to them, the demonic path was somewhat lacking.
“Very well.” The Blood Demon Ancestor smiled. “I’ll give you two paths.
“First: remain within the Blood Demon Sect and attempt to break through to the Mahayana Realm. Only those who succeed will survive.
“Second: go out and kill the Immaculate Realm cultivators from the remaining eight sects who wish to advance to the Mahayana Realm. For every one you kill, you preserve one life of your own. One for one. If anyone manages to kill two or more, this Ancestor will personally reward them with demonic arts and take them on as a direct disciple. If you later advance to the Mahayana Realm, I will personally kill a Mahayana cultivator for you and help you ascend to the summit.”
“Whether you swarm them or use any other means, as long as you can kill an Immaculate Realm cultivator from one of the Eight Great Dao Sects, I’ll accept it. I have only one demand: the two vacant Mahayana Realm slots must never fall into the hands of the remaining eight Dao Sects.”
The Blood Demon Sect cultivators trembled from head to toe, yet they had no choice but to accept this deadly mission.
Take a gamble. Perhaps the Ancestor would be pleased.
…
The words spoken by that Mahayana cultivator of the Profound Spirit Dao Sect before his death had already spread throughout the world, reaching the ears of everyone with an interest in the matter.
Over so many years, amid so many Immaculate Realm cultivators, aside from one person who had successfully advanced to the Mahayana Realm a thousand years ago, there had been almost no change.
Countless Immaculate Realm cultivators had seen no hope ahead and suffered a collapse of Dao Heart, causing their cultivation to fall.
But it turned out that the path before them had never been invisible. Rather, the Mahayana cultivators and Earthly Immortals had stood above them like towering mountains, firmly pressing down upon their heads.
A single leaf had blinded their eyes, concealing Mount Tai.
“What meaning is there in saying all this?” White Crane Dao Lord, concealed near the Profound Spirit Dao Sect, sighed softly. “What can we Immaculate Realm cultivators possibly do against Mahayana cultivators? As for those Earthly Immortals, they are beyond imagining.”
It served no purpose but to make people despair even more.
“Perhaps he merely wanted to preserve a sliver of life for the Profound Spirit Dao Sect,” Xu Guan said calmly, likewise hidden in the shadows. “The Profound Spirit Dao Sect possesses a divine art that allows Mahayana cultivators, acting together, to contend against an Earthly Immortal. So long as the other Mahayana cultivators still desire this secret art, still wish to stand against the Earthly Immortals, they must spare the lives of the Profound Spirit Dao Sect’s direct descendants.”
As a Mahayana cultivator whose lifespan had run out and whose fate could no longer be reversed, the only thing he could do was stir the waters of the entire cultivation world, making countless Mahayana cultivators wary of one another and thereby fighting for that faint, fragile possibility.
Only in troubled times could heroes emerge.
“What a pity about Fellow Daoist Xu.” White Crane Dao Lord’s foundation had been damaged. Even though it had been repaired somewhat, he still could not compare with others. Xu Guan, on the other hand, was young and exceptionally gifted. Yet he was only three hundred years old, and his sect offered him no support. Had Xu Guan been a disciple of some illustrious great sect, he might truly have been able to contend for one of the Mahayana Realm slots.
And now that Xu Guan had appeared near the Profound Spirit Dao Sect, it naturally meant he had given up competing for that position.
Otherwise, at such a critical moment, Immaculate Realm cultivators seeking to break through would already have returned to seclusion, racing against every second.
Xu Guan stood with his hands behind his back, the corner of his eye settling on the flying vessel carrying his disciples.
Of course, he would enter seclusion.
But not yet.
At the very least, not here, where everyone’s attention was focused.
Inside the main hall of the Mystic Spirit Dao Sect.
Pei Qiyun stood resolutely beside her master, the sect leader, a sword already gripped in her hand.
A group of lesser-known disciples from one branch had already slipped away in advance with part of the sect’s cultivation manuals. Those who remained were now only the ones with ulterior motives, and those willing to defend the sect to the death.
“My disciple, I fear your master and this sect are destined to perish together.” The leader of the Mystic Spirit Dao Sect gave a bitter laugh. “Before the Patriarch died, he asked me why I had not attempted to break through to the Mahayana Realm. It is not that I fear death. I fear dying for nothing.”
If he truly possessed the ability to advance to the Mahayana Realm, why would he have waited until now?
By staying here, at least he could still protect a few disciples.
“Master, there is no need to worry.” Pei Qiyun answered firmly. “The Mystic Spirit Dao Sect will not fall.”
“Haha, well said.” The sect leader smiled and patted Pei Qiyun on the shoulder. “As expected of my disciple. Yun’er, your talent is no less than anyone’s. The future of the Mystic Spirit Dao Sect will still rest on your shoulders.”
Pei Qiyun was about to say something more when her master pressed a finger to the center of her brow. It seemed that he poured some profound and mysterious secret art directly into her sea of consciousness.
In the next instant, Pei Qiyun lost consciousness completely.
A demonic cultivator, his figure concealed beneath a broad cloak and an eerie aura radiating from his body, casually stored Pei Qiyun inside a magical artifact. Then, as though conjuring her from thin air, he produced another female cultivator who looked exactly like Pei Qiyun.
Only if “Pei Qiyun” died before everyone’s eyes would the real Pei Qiyun have a chance to survive.
That “Pei Qiyun” was still conscious and able to speak. She pleaded with the sect leader, “Master, I do not want to die in my junior sister’s place. Master, can I not bear the responsibility of the Mystic Spirit Dao Sect?”
“Originally, I never intended to choose between the two of you, because our sect’s supreme divine art can only be cultivated when two people train together.” The sect leader looked at her coldly. “I never expected that only at a time like this would I finally see your true nature, you heartless wretch. No matter how flawed this sect may be, I believe I have never treated you unfairly. How could you trade the whereabouts of those disciples who left early for your own safety?”
Everyone believed that the disciples who had fled in advance must have taken with them the Mystic Spirit Dao Sect’s divine art capable of standing against earthly immortals. Their whereabouts were therefore the most valuable information of all.
Unfortunately, what they had taken was only an incomplete copy.
Yet it had exposed the traitor hidden deepest within the sect.
“Now, this is more convincing.” The sect leader stepped forward and personally crippled her cultivation, reducing her from the Cave Heaven Realm to the Nascent Soul Realm.
Only then could she truly be identical to Pei Qiyun.
Amid the agony, she finally passed out completely, unconscious of everything around her.
“I will see Pei Qiyun safely out of here. Now give me what you promised me,” asked the cultivator whose entire body was concealed so thoroughly that not even a trace of him could be seen.
“This is the secret manual for a divine art. I have already told my disciple the method of cultivation. As long as she can leave safely, she will naturally tell you how to decipher it,” the sect master said bluntly. “This jade slip is bound to my disciple’s soul. Should she perish, the technique will be destroyed automatically. It cannot be copied or preserved, so give up any such thoughts.”
“Worthy of a sect master indeed—your arrangements are certainly thorough.” The strange cultivator smiled. “My goal is also to oppose the Land Immortals. I merely wish to borrow your sect’s divine art for a brief study.”
But the sect master did not believe him.
“Time is up. Leave at once,” the sect master said. “The Mystic Spirit Dao Sect has fallen to this state, and those Land Immortals bear an inescapable share of the blame. If you truly manage to kill one of them, this old Daoist will pray for your blessing even in the netherworld.”
The strange cultivator cast a deep glance in a certain direction before vanishing in an instant.
“A rising talent has emerged among the demonic cultivators at some point?” The Mystic Spirit Dao Sect’s sect master stood stunned for a moment, then laughed. “Forget it. What does it have to do with me?”
The great edifice was about to collapse.
In such a chaotic age, no one could escape unscathed.
The moment that Great Ascension cultivator truly perished and spiritual energy erupted, all the cultivators hiding aboard the flying vessel poured out at once, like rain breaking from the heavens.
The cultivators whom Shu Xin had forcibly kept aboard the flying vessel by charging them “seat fees” had no time to argue with him now. Without hesitation, they rushed toward the Mystic Spirit Dao Sect’s main peak.
The Mystic Spirit Dao Sect’s cultivators, too, had no time to mourn their dead ancestor.
For the true crisis had already arrived.
“Hahahaha! Mystic Spirit Dao Sect, here I come!” One cultivator was the first to charge into the alchemy hall, grabbing whatever pills he could get his hands on.
Others understood the principle that one needed the hen before one could have eggs. They intended to seize a few alchemists, lock them away, and force them to make pills until they died.
But another group soon drove them off.
“The Myriad Dao Sect is taking over everything in the alchemy hall. The spirit fields behind it belong to us as well.” Qu Yougu looked coldly at the crowd. “Those who withdraw will be spared.”
“What a joke. So what if you’re from the Myriad Dao Sect?” Seeing the pills that were practically within reach about to be taken away, a cultivator immediately charged forward.
Qu Yougu drew his sword, then sheathed it.
The cultivator who had been shouting moments before had fallen utterly silent.
“Move,” Qu Yougu said with a wave of his hand. “Take every pill furnace, medicinal pill, and pill formula. As for the alchemists, bind them all and take them away first, whether they are willing or not.”
Before they had set out, his master had specifically reminded them that their Formless lineage was desperately short on alchemists.
If these alchemists went with him, they could at least become members of the Myriad Dao Sect. They would not be captured by those short-sighted cultivators and forced to refine pills without end.
“Loot, loot, loot! We’re going to be rich!”
“Y-you actually ambushed me?”
“Haha, whose fault is it for turning your back on me? Hand it over!”
Inside the artifact storehouse of the weapon-refining hall, countless cultivators had already been dazzled senseless by the dazzling array of spirit tools and magical treasures.
Goods of this quality might not even appear at outside auctions for years.
Yet here they were, all piled up and left to gather dust.
What extravagance!
“Go.” Chai Lingxin and her fellow disciples were the first to wipe out all the cultivators there, packing every magical treasure and spirit artifact into the finest storage rings.
Naturally, they did not leave behind any of the precious artifact refiners, either.
Xiang Peiyao headed for the Formation Hall.
Xie Xianzhi went to the Talisman Hall.
The area before the Cultivation Scripture Pavilion was packed with cultivators from all manner of second- and third-rate sects, along with countless demonic cultivators.
An innumerable number of cultivators had already charged inside, and naturally, there was no shortage of people striking first from the shadows.
In this “carnival,” all traces of humanity and morality were utterly laid bare.
Just by looking at their expressions, who could tell a righteous cultivator from a demonic one?
“Come on. We’re not going to the main hall—we’ll hit the side halls!” Shu Xin led her junior brothers and sisters around the main hall, where the crowds were thickest, and began looting the side halls instead.
By now, the main peak of the Xuanling Dao Sect was crammed with cultivators from both the righteous and demonic paths.
It was truly a scene where Core Formation cultivators were as common as dogs, Nascent Soul cultivators roamed everywhere, and Domain-level experts appeared one after another.
Even the Immaculate Realm cultivators who had been hiding in the shadows had begun to reveal themselves.
Yet everyone decisively kept their distance from the Xuanling Dao Sect’s formation core. It lay in the sect’s rear mountain, and merely the aftershocks of battle from that area made it clear that a clash between top-tier experts was underway.
Going there would be no different from courting death.
They might as well take advantage of the great powers being occupied with breaking the formation and snatch up whatever they could first.
Yi Renjie could not help staring at the vast, dark mass of people ahead. Cultivators were dying at every moment; the entire Xuanling Dao Sect seemed to have become a slaughterhouse. No matter how powerful a cultivator was, they could still die in the most unexpected ways.
“Stop looking. You need to get used to this. There will only be more of this in the future. This is only the beginning.” Shu Xin understood all too well the weight behind the words of that dead Great Ascension cultivator.
The days when everyone watched their backs against everyone else had yet to come.
Once war began, no cultivator would be able to escape it.
It would sweep across every inch of the cultivation world at the fastest speed and in the most horrifying fashion.
【Awooo—so many demonic cultivators, so many! Hahaha!】The Sword Spirit was practically beside itself with excitement.
“They look easy to bully.”
“That’s them. They’re carrying so many storage pouches—they must be fat sheep.”
...
A group of demonic cultivators seemed to have appeared from nowhere, gathering together to block Shu Xin and the others’ path.
They had deliberately hung so many storage pouches from their bodies, just waiting for someone to try taking advantage of the chaos and rob them.
Shu Xin folded her arms as the two flying swords at her side tore through their enemies with thunderous ferocity.
Wherever the flying swords passed, countless demonic cultivators had all the blood essence in their bodies instantly vaporized.
【Go, go, go!】The Sword Spirit was killing to its heart’s content, quickly carving a clear path ahead.
Some of the surrounding cultivators had initially intended to follow them, but the moment they saw how terrifying the two flying swords beside Shu Xin were, every such thought vanished.
Holy shit—is she really a Domain Realm cultivator too?
Why did she feel completely different from the other Domain Realm cultivators?
Yuan Dawei and the others stood there with their mouths agape, scarcely able to believe what they had seen.
Wait a moment—weren’t many of the cultivators Senior Sister had cut down as easily as chopping vegetables just now Nascent Soul demonic cultivators?
And she killed them that effortlessly?
So when Eldest Senior Sister had trained them before, she had really been holding back.
“You go on ahead.” Shu Xin suddenly came to a stop and addressed Yi Renjie and the others. “It’s time for you to temper yourselves. I’ll bring up the rear and cover you.”
“Alright, alright.” Cao Ru immediately agreed. They wanted to contribute as well; they did not want to spend the entire time hiding behind their senior sister and living off whatever scraps she left behind.
The teacher, students, and servants might have been foolish, but at least they were diligent.
Only after Shu Xin saw them seriously dealing with the enemy did she secretly split off a thread of her attention and connect with the Sword Spirit.
“Come on. Let’s go slaughter some demonic cultivators.”
[I swear to the Heavenly Dao, in all the years I’ve known you, this is the most beautiful you’ve ever looked.] The Sword Spirit suddenly turned unusually sweet-tongued.
Shu Xin took out two more spirit swords, identical in appearance to “Wait” and “Hold On.”
The real pair of swords had already vanished from sight. Guided by Shu Xin’s divine sense, they began flying toward the places with the greatest concentration of people and the most frequent eruptions of spiritual energy.
…
“Hahaha! You think you can contend with my corpse puppets?” The demonic cultivators of the Yin Corpse Demon Sect each released coffins by the armful. Countless powerful corpse puppets leapt out from within and began slaughtering in every direction.
Meanwhile, any cultivators who caught their eye were frozen with secret techniques.
They would take them back first and torture them properly, grinding their souls down until they were steeped in resentment. Only then would they be suitable material for refining into their next puppets.
“Senior Brother, this haul will be enough to repay the interest on the puppets we borrowed from the sect. Borrow one, return two—we’ll even have some left over as profit!” The Yin Corpse Demon Sect cultivators were overjoyed.
Besides refining their own friends and relatives into puppets, they could naturally command other corpse puppets as well.
It was simply that puppets made from one’s closest kin suited them best and carried the lowest risk of backlash. But how many cultivators had friends and relatives who had possessed high cultivation while alive?
Thus, the Yin Corpse Demon Sect offered a “corpse loan” service.
The sect gave every disciple the opportunity to borrow the sect’s corpse puppets. For every puppet borrowed, the disciple had to return the original puppet along with two additional ones. Naturally, depending on the cultivation level of the puppet borrowed, there were corresponding requirements for the cultivation levels of the puppets they had to return. If they could not repay the debt, they would first have to use their own kin-made puppets as payment. If that still was not enough, they would have to offer themselves in their place.
Through this method, the Yin Corpse Demon Sect recruited dozens of times more disciples each year than other demonic sects. In fact, practically any demonic cultivator could join and become an outer disciple of the Yin Corpse Sect. Yet, when totaled over the years, their number of disciples was only about equal to that of other demonic sects. On the other hand, the quality and quantity of their corpse puppets improved year after year.
“I’ve long said that as long as you work hard while your cultivation is still weak—take wives, have children, make friends far and wide—you can acquire countless puppets.” The leading cultivator laughed smugly. “Use those puppets as collateral to borrow the sect’s puppets, and you’ll make a sure profit without risk.”
“These are all the interest we’ve earned!”
“Senior Brother is right.”
“Senior Brother will definitely pass the assessment and become an inner disciple this time.”
“Exactly. As long as he submits one hundred corpses with cultivation above the Nascent Soul stage to the sect in one go, he can earn a place as an inner disciple. If he can submit ten corpses of cultivators at the Grotto-Heaven realm, he can become a core disciple!”
These cultivators had gathered around their leading senior brother precisely because they believed in his future prospects.
“All right, gather them up first.” The leading male cultivator laughed heartily, gesturing for those he called junior brothers and sisters—though they were really little more than servants and lackeys—to take away the cultivators sealed in ice.
“Yes, Senior Brother.”
The frozen cultivators were nearly driven to despair.
If they were taken away by cultivators of the Yin Corpse Demon Sect, they would rather detonate their primordial spirits and forfeit all chance of reincarnation.
But they had been sealed in ice with a secret art precisely to prevent them from doing so.
Just as the Yin Corpse Demon Sect cultivators were about to make their move, an invisible sword qi flashed through the air.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
An unseen sword pierced through every one of their dantians.
Even the corpse puppets they had brought along were left with gaping holes in their bodies.
W-what... what was that?
【I like these inner disciples from the Loan Shark Sect the best. They always travel in groups—killing one gets you a whole bunch! The nicknames you come up with are even better than their real names!】
“All right. Next batch,” Shu Xin transmitted through his divine sense.
【As you command, Swordmaster.】
The Sword Spirit was beside herself with delight, her sweet little words dripping with honey.
Shu Xin: Oh? You’ve even learned to call me Swordmaster now?
